This may be most helpful for people in the San Francisco area, but other may find it informative. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Do you qualify for Asylum Relief?
Asylum is a form of protection that allows individuals who are already in the United States to remain here if they meet certain requirements regardless of how the person got here and regardless of the person’s current immigration status. Even though the government requires such application to be submitted within one year of the person’s last arrival in the United States, there is a possibility of an extension based on some extraordinary circumstances.
An asylum application must be based on persecution in the past or a well-founded fear of future persecution related to one of five possible grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
The “membership in a particular social group” ground for asylum protects a range of individuals persecuted because of their gender or sexual orientation. Such tragic experiences as domestic violence, sexual assault, forced abortion, and rape, may serve as the basis for obtaining asylum in the United States due to their severity and the lack of adequate assistance from the individual’s native government.
The East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC) is a non-profit organization helping refugees with their immigration cases since 1993 with very high level of success. If you would like to request additional information, free and confidential case evaluation, or would be interested in participating in a meeting detailing the asylum grounds, process, and eligibility please contact Kusia Hreshchyshyn at (510) 540-5296, or kusia@eastbaysanctuary.org (in English) or Malgorzata Olszowka at (773) 727-2603 or olszowka@uchastings.edu (in Polish). The process is free and entirely confidential.
Our address:
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
2362 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
Telephone: (510) 540-5296
Fax: (510) 540-5907
Urgent/toll free: (800) 548-0956
Email: info@eastbaysanctuary.org
www.eastbaysanctuary.org
