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Asylum Declaration Drafting

Asylum declaration drafting that turns interviews in any language into a dated, first-person declaration, checks each fact against what she said before, and reads it back to her.

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The problem

Her story sits in three records, written by three people, months apart

An attorney and an interpreter interview the client for hours in her language, and the dates end up in a notebook. Then someone types a first-person declaration and checks it by eye against her filed application and the officer's credible-fear notes.

What goes wrong is small and mechanical: a date that moved by two months, a week that became eleven days, a police station that was really a gendarmerie, a brother's name in two spellings. The application was often filed in a rush with a volunteer, and the credible-fear notes were typed through a phone interpreter. The declaration is the last chance to explain each gap, and a client who rarely reads English gets one hurried reading on signing day.

Built forImmigration attorneysParalegalsInterpretersNonprofit legal directors

The Problem Today

A judge may doubt an asylum applicant over any difference between her declaration and what she said before.

23.4%
of people had a lawyer when a removal order was issued published

Compared by eye today

  • Interviews
  • Asylum form
  • Border file
  • Translation
  • Found by the other sideThe government attorney spots the moved date first
  • Heard once, in a hurryRead aloud to her the day she signs, and not before

The Solution

  1. Her words, in orderInterviews in any language become a dated story, her own words kept
  2. Every fact checkedEach date, place and name compared with her asylum form and credible-fear notes
  3. Settled with herThe attorney asks her about each difference and records her answer
  4. Read back in her languageEvery paragraph read back in French or Pular before she signs

Built-in controls

  • Only the attorney settles a difference
  • No contact with anyone in her home country
  • No client interview is used to train a model

What You Get

Firms file a declaration that tells her story the same way every time, in words she has confirmed.

3 hours
of people time per declaration, from 10–20 by hand our estimate
  • Ready well before the deadlineDifferences settled and read back while there is time to fix them
  • In her own voiceEvery sentence linked to the moment she said it
  • Read-back certified by a personFrench and Pular, each certified by its own interpreter
The declaration, part by part

How an asylum declaration is drafted, checked and read back

Nine parts of one declaration, in the order the case runs.

  1. 01Interview transcript

    Her words kept as said, beside the English and the timestamp

    How it works

    • Recordings and notes transcribed in Pular, French and 40+ other languages
    • French answers quoted as said, with the English rendering beside them
    • Unclear passages go to the interpreter: 3 marked, all resolved
    • Each fragment tagged to the paragraph it supports

    Paralegal and interpreterGets the dates out of the attorney's notebook. Each answer from the French session sits with its English and its timestamp, ready for the draft.

  2. 02Her chronology

    Fragments from every session ordered into one dated chronology

    How it works

    • 186 fragments from three sessions, in two languages, ordered into dated events
    • Approximate dates stay approximate, such as three days after Tabaski
    • Her arrest in March and the house visit in May stay two separate events
    • 31 events from 2016 to 2025, each tied to its paragraph

    Paralegal and interpreterGets one dated story out of three sessions in two languages, with the March arrest and the May visit held apart before anyone drafts.

  3. 03Declaration draft

    A first-person draft in her voice, each sentence linked to its fragment

    How it works

    • 19 numbered paragraphs on a timeline, each open, settled or due for read-back
    • Selecting a paragraph shows her words behind it, quoted in French or as a Pular clip
    • Dates, places and names marked as matching or differing from a prior statement
    • No fact added that she did not say

    Attorney of recordCan trace any sentence of the draft back to the moment the client said it, before approving the declaration for filing.

  4. 04Consistency matrix

    A matrix checking each date, place and name against every prior record

    How it works

    • Her interviews set against the filed application, the credible-fear notes and the border record
    • 4 differences with the application, 2 with the credible-fear notes, 0 with the border record
    • A fact a record does not mention is not counted as a difference
    • Filter to all 42, the open ones or the settled ones

    Attorney of recordFinds the one date that moved before the government attorney does, without laying three documents side by side and reading them by eye.

  5. 05Both sources

    Her answer and the earlier record, opened side by side

    How it works

    • Her interview answer opens beside the earlier record's own questions and answers
    • Paragraph 7 says March 14, 2022; the record says May 2022
    • The checker notes that one answer may cover two events
    • It asks the attorney to ask her, and picks no version itself

    Attorney of recordSees exactly what the officer typed and what the client said, so the question put to the client is about the real gap.

  6. 06Differences settled

    Each difference settled by the attorney, its reason kept beside it

    How it works

    • The paralegal asks the client by video, in French, and records her answer
    • The drafter proposes the wording, and the attorney of record settles it
    • Paragraph 7 now says she was arrested once, in March, and points to the May visit
    • The rail reads 0 open, 6 settled and 36 matching

    Attorney of recordCloses each discrepancy in the client's own words and keeps a written reason for it beside the draft, where the next reader will find it.

  7. 07Corroboration

    A corroboration list: each event's proof in hand, requested or explained

    How it works

    • 7 in hand with their exhibit tabs, 3 requested, 2 not reasonably available
    • Where proof cannot be had, the declaration says why in her words
    • Requests drafted for a cousin, a woman held in the same room and a forensic medical evaluation
    • No one in the country she fled is contacted

    Paralegal and interpreterKnows which events still lack proof and who has been asked, without putting family who stayed behind at risk.

