5 Reasons why you should always update country conditions information before submitting an asylum application

As an immigration attorney or non-profit helping asylum seekers file their claim, you’re incredibly busy. It’s totally understandable that you might think 🤔 : “Hey, I have an asylum client from this country. I have a country conditions index and packet that’s just a few years old for an applicant with almost the same profile – I’ll just use that and adjust a little; it’ll save me time and all the info is there. Right?”

❌ No, not necessarily!
 
10 years of doing country conditions research, based on a unique method that I developed and taught, has taught me: You should always update your country conditions with the most recent information.

Here are 5 reasons why.
 
1️⃣ Political and social trends change, sometimes fast. I recently updated an index on Guatemala and observed that the homicide rate in Guatemala has gone down. Sources from say 2021 may not register this, but an opposing council or immigration judge might. Including the latest sources allowed my attorney client to preempt a costly counter-argument. I was able to show that although the rate is down, it is still at perilously high levels and doesn't impact a wider situation of widespread persecution.

2️⃣ New facts emerge. For example, local elections, snap elections, or power shifts happen all the time and unpredictably, and can have major implications for the risk of present and future persecution.

3️⃣ Sources change. Updated reports can change format, perspectives, leave out what they used to cover, or add new areas of coverage – all of which can either further verify or challenge your client’s claims.

4️⃣ Updating allows you to see a better framing for the overall claim. You may find, to take an example, that it makes more sense to either combine or separate themes related to grounds for protection in the index. In one recent update, I found that conveying widespread discrimination within education as separate from discrimination within employment made more sense that combining the two (as in the prior index, which made more sense in that case).

5️⃣ Updating allows you to see more relevant detail. Re-reading a source invariably allows you to see something new: a new fact, a new angle, a new reference to expert knowledge, which can be crucial in support of your client’s claim.
 
✅ In short, updating country conditions lets you improve on the accuracy, breadth, and depth of key evidence in support of their claim, thereby raising the possibility of winning asylum for your client.