asylum journey

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Seeking asylum: An immigrant's journey to America

June 8, 2018 / 12:06 AM EDT / CBS News

He's traveled thousands of miles from home, trekking through some of the world's roughest and most dangerous territory in search of a new life. But when Shahab Shahbazi finally crossed the U.S. border and asked for asylum, he discovered his journey was far from over.

We first met Shahab in the spring of 2017 as he, along with a small group of other migrants and the smugglers guiding them, hiked through the Darién Gap, an unforgiving swath of jungle straddling the border between Colombia and Panama.

Shahab said he had fled his homeland, Iran, after being beaten and jailed for converting from Islam to Christianity. After a stay in Venezuela, he was determined to reach the United States.

"I got to go. I need life. I need more life," he told CBS News' Adam Yamaguchi of his quest, which was chronicled last year in the CBSN Originals documentary  The Darién Gap: A Desperate Journey to America .

At that point he still had over 2,000 miles to go and seven more borders to cross. Many don't make it. But Shahab survived the grueling journey. When Yamaguchi caught up with him again two months later in Tijuana, Mexico, he said faith had gotten him through.

"God helped me. Jesus Christ helped me. It's very good. Thanks to God," he said.

As Shahab approached the U.S. border crossing and asked officers for entry into the country on humanitarian grounds, he joined a growing number of migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Unlike other immigrants who may want to move to the U.S. for jobs or personal reasons, those seeking asylum come here in fear for their lives.

America grants asylum protection to those who can prove that they fled their countries based on a credible fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

For Shahab, that was religious persecution as a Christian in Iran. For many others, including members of a group that made headlines this spring in a "caravan" heading for the border , the threat is rampant violence in Central American nations like El Salvador and Honduras.

"Seeking asylum is not a privilege, it's a right," said Luís Mancheno, an immigration lawyer with The Bronx Defenders in New York. "Every single human being in the world has that right. People think it's a gift. It's not. It's an obligation."

That obligation is laid out in federal law as well as United Nations agreements signed by the U.S. and more than 140 other nations on the treatment of refugees.

Mancheno has a personal connection to the asylum process. In 2009, he was attacked for being gay in his home country of Ecuador. He sought asylum in the U.S., and is now an American citizen.

Yamaguchi asked him about the process — and the perception that some people try to take advantage of it.

A.Y. : "When we were trudging through the jungle a number of people said the U.S. was the place to seek asylum because it was easier and you'd be entitled to more. If we make it too easy or too appealing, we're just gonna attract more and more people who may not necessarily need to be in the U.S." L.M. : "If I would make you speak to any of my clients who are seeking asylum here the last thing they would say that it's easy. It's a very long and complicated process." A.Y.: "So you wrote here recently in this essay, Don't come here if you have no place to go. Don't pick this country, it is not safe for you anymore. For somebody who came here and found refuge, to write this message ostensibly to other asylum seekers, is pretty powerful." L.M. : "It's me screaming for help, in desperation. I think that I'm also trying to inform the people, my fellow asylum seekers coming to the U.S., that it is not as easy, not as great as people paint."

Shahab spent six months in immigration detention after he asked for asylum. That's a routine procedure while the government investigates an asylum seeker's claims of fear of persecution.

The number of these "credible fear" screenings, as they're called, increased from about 5,000 a decade ago to over 95,000 in 2016, according to DHS.* The surge has led to overcrowding in detention facilities and a massive backlog in the system. The process can drag on for years, with a growing number of asylum seekers being released into the community while their cases are still pending.

By March of 2018, Shahab was living in San Diego and feeling deeply discouraged.

"Before, I'm thinking America is very, very perfect. But right now I'm looking — not perfect. I'm nervous because I don't know. I don't know nothing about my future," he said.

He is required to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials every two weeks. And for the time being, he does not have permission to work. Without any income or family, he gets by with help from fellow asylum seekers he met in detention and the occasional kindness of strangers. A friend of a friend lets him sleep on his couch.

"I feel very poor because I need job," he said. He thought he might get some help from the government, "but nothing, nothing."

Is he happy he came?

"Happy for what?" he sighs. "When I can say 'I'm happy'? [If] I have a job, I have future, I have something. Right now, I can't say. I can't say I'm happy or not. No, I'm not happy right now."

Luís Mancheno understands. "It's not easy to leave your home, to leave  your family, to leave your community, to leave your language," he said. Desperate migrants "have no real understanding of what our asylum laws are, but all they know is that if they don't come  to the U.S., their lives will end."

In detention, Shahab met Reza Kavali, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan who's fighting a deportation order from 2017. Reza is hoping to get the immigration court to recognize his recent marriage to an American woman named Christina and let him stay.

Like all those released from detention, he's required to wear ankle bracelets equipped with GPS trackers. The devices blare loud alerts if he forgets to change the batteries every eight hours, which Reza considers worse than being in jail because people "look at you [like] you are criminal." He tries to avoid leaving the apartment except to attend English classes nearby.

"I want to live this country so I have to speak English. Yeah. I have to learn it," he said. 

He and Shahab swap insights into the sometimes inscrutable asylum process. Asylum seekers are not legally entitled to an attorney, and lacking money or resources, a majority end up facing the immigration judge and government lawyer alone. Fewer than 4 percent of those without attorneys win their case, compared to a 70 percent success rate for those with a lawyer.

The burden is on asylum seekers to prove they'd face genuine peril if they were sent back.

"Harmed, killed, tortured — for example in Iran, if you're born Muslim and you convert to Christianity, the law says they're allowed to execute you. They're allowed to kill you. They're allowed put you in prison," said Reza's attorney, Natalie Ghayoumi.

Reza and Shahab's cases are just two among roughly 700,000 asylum claims that are currently in the backlog nationwide, and more people are arriving every day. Some are held up for weeks at the border ; immigration officials say facilities are stretched beyond capacity.

When the  migrant caravan arrived in April amid a swirl of media attention and political debate, several hundred people — including many children — took shelter in bare-bones conditions, sleeping on the floor and seeking guidance on their next steps. 

"The first thing that the person does, he says, 'I am here in the U.S., I am not in my country of origin, and I am afraid of going back to my home country because I'm being persecuted," Mancheno explained.

A few weeks ahead of his next court date, Shahab has managed to secure a lawyer free of charge and is feeling better about his prospects.

Over a dinner of take-out enchiladas, Yamaguchi raised a difficult question. "You were in jail for six months. You had security, you had food, you had medical care. American taxpayers, who work and pay taxes, that's our money paying for your services. So a lot of people say, 'Just go home. Why do I have to pay for you?'"

"Today you help me, tomorrow I help in another way," Shahab replied. "Another tomorrow, helping other ways, you know? So if you're feeling you're human, you have to help everybody."

"So you think you can help America?"

"Yeah. Of course. Why not?"

Yet when asked if he'd advise would-be migrants in Tijuana to follow in his footsteps and seek asylum in the U.S., he hesitates.

"I don't know. It's so hard. Not easy," he said. "But America has very good security for people. America is good."

* Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that there were over 95,000 credible fear screening referrals as of 2016, not 10,000.

How to help

Many groups in communities around the country offer humanitarian assistance, educational resources, and legal aid to asylum seekers. Here are a few:

• The Bronx Defenders , a public defense nonprofit in New York.
• The Casa Cornelia Law Center , a nonprofit public interest law firm in San Diego.
• Movimiento Juventud 2000 provides shelter, food and clothing to migrants in Tijuana.
• The U.N.'s  International Organization for Migration promotes international cooperation on migration issues and offers humanitarian assistance.

To see how Shahab's story began, watch the CBSN Originals documentary  The Darién Gap: A Desperate Journey to America  in the video player below:

• Immigration

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The Long Road to America – One Refugee’s Experience

Refugees lining up with their suitcases – all their worldly possessions – as they get ready to board a plane for their new homes in the U.S.

The journey to migrate to the United States can be a long hard road for most refugees and immigrants. Each year, close to 50,000 refugees and 500,000 immigrants come to the United States from around the world to start a new life. CDC’s Division of Global Migration Health (DGMH) makes it a top priority to ensure they are healthy upon arrival to the U.S. DGMH accomplishes this through domestic and overseas programs, and public health interventions such as vaccinations, mandatory health screenings and parasitic treatment programs. By focusing and improving the health of immigrants, U.S. bound refugees, and migrants, DGMH works to keep infectious diseases and other diseases of public health significance from coming into and spreading in the U.S.

DGMH’s Africa Regional Field Program in Kenya primarily works with refugees under consideration for resettlement in the United States. The program collaborates with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other partners to improve the health of refugees. The program also works extensively with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to oversee the medical screening of U.S.-bound refugees to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, and to ensure the number of panel physicians that can conduct health assessments of resettling refugees is sufficient.

Follow one refugee’s journey to the United States and learn how DGMH works to protect and improve the health of immigrants, U.S. bound refugees, and migrants through domestic and overseas programs.

How Amina’s Journey Began

It is a chilly morning in Nairobi, Kenya, but adults and children alike are bundled up and waiting patiently with their suitcases. They are shuffled through the line to weigh and tag their luggage – all their worldly possessions – as they anxiously await their chance to board a plane and begin a new life in the United States. These families are used to waiting; most fled their homes in the 1990s and have been waiting year after year for the opportunity to resettle and make a permanent home again.

Many refugees can never return to their homeland; they would face continued persecution if they did. Some are also living in perilous situations or have specific needs that cannot be addressed in the country where they have sought protection. In such situations, they are settled in a third country, but the odds of resettlement are long. Of the 10.5 million refugees around the world, less than 1 percent will be relocated.

Amina, one of several members of this 1 percent at the IOM transit center in Nairobi, was pregnant when she started her long, winding, and arduous journey in October 1991 with her husband and 3-year-old son, Mohamed. She came from a village 30 kilometers outside Mogadishu in Somalia. After making their way to Mogadishu, her family traveled by car for 2 days to Kismayo. It took them another 4 days to cover the distance from Kismayo to Liboi, a town on the Kenyan border, on a road that translates to the “Curse of the Parents.” This stretch of road proved to be a curse twice over, as Amina’s infant son died of measles before they reached the border and her husband, returning along this road to reunite his sick mother with the family, was gunned down by a militia group just months before Kenya opened her borders to Somali refugees. Amina’s daughter, Sundes – born a few months later in the Utanga refugee camp on the coast of Kenya – would never know her father.

Amina with her two children Mohamed and Sundes

© CDC-Kenya/Sara Test

Amina moved her children again to another coastal refugee camp, Swaleh Nguru, but in March 1997, the ongoing tension between Kenyan villagers and the Somali refugees escalated. One day, when Amina left her children at the madrassa (a religious school) to go to the market, the locals set fire to the camp. Young Sundes and her older brother smelled smoke and ran 4 kilometers until they found a woman who used to buy goods from their mother and took them in. They were reunited with Amina the same fateful day, but others were not so lucky, as several of their friends were killed in the fires.

