What kind of delay will I face in moving my asylum case from CA to VA?

Although you will not lose your place in line, it looks that moving to our fair city will require an extra 18-24 months to get an interview at the USCIS Asylum Office in Anaheim, CA. Please see our Asylum Guide below:

You will need to file an AR-11 with USCIS immediately upon moving. You should also setup mail forwarding with USPS. You may also want to write a letter directly to the Asylum Office in California with jurisdiction over your application and advise them of the move. Your file will be transferred and put in a queue for scheduling of an interview. It is likely you will be interviewed faster after moving to Virginia.

The transfer is likely to expedite not delay your case, because you will be placed into the queue based upon your filing date. You need to file an AR-11 Form (Change of Address) within 10 days of getting to Virginia. I also recommend writing the LA Asylum Office a letter where you copy the Arlington Asylum Office to provide them notice of the move and request to transfer your case. You should strongly consider working with an attorney, if you are not already doing so, because there still may be time to submit supplemental materials (usually allowed until at least a week before scheduled interview). Good luck with the move and your application.

The filing date will technically be the date used to schedule an interview, but expect a delay in having your file transferred and it entered into the system in Arlington. Immediately notify the LA asylum office of your change of address and then you can follow-up after a month or so with the Arlington Asylum Office to make sure your file was transferred.