Mr. Levine helps his clients get asylum. Asylum may be granted to individuals who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion and/or membership in a particular social group.
An asylum applicant must establish that he or she is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country because of past or feared persecution. To establish persecution, an applicant must prove that the harm he or she experienced was inflicted by the government or an entity the government was unable or unwilling to control. To establish persecution, the level and type of harm experienced by the applicant must be sufficiently serious to constitute persecution. There is no single definition of persecution. The determination of whether an act or acts constitute persecution must be decided on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all the circumstances of the case including the physical and psychological characteristics of the applicant. Serious violations of core or fundamental human rights that are prohibited by customary international law almost always constitute persecution. Less severe human rights violations may also be considered persecution. Discrimination, harassment, and economic harm may be considered persecution, depending on the severity and/or duration of the harm. The harm may be psychological, such as the threat of imminent death, or the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death or torture. Acts that in themselves do not amount to persecution may, when considered cumulatively, constitute persecution.