What Paperwork is Needed for Asylum Applications?
By Julie Sparks in Asylum | Immigration | on 2022-05-12 15:31:59
For asylum applications, the people fleeing persecution in their native countries can apply in the United States. Only a few are eligible for the application. They also need to follow a specific process that involves complex paperwork. You want help from an Asylum lawyer with your asylum application.
Eligibility for Asylum solicitation in the United States
You are eligible to apply for asylum status in the United States if you satisfy the following requirements:
- If you meet the definition of a refugee.
- You are presently in the United States, or
- You are at a port of entry to the United States.
Filing a Complete Asylum Applications Package
If you are eligible to apply for asylum, then you will need to file paperwork with the appropriate immigration office to request asylum protection. The paperwork you will need to file includes different things, starting with Form I-589 Application for Asylum. Information contained in the application will be the primary information. An immigration officer reviewing your file will consider it, so the application form must be accurate and complete. If there are errors or incomplete information in the application, then your asylum could be denied, or you will be asked to fix the errors or provide the missing information.
What is the I-589 form?
USCIS Form I-589 is the application form required to be filed by anyone seeking asylum. Information contained in the application will be the primary information an immigration officer reviewing your file will consider, so the application form must be accurate and complete. If there are errors or incomplete information in the application, then your asylum could be denied, or you will be asked to fix the errors or provide the missing information.
Before completing this application form, it is important that you take time. Think through what your experience has been or was leading you to seek asylum in the United States. If the events happened recently, then the information should be fresh in your mind, which helps complete the asylum application.
If the events happened a long time ago, as is often the case. Then remembering all the details may be difficult, other than the most traumatic. In this case, a lawyer can help determine how to proceed and include as many details as possible. You may also wish to talk to family or friends who knew or were aware of what you went through. And even have them provide affidavits recollecting what they knew.
How to fill out the I- 589 form?
Once you have gathered all the information and documents relevant to your asylum claim, the next step is to complete Form I-589. The application form has been time-tested to bring out only the most essential information. In this way, determine the credibility of your claim. Think about it when you are completing the form. Certainly, you must tell a believable story.
Do not exaggerate or embellish the information you put on the application and do not include detail you might forget during an interview. If there is any inconsistency in what you put on the application form and what you say during the interview, this could be problematic and may result in your application being denied. You want a lawyer helping you complete this form to set you up for success.
As part of your basic application package, your attorney will need to include the following items:
- Copies of any identification documents that you have, such as your birth certificate, identity card from the country you are fleeing or where you most recently lived, driver’s license, and the like
- Copies of any passport you may have, copies of any U.S. immigration document such as I-94 Arrival/Departure Record.
- A recent passport-size photograph
- Two copies of any passport that you have and of any U.S. immigration documents (such as your I-94 Arrival/Departure Record)
Include the following items and one copy with your asylum application as applicable:
- A detailed declaration about your experience as a refugee.
- Affidavits and letters of support from your family or friends. As a testimony to the harm, you were subjected to in the country from which you fled.
- Declaration by a medical professional who examined you and attested to the physical abuse you were subjected to in your native country from which you seek protection.
- Expert declaration from a medical professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist who examined you and has offered their professional conclusions. As evidence of the emotional issues, you are dealing with directly related to the persecution or harm you were subjected to in your country.
- Reports describing human rights abuses in your country and original and copy of any other official descriptions of your country’s conditions such as the one provided by the State Department.
What to do if you do not receive a receipt notice for your Form I-589?
Once you have submitted your properly completed form I-589 to the appropriate US Citizenship and Immigration Services office, you should receive a receipt notice acknowledging receipt of your application. This assumes you have not previously been placed in removal or deportation proceedings.
If you file your application within 1 year of entry into the United States but do not receive a receipt notice for your application, and it has been more than 60 days since you submitted your application, then you should have your immigration lawyer contact the USCIS at 800-375-5283.
They will need to provide them with some tracking number to show that you, in fact, submitted the application and that it was delivered to the right USCIS office.
If you simply mailed the application without any form of proof of sending or delivery confirmation request, then you might have to start over because there is no way of tracking that application. It is critical when mailing anything to USCIS that you use a method you can prove, such as using return receipt request form or via courier service. A lawyer can handle this for you.
Can I Cancel my I-589?
Yes you can, but you must be aware of the possible consequences, such as being placed in removal or deportation proceedings.
Do I need a lawyer to fill I-589 form?
It is always a good idea to have an experienced immigration lawyer to help you properly and accurately prepare and file your asylum application.
Learn How an Austin Asylum Request Lawyer Can Assist You
If you are in the United States and cannot return to your native country for fear of persecution, contact J. Sparks Law, PLLC, today and schedule your initial consultation. We can discuss your situation and offer counsel on your best way forward.
Julie Sparks is Board-certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Immigration and Nationality Law, one of a few such attorneys in Texas. After 15 years of practice in this field, she has represented immigrants from more than 70 countries.
Ms. Sparks is a member of the Texas Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Julie has also been a featured speaker at Southwestern Law School and at the national 2015 AILA Fundamentals Conference.
- 15 years of practice in this field.
- She also founded and managed a non-profit organization representing indigent immigrants seeking asylum.
- Julie is a former immigration law instructor at the Pepperdine School of Law in Malibu, California, and California State University – Los Angeles.