Sundes shares her excitement about a new life in America

The United Nations closed Swaleh Nguru and sent Amina and her family to the Kakuma refugee camp in the north of Kenya. When I asked her daughter, Sundes, what it was like to grow up in Kakuma, she shrugged and said, “I can’t complain – it’s life.” She went on to say that it’s stifling hot most of the year and while the refugees are given basic food staples, her mother always worked to buy extra food for the family. Her brother dropped out of school when he reached grade 7 and worked as a tea seller, loader, and waiter so she could attend a private school and get a better education.

Today is the Day: The Journey to the U.S.

Their lives are about to change drastically as they start yet another long journey – this time aboard an airplane en route to Kansas City. Their aspirations are no different from the immigrants who have for centuries sought a better life in the United States. Sundes would like to go to college and, having volunteered with FilmAid International in Kakuma, continue working in film. Mohamed would like to complete high school and work to support his family, while his mother wishes to learn English. Ultimately, however, “living safely is enough for now. Living in Kakuma, you don’t sleep sound at night. Locals come in at night and sometimes rob and shoot refugees. You wonder if someone will die tonight or the next.”

While Sundes is sorry to leave her friends behind, she is buzzing with excitement. This World Refugee Day she will not be performing in any plays in the camp, as she has for the past few years. She will be stepping off a plane, arm-in-arm with her brother and mother, to set down roots in a place where they hope they can finally find peace.

It is important to DGMH that refugees such as Amina, Mohamed, and Sundes have access to medical care and preventive health services prior to arrival in the United States. This family will start their new lives in Kansas City healthy and, most importantly, happy.

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Asylum Journey Sheffield

Welcome to the Asylum Journey. This website has information about the services and resources for asylum seekers and refugees in Sheffield. Covering all stages of the asylum process and all kinds of statutory and informal support, the Asylum Journey will help you provide more informed and holistic advice. If you have any comments or feedback, or if you spot any gaps or errors, please contact [email protected].

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August 16, 2023

Faces of compassion: 6 humanitarians helping asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border

Providing shelter and legal assistance, they're responding to the needs of people who've been forced to flee their homes and arrive in search of safety.

Every day, people fleeing violence and persecution arrive at the United States southern border in search of safety. They are women, men, girls and boys, young and old, in families or on their own. They often need food, water, rest and medical attention. While the U.S. government is responsible for the asylum process, humanitarians step up to meet the most basic needs of these asylum seekers as well as migrants here.

After the asylum process begins, these humanitarians provide a temporary place to stay with food, clothing and medical care. They reunite families. They counsel survivors of trauma and torture. They help to navigate the asylum process. Working through communities, faith-based groups and nonprofit organizations, they lend their support to those who seek to rebuild their lives in safety.

This World Humanitarian Day, we applaud their remarkable efforts, sacrifices and work along the country’s southern border.

With 2022 resulting in a record 110 million people forced from their homes globally, humanitarians play an ever vital role – and it has never been more important to recognize and celebrate them. Here are some of their stories.

"They are humanitarians, lending their support to those who seek to rebuild their lives in safety."

Sister Maria Teresa de Llano and Sister Roseanna Mellert

Catholic Charities of Laredo - La Frontera

Laredo, Texas

Supporting asylum seekers and immigrants who “have been on a journey for miles and miles and days and days” is what gives Sister Maria Teresa de Llano hope and purpose.

“It’s what I live for,” she says.

Sister Roseanna Mellert agrees: “When you’re able to help someone suffering in mind and body, you help them.”

With other Ursuline Sisters, part of a religious order, Sister Maria Teresa and Sister Roseanna reside at a Catholic Charities welcome and respite center providing basic necessities to people after their journeys to safety. When someone arrives, their first priority is to “hydrate them, feed them, give them the clean clothes that they need to take a shower,” and provide anything else that their guests need to “at least feel human for a bit,” says Sister Maria Teresa.

To her, that’s the most important thing. It’s “being able to help other people who really need help. Not to rescue them, but to help them. To treat them with some dignity.”

Clint Carney

Survivors of Torture, International

San Diego, California

After a long career in public affairs, Clint Carney was looking to serve his community in a new way by advocating for those that need it the most.

“I wanted something meaningful to really help people,” he says.

Survivors of Torture International is a healing center that provides direct services to survivors of torture from more than 90 countries. The organization was exactly where he wanted to be. As the government affairs advisor, Clint interacts with government officials and staff to advocate on behalf of survivors of torture, including in policy and administrative areas.

Clint wants “people to know that if you’re working with a refugee or an asylum seeker, there’s a large possibility that you’re also working in helping a torture survivor in your community.”

Clint is certain he’s where he’s supposed to be. “These are the strongest people you will ever meet in your life, and they’re really inspiring us to provide the services for them.”

Paulina Reyes-Perariz

Immigrant Defenders Law Center

Growing up as an immigrant defined Paulina Reyez-Perariz’s desire to support and empower those in similar situations as her. “I came to the United States as a child with my family, and we were provided with resources by community-based organizations and immigrant rights advocates. I just want to do the same for my own community,” she says.

Through her work at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), Paulina is able to do just that. Along with the other members of the cross-border team, she provides information to asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border and represents them.

“The fact that we can help someone in their asylum case or help someone navigate the asylum system…and the legal system of the United States,” is what makes a difference in people’s lives and the work so rewarding, says Paulina.

Valeria Wheeler

Mission: Border Hope

Eagle Pass, Texas

Valeria Wheeler, and her team at Mission: Border Hope, are some of the first people to welcome asylum seekers and migrants after they arrive in the United States.

“We receive them. We give them a little orientation. We tell them where they are, what they need to do, how to contact their families,” she says.

In the midst of the challenging process asylum seekers and migrants face, Mission: Border Hope looks to assist with these smaller details to reduce their stress and fear. They provide internet and phone lines so that anybody can communicate with their families. They also have a logistics coordinator that arranges transportation and travel so people “can arrive safe and sound” to their next location.

To Valeria, it’s these moments that make her work so rewarding. “To listen to their stories, I think it’s a blessing…after everything they’ve been through, it feels incredible to know that they trust you.”

Jimmy Marcelin

Safe Harbors Network 

At any given time, Jimmy Marcelin assists asylum seekers and other vulnerable people in setting up appointments with lawyers, doctors and schools. He’s also finding people housing, driving them to the airport, and helping them buy groceries.

As the operations manager at Safe Harbors Network, underpinned by the United Methodist Church, this is Jimmy’s normal. It’s also what he hopes everyone would do.

“Could you imagine if all of us would open our door to welcome these folks…we would have a better world,” he says.

Safe Harbors opened its doors in 2014, and since then have helped over 30,000 refugees from 32 countries. They don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

On why he does it, Jimmy is sure: “This is what America is all about. This is what unites us.”

Originally reported by UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency

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How to seek asylum in the U.S.

To seek asylum, you must already be in the U.S. and believe you will be in danger of persecution if you return to your country. Learn how to seek asylum and sponsor someone else.

Learn if you are eligible and how to apply for asylum

To be eligible for asylum, you must be:

• Inside the United States
• Nationality
• Social group
• Political opinion

In most cases, a decision will be made on your asylum application within 180 days after you file. Learn more about the process of seeking asylum in the U.S. , including:

• Filing asylum application Form I-589 within 1 year of arriving in the U.S.
• Working in the U.S.
• Helping family members seek asylum
• Filing for permanent residence (Green Card)

How to sponsor an asylum seeker

If you came to the U.S. in the last 2 years as an asylee, you may be able to sponsor your spouse and qualifying children to join you.

Find out how to sponsor your family member for asylum. Learn:

• How to qualify as a sponsor
• Who is eligible to be sponsored to come to the U.S.
• How to download and fill out Form I-730 to request asylum for your family member

LAST UPDATED: December 12, 2023

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Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They will get you the answer or let you know where to find it.

An asylum seeker’s dangerous journey to safety

Imagine fleeing your home when it becomes no longer safe to live, traveling thousands of miles by motorcycle, boat, bus and on foot through several countries and a notoriously dangerous jungle, only to be told to turn around and go back.

People arriving at the U.S. border have the legal right to request asylum without being criminalized or turned away. Yet Title 42 had been used to justify over 2.5 million expulsions since March 2020 despite U.S. legal obligations under international and domestic law to provide all asylum-seekers with the right to seek safety. 

Many of these asylum seekers are making the dangerous trek from South America and Caribbean countries such as Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela.

Ivan is one of the millions of Venezuelans who have tried to resettle in the Americas.  Because of the challenges he and his family faced, Ivan and his younger brother made the difficult decision to embark on the journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Their hopes rested on seeking asylum in the United States and finding new opportunities for work.

The harrowing journey 

When Ivan and his brother embarked on their journey, they crossed easily through Colombia in two days by motorcycle, motorized canoes and a bus. But they found themselves in a much more dangerous situation when they crossed through the jungle at the Panama-Colombia border. 

The Panama jungle, known as the Darién Gap, is notorious for its dense, mountainous terrain, wildlife, and insects, as well as for the crimes committed against vulnerable people, including women and children. 

“[In the jungle] you must have physical strength and mental strength because if you don't have mental strength, you go back,” Ivan said.

“When you go into the jungle, you must watch your walk. Why? Because there are many ways to fall from twisting your ankle to breaking a foot and climbing a mountain. It is there, the person dies.” 

After their harrowing trek through the Panama jungle, Ivan and his brother made their way up to Mexico. However, on the day they entered Mexico, in October 2022, they found the U.S. and Mexican officials expelling Venezuelans arriving at the border. 

They attempted to press on in their journey to safety. But soon after, they found themselves in another life-threatening situation.

They came across cartels in one of the cities bordering North East Mexico and were forced to spend around $500 to continue on to the border. This encounter almost became Ivan’s breaking point to return to Venezuela.

But at the border, they found hope. Ivan and his brother were able to connect with a pastor who runs an IRC-supported shelter.  

“I trust God a lot, and I ask my God to give me peace and give me perseverance. The contact was through the pastor…we came by bus and got there. He was already waiting for us.” 

Ivan is deeply grateful that they have access to a shelter and food—basic necessities that are lacking for so many who are seeking asylum. They have also found temporary restaurant work through the shelter. 

“The most common needs are to have a place to sleep and rest. Because not everyone has the privilege of being in a shelter where they give him three meals… There are people outside who do not have a shelter, who don't have anything to eat, not even once a day. And it's cold right now.” 

While Ivan’s brother was able to make an appointment to seek asylum using a new U.S. government smartphone application, CBP One , Ivan has had difficulty securing an appointment slot—a problem shared by many asylum seekers at the border .  

