Staten Island Asylum Lawyers

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

Staten Island Asylum Lawyers

The asylum officer said you didnt establish credible fear. Interview lasted 45 minutes. You explained the threats, the violence, why you left. Officer took notes, asked follow-up questions, seemed engaged. Two days later: negative credible fear determination. Now you’re in expedited removal proceedings facing deportation within days unless you request review before an immigration judge.

This is how thousands of asylum cases begin – not with careful preparation and legal representation, but in detention after a failed credible fear interview. By the time people reach us, they’re fighting from behind.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 50 years of combined experience representing Staten Island asylum seekers. Your case will likely be heard at 26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court in Manhattan.

What Happens After Negative Credible Fear

Negative credible fear determination doesn’t end your case – but it puts you on an accelerated timeline. You have the right to request review by an immigration judge. Must request within 7 days. The judge reviews the asylum officer’s determination, conducts a new interview, and decides whether you have credible fear.

If the judge also finds negative credible fear, you’re subject to expedited removal. Deported to your country within days. No further appeals. Your only option at that point is withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection – much higher standards than asylum.

Staten Island resident from Venezuela failed credible fear in 2024. Detained at the border, interviewed by asylum officer who found his fear not credible. We represented him at the immigration judge review. Judge disagreed with the asylum officer – found credible fear established. He was released from detention and placed in removal proceedings. Case is pending. Two years out for individual hearing.

Why Credible Fear Interviews Fail

Many negative determinations happen because applicants can’t articulate the connection between harm and a protected ground. You were threatened by a gang – that’s crime, not persecution, unless you can show you were targeted because of your political opposition to gangs or your membership in a particular social group.

Other failures occur because of credibility issues. Inconsistencies. Vague details. The asylum officer thinks you’re not telling the truth.

Client from Honduras – credible fear interview lasted under 30 minutes. Officer found no credible fear. At the immigration judge review, we presented for 90 minutes with detailed testimony and country conditions evidence. Judge found credible fear. The first interview wasn’t thorough enough.

Defensive Asylum in Immigration Court

Once you pass credible fear – either initially or on review – you’re placed in removal proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza. Now you must prove your full asylum claim before an immigration judge, not just credible fear.

Credible fear standard is low: significant possibility of establishing asylum eligibility. Asylum standard is much higher: well-founded fear of persecution, credible testimony, corroborating evidence, nexus to protected ground.

The Hearing Timeline Problem

26 Federal Plaza has massive backlogs. Individual hearings scheduled 2-3 years from master calendar. You wait years while your case is pending. You can apply for work authorization if your case has been pending 150 days and you haven’t caused the delay.

But time doesn’t help your case if you’re not preparing. Immigration judges expect extensive documentation, corroborating evidence, expert reports. Three years is enough time to build a strong case. Use it.

When You Miss the One-Year Deadline

Asylum must be filed within one year of arriving in the United States. But many Staten Island asylum seekers we represent didn’t enter through credible fear screening. They entered on visas – tourist, student, work visa – and stayed. By the time they realized they needed asylum, they were past the one-year deadline.

Exceptions exist but they’re narrow. Changed circumstances materially affecting asylum eligibility. Extraordinary circumstances temporarily preventing filing. You must file within a reasonable period after the changed or extraordinary circumstances.

Changed circumstances that work: new government targeting your group, new laws criminalizing your activities, family member killed making you a target, your U.S. political activism making you a target upon return. Changed circumstances that don’t work: general country deterioration, bad economy, crime rates increasing.

We represented a Russian asylum seeker from Staten Island who entered in 2019 on a tourist visa, stayed, filed asylum in 2024. Five years late. He argued changed circumstances – Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequent crackdown on dissidents. He had participated in anti-war protests in Staten Island, posted on social media, became visible. Immigration judge accepted the changed circumstances argument. Individual hearing scheduled for next year.

The Extraordinary Circumstances Problem

Extraordinary circumstances are even harder to prove. Serious illness or mental disability preventing filing. Ineffective assistance of counsel. Maintaining lawful immigration status.

Immigration judges interpret these narrowly. Client argued PTSD from persecution prevented timely filing. No professional diagnosis. No evidence of treatment. Judge rejected it. Asylum denied. He’s pursuing withholding of removal instead.

Building Cases That Win

Asylum cases are won on credibility and corroboration. Immigration judges need to believe your story. They need evidence backing it up.

Credibility means consistency. Your written asylum application matches your testimony. Your testimony matches what you told the asylum officer. Dates, locations, names, sequence of events – all consistent. Small inconsistencies destroy cases even when the persecution actually happened.

Corroboration means evidence beyond your testimony. Police reports. Medical records. Photos. Threatening letters. Affidavits from witnesses. Country conditions evidence from Department of State, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International.

Expert Witnesses Make the Difference

Country conditions experts explain political situations, government persecution patterns, why internal relocation isn’t feasible. Psychologists document trauma consistent with persecution – PTSD, depression, anxiety. Medical experts interpret scars and injuries.

These experts are expensive. $3,000-$8,000 per report typically. Many Staten Island asylum seekers can’t afford them. But in close cases, expert testimony makes the difference between grant and denial.

We used a country conditions expert in an Albanian blood feud case last year. The immigration judge didn’t understand how the Kanun code operates, why police won’t intervene, why moving to Tirana doesn’t solve the problem. Expert report explained it comprehensively. Four-hour hearing. Judge granted asylum.

When Asylum Is Barred

Certain criminal convictions bar asylum. Aggravated felony – complete bar. Particularly serious crime – bars asylum. If you’re barred from asylum, you can still pursue withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection.

Withholding requires proving it’s more likely than not you’ll be persecuted. Higher standard than asylum’s well-founded fear. Doesn’t lead to green card. Prevents deportation to the country where you’d be persecuted, but no path to permanent status.

CAT protection requires proving it’s more likely than not you’ll be tortured by or with government acquiescence. Very high bar. Available even with serious criminal convictions that bar both asylum and withholding.

We won CAT for a Staten Island resident from Honduras last year. Drug conviction – barred from asylum and withholding. Former police officer who reported corruption, testified against colleagues. We proved he’d likely be tortured if returned. Judge granted CAT. He can stay, cant be removed to Honduras, but no green card. Work authorization renewed yearly. Better than torture. Not great.

Why Spodek Law Group

I’m Todd Spodek – second-generation attorney. My father practiced law before me. Over 50 years of combined experience representing asylum seekers at 26 Federal Plaza. We handle credible fear reviews, defensive asylum cases, BIA appeals.

We’ve represented clients in high-profile cases – Anna Delvey, featured in the Netflix series. Our work has been covered in The New York Times, Newsweek, Bloomberg. But most of our asylum clients aren’t famous. They’re people who fled persecution and need protection.

We represent Staten Island asylum seekers from every community – Russian speakers fleeing political persecution, Latin Americans escaping gang violence, Africans fleeing ethnic conflict, Chinese Christians, Middle Eastern refugees. Your case gets the same preparation whether you’re on the front page or you’re one of thousands waiting for a hearing at Federal Plaza.

We’re available 24/7. Call us. We can help.