MoFo recently won asylum for a Cameroonian man after more than 10 years of persistent advocacy through multiple procedural tangles. The firm’s client was persecuted by the ruling party in Cameroon, CPDM, and feared returning to Cameroon because he had been arrested, detained, and tortured by the CPDM on multiple occasions based on his political opinion and activity with an opposition political party.
The client initially arrived in the United States in 2013 with a D-1 crewmember visa after securing a job on a Greek ship scheduled to depart from the U.S. Just before his departure however, his home in Cameroon was burned down in what he feared was an act of further persecution. Consequently, he made the decision to seek asylum instead of joining the ship’s crew. In February 2014, MoFo submitted an asylum application on his behalf. However, due to his entry on a D-1 visa, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined that it lacked jurisdiction over his asylum claim and referred the claim to immigration court. Due to a clerical error, a notice to appear in immigration court was never issued and the client’s asylum application sat pending for several years. During this time, the client married a U.S. citizen and filed an application to adjust his status based on the marriage, which was denied because of the D-1 visa issue.
In 2020, USCIS reissued the notice to appear at the request of MoFo, effectively restarting the client's asylum application process before the immigration court. In early July of this year, the MoFo team submitted supplementary evidence to support the client’s application. Finally, on July 17, the government attorney conceded the majority of the issues raised in the client’s application and limited her cross-examination to the nexus between the client’s political opinion and his detention and torture at the hands of the CPDM. As a result, the Judge granted the client asylum at the hearing, holding that he had established that he was persecuted based on his political opinion and had a reasonable fear of returning to Cameroon.
The MoFo team representing the client was led by Washington, D.C. partner Mary Prendergast, and included New York of counsel Jonathan Newmark, Washington, D.C. associate Joshua Fattal, and New York associate Michael Ahern, with support from Washington, D.C. paralegal Clara Chilian. The case was referred to MoFo by Human Rights First, a leading nonprofit whose Refugee Representation program trains and mentors pro bono lawyers to represent asylum seekers across the U.S.
“The MoFo team was proud to be able to secure our client’s asylum status after a long and circuitous path through USCIS and immigration court,” said Michael Ahern. “We hope that this decision provides closure for our client and allows him to open a new chapter of his life in the U.S.” The team continues to work with the client on applications for his three children, who currently live in Cameroon, to join him in the U.S. as derivative beneficiaries of his asylum status.
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