Background
An asylum-based immigration case is when an individual or family comes to the United States for protection from a fear of persecution or danger in their home country. It can be based on several factors, including race, religion, nationality, political opinion, membership in a social group, etc. While our office handles primarily employment and family-based immigration cases, we do occasionally take on asylum-based cases and value tremendously the impact it has on our clients.
VisaNation Case Strategy
Our clients came to us in 2013. The couple had escaped Trinidad due to targeted safety reasons and did not plan on returning home. Upon arrival in the U.S. in 1993, they found jobs and started a family. They had been living in the U.S. without any legal status for many years, as they were completely unaware of the processes set in place to obtain legal status. They were going about living their lives until they encountered an issue with work. It was news to our clients that they needed to have a work permit to continue working and maintain legal status in the U.S.
Based on the situation with our clients and their home country, we proceeded with an asylum case for our clients, as it was not possible for our clients to return home. They soon received their work permits and were able to legally work and provide for their family. Their asylum application took around seven years to be processed, and unfortunately, it was not approved. At this point in time, it is 2020 and one of their son had just turned 21 years old. As a U.S. citizen, he was able to sponsor his two parents. We started the green card application process for his parents.
Everything was filed accordingly, however, our clients received a notice that their application was administratively closed as USCIS did not have the jurisdiction to decide whether our clients were eligible for an adjustment of status. We responded to the notice with a motion to terminate the proceedings, as they had already received an approved I-130. It was important to note that with any pending asylum applications, the cases go directly to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), and not USCIS. USCIS has jurisdiction to adjudicate an application for adjustment of status only if the immigration judge does not have jurisdiction. We had to wait for an immigration judge to terminate the case in order to proceed with the family-based green card application through USCIS.
Verdict
Once that was finalized, our clients still received an RFE requesting proof of a withdrawal notice requesting a withdrawal of their asylum application. We submitted the RFE, and a couple of months later, both of our clients have their green cards. Our clients no longer have to live in fear of not being in legal status, and they are able to travel the world freely now with their children!
