Asylum

Under the federal law Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), you may be eligible to become a lawful permanent resident (get a Green Card) if you are the victim of battery or extreme cruelty committed by a:

• U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or former spouse

• U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent

• U.S. citizen son or daughter

You may only file this application if you are physically present in the United States, and you are not a U.S. citizen.

At this time, the option to file an online Form I-589 is only available for certain affirmative asylum applicants. Affirmative asylum applicants may not file an online Form I-589 if they:

• Are in proceedings in immigration court or before the Board of Immigration Appeals;

• Are an unaccompanied alien child as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 279(g) and are in removal proceedings;

• Are among the categories of applicants who must currently file by mail with the Asylum Vetting Center as outlined in the Special Instructions section; or

• Already submitted a Form I-589, which is still pending with USCIS.

Yes, a person who wants to apply for asylum affirmatively or defensively must apply for asylum within 1 year of your arrival to the United States.

You may include your spouse and children who are physically present in the United States as dependents on your affirmative or defensive asylum application at the time you file or at any time until a final decision is made on your application. To include your child as a dependent on your application, the child must be under 21 years old and unmarried. 

Yes, a person is generally eligible for an EAD after your asylum application has been pending for 180 days.

You will receive a notice in the mail for you to show up at an office to provide your fingerprints. USCIS calls this biometrics. The next notice is for the interview. That can take from a few months to several years. For some people, when they have been still waiting for at least 4 years, then our law firm can help file a mandamus lawsuit to force the USCIS to provide you an interview date sooner.

Yes, you may apply for a Green Card immediately after being granted asylum. However, it will likely not be decided until you have resided in America for at least one year based on the current USCIS requirements.

Yes, if you are granted asylum you may petition to bring your spouse and children to the United States by filing a an asylum relative petition. To include your child on your application, the child must be under 21 and unmarried.

You must file the petition within 2 years of being granted asylum unless there are humanitarian reasons to excuse this deadline.