Asylum Denial Rate Drops

According to the Justice Department data, the Asylum denial rate is the lowest it has been in 25 years. Some of the explanations that are given in such a drastic decline may include a decrease in asylum requests being filed and  tendency of asylum seekers to be represented by an attorney.  Records show that approximately 91% of those seeking asylum are represented by an attorney, as opposed to a merely 51% who retained counsel 25 years ago. Therefore, having a competent attorney representing an asylum applicant will likely lead to a better outcome as opposed to those who attempt to go through the process on their own. Despite the aforementioned, there is a great disparity between judges in their asylum rulings. For instance, in New York Immigration Court, you have one judge who denies about 6% of asylum case and another judge who denies approximately 70% of asylum cases.

What do we take away from this story?  Basically, it is a good sign that asylum denial rates are dropping and that more and more people are represented by attorneys.  However, in my practice, I see a lot of "services" offering help to foreigners, who, for the most part are not familiar with the immigration rules and regulations, and oftentimes, these services do more harm than good. I have clients who come to me after spending thousands of dollars paying such services, be it paralegal services, or just individuals who advertise such services.  For the most part, the applications are completed incorrectly, are incomplete or otherwise inadequate. Moreover, when my clients attempt to contact these people after they have received a notice to appear in court, these people either disappear or refuse to offer any additional help, claiming they have done everything they could to help them.  And since these people are not licensed professionals,chances are there are no retainers and no obligation that they carry out their job with due diligence and zealousness as is required from a licensed attorney. It is usually better to pay a little more to a licensed attorney, then be in a position to pay twice, as most of my clients who have gone with such services are now doing.