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A MAN recently came to my office for a consultation, with a predicament that is common to so many other Filipinos. His situation should serve as a warning or wakeup call for all people who had applied for political asylum.
Years ago, he came to the US, anxious to find work. He was told by friends or relatives that a quick and easy way to obtain work authorization was to apply for political asylum. So, in the early 90’s, he submitted an application for political asylum, claiming that he was persecuted by the NPA. Soon after applying for political asylum, he received a work authorization, and was absolutely ecstatic! He thought it was so easy and he was all set on pursuing his "American dream." He was even able to renew the work authorization for a few years.
Eventually, he received a notice from the asylum office, scheduling his interview, so that he could be questioned in detail concerning his claims of persecution. He rescheduled the interview several times, and then eventually just didn’t bother to go to the interview. Nothing further happened on his asylum case, and he thought it was closed and forgotten. However, in all those years, he did nothing further to legalize his immigration status.
Then, in early 2008, he received a notice from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), stating that he had "been scheduled for several interviews since you filed your asylum application and either requested to reschedule or have failed to appear on each occasion." The notice scheduled him for one final interview, and warned that, "should you not appear on that date or not proceed with your interview, you will be placed into proceedings before an immigration judge. . ."
This notice caught him completely by surprise that years later, USCIS will suddenly call him back in for an interview.
He then sent a letter to the USCIS, advising that he was no longer interested in pursuing his asylum application and that he intended to pursue his permanent residency through other means. He thought that by withdrawing his asylum application, it would finally put the matter to rest.
That was not the case. In early 2009, he received a Notice to Appear (NTA), placing him in removal/deportation proceedings, and scheduling his removal proceeding for mid 2009. However, because he had done nothing during all these years to try to legalize his status, (and had no parent or spouse who was a citizen or immigrant) it appears that he would have no "form of relief" to obtain a green card, and it would be likely that he could only seek "voluntary departure." This means that he would agree to voluntarily depart the US, rather than being ordered removed or deported.
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