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?

why aren't you active here in USA?

The Government lawyer asked these questions of Mr. E, from Ethiopia, who claimed his government tortured him because of his political opinion:

-when did you join the political party? why? what did you do? did you ask people for donations? sell things to earn money? distribute pamphlets and papers? invite people to meetings/rallies/demonstrations?

-do you know your own history? can you repeat your story, chronologically? do you know what happened before what? the first demonstration was before the election, or after?

-why did you wait so long to join a group here in USA? aren't your political opinions important to you? what activities did you do, here in the USA, that your government is aware of? why do you think your government is aware of your activities? maybe they are bored with you. Are you a big shot? are you important?

-at the time of your arrest, what words did the officer say? what else did he say? what language did he speak? can you repeat his words?

-what physical harm did YOU suffer? do not tell me about others; tell me about you, yourself.
-you had no problems at the airport, when you left your country? why weren't you arrested at the airport? did you pay a bribe? how much? how did you pay the bribe?

-did you tell your friend about your problems in the old country? what did you tell him? did you tell your friend about your activities here in USA? what did you tell him?
-tell me about your passport: when was it issued? where did you travel? how did you get a visa?
-how were you able to travel?
-did someone in the USA attempt to verify your story, by contacting someone in your country?
why not?

why does the Judge want an overseas investigation?

The GAO issued a study in September 2008 entitled "US Asylum System." The study presents survey results from a large number of immigration judges:

1. 29% said they believed there was fraud in half of asylum cases; 19% believed there was fraud in "most" asylum cases; 6% believed there was fraud in "all or almost all" cases. 29+19+6=54%.

2. a large number of judges reported there was "lack of overseas information" about the claim. The judges believe "it is the role of the ICE trial attorney or the asylum applicant to gather information from overseas agencies." [at page 67 of report]

3. 86% of judges reported that is would be "very useful" if an overseas investigation occurred.

CONCLUSION: a family member of each applicant should talk face-to-face with the US Embassy in his city, about the claim of applicant. The applicant should inform the US Embassy of the name, address, and phone number of the family member who wants to provide information.

why was a fatwa issued against you?

Questions asked of a liberal Muslim from Pakistan:

do you have any originals for me to look at? what is your ethnic group? what is a "liberal" muslim? when did you last leave your country? when did you last enter USA? what is your current immigration status in USA? can you prove you were in status?

Show me your passport! I want to look at every stamp in it. Did you examine your own passport before coming in here today? do you know all of your international travel? why not?

why didn't you leave your country faster and sooner? did you have trouble getting enough money together, for airplane tickets? to pay rent upon arrival in USA?

why didn't you apply for asylum faster, after you arrived here in USA? why the long delay? did you have trouble hiring a lawyer? did you have trouble getting corroboration?

did you receive any letters from your old country? where are the envelopes? did the letters really travel from far away?
Why was the Fatwa translated in Pakistan, and not in USA? when did you first find out about the fatwa? how did you find out? why was it issued? how do people in Pakistan know it was issued? how do they find out?

did you ever hear of another fatwa? tell me the year/city/circumstances!
what is the "law" in Pakistan? is there a "religious" law? what does it say? who is the expounder of the fatwa? what is a mufti? can anyone challenge his opinion? did you ever hear of a fatwa that was issued, and then later it was changed or withdrawn?
In Pakistan, can a female go to the mesjid?
who would harm you? the government? your family? who exactly is angry at you?
Is there anything else? OK, we are done. Is there anything else?
is "internal relocation" possible for you? were you "firmly resettled" in another country before arriving here in USA?

did the Burmese applicant really go to protest?

The Asylum officer apparently was not sure if the applicant really attended the protest. The officer asked: 1] any police officers at the protest? how many? see any police cars? was anyone arrested? anyone harmed?
2] what did you do at the protest, besides just stand there? you held a sign? it said what? you shouted words? what did you shout? in what languages? what did you shout in English? what did you shout in Burmese? please write it down on this piece of paper
3] when was your last protest? what did you do, at it?
4] is it important for you to protest? why? why is it important?
5] what would democracy do for the Burmese people? can you be more specific? was the protest peaceful?
6] why is it important to protest peacefully? were any of the people armed? were any of the people harmed? how would your government know that you were protesting? did government have spies on the sidewalk, who stood among the protestors? how do you know that? who says?
what is the DVB? did they write a report?
7] how else would government know about you? how do you know they took photos? but, lots of people protested? you were just one among 50? how would they know about you?
8] when you obtained your passport in Rangoon, you gave them a photo? so, your photo now is in Rangoon? if someone took your photo, while protesting, they could compare that photo to your photo, on file, and find out your name?
9] how else would government know about you? you wrote a letter to the embassy on S Street NW in Washington DC? why? did they really receive the letter? did they read it? did they answer it?
10] you say you sent papers to your father in Rangoon? what did you send? why? how did government find out you sent them? is it dangerous to send political papers to father? why send it then? so, you were aware of the risk? Oh, you did not send by post, or by mail? you sent via a private courier? did the courier know what was inside the package? was he willing to take the risk? did father actually receive the package? how do you know? why was father arrested?
11] if you return to your country, what would happen? why would you be arrested and tortured?
where is sister today? where is mother today? where is father?
12] tell me the name of one person who protested in USA, and then was arrested upon arrival at the Rangoon airport! how did government know he protested in USA?
13] has government issued a warrant for your arrest? why not?
14] is there anything else? Ok, that's interesting. Anything else?