Greenville Asylum Attorney

Immigration Cases Only. Direct Attorney Access. Three Languages.

People who face persecution or violence in their home country due to one or more qualifying factors can seek asylum in the United States. The Refugee Act of 1980 enshrines these rights and protections. Those who gain asylum status (called asylees) earn significant benefits in the U.S. and cannot be sent back to their home country.

Obtaining asylum status is exceptionally challenging, and the rules change frequently as immigration priorities shift. New policies can alter filing requirements, procedural deadlines, and the standards asylum officers and judges apply. This makes it genuinely difficult to navigate the process without legal help.

Our Greenville asylum lawyers at Colón Law Firm understand how quickly the law can shift and can guide you through each phase of the process. Whether you’re proactively seeking asylum or need to use it as a defense in a deportation proceeding, our team is ready to fight for your right to protection. We handle immigration cases exclusively, serve clients in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and ensure you work directly with an attorney, not a paralegal, at every stage.

If you’re preparing to seek asylum, don’t wait to get the help you need. Call (864) 697-2870 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Do I Qualify for Asylum?

Asylum isn’t available under any circumstance. Applicants must meet specific qualifications rooted in their relationship with their home country. The core requirement is that you have a “well-founded” fear of persecution or violence if you were returned there, based on one of five protected grounds:

• Race
• Religion
• Nationality
• Political Opinion
• Membership in a Social Group

Political opinion and membership in a particular social group cover a wide range of situations, from belonging to an opposition party or advocating for women’s rights to identifying as LGBTQ+. Courts have also recognized people targeted by organized criminal or gang violence as qualifying social group members, provided the home government cannot or refuses to provide protection.

The Well-Founded Fear Standard

To qualify, your fear of persecution must be “well-founded.” As the U.S. Supreme Court clarified in INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, this standard is more generous than the “more likely than not” threshold that applies to withholding of removal. For asylum, you must show a genuine, reasonable possibility of persecution if returned to your home country.

The harm doesn’t have to come from your home government. If you can show that violence is likely from another party, such as an organized crime syndicate, and the government cannot or refuses to stop it, you may still qualify for protection.

The One-Year Filing Deadline

You must apply for asylum within one year of entering the United States, whether your entry was lawful or unlawful. Missing this deadline can be the single factor that causes a case to be rejected.

Two recognized exceptions may apply. The first is “changed circumstances,” which are conditions that materially affect your eligibility after you arrived, such as a dramatic political shift in your home country that now places you at risk. The second is “extraordinary circumstances,” which are events directly related to your failure to file in time, such as a serious illness or legal disability during that period. Under either exception, you must still file within a reasonable time after the triggering circumstances occur.

If you are in the process of or are preparing to seek asylum, get the legal assistance you deserve. Call (864) 697-2870 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

What Are the Benefits of Asylum?

The most important benefit of asylum status is protection from deportation. You cannot be returned to the country where you fear harm. But asylees also gain a broad set of rights that make it possible to build a stable life in the United States. Asylees can:

• Live and work in the United States
• Apply for Social Security, Medicaid, and Refugee Medical Assistance
• Request authorization to travel abroad and return
• Petition to bring family members to the country
• Pursue lawful permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship

Asylees can apply for a green card at any point after the one-year anniversary of their status being granted. After obtaining a green card through this path, an asylee can wait four additional years and then become eligible to apply for citizenship.

While your case is pending, you may also qualify for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). You can apply once your Form I-589 has been pending for 150 days, and USCIS issues the EAD after a total of 180 days of pending time, not counting any delays you requested or caused. This gives you a legal path to employment while your asylum claim is still being decided.

How Seeking Asylum Works

The process depends on how you enter it. All applicants begin by filing Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. From there, the path diverges based on whether you’re in removal proceedings. The two procedures are called affirmative asylum and defensive asylum.

Affirmative Asylum

If you’re not currently in removal proceedings in immigration court but want to seek asylum, you’ll do so through the affirmative process. This means proactively submitting Form I-589 to USCIS and attending an asylum office interview. You should consult an attorney before taking this step because affirmative asylum carries risks that deserve careful consideration. If USCIS determines you don’t qualify and you lack valid immigration status, you may be placed in removal proceedings. At that point, defensive asylum becomes your next option.

Defensive Asylum

Defensive asylum is used by applicants who are already in removal proceedings. You argue before an immigration judge that you have a well-founded fear of persecution or violence if removed, using asylum as a shield against deportation. The burden of proof rests on you. Immigration courts aren’t required to provide legal counsel, and many individuals who appear without representation face proceedings that resolve at a single hearing.

Seeking Asylum at the Border

Asylum seekers at the U.S. border are typically placed in expedited removal proceedings. To trigger the asylum process, you must inform a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer that you fear persecution or violence if removed, which initiates a credible fear screening.

A credible fear screening is only a preliminary evaluation. The officer determines whether there’s a “significant possibility” you’d qualify for asylum. A positive result can lead to a defensive asylum hearing in immigration court. A negative result returns you to removal proceedings, where you’ll have one opportunity to appeal before a judge.

Reinstatement of Removal

If you’re attempting to reenter the U.S. after a prior removal, or you’ve been convicted of certain crimes, you’ll be placed in reinstatement of removal. You can request a “reasonable fear” interview to demonstrate that returning to your home country would put you at risk based on one of the eligible grounds.

A positive reasonable fear determination allows you to apply for withholding of removal, which prevents deportation due to the risk of persecution. Withholding of removal is harder to prove than standard asylum and doesn’t carry the same benefits. You can’t pursue lawful permanent residency or citizenship through this route. A separate form of relief, protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), is available to individuals who can show they would more likely than not face torture by or with the acquiescence of their home government. CAT protection applies regardless of whether the harm is tied to a protected ground. Both withholding of removal and CAT protection remain available even when a full asylum claim is barred, such as when the one-year filing deadline has passed or certain criminal convictions are present.

How We Can Help as Asylum Law Changes

Changing political administrations frequently alter how asylum policies are interpreted and implemented. Over the past several years, the process has become substantially harder, particularly for those pursuing defensive asylum at the border. Knowing which rules apply to your situation and when they changed can affect whether a claim moves forward or an opportunity is missed.

Because Colón Law Firm handles immigration cases exclusively, our attorneys stay current on the policy shifts and rule changes that affect Greenville-area clients at every stage. We serve clients in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and virtual consultations are available throughout Greenville County and the surrounding area. You’ll work directly with our attorneys, not paralegals, whether your case involves an initial I-589 filing, a hearing before an immigration judge, or an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

If you believe you may qualify for asylum status, don’t wait to contact us online or call (864) 697-2870. We serve clients in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.