Not only that, but President Biden proposed a new policy that would bar asylum-seekers who crossed through another country on their way to the southern border, unless they had previously applied for (and been denied) asylum in the country of transit. Asylum seekers whose applications were denied in the country of transit will be required to make an appointment at a port of entry through the CBP One app to be able to apply for protection in the U.S. 

This policy will make it all the more challenging for people like Ivan, especially with the added threats of violence, kidnapping, and extortion in Ciudad Juárez. 

Every day, Ivan wakes up and attempts to make an appointment—so far, with no success. During this time, Ivan has appreciated the counselling and psychosocial support he’s received from IRC staff. The activities at the shelter have provided a welcome distraction, helping him keep his mind off of the long waiting process.  

Notably, Ivan participated in the IRC's masculinity group sessions. Funded by the European Union (EU), these sessions provide a safe space for men to express their emotions without fear of being judged through dialogue circles and playful activities.

Participating in the group helped Ivan rest and sleep better at night and rest practicing relaxation techniques he learned during sessions. The groups also help men, who are rarely accustomed to seeking help for their mental health, to redefine what it means to be strong. 

As for Ivan, he likes learning about patience during the group sessions. “What we have to do there is build a tower with marshmallows. It teaches how to stop thinking so much about getting an appointment,” he said.

How the IRC and EU respond

As Mexico experiences an unprecedented displacement phenomenon, the IRC works with the EU to provide protection services in northern Mexico. The IRC provides critical support to asylum seekers like Ivan and his brother on both sides of the U.S. southern border and across the arc of migration. 

Beyond the masculinities groups sessions, the IRC’s response includes creating physical and emotional safe spaces for women, girls, children and members of the LGBTQ+ community.  Protection services are offered there and span from support for survivors of gender-based violence to awareness activities. The sessions allow for moments of reflection on different topics, including the identification of violence and the danger of misconceptions around romantic love.

The EU-funded project also promotes access to trustworthy and up-to-date information through the digital platform InfoDigna . The site connects migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as they pass through Mexico, with moderators that will follow up on their cases, and orient them to service providers according to their needs. 

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We believe every person seeking asylum should be supported to navigate the asylum system. Asylum Guides are trained volunteers who provide that support. 

What is the Asylum Guides programme?

Asylum Guides is a programme aimed at organisations working with people seeking asylum. Our toolkits and resources enable volunteer Guides to meet with and help clients to understand the asylum process.

Why was the Asylum Guides national programme set up?

The programme emerged from Refugee Action's access to justice work, rooted in the principles of Early Action. It supports people early in their asylum journey to address the causes of crisis or prevent barriers to justice. Since 2016, we've delivered programmes across the UK. Here's a case study of our work with Birmingham's Brushstrokes .

What does an Asylum Guide do?

Asylum Guides are trained volunteers, matched up with asylum seekers to provide legal information about the asylum process. Over the course of a few meetings, they explain the asylum system in a way that is accessible and easy to understand. Find out what it's like to be an Asylum Guide with Ericky and Estelle as they share their stories.

" Before I was matched with the Asylum Guide, I had no information about the asylum process in the UK. But now I am very confident and have got so much information… "

"I hope many people can get the same help in the future. Many people misunderstand the process, so it would be very good for them to have the same support. Thank you again."

A growing partnership

Asylum Guides is a collaborative programme. We partner with organisations across the UK and provide guidance, toolkits and knowledge sharing. Our partners deliver front-line support tailored to local needs. Please send us an email if you'd like to find out more.

Growth and Impact

Asylum Guide volunteers supported over 465 people over 898 meeting between June 2020 and June 2021.

Increased understanding via Asylum Guides

Over the last 12 months’, our data showed the following: When asked, 'how confident do you feel about your knowledge of the asylum process?', clients rated their confidence an average 2.8 out of 5 at their first Asylum Guide meeting. After 3 or more meetings, clients rated this an average of 4.2 out of 5.

When asked, 'how prepared do you feel for the next stage in the asylum process?', clients rated their preparedness an average 3 out of 5. After 3 or more meetings clients rated this 4.5 out of 5.

Asylum Guides is developed by Refugee Action. Any questions? Email us .

7 True Stories About the Journey to Seek Asylum in the U.S.

Reading Lists

These books show the hardships faced by the refugees we're now turning away.

On December 23rd 2016, Seidu Mohammed, a 24-year-old man traveled from Youngstown, Ohio to a bus station in Minneapolis. He was looking for a way out, a way forward. Seidu, who identified as bisexual, had left Ghana, where any form of homosexuality is punishable by at least three years in prison, and spent nearly a year traveling through South and Central America in order to apply for asylum in the U.S. After nine months in a detention facility, his plea was denied. He was released on bond while the government prepared to deport him. 

After the election of Donald Trump, Seidu received word of his imminent deportation and decided to flee to Canada, stopping in Minneapolis. By fate or circumstance, he met Razak Iyal, another asylum seeker from the same neighborhood in Ghana, who had ran afoul of a local politician, and who had also fled, fearing for his life. Together the two men decided to cross into Canada, having no idea about the harsh conditions and tragic consequences that lay ahead.

Seeking asylum in the United States often involves passing from one world of uncertainty into another. Seeking asylum in the United States often involves passing from one world of uncertainty into another, from facing the physical dangers of human smugglers, thieves, and treacherous jungle landscapes to enduring an interminable legal process and detention at for-profit facilities.

My book Between Everything and Nothing is a nonfiction account of Seidu and Razak’s experiences based on extensive in-person interviews with both men. It attempts to document some of the challenges and choices each man faced in leaving their homeland, traveling through South and Central America on foot and by bus, losing their asylum pleas, and deciding to cross into Canada only days after the election of Donald Trump. It is meant to serve as a testament to their determination, bravery, and commitment to political and social equality, often in the face of unendurable odds. 

Brother, I’m D ying by Edwidge Danticat

Separated from her parents as a child, Danticat was raised by her uncle Joseph Dantica and his wife in Haiti. In 2004, her 81-year-old uncle fled the armed conflict between U.S. peacekeepers and Haitian gangs, and landed in Miami, where he was immediately placed in manacles. Two days later he was dead. Danticat’s blistering autobiography and memoir of her uncle captures the emotional cost many families suffer at the hands of the U.S.’s stultifying immigration policies.

Asylum Denied by David Ngaruri Kenney and Philip G. Schra g

This extremely engaging first-person account depicts Ngaruri’s harrowing experience as a local tea farmer in Kenya who criticizes the government and soon finds himself tortured and his life in danger. But it is Ngaruri’s harrowing travails in the wasteland of the U.S. asylum system and how he faces the government’s efforts to return him to Kenya that sheds a powerful light on bureaucratic injustices. 

The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

The fate of 26 men who attempt to cross the Mexican border into the southern Arizona desert is described in blistering, poetic detail. Facing Mexican federales, the U.S. Border Patrol, armed vigilantes, and the inhospitable, physical landscape, the men confront dangers both physical and deeply political while Urrea details longstanding policy failures on both sides of the border that lead individuals to put their lives into peril in exchange for some sense of the future.

Heading South, Looking North by Ariel Dorfman

Dorfman’s extraordinary account of escaping Pinochet’s 1973 military coup in Chile is told in a formally inventive style, recalling the duality and division migrants often experience during the immigration and asylum process. Through eight sections of his life before 1973 and eight after, Dorfman explores how language informed his identity and his political self and perhaps even led to some degree of personal freedom.

Enrique’s Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario

Based on Nazario’s series of Pulitzer-Prize winning series of articles, this novelistic biography captures the broad, physical dangers many asylum seekers undertake not only to attain some degree of safety, but also to be reunited with their loved ones. After being separated from his mother for eleven years, Enrique, a sixteen-year-old boy from Honduras, decides to make the dangerous trip to the U.S to find her, hanging on to the sides and tops of freight trains, facing smugglers, gangs, and corrupt police.

Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftin

Iftin’s lively and poetic memoir follows his life as a young man in Mogadishu, Somalia, and the cultural and political differences between Somalia and the U.S. Finding his way into a video store, Iftin falls in love with American films and soon learns English, and later is known in his neighborhood as Abdi American. After al-Shabaab rises to power in 2006, Iftin flees to a Kenyan refugee camp and wins a lottery for a U.S. green card but must find a way to America, first living without papers in Nairobi with his brother and then with the help of several journalists. Optimistic and incandescent, Iftin’s story reshapes our expectations about how hope, even in the most difficult of circumstances, manages to survive.

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions by Valeria Luiselli

Concise, sharp, and overwhelmingly powerful, this essay follows the series of questions that Luiselli was forced to confront while working as a volunteer translator for unaccompanied minors in a federal immigration court in New York. Beginning with “why did you come to the United States?,” the often-illogical, imprecise, and downright xenophobic tendencies of the federal bureaucracies overseeing asylum and immigration are revealed alongside Luiselli’s own experience as a migrant navigating life in the United States only months before the 2016 election.

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Behind Asylum Seekers' Experiences At The U.S.-Mexico Border

The Biden administration has opened the border to some migrants at the Southern border. A report on the experiences of asylum seekers who have made it to America – and those who are left behind.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Now to the southern border, where the Biden administration is allowing some migrants in. Those are migrant children and unaccompanied minors and a small number of other asylum-seekers. But thousands of others are still being turned back to Mexico. Max Rivlin-Nadler of member station KPBS in San Diego reports from both sides of the border.

MAX RIVLIN-NADLER, BYLINE: For two years, Herson Eduardo Cano and his family have been waiting in Mexico for their chance to ask for asylum in U.S. immigration court. The engineer says he fled Honduras with his wife and their two young children in 2019 after a gang tried to extort him and threatened to kill him.

HERSON EDUARDO CANO: (Speaking Spanish).

RIVLIN-NADLER: I spoke by phone with Cano last month when the family was living in a shelter in Tijuana. It wasn't any safer in the border towns where they've been forced to wait under the Trump administration's remain in Mexico program. Wherever they went, they were robbed and assaulted. Local police harassed them and he says they couldn't find work.

CANO: (Speaking Spanish).

RIVLIN-NADLER: But then there was hope for Cano and his family. The Biden administration announced that it would soon start allowing some asylum-seekers enrolled in remain in Mexico to cross into the U.S. while keeping the border closed to almost everyone else because of the pandemic. A week later, the Cano family was in a hotel in San Diego.

CANO: (Through interpreter) Our children are very happy. They can feel our happiness too. And so we barely slept from the joy, the happiness. We still can't believe it.

RIVLIN-NADLER: Two days later, they were boarding a plane to Minnesota. Cano and his family are now with relatives in Minneapolis, where he's already found work as a painter. His kids are enrolled in school and got to play in the snow. He has advice for those left behind in Tijuana.

