is letter from father consistent with your story?

Ms. Lin, from China, was denied asylum because:

1. she said she was in prison; letter from her father did not mention prison. The father wrote about other subjects.
2. she said that father paid a bribe to get her out of prison; letter from father was silent on that subject.
3. she said her friend was in hiding and in great danger; letter from friend did not say that

can you really remember details from 5 years ago?

Ms. U, from the Ukraine, was denied asylum for these reasons:
1. she said she was arrested on "Saturday, October 19, 2003." But, a calendar shows that October 19th was a Sunday. [Ms. U should have said, "I was arrested in mid-October, 2003.]
2. she said, orally, at the interview, that she first contacted Mr. D via telephone. However, in her written application she said it was by letter. [Ms. U should have said, "I contacted Mr. D. He gave me info about X. I later contacted him, again, several times."]
3. she added many details in her oral testimony, which were not written down in her application. [Ms. U should have written: "There are many more details to my story. I was advised to keep this short. I will add more details later."]

against forced marriage in Cameroon

The Asylum Officer asked these questions, of the woman, Ms. C, from Cameroon, who was against forced marriage:
1. where do you hold citizenship? where else in the world have you traveled? when did you last enter the USA?
2. what was your last address in your country? what street did you live on? did your street have a name?
3. tell me the names of your father, mother, each brother, each sister, and where does each one live today? why didn't even one brother send you a letter of corroboration? did you ask both brothers? why not?
4. why did you apply for asylum? whom do you fear? why? when was the most recent threat?
5. you arrived in USA eleven months ago; why the big delay in applying? was it hard to find a lawyer?
6. what was the worst thing that happened to you in your country?
7. did Mr. X hurt you? how? what weapons did he use? his open hand? a slap? punched you with closed fist? hit you with belt? pulled your hair? pushed you? insulted you in front of others? made oral threats to kill you? what words did he say? what language?
8. did you report problems to the police? where is the station? what buildings are next to it?
9. Describe the policeman who took your report: age, height, glasses? weight? attitude? what language did he speak? what did he say to you? what did you say?
10. Mr. X lives in the city of Yaounde? OK, so go live in Bamenda: why not? go live in a small town? why not? how can Mr. X reach you if you are ten hours away?
11. is there anything else?