This posting is by Elizabeth Rosenman, a Seattle asylum attorney and a member of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project’s pro bono panel. A former editor of UCLA’s law review, she has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Among other publications, she has written for The Seattle Times, the Los Angeles Times, and most recently, The Hill.  When I’m helping a client prepare his I-589, the first thing I do is download the 10-page application, officially called…

Last week, I wrote about my suggestions for a new Asylum Office website. In that post, I gave short shrift to a new development: For affirmative asylum applicants, it is now possible to check your asylum case online at the USCIS website. This development is actually pretty significant, and will be particularly helpful for those who set up an account with USCIS in order to receive automatic case updates. Here’s how it works:…

Dear Asylum Division: These days, I don’t like to criticize you. I know that you’re under a lot of pressure from the political higher-ups who hate the whole “asylum thing.” But let’s face it–your website stinks. Fortunately, help is at hand. I’ve taken the liberty of creating a new website, which will benefit not only beleaguered asylum seekers, but also the hardworking folks at the various Asylum Offices. And yes, I know that the Asylum Division is…

As you may have heard, parts of the federal government are closed for business. After two years of Republican inaction on “the wall,” somehow President Trump has decided that now is the time to shut the government down in an effort to “permanently fix the problem on the Southern Border.” Let’s look at the effect of the shutdown on immigration generally, and on asylum more particularly. In immigration world, the biggest–and most ironic–effect of the shutdown has…

According to recent reports, the Trump Administration is considering charging $50.00 to apply for asylum in the United States. If the purpose of this fee is to dissuade people from seeking asylum, it is a stupid and cruel idea, which may violate our treaty obligations. If the purpose is to raise money to help cover the costs of the asylum process, it is merely a stupid idea. Here is what we know so far. The Trump Administration…

The indefatigable folks at TRAC Immigration have issued a new report about our nation’s Immigration Courts, and the news is not encouraging: Overall asylum denial rates are the highest we’ve seen in almost two decades. As always with asylum numbers, things are not quite so simple, so let’s take a look at what’s going on. Fiscal Year 2018 (which ended on September 30, 2018) was noteworthy for several reasons. First, the asylum denial rate reached 65%. This…

A recent article in the Washington Post discusses the case of Santos Chirino, a Honduran man who sought asylum in the United States after gang members threatened him for testifying against one of their own. Immigration Judge Thomas Snow found that Mr. Chirino did not qualify for asylum or other relief, and ordered him deported. Eight months after he returned home, Mr. Chirino was shot dead at a soccer match. Mr. Chirino’s is a sad and…