APPLYING FOR ASYLUM

Asylum is a form of legal protection for people who are physically present in the United States, who suffered and/or fear future persecution in their home country.

International Institute of Los Angeles – Afghan Legal Representation Project (ALRP) offers the following Asylum Application information:

• Asylum 101 for Afghans
• Videos: IILA Asylum Orientation
  • How to Fill Form 1-589 – English | Dari درى | Pashto پښتو
  • How to Install and use Webex Meeting – English | Dari درى | Pashto پښتو
  • How to Create and Join Zoom Meeting – English | Dari درى | Pashto پښتو
• A list of Legal Resources

The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) is an immigration program that grants permanent residence to people who aided the U.S. government abroad. If you are currently applying for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) or awaiting Chief of Mission (COM) approval, we strongly recommend that you also apply for asylum and Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Applicants for asylum can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) using Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization under the (c)(8) eligibility category. To apply for an EAD based on your pending asylum application under the (c)(8) category, you must wait 150 days after you file your asylum application. You are not eligible to receive an EAD until your asylum application has been pending for at least another 30 days, for a total of 180 days, commonly referred to as the 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock.

Effective June 9, 2023, through July 31, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will consider, on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, a two-year extension of the original parole period for Afghan parolees who have already applied for asylum or for adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status (such as adjustment of status as a special immigrant).

TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a designated country or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the Secretary of State is authorized to designate a foreign state for TPS based on an emergency, such as an ongoing armed conflict or environmental disaster, that temporarily prevents nationals who are in the United States from returning safely to the designated county.

The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Department of State, has initiated efforts to reunite U.S. citizens and Afghans in the United States with their family members who remain in Afghanistan. This program is a unique program created specifically for Afghans and as a result, is not fully comprehensible. The only details the U.S. Government has provided about the program is that specific family members who remain in Afghanistan may be eligible for assistance from the U.S. government to leave Afghanistan and upon approval, enter the United States. When, where, how and to whom this departure information will be communicated remain unknown.

For a collection of helpful documents regarding asylee family petitions, download the toolkit below. Documents include instructions, a manual, form, evidence checklist, and PowerPoint slides regarding i-730, as well as Afghan passport information, notices of processing shifts, and field office notices.

Tool kit includes:

• US Department of State’s CARE ACT (The Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts Authorization Act):  Codifying CARE is critical because it ensures that the significant progress the US Department of State has made in Afghan allies resettlement efforts over the last two years will remain durable, that the government will continue to support the orderly relocation of Afghan allies, and that America will fulfill our promise to all those who served the US mission.  Translated flyer into Dari and Pashto.
• An informational flyer that explains the CARE Travel Assistance Process:  The flyer provides a list of documents that need to be collected, explains the pre-travel interview, describes the steps regarding travel to third country for processing and entry into the US.

ALERT: If you file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, on or after Dec. 23, 2022, you must use the 12/23/22 edition of Form I-485 or we will reject your filing. If you file Form I-485 before Dec. 23, 2022, you must use the 07/15/22 edition of Form I-485 or we will reject your filing.

Verification of public benefits is needed for clients to qualify for fee waivers in their USCIS forms where a fee waiver is available, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications based on Asylum. (A fee waiver is not available for family-based AOS.)

If you are applying for adjustment status to become a lawful permanent resident, use the I-163 form to establish that you are not inadmissible to the United States on public health grounds.