Application Process for Asylum in Fairfax
There are two ways someone can go through the process of applying for asylum in Fairfax. To apply affirmatively, the individual needs to apply with the USCIS whereas someone applying defensively is done within the Arlington immigration court. Applying defensively means the individual already has an open immigration court hearing.
Applying for asylum in Fairfax can be stressful without the help of a skilled asylum lawyer by your side. A Fairfax asylum lawyer will have the knowledge and compassion necessary to address the application process with you head on.
Affirmative vs. Defensive Application
The process of applying for Asylum in Fairfax depends on whether or not an individual is applying affirmatively or defensively. Affirmative applications require submitting the application with the local USCIS office and they will supplement the application as needed while their case is pending and they will then wait for their interviewer and do some sort of preparation before they go to the USCIS interview.
If an individual is applying defensively, then they submit the application in court. If they are scheduled for a court date that is more than a year after their date of injury, they can submit the asylum application to the court prior to their court date and they will be doing something called lodging it.
Steps to Take
Applying for asylum in Fairfax looks the same as applying anywhere else in the country. The application is pretty straightforward. It will include biographical information, information about prior addresses, work history, and their family. There is also a basic description of the reason they fear return and that needs to be supported by a personal statement, which is a detailed account for the reasons they fear returning and their membership in a particular social group and then the nexus between their membership in that group and the harm that they will suffer.
In addition to that, a person will submit extensive supporting or country condition evidence that shows or that can prove the likelihood of harm if they return. A person can submit things like country condition reports from the Department of State, local news articles, or anything that is specifically related to their case. Sometimes, if they have actually been harmed before they can submit medical records or bank statements, things like this. It needs to be a very well documented submission.
Deadlines
When going through the process of applying for asylum in Fairfax, an individual has to submit the initial application, which can basically just be the I-589 and their personal statements, prior to the one-year deadline. However, a person can supplement the application prior to the immigration court hearing or to the USCIS interview and the deadline for submitting document differs from judge to judge and from USCIS office to USCIS office.
In the Virginia asylum office, a person is going to have to submit all of their supporting documents at least a week prior to the interview being scheduled. The further they can get things, the better because it will give them more time to review everything. Then some immigration judges require submission of documents 30 days prior. In general, the EOI are handled such that a person needs to submit all of their supporting documents 15 days prior to the individual hearing.
No one is going to be looking at or adjudicating the application but they will send the individual a date stamp on their application. It is considered to be lodged so it will satisfy the filing deadline. An individual will then go to the immigration court and submit the actual application at a master calendar hearing. An individual hearing or the asylum trial will be scheduled at a later date. It is a process that they legally do on their own but it is highly preferable to get an experienced attorney, whether a person is applying affirmatively or defensively.