Tips for Asylum Interview

Sample Interview Questions

The following questions will likely be asked at your asylum interview.  You should review them carefully and be prepared to answer them.  Most of the answers to these questions are contained in your asylum application and sworn declaration.  We will discuss the questions and answers during the review sessions just before your interview.

1. Why are you applying for asylum?  Because I am afraid of being harmed or killed in my country.

2. Who are you afraid will harm or kill you? 

3. Why would these people/groups/government want to harm you?

4. Have you ever been harmed or threatened in the past? If NO, skip to question #12.

5. Who was responsible for the threat or harm?

6. If you are not sure who was responsible, who do you think it was and why do you think so?

7. When did the threat or harm take place?

8. Please describe what happened?

9. Do you know why the threat or harm took place? If yes, how do you know?

10. Did you or others report the threat or harm to the police or security forces of your country?  If no, why not?

11. What precautions, if any, were taken after the threat or harm?

12. Did you leave the country immediately after the threat or incident of harm? If not, why not?

13. After leaving the country where you were harmed or fear harm, did you return to this country? If so, why and for how long? Were you harmed after your return? What precautions, if any, did you take during you stay?

14. Did you apply for asylum in any country before coming to the United States? Why or why not?

15. Did you travel through countries where you could have applied for asylum? If so, why did you not apply?  This is especially applicable when your travels took place after you were threatened or harmed. 

16. Have you registered as a refugee in any country prior to coming to the United States? Why or why not?

17. Has any country in the world offered you any form of permanent residence and/or citizenship in the past?
18. Have you applied for any form of temporary residence in any country at any time?  If yes, describe the nature of the residence, including its basis, length, renewability, restrictions, etc.

19. Have any relatives (especially immediate family members), friends, or colleagues been threatened or harmed in your country? If NO, skip to question #29.

20.  Who was responsible for their threat or harm?

21. If you are not sure who was responsible, who do you think it was and why do you think so?

22. When did the threat or harm take place?

23. Please describe what happened?

24. Do you know why the threat or harm took place? If yes, how do you know?

25. Were the threats reported to the police or security forces of your country?  If no, why not?

26. What precautions, if any, did they take after the threat or harm?

27. Did they leave the country immediately after the threat or incident of harm? If not, why not?

28. If they continued residing in the country of persecution, did anything else happen to them? If not, how come? And if they were able to live without further incidents of threats or harm, what makes you think you would be targeted?  This is applicable where the threats or harm they suffered was similar to yours.  Otherwise, it has much less relevance.

29. Any relatives in foreign countries? When and why did they leave? What’s their immigration status there? Have you visited them? Have you applied for status in those countries? If not, why not?

30. Are you afraid to return to your country?

31. What are you afraid will happen to you? I am afraid of being harmed or killed in my country.

32. What kind of harm do you fear?

33. Who would harm or kill you?

34. Why would ‘they’ harm or kill you?

35. Can you live in another part of your country and be safe? Why or why not?

36. How can you be identified as member or someone adhering to a specific religion, denomination, political opinion, and/or race?

37. Can you freely practice your religion in your country?

38. Did you lie or make any misrepresentation to the U.S. Embassy to gain entry into the United States, whether through the DS-160 or at the interview? If yes, what did you misrepresent and why?

39. Did you lie or make any misrepresentation to any U.S. official at any time about anything? If yes, what, where, and why?   

40. How did you hear about asylum?

41. Did you intend to apply for asylum before coming to the U.S.? If yes, did the intention arise before you applied for the visa or after you applied but before you entered the U.S.?

42. Why did you apply for asylum in the United States and not elsewhere? Do you have any relatives or friends in the U.S.? What is their immigration status? 

43. *Please note the following security-related questions will be asked of you, your spouse, and children 13 years and older:

44. Has any country in the world offered you or your family citizenship, permanent residence, asylum, or temporary residence?

45. If yes to temporary residence, describe the nature of such residence, including its basis, length, renewability, restrictions, etc. For example, does it allow you to travel in and out of the country?  Can you work or own property with it?  Can you go to school and receive government benefits? Can you apply for endless renewals?

46. Have you joined the police or military of your country or any other country?  If yes, was it mandatory or voluntary? You will be asked to describe your service in details, including where you served, your rank, and your duties.

47. What countries, if any, have you visited in your life, and especially in the last five years? When did you travel there, for how long, with whom, and for what purpose?

48. Have you ever belonged to, or been associated with, any political, social, student, religious, or professional organizations? If yes, was it by choice, pressure, or under threat of violence?