CANO: (Through interpreter) It saddens me. I understand the sacrifices that must be made, but I ask that they please do not attempt to cross the border, that they trust the policy of President Joe Biden.

(CROSSTALK)

RIVLIN-NADLER: But in Tijuana, there's a lot of confusion among migrants about what exactly Biden's policy means for them. When Margie Rosales (ph) heard some asylum-seekers were being admitted into the U.S., she packed up all of her possessions and her 2-year-old daughter and headed to the port of entry. She also fled violence in Honduras two years ago and has been waiting for months in Tijuana for a chance to claim asylum.

MARGIE ROSALES: (Speaking Spanish).

RIVLIN-NADLER: She hopes President Biden opens his heart and lets her and her daughter in. A month later, Rosales is still there. Now, a line of hundreds of asylum-seekers and tents has sprung up behind her. Rosales says it's been tough because of the rain. Her clothes are now wet. There's been freezing temperatures.

ROSALES: (Speaking Spanish).

RIVLIN-NADLER: But Rosales and many of the others waiting at the port do not qualify for entry, and the Biden administration hasn't said when they will. Some families are now so desperate they're making the heartbreaking decision to send their children across alone, contributing to the influx of unaccompanied children arriving at the southwest border. Margie Rosales says she can't bear to send her younger daughter by herself and she doesn't plan to sneak across.

ROSALES: (Through interpreter) That is why I'm here - to be legal - you understand? - to ask for help. My daughter and I are in danger in Honduras. I can't go there. I'm very afraid because of that.

RIVLIN-NADLER: Administration officials are asking Central Americans not to come to the border until they can improve the process, but thousands of migrants like Rosales are already here. For NPR News, I'm Max Rivlin-Nadler in Tijuana.

Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

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Journeys of hope: what will migration routes into Europe look like in 2021?

Thousands of people, many fleeing persecution and conflict, will risk everything this year, seeking a new life of freedom and opportunity

I n 2020, tens of thousands of migrants crossed desert and sea, climbed mountains and walked through forests to reach what has become an increasingly inhospitable Europe. Many of them died, overwhelmed by the waves, or tortured in the detention centres of Libya . More were displaced after the flames of Moria refugee camp in Greece burned everything they had.

As a new year begins, so do the journeys of tens of thousands more people seeking a new life overseas. The Guardian has spoken to experts, charity workers and NGOs about the challenges and risks they face on the main migration routes into Europe .

The Balkan route

Migrants walk in protest to the Serbian-Hungarian border near Kelebija, Serbia, in February 2020. They seek a passage to the EU. Photograph: Bernadett Szabo/Reuters

In July last year, seven north African men climbed into a shipping container in a railway yard in Serbia, hoping to emerge a few days later in Milan. Three months later, on 23 October, authorities in Paraguay found their badly decomposed bodies inside a shipment of fertiliser. Violence from security forces in the Balkan states has pushed people to take even greater risks to reach Europe.

After the Serbian border with EU countries became virtually impassable in 2018, refugees began trying to reach Croatia via Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) instead. The path usually begins in Turkey, from which migrants attempt to reach Bulgaria or Greece, then North Macedonia or Serbia, then Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia, from where they can finally reach Italy or Austria.

The final leg of the Balkan route, which crosses mountains and snow-covered forests and lacks facilities for migrants, is one of the most perilous and gruelling, made worse by the brutal pushbacks carried out by squadrons of Croatian police who patrol the EU’s longest external border. Between January and November 2020, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) recorded 15,672 pushbacks from Croatia to BiH. More than 60% of cases reportedly involved violence .

“The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has decreased migration flows along the western Balkan route,” says Nicola Bay, DRC country director for Bosnia. Last year, 15,053 people arrived in BiH, compared with 29,196 in 2019. “But in the absence of real solutions the humanitarian situation for those entering BiH remains unacceptable and undignified.”

In December, a fire destroyed a migrant camp in Bosnia, which had been built to contain the spread of Covid-19 among the migrant population. The same day the International Organization for Migration declared the effective closure of the facility. The destruction of the camp, which was strongly criticised by rights groups as inadequate due to its lack of basic resources, has left thousands of asylum seekers stranded in snow-covered forests and subzero temperatures.

When countries in the region begin to ease Covid-19 restrictions this year, Bay says it is highly likely there will be a surge of arrivals to BiH, which remains the main transit point for those wanting to reach Europe – a scenario for which the EU and the region remain unprepared.

Carrying children and their few possessions, migrants flee in Moria camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece. Photograph: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images

On the night of 8 September, the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, the biggest of its kind in Europe, burst into flames . The government announced a four-month state of emergency on the island, as thousands of vulnerable asylum seekers were displaced.

“This was one of the most terrible years for asylum seekers arriving in Greece,” says Stephan Oberreit, head of mission for Médecins Sans Frontières in Greece. “The combination of violence, Covid pandemic and the continued harmful policies of containment on the islands have led to several breaking points and eventually to the fires that have destroyed Moria.”

After the blaze, the EU said there would be no more Morias . But more than 15,000 men, women and children are still trapped in miserable conditions on the Greek islands and the policy of containment continues.

People using this route generally come by dinghy from the Turkish town of Ayvalik, aiming to reach Lesbos.

Oberreit says that while arrivals have decreased this year, reports of illegal pushbacks have increased “in a concerning way”. “But let’s be realistic, people will continue to try to cross and risk their lives in the absence of other safer and legal options.”

Oberreit says the pandemic “has been used by Greek authorities to accelerate their agenda to create closed centres on the Greek islands and to increase the border controls”.

It’s hard to predict what will happen this year, “but the signs we have today give us little hope that the situation for the people who manage to arrive on the Greek islands will improve. Or that the EU will abandon its approach based on deterrence and containment,” he says.

Central Mediterranean

Migrants are rescued by members of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms after leaving Libya on an overcrowded dinghy in November. Photograph: Sergi Camara/AP

In mid-November, four shipwrecks in the space of three days claimed the lives of more than 110 people in the Mediterranean, including at least 70 people whose bodies washed up on the beach of al-Khums, in western Libya . Taking advantage of good autumn weather, people smugglers sent hundreds of migrants to sea. Many of the journeys ended in tragedy.

Last year, at least 575 people died taking the central Mediterranean route. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the real number is considerably higher.

People using this route usually depart from Tripoli or Zuwara in Libya, or from Sfax in Tunisia, and make for the Sicilian island of Lampedusa or Malta in small boats.

At the start of the pandemic, Italy and Malta declared their ports closed. Rome established “quarantine boats” – ferries on which migrants are placed under quarantine for 14 days, which have been criticised by human rights groups .

“There is not the adequate medical care on the ferries that these people badly need and not even legal assistance,” says Oscar Camps, founder of Proactiva Open Arms. “In such a situation, human rights are practically revoked.”

Open Arms is now the only NGO rescue boat operating along the central Mediterranean route. Many other rescue boats are blocked in Italian ports because officials refuse to authorise their departure .

Camps says he would like to see a planned civil or military rescue operation along the route this year, similar to Operation Mare Nostrum , which Italy ran in 2013–2014. “It should be an operation aimed at dismantling Libyan armed groups, falsely called coastguards, financed by the EU, whose only mission is to intercept boats and bring them back to a country at war,” says Camps. “However, considering the way things are going, we would settle for them stopping the criminalisation of rescue operations carried out by humanitarian ships.”

The Channel

A migrant climbs into the back of a lorry bound for Britain at the entrance to the Channel tunnel in Calais, November 2020. Photograph: Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images

Several thousand people attempted to cross the Channel to reach Britain last year. London has repeatedly pressed Paris to do more to prevent people leaving France . In November, the home secretary, Priti Patel, and her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, said they wanted to make the route unviable and signed a new agreement aimed at curbing the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats. More than 8,000 people made the crossing in small boats last year, up from almost 1,900 in 2019.

“The difficulties faced by women, men and children will in many ways remain the same as before,” says Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty’s refugee and migrant rights programme director. “Clearly, there is no will among the two governments – particularly not the UK – to directly address the needs and circumstances of these people to ensure they have access to asylum.”

According to experts, the future of the Channel migration route is linked to the continuing pandemic lockdowns and whether the UK participates in EU migration policies, specifically the EU family reunification programme.

“Whether the UK will secure some agreement with the EU or with France in relation to this particular matter is uncertain,” says Valdez-Symonds. “All that can be said, as things stand, is that almost the sole formally sanctioned option for at least unaccompanied children with family in the UK to seek asylum here is about to close .”

Sign up for the Global Dispatch newsletter – a fortnightly roundup of our top stories, recommended reads, and thoughts from our team on key development and human rights issues:

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More on this story

Dozens of refugees believed dead after boat sinks in Greek waters

Migrant boat capsizes off Libya, killing 57, as regional toll for 2021 nears 1,000

One dead and dozens feared missing after boat sinks off Greek island

Libyan coastguard boat that shot Italian fisher was provided by Rome

Greece lets boat packed with Afghan refugees dock after four days at sea

‘It’s a day off’: wiretaps show Mediterranean migrants were left to die

Libya releases man described as one of world’s most wanted human traffickers

Scores dead as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia

‘Parents risk children’s lives – the alternative is worse’: on board a migrant rescue ship

Italian prosecutors secretly recorded human rights lawyers

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Asylum: Journey Into the Unknown

It is the job of a lawyer to learn about your situation and then advise you of your options. You want to know, “If I do X, what will happen?” In many areas of the law, attorneys can provide this type of advice. If you rob a bank and get caught, you will go to jail. If you sign a contract and then breach your agreement, you will be liable for damages. If you fail to pay taxes, you will face criminal and civil penalties.

But in immigration law–and particularly in asylum law–it is often impossible to provide precise advice. The unfortunate fact is that asylum seekers must live with significant uncertainty.

There are really two distinct problem areas: Asylum law and asylum procedure.

The bigger problems for most asylum seekers are procedural. People want to know how long their case will take, when will they receive (or renew) their Employment Authorization Document (EAD), what happens if they need to travel while the asylum case is pending, and if they receive asylum, how long do they have to wait to bring relatives to the U.S. or get a Green Card. From the perspective of a lawyer, these questions are difficult or impossible to answer because time frames are almost completely unpredictable.

Why is this so? The basic problem is mathematical–there are too many asylum applicants and not enough resources to properly deal with their cases. The U.S. government has used its limited resources to try to address the range of difficulties affecting asylum seekers, with varying degrees of success.

In terms of affirmative asylum cases, under the current system, which is called LIFO or last-in, first-out, the Asylum Office gives priority to new cases. Under LIFO, if you file a case today, you have priority over someone else who filed years ago and who still has not received an interview. However, because of other priorities (i.e., the border), very few new cases are being interviewed, and whether or not you get an interview is random. In other words, the Asylum Office does not care whether you have a lawyer or whether you have a strong case or are separated from family members. If they have an interview slot, they will randomly choose a “new” case to be interviewed. For this reason, when you file a case, you should be prepared for a “fast” interview (within a few months after filing), just in case you are one of the very few people who receive an interview in that time frame.

