Asylum Status Available For Those Harmed Due to Their Religion, Political Opinion, Race, Ethnicity, Nationality, or Membership in a Particular Social Group
Have you or your family been harmed, or do you fear returning to your country, because of your religious beliefs, political opinion, race, ethnicity, nationality, or membership in a particular social group? Thousands of people from across the world come to the United States every year seeking asylum. Every individual applying for asylum in the United States needs to have strong and well-founded evidence demonstrating their credible fear of returning to their home country due to government or other systematic persecution.
Asylum status protects those who have experienced persecution based on their religion, race, nationality, particular social groups, or political opinion.
Some Examples of Legitimate and Viable Asylum Claims:
- A woman is persecuted by the Chinese government and imprisoned because of her illegal religious worship as a Christian;
- an unwed teenager, threatened with honor killing by her family because she became pregnant in Afghanistan;
- a man who experienced uncontrolled violence in El Salvador because he is gay and became exposed when he participated in a political protest;
- a mother forced to abort her baby because of China’s One-Child Policy and now Two-Child Policy; or
- Guatemalan, Salvadoran, and Honduran children who escaped extremely violent regions where drug cartel wars are rampant and who personally experienced violent crimes, human trafficking, or homicides to their family members.
One-Year Rule
You must apply for asylum within one year of your admission or entry into the United States. To apply for asylum in the United States, you may ask for asylum at a port-of-entry (airport, seaport, or land border crossing), which places you in a defensive asylum posture and removal proceedings. Or, you can apply for affirmative asylum after your entry. Applying for affirmative asylum is preferred as it entitles you the time to prepare for your case. Affirmative asylum applicants also receive a less adversarial asylum interview, which can grant you asylum status before having to engage in the often time-consuming and challenging immigration court process. You are eligible for asylum regardless of your immigration status, and regardless of whether you are in the United States legally or illegally. Asylum law takes into account the fact that people who are fleeing their home country to save their own or their families’ lives may have to enter into America in unauthorized ways. In either case, you must apply within one year of when you arrived in the United States.
Authorized to Work in the United States
After 150 days of submitting your asylum application, you may apply for an Employment Authorization Document that will enable you to work in the United States while you wait for your status determination.
Free Consultation to Protect You and Your Family
It is essential to timely consult an experienced lawyer with comprehensive knowledge in immigration due to the urgency inherent in every type of asylum cases. For most of our clients, their freedom and lives are often in danger if they are returned to their home countries. Asylum status can protect the applicant who directly experienced the persecution from his or her government, or from groups that the government is unable or unwilling to control. Once granted, the applicant’s asylum status can also extend to protect the applicant’s spouse and underage children as derivative applicants even if they are still living in their home country. Once asylum is approved, your family will be eligible to apply for permanent green cards after one year of residence in the United States.
At the Law Office of Julie Oliver-Zhang, our attorneys have the skills and determination to guide you and fulfill your needs. We have an excellent history of success with all types of unique asylum cases. We can help you live safely, freely, and be a part of the American Dream.
