Let me explain my background:

I entered the U.S. Oct. 91 (5 years old) on a Visitor for Pleasure Visa (B-2 I think), we overstayed the visa and it took my parents until '95 (didn't understand legal/immigration system, much less english) to submit papers to USCIS, USCIS claims they never found our previous application and never replied, 9/11 happens and the government requests we report our presence since we're from a Muslim majority country and we did, and have been filing for Asylumship under religious persecution (Christians and Muslims don't mix too well in Indonesia) since 2004, but we've had postponements due to bad lawyers, extensions, and translators not being present. Since last year, we transferred our case from Colorado to California. Not once have we ever left the country since '91 and we are here with an EAD renewed each year. I'm 21 and was raised here. I have no experience of religious persecution myself, but my dad has experienced it.

Questions: Is this a good enough case for permanent residenceship to be granted? What should my parents be looking for to strengthen their case? What happens during the individual interview process?

Note: I would like to have permanent residenship to continue my halfway completed psych/french bachelors degree and make it be a masters degree, not depend on my boyfriend of 5 yrs for status (what if he divorces me?), not depend on my parents for money for school so I can get my own job and my own place (I live with parents cause they're filing the applications) without having case appearances three times a year and be pressured to complete school before the government possibly removes me, and I work as a church secretary so my employers don't need to sponsor me if they can just replace me instead.

Thanks for your help!

Your family started on the wrong foot... it's getting more complicated. What is your current status? Are you married to US citizen?

Give me more info... it can be done separately i.e. you got married to US citizen and then you file for your parents, etc.

Currently, the USCIS is figuring whether we have a religious persecution asylum case or not and grants us a yearly EAD until they have decided. Although my boyfriend is a U.S. citizen, I'm not married to him and he knows I don't want to go down that route because my society (american-raised indonesians) ridicules convenience marriages, since it will eventually fall apart. If I was forced to go there, my parents would pay for my boyfriend and my application and pay for the couples' lawyer during interviews, making me more dependent on them *cringe*. My boyfriend is 22 and I'm 21, we're too young for marriage damnit *lol*.

It should not take this long... from my experience, there is insufficient evidence to convince USCIS that your family will be facing hardship if asylum not granted... but it's in the between the lines that they can't say no. What did your attorney say?

I understand the culture issue you're having, but from immigration's point of view, it's the easiest way to become lawful permanent residents. By the way, immigration attorney with experience in human rights can be helpful in case like this.

What do you mean exactly by:


it's in the between the lines that they can't say no.

Sometimes I don't get English slang, but my bf's inexperience with USCIS wouldn't help in explaining "between the lines" in this case.

I'm female and in my culture I'm not considered an adult regardless of age unless I'm married, my parents speak to the lawyer and if I have a concern, they bring it up directly during costly meetings or over the phone. It's difficult for my parents to want to disclose any information back to me when it doesn't produce any good change/results of the case. We have a case coming up in a month and I can try to get a clearer picture from the lawyer then.

Yep, I understand what you mean about forgetting culture issues when playing hardball with USCIS. Thanks for answering my questions so far!