Asylum officer questions of an activist from Burma:

-did anyone help you with your application? how did they help you? how did you write your written statement? was it read back to you in your native language?

How many times did you apply for a tourist visa? who helped you apply? what lies did you tell to get the visa?

Is the information DS-160 true and correct? If you have not read it recently, how do you know what it says? You had a face-to-face interview with US officer to get your visa? You lied to him?

Can you repeat page 1 of Form I-589? pages 2-4? Tell me the birthdays of each of your children, and your wife

What was your last address, before coming to USA? What is the date of your departure from  your country? what date arrive in USA?  Tell me all of your international travel!

Why do you want asylum? Why is government angry at you?

How did you participate in the protest? you sat in a chair? you walked in the street, chanting slogans, and carrying big signs? did your government see you do that? how do they know what you were doing?

How was the protest organized? tell me, step by step, how it came to be. How were people notified of the event? Did you do something? If someone videotaped you on their phone, what would the video recording show that you were doing? Standing? walking into a house? distributing pamphlets?

Where were you at the moment of your arrest? Were you harmed physically? Emotionally, by being threatened? What happened upon arrival at police station? What did officer #1 say? What did Officer #2 say? did they have any weapons? did they use their weapons, on you?

What harm did the other protesters suffer? How long were you detained? what happened on the day of your release? What is a "lakh"? What is a kyat?

In 2016, you voluntarily returned to your "dangerous" country, but you were not arrested then? why not?

What would happen if you return to your country tomorrow? How would they know you returned? If you return to Mandalay, how would they know that you had protested in Yangon? What is a "household registration list"? Does each village actually enforce this list, or is it ignored? 

Why not live in Bago? or in Mandalay? 

Do government agents spend time looking at Facebook and Youtube? do they threaten people who post anti-government things on Facebook?  Does your government hire Infiltrators, Spies, and Informers in the USA? how do you know?

Why was your sister arrested? Do the police in Mandalay know about your problems in Yangon? How would the government find out?

What is your political opinion? did you exercise your First Amendment privileges here in USA? did you exercise your freedom of religion rights here in USA?

How would soldiers know if you return? Did the soldiers recently kill persons similarly-situated to you?

How are the Chin people treated? How are Christians treated? 

Did you give material support to a group that shoots guns against your government? Even under duress, did you give information or a glass of water to a group that has guns?

If you return, how would they find you?  How would they find you?  Is there anything else?

 Questions asked of a "sexual minority" from Pakistan, by an asylum officer:

Have you ever lied to US government about anything?

who helped you do your I-58(? how was it prepared? who wrote your personal statement?

What did you say on your application for tourist visa? Did you read your answers to Form DS-160 before sending it in? Is Everything on it accurate?

Tell me your complete immigration history with USA: your first application: for a student visa? for a tourist visa?  Then you applied for asylum? for a work permit? did you ever violate US immigration laws? work without a permit?

Tell me about all of your international travel: what was your status in each country? did you ask for a visa to visit China?

Did you make written applications for anything, that I can read, to see if you lied or were inconsistent? You don't need asylum in USA, because you can get status in England or in France?

Let's see if you can repeat everything you wrote on page 1 of Form I-589. Can you repeat page 2, 3, and 4? 

Why are you seeking asylum? Whom do you fear? Just the government, or also other people, such as private citizens?

Why do you fear returning? what would happen?

Did you suffer physical harm in your country?

When did you realize you were a sexual minority? How are similarly-situated persons treated in your country?

What attracted you to your first serious partner?

What did your father think about your life style? your older sister?

When he insulted you, how did that make you feel?

How did you feel after that event?

Did you join any organizations in your country? did you join any organizations in USA? do you have a membership card?

How do you "show support" for that organization? Did  you do anything that could be seen by someone else? Did you do anything to bring yourself to the attention of your government?

Inside the prison, what words did the guard say? did he have any weapons? what did he do with the weapons? where on your body did he hit you? Why is there no letter from a doctor, describing your injuries?

Why did the guard hit you?

How would the government know you were a sexual minority? or a member of the opposition? or know you criticized them?

Were you ever threatened in your country?

What documents exist, anywhere in the world, that corroborate your claims? why aren't those documents here, in front of me?Did you even attempt to get the hospital records? did you even ask your father to go get hospital records?

Did other similarly-situated persons suffer in your country?

Is there anything else?

 Comments by Immigration Judge concerning an applicant from Ethiopia:

You arrived in USA in 2018? but your asylum application did not mention you were arrested in April 2010? [12 years ago]

-you applied for a visa to visit France, but that is also not mentioned in your application?

-You lied to get your tourist visa? I have a copy of your DS-260, but you don't? 

Your brother wrote three letters in 2020, and in 2021, but he did not write a fourth letter in 2022? why not?

However, I like these things: 1] the DHL envelope that contained letter from your cousin; 2] the card that shows you were a member of the XYZ party

 QUESTIONS ASKED OF AN ACTIVIST FROM ETHIOPIA IN IMMIGRATION COURT

Mr. E, from Ethiopia, was beaten and tortured in an Ethiopian prison, because of his political opinion. Here are the questions asked by the government lawyer:

-what is your current address in USA? why did you delay filing E-33?

Who helped you prepare Form I-589? who helped you prepare the declaration attached to it?

You were arrested in your country? but when you applied for a tourist visa, Form DS-160, when asked that qwestion you said NO? you lied to get your visa? The DS-160 asked how long you wanted to stay in USA, and you lied about that?

you applied for a visa from France? but in answer to that question on Form I-589, you did not say that?

Your brother has a cell phone, and you can talk to him? but he did not send in an up-dated letter? why not?

The police issued you a summons? where is the original? how did you get it? where is the envelope it came in?