Prince William County Rate of Asylum Acceptance

As long as a person meets the requirements that can prove their case, there is no numerical limit on the amount of asylum applications that can be approved. There is definitely a quota but the Prince William County rate of asylum acceptance has an incredible amount of variation. In fact, this is one of the problems with the asylum system in the United States, because the benefits are not distributed equally throughout the country. Syracuse University puts out a report of approval rates for immigration judges throughout the country and he or she can just look through that to see the incredible differences between courts and between even judges within the same courts. Some of them have approval ratings under 15%, and some–many, in fact– are above 80%. In general, the Prince William County rate of asylum acceptance is among the highest in the nation, however, it is still important to have a Prince William asylum lawyer on your side.

Possibility of Temporary Protection

Unfortunately, there is not any temporary asylum during the period between the application submission and decision. A person has to wait for their case to be adjudicated either in front of USCIS or in front of the immigration judges in order to be granted asylum. However, a person can apply for a work authorization while their application is pending and they are waiting for the final hearing or the interview with USCIS. Regardless of the final Prince William County rate of asylum acceptance, an applicant is eligible to work after they submit the initial application, which is filed on USCIS Form 589 but supplemented with supporting documents.

Applying for a Work Authorization

Once a person files that initial 589 then they can apply for a work authorization 150 days after the government receives it. As a person is not going to apply for asylum from abroad, it is difficult to get asylum from abroad. It is possible to go to a US embassy and actually petition for asylum there but it is nearly impossible.

For the most part, a person needs to be present in the United States to apply for asylum so it does not help people who are in a domestic violence situation, say, in Guatemala. The applicant needs to be present in the United States before they can apply.

Role of Well Documented Abuses

In reality, there is a slight difference between the types of claims that a person has but there is no official preference that is given to any race, religion, or nationality. The same requirements apply to everyone. In the end, it is how the requirements are interpreted by the government that can cause differences in approval ratings.

In certain situations, there are groups of people whose persecution is more well-documented and recognized on a global level. These include, for instance, situations involving female genital mutilation. That is a well-documented occurrence and the US government is aware of it and accepts that it is dangerous. As a result, one may be more likely to prove that type of case instead of something where one is trying to prove the dangers posed to a particular social group or something.

Weight of Gang Violence Claims

In general, fear of gang violence in the golden triangle area—Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador—is sometimes more difficult to prove because there are so many, many people applying for protection on that ground in the United States. The US government is afraid of opening a floodgate if they begin to approve large numbers of those cases.

How an Attorney Can Help with the Application Process

A lawyer can help in a number of different ways. If a person is applying defensively in front of the immigration court, it is absolutely essential to have a lawyer. This will be especially helpful when it comes to the cross-examination, which takes place in adversarial context, and is conducted aggressively in a trial setting. It is extraordinarily difficult to overcome this portion of the process without the guidance of an attorney.

Outside of the court setting, an attorney can help in preparing the declaration and supporting documents that they are going to show to prove that the country conditions they are claiming fear exist. In addition, a lawyer will be invaluable in preparing applicants for the interview, which is lengthy and intensive.