an activist from Burma

The Asylum Officer asked:
-did anyone help you with Form I-589?
-did someone read it back to you, in your native language?
-What is Date of Birth of 1] your wife? 2] child #1? 3] child #3?
-why don't you want to return to your country?
Why do you fear your government?
What have you done, against your government?
How did you criticize your government?
Does the government know that you have criticies it?
How do you know, that it knows?
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what would happen, if you return to your country?
-do you know the name of one, similarly-situated person, who returned to your country and had problems, in the last six months?
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You say that you were hiding, and that the police were looking for you?
How do you know that?
Mr. X told you? How did Mr. X know that?
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Back in your country, did you join any political organizations?
Did you hold any offices or positions?
Here in USA, did you join any groups or political organizations?
Did you hold any offices or positions? Vice-President, for example?
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Tell me about all of your international travel. Where did you go, why, and for how long?
You say your government hates you? Really? how do you know?
Did your government give things of value to you? such as birth cert, marriage cert, and passport? You went to the airport, showed your passport, and they let you leave the country?
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an activist from Moldova

The Asylum Officer asked:
-show me your passport! give me a photocopy of each page of your passport!
What is the Date Of Birth of:
1] your wife 2] son #1; 3] son #2
Did anyone help you prepare this application? who?
Do you understand the contents of your application?
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did you have any difficulty getting your passport from the Government which you say hates you?
-did you have any difficulty getting out of your country? why weren't you arrested at the airport as you showed them your passport?
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Tell me your complete immigration history here in USA!
Are you afraid to return to your country? why?
-do you know someone, who is similarly-situated to you, who was not harmed? why wasn't she harmed?
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when you lived in your country, did you oppose your government? how?
Does your government know what you did in your country?
How would they know?
Why did you opposed your government?
when did you begin to oppose it?
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Has anyone in your family been harmed?
Your brother told you not to return? why did he tell you that? why does he think that?
If you return to your country, what would happen?
Why would that happen?
Do you CONTINUE to oppose your government?
what did you do here in USA?
Did you join a political party here in USA?
Did you do ANYTHING, just one thing, here in USA to show your oppostion to your government?
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Tell me about all of your international travels!

issues which keep rising up

1. does the US Government know your address? If you told Mr. A your new address, that is nice, but did he write it down in your file, so that Mr. B knows your address also?
-make sure the government knows your address!

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did you report your problem to the police? Mr. Rah, from Mexico, was denied asylum because he did not report his problem to the Mexican police.
-in two different cases, where soldiers beat up the applicant, the asylum Officer asked "did you report your problem to the police?"
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is it a stupid question, after being beat up by soldiers, to ask "did you complain to the police about the soldiers?" Maybe, maybe not.
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Anyway, one answer is "No, I did not report it to the police, because that would have been a waste of time. The police are afraid of the soldiers. The police do not investigate crimes by soldiers."

an activist from the DRC

The Asylum Officer asked:
-when was your passport issued? was this your first passport? did you have any trouble getting your passport?
-you left your country on December 10th? what was your last address in your country?
Where did you live for the 90 days before you left your country?
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Why are you applying for asylum?
Why does your government pursue you?
What were your activities, that brought you to the attention of your government?
Why did the youth talk to you? what was special about you, that encouraged them to talk to you?
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inside the prison, what did the guard say to you? what language did he speak?
How did you get released? where did you go, immediately after being released?
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when did you decide to go to USA?
what did you say to get your visa? did you tell lies?
How did you get your passport, if your government hated you, and wanted to arrest you? the police gave info about you to the passport office, yes?
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where were you, at the moment of your arrest? where did they take you? how long did it take to get there? where did they take you?
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what did you do, during the three months before you left your country? where did you sleep at night?
After you left your country, was anyone harmed, because of you?
Is there anything else?
What would happen to you if you return?
The soldier hit you? did you report that to the police? why not?

an activist from the DRC

an activist from Ethiopia

The Assistant Chief Counsel asked these questions:
-what physical harm did you suffer? tell me in detail; go slowly.
When were you arrested the first time? how long did they hold you?
On the day of your release, did you sign a document? did they give you a document?
Where did you go, upon walking out of the prison? into a car, drive to house? take a bus to hospital?
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You left your country on September 20?
Where did you live during the 90 days before that? Tell me the address of the place where you stayed during each of those 90 days. [what does it say on page 4 of I-589?]
-when you left your country, what kind of passport? how did you get it? where is the passport right now? Physically, where is the passport today? in the hands of your agent?
You arrived in Mbasa, Kenya and stayed for how many days?
How many days did it take, to get from your country, to USA? Tell me where you were, for each of those days
-what airline did you fly on? what happened at each international border?
-how much did you pay the smugglers for your journey? $2,000? who paid it? your brother? where did he get that much money?

Central African Republic #3

The Asylum Officer asked:
You say you were in prison? who else was there? your friend Mary?
did Mary write a letter of support for you? why not? did you even ask her for a letter?
How did mother find out you were in prison?
How did you know that she came to the front door of the prison to talk to you?
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during the two months before you left your country, you lived in many different places?
why doesn't it say that on page 4 of Form I-589?
did you have problems at the airport, as you left your country? why not?
Did you work during the last six months you lived in your country?
what did you tell your boss, before you left your country?
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What would happen to you if you return to your country?
Why do you think your government is still interested in you? They have forgotten about you, haven't they?
Why did you protest in the USA? did anyone notice?
Why did you decide to get a passport?
What does the US government know about you, apart from your I-589?
is there anything else? really? what?
Ok, now, is there anything else?