Mistakes Were Made

by Jason Dzubow

I recently prepared an asylum case for a married lesbian woman. The case was complicated by the fact that my client had multiple nationalities, and I was concerned about one country where she held citizenship, and where conditions were less bad for LGBT people (at least when compared with her other countries of nationality). My focus was on gathering evidence about country conditions to support her claim, and I forgot to look at another key aspect of the case–my client’s wife had a pending asylum application of her own.

As these things often go, I was reviewing the case prior to the Immigration Court hearing when I noticed the issue. I spoke to my client and learned that the wife’s case included information that would have been helpful for my client’s case. So now I had a dilemma: Should we amend our case at the last minute and risk harming my client’s credibility (when she tried to explain the change) or say nothing and forgo the opportunity to include helpful evidence? (more…)

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To Win Asylum, Consistency Is Key

by Jason Dzubow

It’s nearly impossible to win an asylum case if the Asylum Officer or Immigration Judge does not believe your story. But how do decision-makers determine whether an applicant is telling the truth or lying? In other words, how do they decide whether the applicant is credible?

There are a number of methods to evaluate credibility: Whether the applicant’s story is plausible (i.e., whether it makes sense in the context of country conditions), whether the person can describe details that we would expect her to know (for example, if she was a political activists, she should know something about her political party), and whether the applicant’s statement is consistent with the other evidence and testimony in the case. Today, I want to discuss “consistency,” since inconsistent statements are probably the most common basis for concluding that an applicant is not credible. (more…)

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USCIS Claims to Have Reduced Its Backlog–but It Depends on the Definition of “Backlog”

by Jason Dzubow

In an announcement earlier this month, USCIS claims to have “reduced overall backlogs by 15%.” This sounds like good news, and it would be–if it were actually true.

The reality, as discussed in the same announcement, is that “USCIS received 10.9 million filings and completed more than 10 million pending cases” in FY 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023). While completing 10 million cases is no small accomplishment, by my math, if the Agency received 10.9 million cases and completed 10 million cases, their backlog has actually increased by 900,000 cases.

So why does USCIS claim that the backlog has been reduced by 15%? The answer hinges on the definition of the term “backlog.” (more…)

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Interpreting Asylum Interviews

by Jason Dzubow

During the height of the pandemic, the Asylum Offices provided interpreters for applicants. However, since September 2023, USCIS has required asylum applicants to bring their own interpreter to the interview. This can be a problem for some applicants, as interpreters can be expensive. Also, some interpreters are better than others, and a bad interpreter can make it more difficult to win your asylum case.

Today, we’ll discuss who can serve as an interpreter. We’ll also talk about how to work with an interpreter, and provide some tips for the interpreters themselves. (more…)

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Immigration Predictions for 2024

by Jason Dzubow

Welcome to 2024! What better way to start off the New Year than with some predictions!

Just so you know, if some of these prognostications seem a bit negative, there is no need to worry: My success rate with prophesying is quite low, and so hopefully, I will be wrong. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get started. And remember, if any of these predictions happen to come true, you heard it here first! (more…)

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Damning New Report About the New York City Asylum Office

by Jason Dzubow

We’ve long known that the New York Asylum Office (in Bethpage, NY) has the lowest approval rate of any Asylum Office in the United States. According to data from 2021, the asylum approval rate in NY was 7.4%. That’s nearly half the approval rate of the second worst Asylum Office (Boston), and seven times worse than the best Asylum Office (New Orleans).

While the problem is not new, there has always been a question of why the NY office has such a low approval rate. A scathing new report from Safe Harbor Clinic at Brooklyn Law School sheds light on this important question. (more…)

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Tales of a “Pro-Hamas” Asylum Officer

by Jason Dzubow

The war between Hamas and Israel has been a horror on many levels, both great and small, expected and unexpected. One surprising footnote to the conflict has been the suspension of a USCIS officer, Nejwa Ali, for supposedly supporting Hamas. Here, we’ll talk about what led to Ms. Ali’s suspension. We’ll also discuss the practical and political ramifications of her case. (more…)

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The Incredible Exploding Backlog

by Jason Dzubow

For years, the asylum backlogs in Immigration Court and the Asylum Office have been growing rapidly. But lately, they’ve been growing RAPIDLY–with a capital “R”. And a capital “APIDLY”. Probably I should add a few exclamation marks (!!!) after that and at least one “very” before it. What I’m trying to say is, of late, the backlogs have been growing at an insane rate.

