New law will benefit asylum seekers who apply after one year

Good News, for certain undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for more than a year, they may qualify for asylum in addition to avoiding deportation. 

Through a legal resource called the Méndez Roja vs Wolf Settlement Agreement published by the Department of Immigration Review (EOIR), those foreigners who were detained at the border upon arrival or up to 14 days after entering without authorization, who demonstrated credible fear and were released, and “were not told that they had to present asylum within one year” are favored, according to the Immigration Law foreigners who enter the country have a maximum period of one year (365 days) to request asylum or government protection.

The Settlement Agreement defines 2 categories of class members:

• Class A (Credible Fear Class): All persons who were detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security upon arrival or within 14 days of unauthorized entry into the country, and were released after a determination of a credible fear of persecution or torture and did not receive individualized notice of a one-year deadline for filing an asylum application.

• Class B (Class of Other Participants) Individuals who encountered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security upon arrival or within 14 days of unauthorized entry into the country, expressed fear of returning to their home country, were released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after a Notice to Appear (NTA) was issued, and did not receive individualized notice of the one-year deadline for filing an application for asylum.

Each Class in turn has two subclasses, one within the Department of Immigration Review (EOIR) and one under the Jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The Agreement only allows those immigrants who prove to have a “Class membership” or who were protected by the Méndez Roja vs. Wolf Agreement ,  “will be considered” as having timely submitted an Asylum application and once they have approved the entire process, they will receive relief from Deportation and as part of the agreement, they may file Form I-589 (Petition for Asylum and Withholding of Removal) which will be processed by the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

For more information call our office for more details.