ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the key factors that govern the narration of the asylum account from within the perspective of immigration interpreting. It aims to provide empirical knowledge about the ‘black box’, which is actually a highly intricate enmeshing of screenings, procedures and deadlines, adding up to a bureaucracy employing thousands of people. The chapter seeks to the situational analysis of asylum encounters because it is contemporaneous with the gap, and thus in an almost singular position to document it. It offers a uniquely close perspective to the sociological interactions amongst asylum seekers, immigration personnel and interpreters in asylum face-to-face encounters. The chapter describes the mere application of immigration law. It mounts a socio-legal critique, from within the context of interpreting, of the procedures by which the asylum account is elicited from asylum seekers. The asylum account is a crucial piece of evidence in the determination of refugee status.
