I know asylum officers conduct interviews. My questions are (1) Do asylum officers just make sure you have grounds for asylum or do they normally decide on your asylum case? (2) If asylum officers normally decide on cases, is it hard to get approved, does any one know the approval rates for asylum officers? The approval rates for immigration judges are posted online.
A co-worker who got political asylum, told me she was denied by an asylum officer, she couldn't even answer simple questions and they assumed she was lying. The asylum officer called the supervisor over who denied her on the spot. She got letter from immigration to leave the country because her asylum was denied and her tourist visa is expired. Then she (appealed?) it with an immigration judge, and the immigration judge granted her asylum. I don't know, she made it seem like asylum officers deny everyone and it's a formality. Is it common for an asylum officer to deny asylum then an immigration judge accept it or is her case rare?
