Immigration courts
Boston Immigration Court
15 New Sudbury St, Suite 320, Boston, MA 02203
Est. wait 3.8 yrs · 10 judges · Pending 30,000
Wait times and pending-case figures are estimates; confirm your hearing with your A-number through EOIR.
Free immigration tool · Massachusetts
Do You Qualify for Asylum? Screener for MassachusettsTwo Minutes. Nothing Stored.
Asylum protects people who were persecuted, or fear persecution, because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The screener mirrors what an asylum officer or immigration judge has to decide.
Free tool · Santos Khoury Law
Asylum Eligibility Screener
Five confidential questions covering the core requirements, the one-year deadline, and the common bars.
100% confidential. Runs in your browser, nothing is stored or sent.
Question 1 of 50%
Have you been harmed or threatened in your home country, or do you fear serious harm if you return?
Think You May Qualify?
The one-year deadline and the details of your story can make or break an asylum case. Get a professional assessment before you file Form I-589, in your language.
Disclaimer: Asylum eligibility depends on the specific facts of your case, current case law in your circuit, and how your claim is documented and argued. This tool provides general information only and is not legal advice. Using it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Santos Khoury Law.
How it works in Massachusetts
Asylum Eligibility Screener: What It Means for a Massachusetts Case
Affirmative asylum interviews for Massachusetts and the rest of New England are scheduled through the Boston Asylum Office. Referred cases go to the Boston Immigration Court or the Chelmsford court, both with multi-year non-detained dockets.
Referred and defensive cases are heard at the Boston immigration court, an estimated 30,000 pending cases. A complete application filed early is the strongest lever you control.
Massachusetts immigration facts
The Courts, Facilities, and Offices That Decide Massachusetts Cases
ICE detention facilities
Massachusetts arrests are usually held at Plymouth County Correctional Facility or transferred to Strafford County in New Hampshire, and increasingly to facilities in Texas and Louisiana. Hearings for detained New England cases run through the Boston Immigration Court and the Chelmsford court.
- Plymouth County Correctional Facility, Plymouth, MA: the main ICE detention site in Massachusetts
- Strafford County Department of Corrections, Dover, NH: many Massachusetts arrestees are transferred here
USCIS and asylum offices
Affirmative asylum interviews for Massachusetts residents are generally scheduled through the Boston Asylum Office (Boston, MA).
USCIS field offices serving Massachusetts: Boston, Lawrence.
How we serve Massachusetts
Our attorneys are admitted in Massachusetts and appear at the Boston Immigration Court and the Chelmsford court, in person and by video.
Languages: English · Español · Português · العربية · Français · Hours: 24/7
Common questions
Asylum Eligibility Screener Questions From Massachusetts
What is the one-year asylum deadline?
You generally must file Form I-589 within one year of your last arrival in the United States. Exceptions exist for changed circumstances (new danger, a new law, a change in your status) and extraordinary circumstances (serious illness, being a minor, ineffective counsel). Withholding of removal and CAT protection have no deadline.
Can I work while my asylum case is pending?
You can apply for a work permit after your application has been pending for 150 days, subject to the 180-day asylum clock. Delays you cause can stop the clock.
What if my fear is of a gang or cartel, not the government?
Harm by a group the government cannot or will not control can qualify, but you must tie it to a protected ground and show the state failed to protect you. These cases turn on how the claim is framed and documented.
Do I need a lawyer to apply for asylum?
You can file alone, but represented applicants win far more often. The declaration, the country-conditions evidence, and the legal theory of the case are where cases are won or lost.
Where is the asylum interview for Massachusetts residents?
Affirmative interviews for Massachusetts residents are generally scheduled through the Boston Asylum Office in Boston, MA. If the case is referred, it goes to the Boston immigration court.
What happens after I file Form I-589?
You receive a receipt, then biometrics, then an interview notice; the wait can be years. After 150 days pending you can apply for a work permit. Keep your address current with USCIS so notices reach you.
Have a different question? Call (866) 369-0220
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Free and confidential
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