  8. 08Read-back

    Each paragraph read back in French and Pular before she signs

    How it works

    • One paragraph at a time, in large type, with the Pular audio beneath
    • A certified interpreter reads each one with her; the agent only prepares it
    • She answers that these are her words, or asks to change something
    • A changed paragraph is read back again; 18 of 19 were confirmed before this one

    Asylum applicantHears her own story in her languages, paragraph by paragraph, and corrects it before signing, not in one rushed reading on the day.

  9. 09Versions and signatures

    Version history with each change explained, and a signature block

    How it works

    • v1 to v5, with who changed what and why
    • The version 5 comparison shows the two sentences added to the arrest paragraph
    • She signs only the version she heard read back in full
    • Both interpreters certify, and the attorney approves for filing

    Attorney of recordHolds a record of how the draft changed and why, and of the client signing only after hearing all of it in her language.

Six differences with her earlier statements, each settled in her words

One client's file against the application she filed and her credible-fear notes. The border record showed no difference.

FactHer interviewsEarlier recordHow it was settled
Date she leftJune 9, 2025Application: June 2, 2025Boarding pass filed as an exhibit; errata at the hearing
Length of detention11 days, March 14–25, 2022Application: about one weekThe declaration gives the dates; errata
Place of detentionA gendarmerie campApplication: central police stationShe said gendarmes; the volunteer wrote police
Her brother's namePular spellingApplication: French spellingSame person; a spelling note in paragraph 13
Date of the arrestMarch 14, 2022Credible-fear notes: May 2022Arrested in March; soldiers came to the house in May
How she was releasedHer uncle paid a guardCredible-fear notes: paid a fineA bribe the phone interpreter rendered as a fine
Beside the declaration

More of the asylum declaration file, from audio clips to the audit

What the paralegal and the attorney open beside the declaration itself.

A session in PularThe first interview was in Pular, so each answer is an audio clip with the interpreter's English rendering, timestamped and tied to its paragraph.
One brother, two spellingsHis name in its Pular spelling, with a note in her words that the filed application wrote it the French way. Same person, settled.
Six differences, six reasonsFiltered to the settled ones: four against the filed application and two against the credible-fear notes, each chip carrying the attorney's reason.
Three letters, drafted for approvalRequests to a cousin, a woman held in the same room and a forensic doctor, each outside her country. Nothing is sent until the attorney approves.
What she changed at read-backVersion 4 holds two corrections she made on hearing the draft: Sunday afternoons where it said Saturday, and about 45 kilometers where it said 30.
Each step, by person or agentWho transcribed, ordered, checked, settled and confirmed, with times: the first draft at 3,310 words, 42 facts checked, 18 of 19 paragraphs confirmed.
Behind the draft

Six agents prepare the asylum declaration; the attorney decides what is true

What each one does to the draft, and what it leaves to a person.

Interview transcriber

Transcribes recordings and notes with timestamps, her words beside the English.

  • Never smooths her words
  • Marks an unclear passage for the interpreter instead of guessing
Chronology agent

Orders every fragment into dated events, and keeps approximate dates approximate.

  • Never invents a date
Declaration drafter

Writes in first person, in her voice, each sentence linked to its fragment.

  • Never adds a fact she did not say
  • Puts no legal conclusion in her mouth
Consistency checker

Checks each date, place and name against the filed application, the credible-fear notes and records-request returns.

  • Never decides which version is true: it asks the attorney
Corroboration agent

Lists the proof each event needs, what is in hand, and what is not reasonably available.

  • Never contacts anyone in the country she fled
  • Sends no request without the attorney's approval
Read-back agent

Renders each paragraph back as French text and Pular audio for the interpreter to read with her.

  • Never replaces the certified interpreter

Settling, certifying and signing stay with the people on the case

Which version is trueThe attorney of record settles each difference with the client and writes down the reason. The checker only asks.
Whether the translation is rightA certified interpreter for each language certifies the read-back. The agent prepares the text and the audio.
Whether she signsOnly after she confirms all 19 paragraphs in her language. Read-back before signature cannot be turned off for a filing.
Who is asked for proofRequests go only to people outside her country, after the attorney approves. No one there is contacted.

Questions from immigration counsel on drafting asylum declarations

What is asylum declaration drafting?

Asylum declaration drafting turns the client's interviews into a dated, first-person statement in her own voice. Here agents transcribe each session, order her words into a chronology, draft the declaration with each sentence linked to its source, check it against her earlier statements, and read it back to her before she signs.

What happens when the declaration does not match the credible-fear interview?

Each difference goes on a rail beside the draft, with both sources ready to open side by side. The checker does not pick a version. Instead, the attorney asks the client, records her answer and settles it, often by having the declaration explain the earlier answer in her own words.

How do I write a declaration for asylum when the client does not read English?

Interview her in her language, keep her words beside the English, and read each paragraph back before she signs. The read-back agent prepares text and audio in her language, and a certified interpreter for that language reads it with her and certifies the read-back.

Which earlier records does it check against?

The asylum application as filed, credible-fear or reasonable-fear notes, records-request returns, and earlier declarations or affidavits. Spelling variants across languages are flagged, never merged on their own.

Does it ask relatives back home for corroborating letters?

No. Requests go only to people outside the country she fled, once the attorney has approved them. When proof is not reasonably available, the declaration says why in her words.

How is the client's confidentiality kept?

Her alien number is masked in shares and file names, and nothing goes to her home government. Each read, edit, confirmation and signature is audited.

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