If you do not receive an interview in the first several months after filing, there is no way to predict when you might be interviewed. We do not know whether the Asylum Offices will interview backlogged cases from oldest to newest or from newest to oldest, or whether they will just randomly choose cases from the backlog (which currently stands at nearly 800,000 cases). You can try to expedite your case, but most such attempts are not successful, and while it helps to have a strong reason to expedite, whether a particular expedite request will succeed or not seems (to me at least) mostly dependent on luck.

If you have a case in Immigration Court, the timing is unpredictable in different ways, which seem to vary from court to court (there are currently more than 2 million cases pending in our nation’s Immigration Courts). In some locations (like where I live), many new Immigration Judges have been hired, and the courts have randomly advanced hundreds of cases, often without sufficient notice or regard for attorney availability. In other locations, there has not yet been an influx of new judges, and cases are moving slowly. And of course, there is the problem of cases being randomly canceled , sometimes at the last minute, which adds yet another layer of unpredictability to the whole process (though to be fair, this problem seems less prevalent than it used to be).

Aside from the courts and the Asylum Offices, wait times for many other associated applications–including Advance Parole to travel, EADs, Green Cards, Refugee Travel Documents, and follow-to-join petitions for asylee relatives–are also highly unpredictable, and usually quite long–you can check estimated processing times for some of these applications at the USCIS website , but be aware that these “estimates” are often not very accurate. It may be possible to expedite some such cases, but again, results are inconsistent and unpredictable.

One area where we have seen improvement is the initial EAD, where wait times have been reduced to (usually) one or two months. Of course, that did not happen voluntarily–it required a lawsuit against USCIS to force the agency to abide by existing regulations. We have also had an improvement of sorts for EAD renewals. Now, as long as you file to renew before your existing EAD card expires, you receive an automatic 540-day extension of the old card, which is usually enough time to get a new card without any gaps in employment eligibility.

Besides procedural unpredictability, the substantive law of asylum can also be unpredictable. The law changes when one Administration tightens or relaxes the rules, or when various federal courts issue decisions. These changes are fairly frequent and often have a substantive effect on asylum eligibility. Because we cannot know in advance what changes will occur, it is sometimes difficult to evaluate an individual applicant’s likelihood of success. Also, sometimes the law changes while a case is pending, and so a strong case becomes weaker or vice versa.

Aside from changes to the law, the Immigration Judge or Asylum Officer who decides your case makes a difference in how the law is interpreted, which can have a big effect on whether a case is approved or denied. While most decision-makers are reasonable, middle-of-the-road types, some are “easy” and others are quite “hard.” If you happen to land on the wrong adjudicator, even a strong case can get denied. If you have an Immigration Court case, you can learn about your judge’s grant rate here (newer judges are not listed). For Asylum Office cases, you will not know who will decide your case until you arrive at the interview. Again, all this makes predicting outcomes very difficult.

The unpredictable nature of asylum, the many unknowns, and the long delays all add up to create an extremely stressful process for most people (I have written a bit about ways to cope here ). We can hope that the U.S. will one day be able to get a handle on asylum cases and start to improve the system. Until then, perhaps knowing about these problems as you move through the process will make the experience more bearable.

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Hello Jason,

Thanks a lot for your crucial contribution to the immigrant community! I have been on a pending affirmative asylum status in U.S for over 6.5 years since 2016. I filed my asylum case 2 weeks after my I -94 admitted status date expired. I have been working as a health care professional in U.S for over 5 years. Waiting in limbo for a long time in a very complicated and backlogged U.S asylum system was unbearable! Recently, I applied for and got Australian Permanent Skilled Visa. I am planning to move to Australia as a skilled permanent resident and withdraw my asylum case in U.S once I arrived there. Will this affect my future probability of getting a U.S visa for work purpose or visiting my relatives? Would you please explain in detail the likely outcomes if I apply for any kind of U.S visa in the future? Keep up the good work! Thanks!

First, I wrote about withdrawing the case on December 7, 2022. It is important to properly withdraw the case, or it could have negative immigration consequences. Assuming you properly withdraw and have no other issues, there should not be any problem to get a work visa in the US. Most such visas are “dual intent”, meaning that they do not care whether you have an intent to remain permanently, and so they should not care that you filed for asylum in the past (and attempted to remain here permanently). Some other visas may be affected, for example, an F-1 visa, but given your future status in Australia, I imagine you would have a good chance to get such a visa and return here. Of course, you can talk to a lawyer about the specifics of your case to know for sure. Take care, Jason

I filed for my father. My father’s case is Documentarily Qualified on November 2022 by the NVC, so we requested our lawyer to file an expedite request for my father who is sick.

My attorney says an expedited interview request is only available once an interview is available to be scheduled. we are still waiting for your father’s interview to be available for scheduling, at which point we will be able to request an expedited review.

My attorney’s message confused me. Does my attorney mean he will request an expedite request once US Consulate scheduled the interview for him?. Please elaborate to me what exactly he means. i am very confused.

I did not petition for my siblings for an interview to be available. I look forward to your quick reply.

Many Thanks

I do not know about this and I think you need to ask the lawyer what he means. I do not do much consular work, but I think you can try to expedite such cases. I just think such requests often do not work, and they will not expedite. Take care, Jason

I submitted i-765 c(8) application to uscis (Texas Service center) to this address USCIS Attn: I-765 C08 P.O. Box 650888 Dallas, TX 75265-0888 . Its been 2 months no receipt has come. And i also dont have the tracking details. I didnt use tracking service. I sent it by normal mail. What should i do . Should i call uscis . Can they help me. If i call uscis contact center, can they look up my application with my A-number

That looks like the right address. It is better to send these by certified mail or file online. You can try calling (800-375-5283), but it is very difficult to reach a person. The receipt is late, but not super late. Maybe wait a few more weeks (if your current EAD is still valid – you have to file before it expires) and if there is no news, file a new I-765, preferably online, and try to include an explanation about what happened – that you filed previously, but you do not know whether it was received. Take care, Jason

When i filed work permit after waiting 180 days. I got copies of my asylum receipt and i applied work permit. But the copied look different that original document. The font of printer/scanner was different and copies came little different in font and look little different but all the receipt number and other stuff on receipt look same. Can this be a issue while adjudicating i-765 or result in denial. Just by looking at it uscis could think its a fake receipt but its real only thing is bcuz of font it looks different.

I am not sure what you mean by “different,” but if it is a legitimate copy and contains your receipt numbers, you should be fine. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason, Thank you for the article. I had an interview recently. And since I’m also a TPS holder, the officer told me that there would be 2 options after the interview: approval or denial. He said that I could also reply (appeal?) to denial letter within 10 days. I’m not sure what did he mean by that and I can’t find any relevant information. Could you explain that “reply/appeal” option please. Thanks P.s.: also he was rushing through the interview, because he was trying to finish it before 3 pm, so it took under 2,5 h. I don’t think he was even listening to me or the interpreter, didn’t want to hear any details (just replying “I already forgot what you said (30 seconds ago), “I read what you wrote”, “I know, don’t tell me about it” so it made me feel really uncomfortable. Do you think in case of denial I could ask for another interview with a different officer?

I would make a note of the things the officer said, as they do seem problematic. If the case is denied, you can file a motion/request to reconsider, and maybe that is what he was referring to. They rarely work, but you basically argue that the officer made a mistake and explain why, On occasion, they do work, but it depends on the case and if you want to try that, maybe talk to a lawyer for help, as they often hinge on legal issues. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason thank you for your help I have a question I submitted my I-730 for my family and I checked my case status and I notice was sent to me asking for initial evidence , my question is what can be the initial evidence they are asking for.

You will have to wait and see, but one common piece of evidence they ask for is a birth certificate that was created at the time a child was born. These often do not exist, and so it is annoying. In any event, if you do not have that and cannot get it, they will list some alternatives. Anyway, once you get the letter, you will see exactly what is needed. Take care, Jason

Hi Great, I’m in the same situation since May 2023. The fact is that I never received any RFE notice by mail from USCIS (even though a message in my online account is clear that RFE was sent to me). I had to submit and e-request and I never got the reply they promised by 7/5. I sent them a mail to request a copy, no update until now. I have been asking what initial evidence USCIS needed, but no answer since then. Seems really confusing and I’m curious what is behind that.

I think they are just a mess and you may need to make another e-request. Also, make sure that they have your most recent address if you moved since the time you filed the case. Take care, Jason

Is it mandatory to write A/number and name om back of photos for i-765. I submitted my application but i didnt write A-number and name in the back. Im worried my EAD will be denied. A immigration consultant told me dont write name in back. Will this result in denial

I do not know. Hopefully, it will have no effect, as it seems completely unnecessary. I think you will have to wait to see how they respond. I guess you could try sending new photos, but I do not know that it is worth the trouble or that they will be able to match the photos with your pending application. Take care, Jason

filed i-765 c(8) online . When i check my account on my uscis account .in i-765 online there is an option for unsolicited evidence. I forgot some stuff to include in i-765 application. Now can i add that evidence by unsolicited evidence or no.

You can submit it through the online account, yes. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason, thanks for the help you render us. I have a friend who is in a dilemma. She applied for asylum in 2017 and is waiting for an interview. She wants to travel to a third country to visit her ailing mom. She is planning on applying for an AP. before she filed for asylum, she had worked without authorization and had lied on her I9 that she was a citizen. Her worry is that they will deny her AP based on that or not let her back in on her way back(if they approve the AP) Should she go ahead and apply or give up? Thanks

Your friend is in much bigger trouble I am afraid…

I think she would likely be able to get AP (assuming she can show a “humanitarian” reason for the travel) and if she gets it, she should be able to re-enter the US. That said, the false claim of US citizenship is a serious problem for purposes of immigration, and if USCIS figures out that she made this claim, it could affect her eligibility for AP. I do think it is unlikely that they will know about this claim, as it is not a question on the I-131 (the AP form) and I do not think they will check the I-9 records. Of course, I am not sure, and she may want to hire a lawyer to look into this before she files, but given that USCIS has not yet concluded that she made a false claim to citizenship, I expect she will probably get AP. The false claim could also affect eligibility for asylum, and so she may want to talk to a lawyer about that as well. Take care, Jason

AP is not easy to get a now a days I applied back in June 2021 and still waiting for the response, even put the inquiry why it’s taking time, got a automated response that you’re next in line for processing and but nothing changed, USCIC is too fast in one thing which is deducting the fees which is over $600 for AP and they deduct right after they receive your application which really doesn’t make any sense, but no one can ask them.

