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Lynn Asylum Lawyers

What is Asylum?

Every year, countless people immigrate to the United States seeking protection from persecution for their race, religion, beliefs, or political affiliations. People who seek to remain in the country for this reason are immigrants seeking asylum. An asylee (asylum applicant) claims that they need to remain in the country because they will be in danger or harm of unjust imprisonment if they return home. If you are seeking asylum in the U.S., you will need a skilled attorney who can help you prove your need to remain in the country.

At BOS Legal, our Lynn asylum attorneys are here to help. We know this is a serious situation and that your safety may be on the line. Our founding attorney is a first-generation immigrant who knows the complexities of immigration law. We can make sure your situation is made clear to those deciding your case.

We can be your fierce advocate when seeking asylum. Call BOS Legal today at (781) 596-0151.

What Do I Need to do to Obtain Asylum?

You need to already be in the United States in order to apply for asylum, and you must apply within one year of arriving. You will need a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of United States, which you can obtain online. There is no fee for applying, but the forms can be complex, and any mistake you make could jeopardize your protected status, which is why it strongly recommended that you fill it out with an experienced attorney.

In order to be eligible for asylum, you will need to prove:

  • That you are a member of a race, religion, nationality, political group, or other organization that is facing persecution in your country of residence.
  • You are outside of your native country and are unwilling and unwilling to go home.
  • You cannot be safely relocated to another part of your native country.
  • The government of your home country cannot protect you from persecution, or are responsible for the persecution
  • You have been persecuted in the past or have strong reason to believe you would be persecuted, such as in the case where a family member was persecuted.

The Lynn asylum lawyers of BOS Legal can stand by your side through every step of your request for asylum. Contact us today to get started.

Asylum FAQs
  • What is an Expedited Asylum application?
    A foreign national may file an asylum application at the Port of Entry (POE) with an Asylum Officer if the person is entering the country. This process is called expedited Asylum Application. If the Asylum Officer determines the applicant meets the initial eligibility, also called "prima facie" for Asylum application, the applicant may be paroled into the United States to file an Asylum application with USCIS. If the Asylum Officer does not believe that the applicant has prima facie for Asylum, the person will be given an opportunity to withdraw the application or can be removed from the U.S. through expedited removal. The applicant will have to prove the same qualifications as an applicant inside the United States. Often, however, the applicant only has a story to tell. The affidavit may be sufficient to show that the foreign national has prima facie cause for a parole into the United States while waiting to file a formal asylum application with the USCIS. However, if the officer determines that the applicant does not have a credible story, and thus does not have prima facie for an asylum application, the applicant will be denied entry. Because the applicant is an arriving foreign national, and not a foreign national that is inside the United States, he/she has no recourse and cannot appeal such decision. Of course, the alternative would be to contact a U.S. Consular office abroad and apply as a refugee. In recent years, the U.S. Department of State changed its policy and does not allow applicants to wait outside the U.S. Consulate to file applications. The applications must be processed by a third party bank before being forwarded to a U.S. Consulate. It may be unrealistic to pursue an application from a hostile country.
  • I am in the U.S. and I want to apply for Asylum, what are the steps?
    There are two ways in which a foreign national inside the U.S. can apply for Asylum. A foreign national inside the U.S. can apply for Asylum with USCIS. If the applicant is under removal proceedings, he/she can apply with the immigration court. If the applicant applied with USCIS and the application is denied, he/she can still apply with the immigration judge when and if he is ordered to be removed from the U.S. Thus, a foreign national has two chances to file for an Asylum Application. To file for an Asylum Application, the foreign national must fill out form I-589, available on USCIS’s website. This is a very complicated application and the applicant must show all requirements met. Thus, it is crucial that the foreign national obtain professional help when filing. The foreign national must gather documents to support his or her qualifications. The most important document is the applicant’s affidavit. The affidavit must describe in detail and show evidence that would make the foreign national a qualified applicant. Other documents that may support the applicant’s arguments would be articles and statements of the country’s conditions, the political climate, evidence of government crack-downs, crime rate and statistics, articles of news papers, articles from human rights groups, any evidence that support the applicant’s contentions. Essentially, the evidence from the applicant’s affidavit must be internally consistent and credible. Other evidence must support the applicant’s position, thus showing that the applicant’s affidavit is externally consistent with information from other sources.
  • My Asylum Application was denied, what should I do?
    If USCIS and/or the immigration judge denied an asylum application, the applicant may appeal the decision with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The applicant will typically have 30 days from the date of the denial to send in a notice of appeal and appeal the decision with the BIA. The BIA will make a determination based on your appeal. The BIA may summarily dismissed the appeal without a decision or comment, dismiss the appeal with comments, or grant the appeal and grant the USCIS or the immigration judge to issue an approval, or grant the appeal and remand the case to the immigration judge or the USCIS to make a specific determination based on the factual information. If the BIA denies the appeal, the applicant may file an appeal with the Circuit Court of Appeals that resides over the applicant’s jurisdiction. If the Circuit Court of Appeals denies the appeal, the applicant may ask a rehearing from the court. Legally, even if the Circuit Court of Appeals denies again at the rehearing, the applicant may file a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. In practice, if the Circuit Court of Appeals denies an application at the rehearing, the alien will not have the opportunity to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The reason is that the U.S. Supreme Court chooses only a few cases that have pervasive legal significance each year.
  • What is Withholding of Removal?
    The application for Asylum is also the application for withholding of removal. However, the standard for considering an Asylum Application is different from the requirements for withholding of removal. To qualify for withholding of removal, the applicant must demonstrate that the applicant's "life or freedom would be threatened" on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group;there is a “clear probability” that the applicant will be persecuted if he/she were to be removed, a much higher standard than “well founded fear” under an asylum application. If withholding of removal is granted, the Court must also consider the withholding of the applicant’s family members. However, the applicant will NOT be able to adjust and may only be able to obtain employment authorization. Unlike an approval of an Asylum Application, withholding of removal may be terminated if there is a change in the foreign country’s condition in which the applicant will not be persecuted if he/she were to be returned; if the withholding of removal application would be a fraud; or if the applicant committed one of the crimes that would have made him/her ineligible prior to the approval.
  • What is the United Nations Convention Against Torture?
    A foreign applicant may also apply under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) in conjunction with the Asylum application and the withholding of removal application. The applicant must “check a box” on top of the I-589 application in order for the Service or the Court to consider CAT. To qualify under CAT, the applicant must show that “more likely than not,” or there is “substantial grounds to believe” that he/she will be “tortured” upon being removed to his/her home country. Torture is an act by which severe pain or suffering (physical or mental) is intentionally inflicted to obtain information or a confession, for punishment, for intimidation or coercion, or for another reason based on discrimination; and the act was inflicted by the government, or by others under the government’s consent, or by a group that the government is unwilling or unable to control. If the applicant is successful under CAT, the applicant will be granted either (1) Withholding of Removal or (2) Deferral of Removal if granted unless the applicant is ineligible for one of the categories stated above under Asylum Application.