49. Even if you did not want to, have you ever provided money, food, medical service, shelter, or any other support to any group that uses violence to further its cause? If yes, give details. 

50. Have you ever been arrested and/or convicted for any crimes anywhere in the world?

51. Do you or your family members pose a threat to the security of the United States?

52. Have you received any military training in the past?

53. Have you ever harmed anyone because of his or her race, religion, ethnicity, membership in a social group, or political opinion?

54. Have you ever been witness to someone being harmed or tortured for any reason?

55. Is there anything you would like to add that we have not discussed, and you feel is important to tell me?

Interview Mannerism Tips and how to work with Interpreters

1. Dress appropriately, neither too formal nor too casual, and avoid clothes that are distracting or flashy. Do not wear hats/caps, shorts, or sandals/slippers.    

2. Try to maintain eye contact with the officer when speaking, even when using the interpreter.

3. Do not look to the interpreter or attorney for answers. If necessary to clarify a point or clear up a misunderstanding, the attorney may interfere where appropriate to remedy the situation.

4. Listen carefully to the question being asked and respond to the question directly. Don’t answer more than what the question asks for.  If the officer wants more detail, they will not hesitate to ask.  The AO has already read your claim and wants answers to specific questions only.  When you say more than what is being asked you risk frustrating the officer or bringing up new issues leading to more questions.

5. Speak in short but complete and direct sentences. The officer has to write/type your answers and will keep interrupting you if you are speaking too fast and he cannot keep up. If you are using an interpreter, it is even more important that you speak in short sentences; otherwise, the interpretation may be inaccurate or incomplete, and that could negatively affect your credibility.   

6. Do not interrupt the officer or the interpreter while they are speaking.

7. Speak in an audible, clear voice.  This is especially important when the officer calls an interpreter monitor to listen in and make sure the interpretation is accurate. The monitor needs to hear you clearly so they can perform their job.

8. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so and don’t invent an answer.

9. If you don’t understand a question, ask that it be repeated or rephrased. Never answer a question you don’t understand. 

10. If you are not certain about a date, try to preface your answer with “on or about,” “to the best of my recollection,” or “approximately.” You could also respond by giving a range of time during which an event may have taken place; for example, instead of saying the month and year an incident occurred, you could say it happened in the summer of 2015 or in late 2014. 

11. If the officer catches an inconsistency within your testimony, or between your testimony and asylum application, you will usually be given an opportunity to explain. The officer, by law, cannot conclude you are not credible unless you are given an opportunity to explain any perceived inconsistencies.   You must therefore take this opportunity and explain away/resolve the inconsistency. If the inconsistency concerns a date, explain to the officer that the declaration was written over a matter of days and that you were able to verify the dates with family members and by looking at your documents, if applicable.  As such, you should tell the officer that the date on the application or declaration is likely the more accurate. 

12. Respond to open-ended questions with a brief summary statement.  For example, if you are asked why you are applying for asylum, you should say something like: ‘Because I am afraid of being harmed or killed.’  The officer will ask the necessary follow-up questions to extract the necessary information from you.  

13. If the officer asks the same question more than once, don’t get frustrated and begin respond with the phrase ‘I already told you.’ If the officer repeatedly asks you the same question or whether anything else took place think about your previous answers to see if you might have missed some information that was included on your declaration. The officer may be trying to help.  

14. If the officer misstates a fact in your case, don’t tell the officer ‘you don’t understand!’ Simply correct or clarify in a respectful manner.   

15. Don’t answer a question with a question. For example, if asked ‘Are you afraid of returning to your country?’ you should not answer with ‘Of course I am, don’t you see what is happening in my country?’

16. Always vocalize your responses- don’t shake your head to indicate yes or no.  When speaking English, respond by saying Yes or No, not Yeah or Aha.

17. Be alert and ready to answer questions as soon as the interview begins.  Don’t appear lethargic.  Rise up to the challenge from the first moment.  Try to get a good night’s rest the day before the interview.     

18. Generally, you cannot look at any notes or documents to help you answer a question, unless given approval by the officer.

19. Be aware of any nervous ticks you might have and try to minimize them during the interview, especially if they are noisy or obvious, like cracking your fingers, clicking your pen continuously, tapping your legs, etc. Sometimes you cannot help yourself and that is understandable. Almost everyone is nervous during the interviews, and most officers, for the most part, are cognizant of this and are sympathetic. So just do your best.  I don’t want you to get nervous about seeming nervous and allow it to negatively affect your performance.