Now a days from asylum interviews to travel documents all are very delayed. Btw filed asylum back in 2016 and still waiting for interview

It is very delayed and also, it is not easy to get AP since you need a “humanitarian” reason for the travel. Take care, Jason

That’s even doesn’t work, applied in June 2021 and then in January 2022 my biological sister died due to heart attack and sent expedite request with the death certificate to attend the funeral but nothing happens and instead received below response.

Quote We do not believe, based on a review of your request, that your case meets one or more of the expedite criteria and otherwise merits expedited processing. We review all expedite requests on a case-by-case basis, and we grant them at the discretion of the director. Information regarding the USCIS expedite policy, including the expedite criteria Un quote

What other reason they required it’s so frustrating

It is a disgrace, but it is also common. USCIS has a long way to go before it is operating properly, and I doubt we will see significant improvement any time soon. Take care, Jason

So let me see if I’m understanding this correctly- you can pay $600+ for an AP document, and because it’s rarely granted, all your money would be flushed down the drain? If so, why ask someone to pay over $600, which is ridiculous by itself, for a document that they have a very low chance of getting? Isn’t that what a morally bankrupt institution or person would do?

AP is not always denied, but sometimes it is. I agree that you should be able to get AP as a matter of course, but you have to show a “humanitarian” reason for AP in order to get it. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason, during naturization does the officer go through your asylum applucation papeework or they just review your n400 form only? Thank you for all you do

They could review your asylum case, and so it is important that the information on your N-400 is consistent with your asylum form (I-589) and your I-485. They normally would not re-litigate the asylum case, though, and it is very rare that they would ask detailed questions about the asylum case. Take care, Jason

Jason, thank you for your response to Happy’s question. I have worked with a non-profit in NYC for several years. This organization helps asylum applicants, asylum seekers, and asylees mostly. I have seen-or heard of- where the officer has relitigated the asylum cases of 4 people at the N-400 interview. The cases were relitigated because of inconsistencies between and among applications (including visa applications), changed personal conditions from when asylum was granted (like an LGBT person having a child with the opposite sex after claiming asylum as a gay man), etc. If you lied on any application for any US immigration benefit, including visa applications, and if there are any inconsistencies/anything to cast doubt on your asylum claim (including how you live your life since you were granted asylum up until your citizenship interview), you must consult an experienced immigration lawyer as your N-4000 application can held up or denied. However, if you don’t have any criminal issues, no travel issues, and nothing I aforementioned applies to you, your N-400 should be approved.

Thank you – I have seen cases where the N-400 was significantly inconsistent with prior applications and it certainly can lead to the USCIS officer questioning your case, which can in turn lead to worse problems (potential loss of status and removal). Hopefully, I did not give the impression that this was not a risk – if an N-400 case is not consistent with prior applications, you have to be very careful, as it could cause problems. Take care, Jason

Jason, my response was to say that it does happen more frequently that we think. Some officers do review your entire immigration history, including your asylum application/notes (some officers are tougher than some). Like you said, they look for consistency. And applicants should carefully review EVERY single applications that they send to the US government. In fact, if they are not sure/can’t remember certain things, they should do an FOIA request.

I agree – think filing the FOIA is a good idea if you do not have copies of the old documents and are not sure what you said in the old forms. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason, Hope you’re doing great. I have applied for Refugee travel document 5 months ago. I see on the USCIS website that it says it takes 17 months to process. I have urgent need to travel to 3rd country ( not COP) to visit my family member where they’re going for treatment. How can i submit my request to expedite? Do i need to attach these medical documents beforehand or should i call USCIS first and raise a request to expedite? How likely they would accept my request or should I check with congressman office if they can help me? Please guide me I really need to travel. Thanks

You can attach the evidence when you file the case initially. If you have already filed, you can try to submit it online if you have a USCIS account. You can also call USCIS at 800-375-5283. If you can reach someone, you can explain the situation and ask about submitting evidence. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to get their attention, but if you can, maybe it is possible to expedite sometimes. Good luck, Jason

I applied i-765 with expired and water damaged passport with visa copy of b2 visa. I dont have other id. Can i still get i-765 work permit asylum pending based

You should be able to. If USCIS does not like the evidence you presented, they will ask for more – you will have to wait and see. Take care, Jason

Hi, I am a US citizen. I want to sponsor my mother for tourist visa. My last name and hers don’t match. I don’t have any document like birth certificate to show the relationship. Is it a problem to have different last names? How to resolve it? Thanks

You will need some evidence about the relationship – the birth certificate is the best evidence. You could also do a DNA test – you would have to Google around to find a reputable company to do the test; I do not know if there is info about this on the USCIS website, but you could look there as well. Take care, Jason

Hello Sir i hope you are doing well. When i applied work permit after waiting 150 after uscis issued receipt. In application documents i sent biometrics notice but it was black and white bcuz it was photo copy. But as you know the stamp they put on biometrics notice is red in color jut since its a photocopy its black and white will this cause any issues when adjudicating i-765. Thanks

It all sounds normal to me, so I think you are fine. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason, My wife and 2yr old kid got Canadian visa. I am thinking that once she reaches Canada, she will cross the border to join me in USA. They are dependents in my case. 1- If she crosses the border and does not submit herself to USA Border Patrol and reaches to the city I live in. a) Does she have to have her own case or she can be still be counted as my dependent? b) If she is counted as my dependent, can she get EAD and most importantly, will they have a path to G.C and citizenship if asylum is granted to me? Keeping in mind that they entered illegally? 2- If she crosses the border and submits to border agents: a) Can she state my case as foundation for the credible fear interview? Or she should have her own case? 3- Can a person entering illegally to USA, get G.C and citizenship? Thanks

1a – A person who enters illegally could join an existing case as a dependent. 1b – A person who enters illegally would be eligible for an EAD at the same time as the principal, and so if the principal has an EAD already, the dependent could apply immediately. 2a – A person who enters from Canada is probably not eligible to seek asylum in the US due to the Safe Third Country Agreement between the US and Canada. She would normally be required to seek asylum in Canada and would likely be returned to Canada. There may be exceptions to this rule, but I am not sure and she should talk to a lawyer about that. 3 – Yes, if they get asylum. Take care, Jason

hello Jason. i asked you few days ago about what are my options as i been waiting on decision for my i-485 as it’s been 54 days now after USCIS received my RFE (MEDICALS) and still no decision yet so i wanted to expedite by calling them, but info pass doesn’t work anymore so do you know how can i reach to live agent on phone? Thanks,

I wrote about expediting in general on January 29, 2020, but one way is to call them at 800-375-5283. It is very difficult to reach someone, and unless you have a reason to expedite, they will not do it (and even if you do have a reason, they are unlikely to do it). Anyway, you can try. You can also try through your Congress person. You can find your Congress person if you follow the link under Resources called House of Representatives or Senate. Take care, Jason

To request an expedited interview (affirmative asylum pending interview case). a) what does “communication from relatives” mean? do they have to write about dangers/risk my family is facing? can they write about the mental heath issues my family is facing? should this communication be addressed to USCIS or is it an informal communication they have had with me to let me know what is happening back home. b) Can it be any mode of communication like, through social media channels (Whatsapp or other text or voice messages) or email? c) In one of your articles you have mentioned “If you have a U.S. citizen friend (or church group or other group) who can make this request (expedite) for you, it may be more effective”. In the expedite form (Arlington office), the options for “requested by” are applicant or Attorney. My question is how can a US citizen submit the request on my behalf, if their is no option for a US citizen (other than applicant/attorney)?.

a – I am not sure what you mean. If your family member has a physical or mental health problem, that could sometimes be used to help expedite a case. I wrote about that on March 23, 2022. b – We normally get a letter signed by the relative with a photo ID and proof of the medical or other issue. c – I think that refers to contacting your representative in Congress. You can find your Congress person if you follow the link under Resources called House of Representatives or Senate. Take care, Jason

I have a question regarding social security card. I already received work permit issued by uscis. I guess now the clock thing is not applicable anymore or is it ?applied after 150 days received my work permit on 182 nd day. But my landlord kicked me out . I am now getting my social security card mailed at new address. Will this asylum clock has any effect on ssn production or can i get it mailed at any address. Or will they refuse my ssn or does ead clock even exist anymore after 180 days

Once the clock reaches 180 days, you no longer have to worry about it, as it has no effect. You can continue to renew your work permit when you need to, and you should get the SSN normally, assuming they have your new address. Do not forget to update your address – if your case is at the Asylum Office, use form AR-11, available at http://www.uscis.gov . Take care, Jason

Thanks Jason for the good work by having this forum where we can have our questions and queries answered and keep up the Good work 👍👍. Just a quick question. I applied i765 asylum pending based c(8) inital Monday that was 17th July. How long do i wait for receipt of work permit application. Is there delay of receipts for work permits like when i applied asylum in dec 2022 my receipt from uscis came after 2 months. Right now are i-765 work permit initial asylum pending receipts getting delayed ? Or when can i expect to get my receipt thanks

The majority of initial c-8 work permits are arriving within a month or two, but not always. Receipts take a couple weeks, so you should get that soon, and then hopefully, the work permit will arrive soon after that. Take care, Jason

Hello Jason I live in Salt Lake City and i applied asylum and was refused by asylum office uscis . I used to live in san francisco then moved my case to Salt Lake city and my case moved to Texas Asylum office from San Francisco asylum office. Now after denial referral to court i have my master hearing in 2 months. But i moved to New york now. Can i get immigration judge to move my case my motion to change venue to new york . And will immigration judge allow it

That should be no problem – you have to file a change of address (form EOIR-33) and you (or–hopefully–your lawyer) can file a motion to change venue. If the motion is not granted, you must appear at the Master Hearing (sometimes you can appear by Webex), but normally, judges grant motions to change venue. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason. Thank you for all the efforts towards asylum seekers. This article is an overview of asylum seekers anxious and never ending hardship. A very long and unpredictable process in terms of time and outcomes, which extends beyond decade and put a significant strain on asylum seekers mental health and overall well being. Applicants who are not lucky enough to be interviewed early may wait nearly a decade to be granted or denied. Many forcibly abandoned kids, wives and family behind. Even though granted, they wait a year to apply for a green card which take another 03 years to be provided. If they submit family reunification petition, it looks like another asylum application, that will take an uncertain number of years to be adjudicated. Almost all may not be able to meet their love one even in third party country because Travel Document will take more than a year to be provided, and will only be valid for 12 months, and not all countries accept Refugee Travel Document. During this absurd process which last about 12 -15 years for many, life is in limbo, family members pass away, some applicants too, some fall sick, even life energy has been consumed by anxiety , court hearings, life struggles, low wage work, fees, bills and most importantly aging. By this time, some start questioning and may be understanding the system, asking without answers if they made the right choice by escaping COP and searching survival just to stay alive to wait and wait without living.

