
The Asylum Network The members of PHR's Asylum Network assist asylum seekers by conducting mental and physical evaluations to document the forensic evidence of torture and abuse. The work they do can literally save a life. Learn more about the Network Request an evaluation	For Attorneys Download the forms you need right here (in Word format): Intake form Outcome form

Allen Keller, MD

Asylum Network Volunteer

"The horrible thing is that torture happens and has devastating health and mental consequences, but there's a lot we can do to help people."

Ensure Survivors of Female Genital Cutting Are Still Eligible for Asylum

In a dramatic departure from past policy protecting women’s rights, the US Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently ruled that neither past female genital cutting (FGC) nor forced marriage can be the basis for granting asylum.

PHR Advisor Dr. Allen Keller Testifies Before House Immigration Subcommittee about Harmful Detention Conditions

PHR advisor Dr. Allen Keller, Director of the Bellevue/NYU Center for Survivors of Torture, warned that inadequate health care and harmful detention conditions appear to have grown worse over the past four years.

Read Dr. Keller's Testimony

Stories of Survival:
Asylum Seekers in America

The Story of Sarah K.

Victims of spousal abuse are rarely granted asylum in the United States on the basis of that claim alone, no matter how brutal the abuse. So in at least one respect, Sarah K. was "fortunate" that her husband — the man who terrorized her for 10 years — was a government official. Ordinarily, Sarah might have expected marriage to an official in a developing country to offer a life of relative comfort. But before she could settle into the marriage, her husband became so cruel so quickly that, in less than a year, she needed a way out.