POLITICAL ASYLUM

Introduction

Asylum may be granted to people who are already in the United States and are unable or unwilling to return their home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. If you are granted asylum, you will be allowed to live and work in the United States. You also will be able to apply for permanent resident status one year after you are granted asylum.

Asylum status and refugee status are closely related. They differ only in the place where a person asks for the status asylum is asked for in the United States; refugee status is asked for outside of the United States. However, all people who are granted asylum must meet the

Adjustments to Permanent Residency

No limits are set on the number of individuals who may be granted asylum in the United States. Under immigration law, approved asylums must reside in the United States for 1 year following their approval in order to be eligible to apply for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status. One year of the asylee’s residence prior to adjustment is counted toward the naturalization residency requirement. Although asylee adjustments are exempt from the worldwide annual limitation on immigrants, the law places a ceiling on the number of asylees who may adjust to permanent residency status each year.

The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the ceiling from 5,000 to 10,000 per year, effective for fiscal year 1991. It also waived the annual ceiling beginning in fiscal year 1991 for those asylees who had met the required 1-year waiting period and filed for adjustment of status on or before June 1, 1990.

Eligibility

To be eligible for asylum in the United States, you must

• must ask for asylum at a port-of-entry (airport, seaport or border crossing), or
• file an application within one year of your arrival in the United States.
• You may ask later than one year if conditions in your country have changed or if your personal circumstances have changed within the past year prior to your asking for asylum, and those changes of circumstances affected your eligibility for asylum.
• You may also be excused from the one-year deadline if extraordinary circumstance prevented you from filing within the one-year period after your arrival, so long as you apply within a reasonable time given those circumstances.

You may apply for asylum regardless of your immigration status, meaning that you may apply even if you are illegally in the United States. In addition, you must qualify for asylum under the definition of “refugee.”

Your eligibility will be based on information you provide on your application and during an interview with an Asylum Officer or Immigration Judge.

1. If you have been placed in removal (deportation) proceedings in Immigration Court, an Immigration Judge will hear and decide your case.
2. If you have not been placed in removal proceedings, an Asylum Officer will interview you and decide whether you are eligible for asylum. Asylum Officers will grant asylum, deny asylum or refer the case to an Immigration Judge for a final decision.
3. If an Asylum Officer finds that you are not eligible for asylum and you are in the United States illegally, the Asylum Officer will place you in removal proceedings and refer your application to an Immigration Judge for a final decision. Immigration Judges also decide on removal if an applicant is found ineligible for asylum and is illegally in the United States.
4. If you are in valid immigrant or nonimmigrant status and the Asylum Officer finds that you are not eligible for asylum, the Asylum Officer will send you a notice explaining that the USCIS intends to deny your request for asylum. You will be given an opportunity to respond to that notice before a decision is made on your application.