Very well put @REFLEXION

It’s true , the sufferings are real and they happen.

People die , loved ones die But I do believe it’s not all because of Asylum .

This is life and life happens , things happens in life and what ever is happening was meant to happen with or without asylum.

We do get sick but not necessarily because of Asylum , it’s nature everything happens.

Yes the pain inflicted by these delays and uncertainty are no doubt damaging but other then that all of the things happen naturally in life you can’t control that.

Unfortunately, I think you are completely right, and I have seen many of my clients and other asylum seekers suffering in this way. The article I reference at the end (from January 9, 2018) provides some thoughts about dealing with the long delay. My clients who seem to do the best are those who can take classes, work or somehow move forward with their lives, to the extent that is possible (and it is certainly easier for those not separated from family). At least they feel that they have some control over what is happening, even though they are stuck waiting and waiting. Take care, Jason

Hi Jason, I have a quick question regarding legal immigration status! is granted immigration status considered as legal immigration status? Would be possible to apply for adjustment of status like DV lottery if you’re granted asylum status?

What do you mean by “granted immigration status”? Asylum status is considered lawful status. Pending asylum application, however, just merely means that you are allowed to stay while your application for asylum is being reviewed. Theoretically speaking, I’d imagine that you can apply to adjust your status as an asylee- someone who has been granted asylum- under the DV lottery. However, realistically, the chance of you getting selected would be extremely low since you’re already in the US with a lawful status- and you already have a path to lawful permanent resident.

Why would you apply for DV lottery GC if you already have asylum status? You should bear in mind that immigration laws make provisions for asylees to be exempted from certain immigration violations that are not otherwise available to other I-485 categories (overstaying your visa, for example). In addition, the one-year physical presence would no longer apply to you; hence, you would have to wait the full five years- or 4 years and 9 months- before you are eligible to apply for citizenship.

By the way, I am not Jason. He should respond soon.

If you have asylum status (meaning asylum was granted), you are in a lawful status and are eligible to get a GC, normally, just by filing based on asylum, but I guess you could also get it through the DV lottery or any other way. Take care, Jason

Hello Jason, I have pending asylum case with asylum office. My husband sponsored me for green card and I got my conditional GC( two years green card). Should I withdraw my asylum case or wait after got my ten years green card? I think because i have conditional green card I am not eligible for asylum anymore even though i have strong asylum case is not it? Thanks

You are still eligible (some people with a GC need asylum to bring family members or get a travel document), but at this stage, unless you want asylum for one of those reasons, or if you expect that your marriage won’t work and you will not be able to get the 10 year GC, you might as well withdraw the asylum case. I wrote about withdrawing on December 7, 2022, and that will tell you how to do it if you need an idea. Take care, Jason

I filed AOS on January 2023 and all were received within same month with i-693, i-131 and i-765 together based on granted asylum. Yesterday, on July 19th, i got an update for approval and “card was being produced” notice for i-765, 6 months later than filling date. The rest cases are still same “finger print was taken” no update yet. Can we get this sign like NBC(processing center) is getting accelerated? Do you think, at least getting take an action on my case whether it is only for i-765 may spark off and make it speed up my whole AOS application ? 😀

Hi LEVY, Congratulations . You are among the luckiest ones to get your cases timely adjudicated. Seems like your asylum based AOS took only 7 months QUESTIONS: Please Can you share when you were granted asylum? Has it been 1 year since you were granted asylum to be eligible to AOS ? Seems like rules changed.

Thank you for your kind wishes, i wish same happens to you. One more update i got today (1 day later) travel document approval as well. I m not sure GC will follow it or not we will see. My time line is like that ; we got (family with 3 kids 2 parents) granted (since 2017 August was pending) on november 14th 2021. AOS submitted with medical including by January 21 2023 ( there was 1 year wait time rule at that time but i think this rule not valid anymore). I hope all the best for you. Do not give up hoping like your tag name🥰

I do not know – sometimes, I-485 cases go quickly (by USCIS standards), but most asylee I-485 cases take over 2 years. Whether the progress so far is a positive sign for the I-485, I really do not know. Hopefully. Take care, Jason

Very thoughtful words of yours as you always try to highlight the pain and sufferings of people who are here just to for the relief and help.

My few thoughts on asylum seeker:

There are double persecutions and harm asylum seeker face.

1. The first one is their home country where they face torture , harm , persecution.

2. The second one is when they apply for asylum the same people face a long journey of torture , sickness, troubles , delays, rejections , uncertainty.

Turns out the second type of harm causes much more damage and misery than the first one.

I have observed this as well, and I think in some (or many) cases, the harm caused by the asylum process is more damaging than the harm caused in the home country. Take care, Jason

Jason, I think the reason it appears more damaging is because its compounding the trauma.

I normally don’t comment. However, while I agree with @Jason about the damage our asylum system produced. I am not sure if it’s really more than the original harm that drives asylum seekers to flee their homes.

Because of the heavy criticism levied against our asylum system, people like @DANZ could think that the harm done by the asylum system is more than the harm done by the persecutors…well….to people like this, I would like to ask: if asylum system did so much more harm then why don’t you just go back ? I am sure travel document and flight ticket is not that hard to obtain ?

I feel like we really need to change the narrative when we talk about asylum system…they are doing the right, but incompetent, imperfect thing, yet I feel the media and other advocacy organizations place almost 95% of the criticism on them. But the persecutors, who are doing the wrong thing, receive little to no criticism…This I feel is… a little …. unfair ? if that makes sense ? Why the real evil is not criticized but the incompetent savior is receiving all the criticism…

Am I right in having this opinion about media narrative about asylum system ?

My friend @comment,

You are missing the whole point & context here about the sufferings after the asylum case is submitted and the whole purpose of Asylum.

It’s not that simple to get the ticket and go back, It’s just like saying go back to your mothers tummy from where you got birth lolzzz.

You are not in the shoes of people who are waiting for their cases to be decided and what they are going through after going through enough in their home country.

Why don’t you go to the country of their persecution , get persecuted then come back and apply for fresh asylum? Unless you don’t go through and feel each step of process you cannot really just give one high level state like

“Oh go take tickets and documents and go back …”

I mean you said the damage by asylum system is more than the persecutor…so…assuming u r a rational human being…u would take the less damage ? Which is to go back ?

This is obviously a valid point. However, many asylum seekers have not been harmed at home; they just fear future harm. Also, the harm caused by the delay and uncertainty is on top of the harm they already suffered, including being forced to leave their home. Finally, we have made a commitment to asylum seekers. We did not have to do that, and we could change the commitment, but since we have made the commitment, we have a responsibility to fulfill our duty. That said, the persecutors are the first cause of this harm, and our inept system does not absolve them in any way. Take care, Jason

You are spot on Jason , this is exactly the point when we make a commitment then why not to fulfill that commitment with responsibility instead of exerting further hassles and problems to the people who are already broken from so many avenues… with scars and pain

Thank you for the article, reading your blogs and other people’s comments here helps my anxiety.

Last year a lot of us went through hell trying to renew our EADs, then automatic 540-day extension rule was implemented, but I recently read that it will be in effect until October 2023. All EAD renewals filed after October 2023 will have 180 days extension again, but renewal times on uscis website are awful, some of the offices are still processing ead renewals for 14 months. Is there a chance that 540 days rule will be extended maybe till 2024/2025?

I have not heard that, and I hope it is not correct. I did hear a rumor from a higher-up at USCIS that the EAD will be pegged to the asylum case itself, and so renewals will no longer be needed. I heard this a few months ago, but so far, nothing has happened, but I keep hoping for that. Take care, Jason

That wouldn’t have been such a relief for all pending asylum cases, but I doubt at this point USCIS will implement anything to help us, they could at least extend EAD’s expiration date to 3-4 years or allow people to apply 12 months before expiration.

Unfortunately, 540 days extension is until October 2023 – ‘If you file your Form I-765 renewal application after Oct. 26, 2023, the normal 180-day automatic extension period will apply’, link: https://www.uscis.gov/eadautoextend .

Thanks – I had not seen that (or maybe I willfully ignored it). Given the slow processing times, I am guessing that they will extend the 540-day policy, but USCIS is not very reliable, and so we will have to wait and see. Take care, Jason

Hey there, thank you once again for the excellent article.

I completely agree with the points you’ve made in the article, especially regarding the issue of expedite requests being disregarded. I can personally attest to facing a medical emergency with all the necessary documentation from my doctor, yet my office has rejected my expedite request.

Even after I decided to reach out to the Ombudsman for help, it’s been like talking to a brick wall. They’ve totally ghosted me, and it’s disheartening to feel ignored and dismissed.

And you know what? This is not just a one-off issue. I’ve been talking to other people online, and it seems like many of them have faced the same disappointing treatment. It’s like we’re all stuck in this frustrating loop, desperately seeking help but getting nowhere.

Your article truly hit the nail on the head, and it’s comforting to know that others out there understand what we’re going through. Let’s hope this gets better, and our voices are heard soon!

We have been lobbying Congress for help with the affirmative asylum backlog, and they are sympathetic, but there is little they can do. I feel like unless they can get a lot more money (unlikely), USCIS needs to be much more creative, and they seem unwilling to do that. Take care, Jason

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He doesn’t know who flew him to California. A year later, this migrant’s future is uncertain.

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Pablo Silva, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker, was among the first migrants flown from Texas to Sacramento last September. His struggles foreshadow what other migrants may face as they’re also shipped to California with little or no preparation.

Lea este artículo en español .

In the final hours of Sept. 15, 2022, Pablo Silva and four other Venezuelan men were wandering downtown Sacramento, a city they had never heard of, searching for a roof over their heads. 

They didn’t find it.

They had traveled thousands of miles to escape violence and poverty in Venezuela. Silva said he and the men had asked for asylum at the border in Texas and, after they were processed, immigration officials gave them paperwork with an address, saying it was a shelter in Sacramento. 

To this day, Silva isn’t sure who bought his ticket to California, but penniless and hungry he accepted, expecting a better future in the state capital. 

After hours of walking in Sacramento, Silva spotted the address — 1107 9th St. — and imagined himself sleeping in a warm bed inside the tall building. 

But a security guard there stopped him and the other men before they could knock and said, with the help of Google Translate, that there was no shelter in the Forum Building, a 10-story edifice that houses offices for lobbyists, two blocks from the Capitol.

The five immigrants, who barely knew each other, searched all night for a warm place to rest. At times they slept on the ground, huddled together on a park bench, and even ducked into portable toilets until the smell of human feces got to them.

A year later Silva still lives in Sacramento. Recently he retraced his steps from that night, telling his story of leaving his family in Venezuela, seeing the bodies of those who didn’t survive their journey to the United States, and almost giving up during that first night of sleeping on Sacramento’s streets.