Here, we’ll talk about what is happening and why, and try to guess what it all means for asylum seekers. (more…)

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Ombudsman Reports on USCIS’s Impossible Mission

by Jason Dzubow

In June of this year, the USCIS Ombudsman released its annual report, where it “details the urgent systemic issues affecting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services… and identifies potential solutions to resolve these problems.” This year, the agency’s various backlogs loom large in the 120-page report. Making progress on those backlogs has been difficult for various reasons, including the state of the world: “Global upheaval, political confrontations, and climate issues created populations in need of temporary protection, and the United States took on its share of assistance to these populations.” While the Ombudsman applauds the Biden Administration’s efforts to help those in need, it notes that other asylum seekers and immigrants have been harmed by diverting resources that might otherwise have been available to complete their cases.

To be honest, I have avoided reading the report until now because it is simply too depressing. We know the basic problem: Too many people and not enough resources. We also know that Congress–which controls the nation’s purse strings–is not likely to approve any additional funding, especially while the House of Representatives remains in Republican hands.

As I reviewed the report, I found myself feeling some sympathy for USCIS, which is being asked to do too much with too little. But the key word in that last sentence is “some,” as I also feel that–at least with regards to affirmative asylum cases–the agency has utterly failed to take bold and creative steps to alleviate the ever-increasing backlog.

Here, we’ll discuss the Ombudsman’s findings and try to explicate what is happening at one of the U.S. government’s most troubled agencies. (more…)

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Congress to the Asylum Office: “You Must Do Better!”

by Jason Dzubow

In a recent letter to USCIS, 61 members of Congress have expressed their “concern” about delays at our nation’s Asylum Offices. The letter calls on USCIS to prioritize the oldest cases for interviews and asks a number of pointed questions about the reasons behind the agency’s interminable delays.

Anyone familiar with the asylum system knows why this letter was necessary–approximately 800,000 cases (representing well over 1 million people) are stuck in the affirmative asylum backlog. More than 180,000 of these cases have been pending for five years or more, and some applicants have been waiting for their interview since 2015 with no real prospect of being interviewed any time soon. (more…)

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Asylum: Journey Into the Unknown

by Jason Dzubow

It is the job of a lawyer to learn about your situation and then advise you of your options. You want to know, “If I do X, what will happen?” In many areas of the law, attorneys can provide this type of advice. If you rob a bank and get caught, you will go to jail. If you sign a contract and then breach your agreement, you will be liable for damages. If you fail to pay taxes, you will face criminal and civil penalties.

But in immigration law–and particularly in asylum law–it is often impossible to provide precise advice. The unfortunate fact is that asylum seekers must live with significant uncertainty. (more…)

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AILA Prepares Sensible New Report on Asylum for the U.S. Government to Ignore

by Jason Dzubow

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) surveyed more than 300 immigration lawyers (including yours truly) about asylum and has issued a new report with findings and recommendations: High-Stakes Asylum: How Long an Asylum Case Takes and How We Can Do Better.

The report makes some useful suggestions for improving the system, and it is well worth a look. It also has some significant flaws (at least in my opinion). As I see it, though, the biggest problem–as usual for these types of things–is how to prevent the U.S. government from simply ignoring the report and continuing on its merry way. (more…)

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Winning Old Asylum Cases

by Jason Dzubow

As you probably know, asylum applicants often wait years for their interview or court hearing. Some cases get stronger with time, but most do not. Sometimes, country conditions improve or change in a way that makes it more difficult to win asylum. Other times, the asylum laws or regulations change in a way that is unfavorable. More commonly, the very fact that an applicant has been away from her home country for a long time makes it seem less likely that she will be harmed if she returns. The Immigration Judge or Asylum Officer will want to know why anyone back home would still remember you, let alone want to harm you, after so much time outside the country.

If you’ve been waiting for a long time for your Asylum Office interview or Immigration Court hearing, and you think your case has become weaker, what can you do? (more…)

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