Meet with RIF’s legal navigator team and Attorney, Esteban Figueroa-Brusi, to ask your questions! This is an opportunity to learn more about your situation and get advice for the next steps!

French, Spanish, and Russian speakers available!

Every Monday our group members share their experiences as asylum-seekers and their emotional impact on their lives and loved ones. Guidance and support are provided to deal with the stress, shortage of resources, and uncertainty of the asylum process.

RIF provides guidance for asylum-seekers who want to further their education while they are going through their asylum process. Check out our education page to learn more about the achievements of our community members!

Share information on jobs, housing/apartment rentals, and other resources with RIF members!

Subscribe to our channel for videos on how to apply for asylum, interview preparation, job search, and education resources!

USCIS is now experiencing 16-week delays in sending out receipt notices. It is important to note that the one-year filing deadline and Employment Authorization Documents are based on the date the asylum application is received, not when receipt notices are sent out. For those reasons, it is important to keep all certified mail receipts and tracking numbers.

Have you not received your USCIS receipt yet regarding the submission of your asylum application? Here is what you can do: call 1-800-375-5283: You will hear an automatic message but when it says: How can I help you? Please say: Info Pass this should get you to a real person.

Give them your name, and date of birth, and explain that you have not received your receipt. Please also give the date of when you or your lawyer sent the application. Please note that the wait time to speak to a real person may be long.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

New York residents must now send their applications to the California Service Center, instead of the Vermont Service Center.

Please send applications via DHL/FedEx so you can keep a tracking number. Even though it is more expensive it will provide proof of the date that USCIS has received your application.

If sending by FedEx, UPS, or DHL (recommended): See non-P.O. Box address above.

 

RIF has partnered with Washington DC-based organization TASSC (Torture Abolition and survivors support coalition). TASSC is leading a national campaign to address the specific backlog of Asylum Seekers known as “Affirmative” Asylum Seekers who are waiting for their first asylum interview at USCIS. They are more than 400,000 Asylum Seekers caught in the Affirmative Backlog.

To learn more about the backlog and our progress, please see our Campaign Page.