Use EN, RU, or UA in the header to translate the complete article. Automatic translations are provided for convenience; the English text is the original.
Original source edition: January 20, 2025.
A strong asylum filing explains the personal story clearly and supports material facts with reasonably available evidence. Country reports are important, but they do not prove that a particular event happened to a particular person.
Records that may matter
- Passports, internal passports, birth records, military documents, and identity records.
- Police complaints, court papers, summonses, detention records, or official correspondence.
- Medical or psychological records and photographs of injuries or property damage.
- Messages, emails, social-media posts, call logs, news coverage, and evidence of political, religious, civic, or community activity.
- Detailed statements from witnesses who explain what they personally observed.
- Country-condition material tied to the applicant’s location, identity, and feared harm.
Explain missing evidence and inconsistencies
If a document cannot reasonably be obtained, explain why and describe the efforts made. Dates, names, addresses, travel history, and transliteration differences should be reviewed across every form and record. A discrepancy should be identified and honestly explained rather than silently changed.
Translate the complete document
USCIS instructions require a full English translation for foreign-language evidence, with a signed translator certification stating that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate.
Official source: USCIS Instructions for Form I-589.