You are entitled to bring an attorney or accredited representative with you to your interview with the asylum officer at your own expense.
If you do not feel comfortable speaking in English, you must bring an interpreter who is fluent in English and your native language. The cost of the interpretation is also at your own expense. The interpreter must be at least 18 years of age and cannot be your attorney or representative or a witness testifying on your behalf. If you also have an asylum application pending, the interpreter cannot be a representative or employee of your home country.
In order to receive your decision as quickly as possible after the interview, please be prepared to give the asylum officer any documents needed to establish eligibility to be granted relief under section 203 of NACARA. Such documents may include:
proof of your relationship to family members (marriage/birth certificates);
proof that you have filed income taxes during the seven years of continuous physical presence;
proof of hardships you and/or your family members would suffer if you are removed from the United States; and
court disposition documents related to any past criminal proceedings or serious traffic violations.
You should also bring any passport, travel documents, and other forms of identification with you. If you have a valid passport and the INS approves your NACARA application, your passport will be stamped with temporary evidence of your lawful permanent resident status.
What if I can’t go to my scheduled interview?
If you cannot make it to your scheduled interview, it is very important that you contact INS before your scheduled interview date.
You can do so by noting the reason on your interview notice, signing the notice, and mailing the notice to the asylum office where your interview is scheduled, or you may send a written request to reschedule. Rescheduling is permitted only once without a reasonable excuse for rescheduling if the request to reschedule is received at least 2 days before the scheduled interview date. Other requests to reschedule an interview, including those submitted after the interview date, and may be granted if you provide a reasonable excuse for not appearing.
If you fail to go to your interview, without notifying the INS, you must provide a reasonable excuse as soon as possible following the scheduled interview date. If you do not do so, your NACARA application may be dismissed or referred to an immigration judge, and any asylum request you have pending with the INS may be denied or closed, unless you show compelling circumstances for the delay in providing a reasonable excuse.
It is not possible to reschedule by phone. All rescheduling requests must be made in writing to the INS asylum office that scheduled your interview.
To avoid scheduling difficulties you should always notify the INS of all changes in address. You should submit the change of address to the Asylum Office that has jurisdiction over your application. The law requires you to notify the INS within 10 days of your change of address.
What will my interview be like?
The interview will be conducted in a non-adversarial manner; it is not a court hearing. Your attorney or accredited representative may be allowed to make a statement in support of your case at the end of the interview.
If you have both a NACARA and asylum application pending with the INS, you will normally be interviewed on your NACARA application first. If you are granted NACARA relief after the NACARA interview, you will then be given the option to continue with an asylum interview or to withdraw your asylum application. In order to make this decision, you may wish to talk with someone experienced with immigration matters, prior to the interview to help you decide what to do.
When will I be told of the decision on my NACARA application by the INS?
You may be told the decision on the day of your interview. If the INS does not tell you the decision on the day of your interview, the INS will either ask you to return to the asylum office to receive the decision at a later date, or you will be sent the decision by mail.
If I am told that I am eligible to have my NACARA application approved, will I be required to do or say anything else before being granted lawful permanent resident status?
Yes. After you are told that the INS intends to approve your NACARA application, you will be asked to sign a document in which you admit that you are inadmissible or deportable. This is necessary because the INS cannot approve your NACARA application until it is determined that you are inadmissible or deportable. Once you sign this admission document, your NACARA application can be approved, and the INS will grant you lawful permanent resident status.
If I sign the admission of inadmissibility or deportability, what am I admitting?
You are admitting that you have taken actions that make you inadmissible or deportable under United States’ immigration law. For example, if you entered the United States illegally or overstayed your non-immigrant visa, you are subject to a ground of inadmissibility or deportability under U.S. immigration law. Even if you presently have a work authorization card and a pending asylum application, you may still be inadmissible or deportable. The INS will only ask you to sign the admission document if the INS is going to approve your NACARA application and grant you lawful permanent resident status.
What will happen if I do not sign the document admitting that I am inadmissible or deportable?
If you do not sign the admission document, the INS will not be able to grant your NACARA application. In most cases, your application will be referred to an immigration judge for a decision. You may wish to consult with an attorney or representative before your interview if you have any concerns about signing a document in which you admit that you are inadmissible or deportable.
What will happen if my NACARA application is approved by the INS?
