Are you persecuted in your home country because of your race, religion, nationality, membership social group or political opinion? Do you feel like your life and or the lives of your family are at risk in your home country and are looking for asylum here in the United States? If you need legal help navigating the asylum system, get an Asylum lawyer in woodland hills today.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution”. The United States of America recognizes this right for individuals and complies fully with international laws. The government of the United States has laws that define the types of individual refugees and determine the number of refugees that can seek Asylum in the United States, which is limited by a quota system.

The process for determining Asylum Eligibility in the United States has three basic steps. The first step is that an asylum applicant has to establish that he or she is in fear of persecution. The second step is that an asylum applicant must prove that the persecution would be on account of one of the five legally protected grounds. These legal grounds are as follows: race, religion, political opinion, social group, and nationality. The third step is that the applicant must be able to establish that the government is either involved with the persecution or is unable to or unwilling to control the actions of the individuals responsible. Under some circumstances, certain individuals have been able to receive asylum based on sexual persecution, though it is not one of the five legally protected grounds. Sexual persecution usually falls under the category of domestic violence or of systematic oppression, if the state proves to be unwilling to address the issue.

However, before an applicant can apply for Asylum in the United States, they must meet the required legal definition of refugee, as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act. The exact wording of the act is as follows:
““Any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

With so many rules and regulations, it is highly recommended that anyone seeking asylum get help from a qualified immigration lawyer. At the Law Offices of Edward M. Weisz, we have over thirty years of experience helping people just like you. If you need an Asylum Lawyer in Woodland Hills, call us today at (818) 936-3560 for a free consultation.