HOW TO APPLY FOR ASYLUM - The Florence Project

with the stamp will prove that you filed it. If not, you may have to get a copy of the first page from the
Immigration Court so you can send that with your application. If you won your case, include a copy of the
judge’s order with your Form I-765. If you have won your asylum case you must follow the judges’ oral advisal
and the written instructions you receive from the DHS trial attorney entitled, Post-Order Instruction for
Individuals Granted Relief or Protection from Removal by Immigration Court, to obtain your evidence of status
and work authorization documentation from the DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Note: If you
have received a final order of withholding of removal, you must follow the filing instructions for the Form I-
765.
Read the instructions that go with the work permit application form and answer all questions. The
instructions also tell you what else you need to include with the application.
For Question #14, if you entered illegally, write “entered without inspection.”
For Question #15, if the judge has not decided your case, write “asylum/withholding pending.” If you won
asylum, write “asylee.” If you won withholding or Torture Convention withholding, write “granted
withholding.”
For Question #16, if the judge has not yet decided your case, or if you won but DHS appealed, put “(c)(8)” and
mail the application to a DHS Service Center (the instructions tell you which one to mail it to). If you won
asylum and DHS did not appeal, put “(a)(5)” and follow the instructions of the Immigration Judge and the
written instructions you receive from the DHS trial attorney entitled, Post-Order Instruction for Individuals
Granted Relief or Protection from Removal by Immigration Court. Effective April 1, 2005 if you won
withholding (either general or Torture Convention) and DHS did not appeal, put “(a)(10)” and you must file
your application Form I-765 at the Chicago Lockbox Facility. The direct mail address is: U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, P.O. Box 805887, Chicago, IL 60680-4120 or non-U.S. postal service carriers (private
couriers) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Attn: FBASI, 427 S. LaSalle – 3 rd Floor, Chicago, IL
60605-1098. If you were granted Torture Convention deferral of removal and you were released from DHS
custody, put “(c)(18)” and follow the instructions in the work authorization booklet.
Make a copy of the Form I 765 and everything you send with it for your personal files, and if you are filing it
by mail, send it by certified mail. The permit does not cost anything the first time. It lasts one year. When you
renew it, you have to pay a fee.
It should take 30 days to get a decision regarding whether work authorization will be granted. If you have not
gotten a decision within 30 days, you should go to a local DHS office to try and get a temporary work permit.
• Can I travel outside of the United States after getting out of detention
If you leave the country before your case is over, you will automatically lose your case. You should not
leave until you have received a final decision. Even if the judge gives you asylum, withholding or
deferral of removal, if DHS appeals, the decision is not final.
If you won asylum and the decision is final, you have to wait a year before you can apply for permanent
residence (your "green card") by filing a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to
Adjust Status. You can travel during this time, if you ask for and receive permission from DHS by filing a
Form I-131, Application for a Travel Document or by requesting Advance Parole, but you should not return
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FIRRP- last update June 2007