Q: As a asylee granted by EOIR, have I EVER been in removal, exclusion, rescission, or deportation proceedings?
I am seeking clarification on a specific aspect of Form I-485, Part 8, Item Number 18, which reads as “Are you presently or have you EVER been in removal, exclusion, rescission, or deportation proceedings.” Following a referral by USCIS, I had an asylum case before the EOIR immigration court, and the court approved my case. However, I am uncertain whether my EOIR defensive case falls under the category of "removal, exclusion, rescission, or deportation proceedings." While I assume that I must have been in removal proceedings in immigration court, I am seeking confirmation for accuracy. Thank you in advance for your assistance in addressing this query.
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A:
Yes, if you were granted asylum by an immigration judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), then you were previously in removal proceedings.
The immigration court system within EOIR oversees removal proceedings - these are administrative proceedings to determine whether non-citizens should be ordered removed (deported) from the United States. Defensive asylum claims, where non-citizens request asylum because they have been placed in removal proceedings, go through the immigration court system.
Therefore, since you were referred by USCIS to the immigration court, and had an asylum case before an immigration judge, you were in removal proceedings even though the outcome was a grant of asylum.
So on Form I-485 Part 8 Item Number 18, you should answer 'Yes' to having been in removal proceedings because of your defensive asylum case. Being in removal proceedings in the past does not negatively impact your I-485 application after having been granted asylum - it is just part of your immigration history that USCIS wants to account for.
I hope this helps confirm that going through the EOIR immigration court for a defensive asylum claim means you have been in removal proceedings in the past.
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