Asylum is a right that people have to be protected by a sovereign entity, in the event that they are persecuted in their country of origin, due to race, religion, politics or social group. In the United States, people can opt for this right if they are eligible, although they will have to go through a series of interviews and processes to verify that the foreigner is eligible.

There are different types of asylums , affirmative and defensive, where the rules are similar in all states. In the event that a person wishes to request defensive asylum in Texas, he will have to justify in front of a local court, that he is persecuted in his country, where a judge will decide if he is eligible or not.

What is the affirmative asylum process like?

People who wish to apply for asylum in the United States, through the affirmative asylum process, must be present in the country or enter the country through a port of entry. The applicant will need to file a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Once the USCIS receives the application, the person will receive a receipt, as well as a document informing them of the nearest Application Assistance Center (ASC) that they will have to visit. In addition, the USCIS will schedule the applicant for an interview with an asylum officer.

People have the right to bring an attorney to their interviews to represent them. The officer who conducted the interview together with an asylum supervisor will make the decision whether or not to grant asylum. Normally the individual will have to wait about two weeks to find out if the application has been approved.

Asylum Defensive Process with EOIR

A defensive asylum application is when an immigrant applies for asylum to defend against removal from the United States in immigration court with the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

In Texas, defensive asylum processing is typically due to one of two actions: Applicants are referred to an Immigration Judge by USCIS after they have been found ineligible for affirmative asylum; or on the other hand they are placed in an expulsion process, because they were captured in the territory of the country without the pertinent legal documents or violating their immigration status.

As in affirmative asylum, the person will have to do an interview; however, in this defensive asylum case you will have to do so at a hearing similar to that in a Texas state court, where a judge will hear the testimony of the person or their attorney.

In the event that the judge determines that the person is eligible for asylum, they can obtain the benefit of a green card. If, on the other hand, the prosecution determines that the immigrant is not eligible for defensive asylum, the judge will determine if he can opt for another form of relief from removal. Ultimately, if the individual does not qualify for both, the judge will rule for removal from the United States.

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