November 2026 questions from an asylum officer in New York

Why did you depart from your country?

Why did you file for asylum, when you did?

Did you suffer any physical harm in your country? How many times? did you have any long-lasting injuries? Did you sustain any injuries?

Were you threatened in your country? how many times? what was the worst threat?

"face-to-face" threat versus "indirect" threat: what is the difference?  Face-to-face means the soldier yells at your face, from two feet away. An indirect threat is when the soldier, standing two feet away from the face of your father, yells at your father's face, about you.

You say the soldier wanted to punish you? Why do you think that?

You say the soldier knocked loudly on your father's door?  What thoughts went through his mind, when he heard the knocking on his door?

You say the soldier yelled at your father? Why did the soldier yell at your father?

The soldier threatened your father? What was the threat? What words did the soldier say?

Why did the soldier want to punish your father?

You are a person who protested in public in the United States? Do you know any similarly-situtated persons, who, after they protested, returned to Burma?

A "similarly-situated" person is someone like you: a certtain religion, a certain ethnic group, who did certain things?  Let's call that person a "sim-sit."

Junta is a word from the Spanish language?

A junta is a small group that rules a country, usually military leaders who have taken power by force rather than through an election 

It’s pronounced “HOON-tuh” or “JUN-tuh.” The word comes from Spanish, where it can mean a meeting, committee, or council—not necessarily a military government

Coup is a word from the French language? 

A coup is an event—the sudden overthrow or seizure of a government by a small group. A junta is a ruling group, usually military officers, that may govern afterward.

Coup d'etat is a French phrase that means: "the state has been seized"

A coup d'état (commonly known as a coup) is a sudden, illegal, and often overt seizure and overthrow of an incumbent government by a small group of military officers, rebels, or political elites. [1, 2]