CASE: Asylum in Immigration Court
CLIENT: Cameroonian
LOCATION: Cleveland Immigration Court
Our Cameroonian client came to the United States as an arriving alien in May 2012. She was detained at Eloy Processing Center for three months, and later paroled into the United States. A Notice to Appear was issued and our client was placed in removal proceedings. After she got the Notice to Appear and first Master Calendar hearing notice, she contacted and retained our firm in April 2013.
She was persecuted and harmed in Cameroon based on her political opinion and political activism, so within one year of her entry, she filed an asylum application (Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and relief under the CAT)
Our client was scared to go back home to Cameroon, fearing that she will be persecuted based on her political opinion and her past participation in certain organizational activities. While she was in Cameroon, our client joined marches against the government’s actions and participated in political activities for Southern Cameroonians. As a result, she was arrested and detained multiple times by the Cameroonian police and has experienced harm and mistreatments in numerous occasions.
We helped her file her asylum application and represented her in immigration court hearings. We also asked her to provide supporting documents corroborating her claim, some of which were a letter from her parents, colleagues and friends in Cameroon, Cameroonian medical documents of our client’s injury, and her membership certification with the organization. Our firm also did some research on articles related to her claim, and the type of persecution she will experience in Cameroon if sent back.
Our client’s individual hearing was scheduled on September 30, 2013 at the Cleveland Immigration Court. Attorney Sung Hee Yu from our firm prepared her extensively twice, both of which lasted several hours. He also represented our client at her Individual Hearing.
During the hearing, our client testified credibly as to her past persecution in Cameroon and likelihood of future persecution. After the hearing, the Immigration Judge granted asylum relief for our client. She is now an asylee who will get her work permit in two weeks and will be eligible to apply for permanent residency in one year.