“When I arrived here I had nothing,” Silva said, while standing across from the Forum Building on a recent afternoon. “Now I have a work permit, but I haven’t had much luck finding a job. I don’t want to take anybody’s job; I just want an opportunity.”

Silva’s journey foreshadowed a wave of buses and flights transporting asylum seekers from  border cities in Texas to metropolitan areas run by Democrats, including Los Angeles and Sacramento. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have boasted about the mass migrant movement, though it’s unclear who sent Silva’s group to Sacramento.

Silva has made progress launching his new life, he said; though he still encounters setbacks. Like Silva, many of the dozens of asylum seekers landing into California are hoping to find work and a safe haven. 

They may find that it takes a while, Silva said. 

An unexpected journey to California

Silva said he was forced to leave his family and native country after refusing to join the National Liberation Army, a Marxist guerrilla group in Colombia that operates near the Venezuelan border, including in his hometown of Ureña. 

Silva had heard from other Venezuelans who emigrated that the United States is a safe country filled with opportunities. On Aug. 7, 2022, Silva said goodbye to his 7-year-old daughter and, with the equivalent of $80 in his pocket, embarked on a journey north.

First he traveled by bus and boat until he reached the mountains of the infamous Darién Gap, a once-impenetrable rainforest connecting Panama with South America. It has become a major crossing point for U.S.-bound migrants.

Some don’t make it through, Silva said, describing the eight days it took him to cross the jungle.

“I saw dead women, men and children laying on the ground,” he said. “I went four days without eating, and drinking water from the river.”

Silva traversed Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador on foot and by bus. When he reached Guatemala City,  he asked strangers for money until a man helped him buy a bus ticket to the Mexican border. Silva then rode the final 100 miles atop the notorious freight train known as La Bestia to Piedras Negras, a border town across from Eagle Pass, Texas.

The United Nation’s chief immigration agency has deemed the U.S.-Mexico border the world’s deadliest land route for migrants. Last year at least 686 people died or disappeared, nearly half in Mexico’s Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts.

On Sept. 8, 2022, Silva swam across the Rio Grande and surrendered to U.S. immigration officials. He spent his first night inside a Border Patrol cell, colloquially known as a hielera , or ice box, due to its cold temperatures, before being transported to a church in El Paso. 

There, Silva said, he was given documents instructing him to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Sacramento. He also was given paperwork that included the address that was supposed to be a shelter in California’s capital.

Silva and a group of other migrants hitchhiked about 550 miles to the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio, where he was told to board a flight to California. 

“I thought I was finally going to a safe place,” Silva said. “But that happiness turned to nothing not long after we arrived. I realized that my journey hadn’t ended yet.” 

Barricades as blankets

That security guard at the Forum Building advised Silva and the other four immigrants to come back early the next morning for more information. 

Disappointed, they walked in circles looking for a place to eat and something to drink. It was near midnight and they could find nothing open. Every minute that went by they grew more hungry and thirsty. Headaches started to kick in. 

When Silva saw a Sacramento police vehicle, hope manifested itself, he said. 

“We showed our paperwork to a police officer and he called (on) his radio,” he said. “More officers came and they were speaking English to each other. He then approached us and said, ‘I am sorry, this is not our obligation.’”

The Sacramento Police Department didn’t respond to requests for comment about that encounter. 

To fight the cold, the men sat close to each other on a metal bench at Cesar Chavez Plaza, a small park near Sacramento’s city hall. Not far from there, dozens of people were sleeping on the ground. Silva cried in silence. 

Unable to sleep, the migrants kept walking until they were outside California’s Capitol. They decided to go inside some porta potties to warm up. But the smell was unbearable and they left. 

As Silva continued walking, he thought of his weeks-long trek across a jungle and several countries. It helped him stay focused and motivated, though he could feel the blisters on his feet with every step. 

Around the corner from the Capitol, the five men succumbed to fatigue. They entered a parking garage and laid down near a wall, using nearby barricades as blankets. Silva said he didn’t get any sleep, wondering how and why he had ended up on the streets. 

A few hours later, at 6 a.m. the five men headed back to the Forum Building, where the same security guard provided them with an address seven miles away. It was a food bank, where they were welcomed with breakfast and introduced to NorCal Resist, an immigration advocacy organization in Sacramento.

NorCal Resist said it would pay for their housing, food, and certain living expenses for six months.  

“We make that agreement kind of knowing that we will probably have to provide assistance for a longer period because it takes a long time to get financially stable,” said Autumn Gonzalez, a volunteer attorney at NorCal Resist. “But these guys have been amazing. They went out hustling to find work immediately.” 

Without proof of income or a credit history, they couldn’t rent a place to live, so Silva and the other immigrants were placed in a hotel. Gonzalez said her group has helped other migrants like them who arrive in Sacramento without friends or family to help.

“The first thing I did was to shower. I wanted to feel like myself again,” Silva said, showing the faded jeans he wore during his journey to the U.S.

“NorCal brought us new clothes and I tried them on. It felt like a new beginning.”

After a few months in the hotel, NorCal Resist helped Silva move to a two-bedroom apartment, which he now shares with two other immigrants seeking asylum. 

Long journey for daily work

Without a work permit from the federal government, undocumented immigrants are not allowed to hold down jobs. Many wait six months or more after applying for asylum to qualify for a work permit. Until then, many find temporary or day work and are paid under the table.

Silva heard that if he showed up early in the morning at a Home Depot, he may be picked up for  construction jobs. He rode a donated bike for 25 minutes in the predawn darkness to get there. His daughter needed to eat, he reminded himself. An hour before sunrise, Silva stood waiting to get picked up. 

“I will never forget this American woman who didn’t speak Spanish but wanted people to help her move,” Silva said. 

“I worked almost eight hours and got paid $200. That was my first job and the last for a few days.” 

In the following months, Silva took daily jobs in construction and gardening, sometimes traveling to Modesto, Stockton and as far as Reno, Nevada. Some nights Silva skipped dinner to save every dollar he could for his daughter in Venezuela. 

A man he met outside Home Depot helped him get steadier work at a carpet installation company. Though he gets paid $140 for a day shift that sometimes exceeds eight hours, Silva doesn’t always get five shifts a week, he said. In recent months he’s had to borrow to make ends meet and pay rent. 

Just before his one-year anniversary in Sacramento, Silva experienced an anxiety attack and was rushed to the hospital. 

His mental health had been deteriorating, he said. His eldest sister had died in April. His  mother could not afford medication following her surgery. And he worried about his legal status.

“I remember I couldn’t move my face and my fingers,” Silva said of the panic attack. “I went back to work a couple of days after. I can’t take days off; I need to be able to provide for my family.” 

A future still uncertain

When Silva claimed asylum, saying he fled harm in Venezuela, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents processed him and released him pending adjudication of his case. Instead of giving him a court hearing, agents instructed Silva to check in with ICE as part of a process designed to alleviate overcrowding in border facilities. 

Soon after he connected with NorCal Resist, the group helped him file his official asylum application, starting the clock to obtain work authorization. 

Getting a work permit has nothing to do with whether or not your asylum case is likely to be approved, said Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former immigration official under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. 

Ultimately an immigration judge and asylum officers must find that a migrant was persecuted or could be persecuted in their home countries due to one of several factors, such as their political views or religion, in order to grant them asylum. Those who lose their asylum case face deportation.

Migrants are waiting years to get their cases heard because of backlogs. As of December, more than 1.5 million asylum seekers were awaiting asylum hearings, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

“To get a resolution, to get either approved or rejected, depends on where the immigration court hearing is. It could be anywhere from a year to five years, or longer,” said Cardinal Brown, now a senior adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. 

U.S. border officials have reported record levels of migrant apprehensions in recent  years, including 2.2 million in fiscal 2022 . Along with posing humanitarian and operational challenges, the unprecedented migrant influx has ignited a political battle between Republican state governors, President Joe Biden and Democratic-led cities.

At Abbott’s direction, Texas has bused hundreds of migrants to large cities across the United States — including more than 500 to California since June — to protest the Biden administration’s border strategy and local sanctuary policies.

And the Florida Division of Emergency Management said it was responsible for flying a group of 36 migrants to Sacramento in June. 

Neither Abbott nor DeSantis took credit for the flight that sent Silva to Sacramento.

Lauren Heidbrink, an associate professor and anthropologist at Cal State Long Beach who focuses on migration, said that by paying to ship migrants out of Texas, Abbott “is enlisting taxpayer dollars to create a political spectacle. He’s fabricating a crisis where there is none.”

There have been reports that Texas officials listed migrants’ addresses incorrectly on official documents, confiscated their documents and never returned them, and deceived migrants to get on buses to places where they have no contacts. 

These practices can hinder migrants’ ability to attend their assigned court hearings and comply with immigration proceedings, Heidbrink said.

“It’s potentially creating chaos within the immigration system that’s trying to ensure that people get their day in court,” she said.

State officials have said California has assisted 423,000 immigrants since April 2021 and spent $1.3 billion since 2019, helping the federal government provide humanitarian services to new arrivals at the border. 

Gonzalez said NorCal Resist is still unsure about who bought the plane tickets for Silva and the other four men last year. She added that, in some cases, shelters or nonprofits will pay for transportation for migrants being processed at the border, if they request it but have no money to continue their travels in the United States. 

Permission to work

In the early morning of July 15, 10 months after his arrival in Sacramento, Silva opened his mailbox to find a letter from the federal government. Silva jumped with excitement when he realized he had received his work permit, a much sought-after document and a key milestone on his year-long journey that began far from California.

But Silva’s struggles didn’t end there. Not long after he opened the letter, he walked through downtown Sacramento for hours searching for a job. With a work permit, Silva thought that  a stable income was finally attainable. 

But all the businesses he visited rejected him. 

“Some managers said they would call me back and they never did,” Silva said. “But what really hurt me was the discrimination. A manager said my work permit was fake. 

“It discouraged me to hear that I had no right to have this kind of documentation.”

But he will keep searching, Silva said; that’s what he has done since he left Venezuela. And as his future in Sacramento remains uncertain, his dreams and goals remain the same. 

“I want to start my own business, contribute to this economy,” Silva said with a smile. “And I know I can only do that in a country like the U.S.”  

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde at CalMatters contributed to this report.

more on immigration

California built a safety net for undocumented immigrants. Now deficits could leave some behind

As California gives immigrants access to more public programs, its poverty rate declines, some say. But budget and recession worries slow that progress.

More than a million undocumented immigrants gained driver’s licenses in California

Seven years after the Safe and Responsible Drivers Act gave undocumented residents a license to drive, the state is ready to expand its impact, but the law still has detractors.

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Justo Robles California Divide Reporter

Justo Robles was born and raised in Lima, Peru. Since graduating from Rutgers University, he’s worked as a newsroom producer at Spanish-language television networks including Telemundo and Univision,... More by Justo Robles

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