Asylum and Humanitarian Relief Lawyers in Chicago

Asylum and Humanitarian Relief: U.S. Immigration options for the most vulnerable

Asylum is available to noncitizens in the United States who have suffered past persecution or fear future harm based on one of the five protected grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Asylum is not available to those fleeing general violence in their country or a poor economic environment.

Individuals outside the United States may seek refugee visas if referred by the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

Affirmative Asylum before the Asylum Office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Applicants must file for asylum within one year after entering the United States. A spouse and child under 21 in the United States may be included in the application as derivative applicants.

An asylum seeker must be prepared to prove the harm they suffered in their country of nationality. Documentation of medical records, police reports, court records, or eyewitness testimony is often crucial to the corroboration of the applicant’s own story. Alternatively, if an applicant did not suffer harm in the past, they may prove that they fear future harm based on proven country conditions by international aid organizations, credible journalism, U.S. State Department reports, and other research.

One of the most critical aspects of a successful asylum claim is proof of nexus, or connection, from the feared harm to the applicant’s protected ground. Thus, the persecutor must have harmed or attempted to harm the applicant because of the applicant’s status in a protected ground. Again, the five protected grounds are:

• Race
• Religion
• Nationality
• Membership in a particular social group
• Political opinion

After applying, the applicant is usually scheduled for an interview at the Asylum Office. This is a formal questioning of the applicant regarding the merits of their application. If the application is approved, the applicant and their derivative family members receive asylee status indefinitely; there is no expiration. Approved asylees may also petition for their spouse or children abroad to obtain visas and enter the U.S. safely and legally as asylees. If the office does not approve the application, the applicant is referred to Immigration Court, where they can renew their application.

Asylum Defense before the Immigration Court

Asylum applicants already in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court file defensive applications for asylum either directly with the Immigration Judge or the court clerk. The one-year filing deadline also applies to defensive applications. If an applicant’s first court hearing is after this one-year deadline date, they may not wait to file at the hearing. They must file the application at the court clerk’s window before the hearing.

The same procedure explained above for proving a case at the asylum office applies to asylum applications before the Immigration Court.

Other Humanitarian Relief

If a noncitizen does not qualify for a green card through family or employment, our attorneys will screen potential clients for all forms of humanitarian relief. Our staff are trauma-informed and sensitive to the needs of our survivor clients.

U-Visa

• For victims of qualifying crimes who cooperated with a law enforcement agency (police, investigators, prosecutor’s office, court, etc.) regarding the crime.
• If approved, this visa offers a path to a green card.

VAWA

• The Violence Against Women Act created this petition so that a noncitizen who was abused by their U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative could self-petition for their green card. Applicants are not required to leave their relationship and may self-petition privately without their abusive family member’s knowledge.

TPS

• Temporary Protected Status is available to citizens of select countries designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security due to dangerous conditions preventing their safe return home. Civil war and natural disasters, such as hurricanes or earthquakes, are often the basis for a designation.
• TPS status does not offer an independent path to a green card, but it grants the applicant lawful status in the United States. Many TPS holders later apply for green cards through family or employment.

DACA

• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is generally for noncitizens who came to the U.S. as children and resided here since June 15, 2007. Unfortunately, the program has been suspended for new initial applications since 2016.
• Renewals of previously approved DACA are still accepted.
• Many of our clients with DACA apply for green cards through family or employment.

T-Visa

• Victims of human labor and sex trafficking may apply for this visa, even if the trafficking happened many years ago. Severe labor abuse can rise to the level of trafficking, and even severe domestic violence can qualify as labor/sex trafficking.
• If approved, this visa offers a path to a green card.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)

• If a child is neglected, abandoned, or abused by one or both parents, the child’s guardian or parent may seek a custody order in a state family court. With a formal determination from the state court, the child may self-petition for SIJS.
• If approved, this visa offers a path to a green card.

Parole Programs

• Parole is a lawful permission to enter the United States granted before the noncitizen’s trip.
• Humanitarian parole is available in urgent scenarios, often involving imminent harm. Some examples include medical treatment, organ donation, family reunification, caregiving to an ill relative in the U.S., or attending a funeral.
• Parole programs are available for citizens of Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who are outside the United States. Employment authorization is available.