If the INS approves your NACARA application, you will be granted lawful permanent resident status in the United States. If your NACARA application is approved on the day of your interview, the Asylum Office will immediately give you temporary evidence of your lawful permanent resident status, and the INS will later send you a Permanent Resident Card (commonly known as a “green card”) by mail. If your NACARA application is approved sometime after the day of interview, you will receive temporary evidence of your lawful permanent resident status either when you return to the asylum office to receive the decision or by mail.
If my NACARA application is approved, what will happen to my asylum application?
Even if your NACARA application is approved, you are still eligible under the law to seek asylum in the United States. Once your NACARA application is approved, you will be asked whether you want to continue to seek asylum in the United States or withdraw your asylum application.
What are the possible reasons for wanting to continue with my asylum claim if my NACARA application is approved and I am granted permanent resident status?
Under United States law, any alien present in the United States is permitted to apply for asylum regardless of the alien’s status. A NACARA beneficiary may want to pursue an asylum application because a grant of asylum permits a dependent spouse or unmarried child under the age of 21 who is included in the asylum application to be granted asylum. If the spouse or unmarried child is not included in the asylum application or is outside the United States at the time the application is approved, the applicant may petition to give such dependents derivative asylum status. Upon approval of the petition, those dependent(s) residing outside the United States may then be allowed to join the applicant in the United States. There may also be certain public assistance benefits that are available based on an approved asylum application. You may wish to consult with an attorney or representative before your interview if you have any concerns about withdrawing an asylum application.
What happens if the INS determines that I am not eligible for NACARA 203 relief?
When the INS interviews you regarding your NACARA eligibility, you will also be interviewed regarding your eligibility for asylum if you have an asylum application pending with the INS. If the INS cannot grant NACARA relief and your asylum application is approved, your NACARA application will be dismissed. If the INS cannot grant your NACARA application and your asylum application is not approved, or you did not have a pending asylum application with the INS, your NACARA application will be sent to the Immigration Court in most instances. The INS does not have authority to deny an application for relief under NACARA. Therefore, if the INS cannot approve your application and you appear inadmissible or deportable, your NACARA application will be sent to the Immigration Court for an immigration judge to decide whether you are eligible for NACARA 203 relief.
NACARA 203: Employment Authorization
Am I permitted to work if I apply for relief under NACARA 203?
Most individuals who are eligible to apply for relief under NACARA 203 already have asylum applications that have been pending with the INS for more than 150 days and may apply for and receive an employment authorization document (EAD) based on the pending asylum application. However, if you do not have employment authorization, you may apply for employment authorization if your Form I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation or Removal under section 203 of NACARA, is properly filed and accepted by the INS or the Executive Office of Immigration Review. See 8 CFR. §274a.12(c) (10)
How do I apply for employment authorization based on a pending NACARA 203 application?
To apply for employment authorization, you should complete the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. For details on applying, see How Do I Get a Work Permit (Employment Authorization Document)? Instructions for the form explain how to complete the form, how to apply, and where to send the completed form. Your response to question 16 on the form I-765 should be (c)(10).
Please be sure to note the fee described on the I-765 Form Entry Page. If you send the INS a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, at the same time you send in your NACARA 203 application (Form I-881), please be sure to include the I-765 fee in a separate check or money order from the check or money order for your Form I-881 Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal, and fingerprinting fee.
For example, if you are applying for NACARA 203 relief and are also applying for employment authorization based on your NACARA 203 application, you should send a check or money order for the fee for NACARA 203 application and the fee for fingerprinting (if you are 14 years of age or older) and a separate check or money order for your application for employment authorization. For information regarding fee waivers, see Fees and Fee Waiver Information on the Forms and Fees page.
Where to send the application: Where you send your application depends on 1) whether you are applying for NACARA 203 relief for the first time with the Immigration Court or for the first time with the INS and 2) where you live.
Applicants with a NACARA 203 application (Form I-881) pending with the INS: If you are filing a Form I-881 with the INS, you may file an employment application at the same time you file the Form I-881. If your I-881 application is still pending with the INS and you wish to renew your employment authorization document (EAD), mail the form I-765 with the required fee to the appropriate INS Service Center indicated below:
Applicants applying before the Immigration Court or Board of Immigration Appeals: If your I-881 is pending with the Immigration Court or Board of Immigration Appeals, you may apply for employment authorization at the local INS district office (not asylum office) that has jurisdiction over your place of residence.