To all concerned:

As a Nepali attorney, I am putting the following out here in the interest of the community; you are welcome to listen to what I have to say or throw it aside - either way, I'm putting this out there as a word of caution.

In order to have a successful asylum application, you must first and foremost prove basis in law: there are five categories under which one can apply for Asylum, 99% of cases out of Nepal are based on Political Opinion. Secondly, you have to prove the fear of returning to your home country either as a result of past persecution or fear of future persecution (the persecution has to be against you personally, not members of your family or even people in your area/hometown). Thirdly, there is a strict time bar that applies - Asylum applications MUST be filed within one year of arrival to the U.S  unless you can prove really "Good Cause" why you didn't apply within the one year timeline.

Members of the Nepali community seem to look upon Political Asylum as a "right"; coincidentally, they also like to think of the USCIS as a bunch of idiots that are easily fooled; however, I happen to know of many unfortunate Nepalese who fell for the easy asylum stories and ended up in Federal Detention for months before finally being deported back to Nepal....that is a very real risk that folks need to be aware of.

 I find it shocking that people dispense advice along the lines of "show medical reports that you were badly injured"..sounds like what you are essentially saying is it's easy to lie your way through a credible fear interview...that is shocking to me!  No one can stop you from making a claim--whether real or manufactured, but please know that there are very real consequences for believing that you can cheat the system and lie your way through a credible fear interview --- I understand that the situation for some is dire and this seems like the only way out, but still, be aware of the consequences.

If an asylum application is approved..good..congrats to you!; if it is denied, you better be prepared to either appeal to the Board of Immigration Appelas (BIA) - within 30 days of the Judge's decision or be ready for departure. Youu can either be deported (in which case you face an automatic 10 year bar i.e. cannot re-enter the U.S for a period of 10 years unless you are lucky enough to qualify for a waiver of some sort) or you can ask for voluntary departure i.e. promise to the judge that you will leave by a particular date (advantage to this is that you do not face a bar to re-enter; technically, you can apply for a visa and try to re-enter the U.S even if you left under voluntary departure)

For Lahuredai: Be careful! The primary principle of the F-1 is essentially a promise between you and the U.S government that you will study in the U.S and return to your home country at the end of your academic program; if you applied for asylum half way through, you may be lucky and it may be approved, but, you had better get some legal counsel on what options you have if it is denied .

Again, as I said, this was in the interest of folks who may read through this string and think that Political Asylum case is as easy to get as a gallon of milk from the local grocery store...please think htrough this carefully because trust me, I've had to go to a Federal detention center before to help Nepali speaking detainees and it is NOT a place I recommend for anybody!!