Queens Asylum Lawyers

Last Updated on: 11th October 2025, 11:05 am

Queens Asylum Lawyers

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 50 years of combined experience helping Queens residents seek asylum. If you’re here, it’s because you fled persecution and need protection in the United States.

Queens is the most diverse county in America. Asylum seekers from every continent – Chinese families in Flushing fleeing religious persecution, South Asians in Jackson Heights escaping political violence, Latin Americans in Corona and Elmhurst fleeing gang threats, African refugees throughout Queens escaping ethnic violence and war. Your asylum case will be heard at Immigration Court at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan where judges handle thousands of cases annually from Queens’ diverse communities.

Asylum Requirements

To win asylum, you must prove you suffered past persecution or have a well-founded fear of future persecution based on race and religion, nationality and political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The persecution must be by the government or by private actors the government cannot or will not control.

You must file within one year of your last arrival in the United States unless changed circumstances or extraordinary circumstances excuse the delay. Missing the one-year deadline bars you from asylum but you can still pursue withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture protection.

Queens Asylum Communities

Chinese asylum seekers in Flushing often flee religious persecution – underground Christian churches, Falun Gong practitioners persecuted by Chinese authorities, Uyghur Muslims facing cultural genocide. We handle asylum cases based on religious persecution and political opinion and particular social group membership.

South Asian communities in Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill and Elmhurst include asylum seekers fleeing religious persecution and political persecution and gender-based violence. Indian asylum seekers flee religious minority persecution or political persecution. Pakistani Christians and Ahmadis flee religious persecution. Bangladeshi political activists and religious minorities seek protection.

Latin American families throughout Queens flee gang violence in El Salvador and Honduras and Guatemala. Establishing particular social group for gang-based persecution is legally complex – you must prove you’re a member of a distinct social group targeted by gangs and that the government cannot or will not protect you.

African refugees throughout Queens flee ethnic violence and political persecution, religious persecution and war. Each country presents different persecution patterns requiring different country conditions evidence.

Middle Eastern refugees throughout Queens flee war and sectarian violence and religious minority persecution and political persecution. Syrian and Iraqi refugees, Afghan and Iranian and Yemeni refugees seek protection.

26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court

Most Queens asylum cases are heard at Immigration Court at 26 Federal Plaza, 1328 in downtown Manhattan. This court serves Brooklyn and Queens and Staten Island. The court has a massive caseload – tens of thousands of pending cases with asylum hearings typically scheduled two to three years out.

Judge assignment matters enormously. Some immigration judges grant asylum in 60% or more of cases. Others grant asylum in less than 10% of cases. Judges have different views on which types of persecution qualify, which countries are safe, how to evaluate credibility.

We appear at 26 Federal Plaza regularly. We know the judges. We know their tendencies and their views on different types of asylum claims. We tailor our arguments to the assigned judge.

The One-Year Filing Deadline

You must file your asylum application within one year of your last arrival in the United States. Many Queens asylum seekers miss this deadline – not knowing about it, receiving bad advice, believing they could wait.

Exceptions exist. Changed circumstances means conditions in your country changed or your personal circumstances changed – a coup occurred and new persecution laws passed, family member was killed and new threats arose. Extraordinary circumstances means serious illness and mental or physical disability and ineffective assistance of counsel and being a minor.

If you’re past the one-year deadline, you can still apply for withholding of removal and CAT protection. These have higher standards but no deadline.

Credibility Is Everything

Immigration judges decide asylum cases primarily on credibility. If the judge believes you and your testimony proves the asylum elements, you win. If the judge doesn’t believe you, you lose even with strong evidence.

Judges evaluate credibility based on consistency – does your testimony match your written application and prior statements? Plausibility – is your story believable given country conditions? Detail – can you provide specific details about events and dates and places? Demeanor – how do you testify? Corroboration – do you have documents and witnesses supporting your claim?

We prepare clients extensively for testimony. We review applications line by line. We conduct mock hearings. We identify inconsistencies before trial and prepare explanations. We gather corroborating evidence – medical records and police reports, newspaper articles and expert affidavits.

Country Conditions Evidence

Asylum cases require extensive evidence about conditions in your country proving persecution exists. State Department country reports. Human Rights Watch reports. Amnesty International reports. News articles. Expert witness declarations.

We maintain country conditions databases for the dozens of countries represented in Queens’ immigrant communities. We work with expert witnesses who testify about specific countries. We update evidence as conditions change.

Why We Handle These Cases

Todd Spodek is a second-generation attorney – his father practiced law before him. After graduating from Pace Law School, Todd started appearing in courts throughout New York daily. He’s represented clients in high-profile cases including Anna Delvey – the case that became a Netflix series. Our firm has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Bloomberg.

We handle asylum cases for Queens residents from every community. Chinese asylum seekers and South Asian asylum seekers, Latin American families and African refugees, Middle Eastern refugees. Whether you’re filing affirmatively or defending in removal proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza – call us. We’re available 24/7.