Charlotte Defensive Asylum Lawyer

Thousands of individuals come to the United States every year seeking safety from persecution in their home countries. You or your attorney could apply for protection through asylum if you fear or have experienced persecution. A Charlotte defensive asylum lawyer may help determine your eligibility for defensive asylum and could guide you through the application process.

What Is Asylum?

Asylum is a way to apply for protection if you fear persecution in your own country. Your Charlotte defensive asylum attorney will explain that proving asylum requires showing that a government actor or non-government actor who the government cannot or will not control has or will persecute the applicant if they return to their home country.  Race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion must form the basis of the persecution.

Two types of asylum applications are available, depending on the applicant’s circumstances: affirmative asylum and defensive asylum.

Who Can Apply for Defensive Asylum?

You must be physically in the United States or at a port of entry to apply for asylum, and you must apply within a year of your entry into the United States. The defensive asylum process is for individuals who are currently in removal proceedings, and it is helpful to have a Charlotte attorney well-versed in defensive asylum. If you are not in removal proceedings, you must use the affirmative asylum process.

What Does the Defensive Asylum Process Look Like?

A person who is in removal proceedings may apply for asylum defensively by filing the application with an immigration judge at the Executive Office for Immigration Review in the Department of Justice. They would be applying for asylum “as a defense against removal from the U.S.”

Defensive asylum processing occurs in one of two ways. The first way to arrive at this procedure is for the court to refer you to a judge after establishing affirmative asylum ineligibility. The application is also possible if you were placed in removal proceedings because officials at a U.S. point of entry caught you without the required documents or U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained you due to a lack of proper records and placed you in the expedited removal process.

During the Charlotte court proceedings, the judge will hear from you, your defensive asylum lawyer, and the attorney representing the U.S. government. The judge will rule in your favor if you are eligible for defensive asylum. Both parties have the right to appeal the immigration judge’s decision. You will have 30 days to appeal if the court denies your petition, and immediate deportation may follow if you do not.

Call a Charlotte Defensive Asylum Attorney Today

If fear of or past persecution has forced you to leave your homeland and you are in removal proceedings, you may be eligible for defensive asylum. A Charlotte defensive asylum lawyer could assist you every step of the way: determining if you are eligible, helping file your application, and accompanying you to the immigration court proceedings. Contact one of our compassionate attorneys today.