Asylum is a form of protection which allows an individual to remain in the United States instead of being removed (deported) to a country where he or she fears persecution or harm. Under U.S. law, people who flee their countries because they fear persecution can apply for asylum. If they are granted asylum, this gives them protection and the right to stay in the United States. Those who are granted asylum are called asylees. Every year people come to the United States seeking protection because they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to:
- Race
- Religion
- Nationality
- Membership in a particular social group
- Political opinion
Can I Stay Back in the United States if I am Eligible for Asylum?
● If you are eligible for asylum, you may be permitted to remain in the United States
● To apply for asylum, file a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, within one year of your arrival to the United States
● There is no fee to apply for asylum
Can I Include My Spouse and Children?
- You may include your spouse and children who are in the United States on your application at the time you file or at any time until a final decision is made on your case
- To include your child on your application, the child must be under 21 and unmarried. For more information see our Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal page
- If you have an asylum application pending with the USCIS, you can check your case status online. All you need is the receipt number that we mailed you after you filed your application
Start here: uscis.gov/casestatus
Can I Bring my Spouse and My Children to The United States After Receiving Asylum?
- If you are granted asylum you may petition to bring your spouse and children to the United States by filing a Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition
- To include your child on your application, the child must be under 21 and unmarried
- You must file the petition within two years of being granted asylum unless there are humanitarian reasons to excuse this deadline
- There is no fee to file this petition
When Can I File for Permanent Residency?
- U.S. immigration law allows asylees to apply for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status after they have been physically present in the U.S. for at least one year since being granted asylum
- To apply for a Green Card, file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status
- You must submit a separate I-485 application packet for yourself and, if applicable, for each family member who received derivative asylum based on your case
- For more information about Green Cards, see USCIS’s Green Cards for Asylees page
However, you will not be eligible to apply for asylum if you:
Filed your application after being in the United States for more than one year
However, you may still qualify for an exception if you show the following:
- changed circumstances materially affecting your asylum eligibility for asylum or
- extraordinary circumstances relating to your delay in filing
- You must still file your application within a reasonable time under the circumstances to be eligible for an exception
Changed circumstances may include but are not limited to:
- Changes in conditions in your country of nationality or, if you are stateless, your country of last habitual residence
- Changes in your circumstances that materially affect your eligibility for asylum, including changes in applicable U.S. law and activities you become involved in outside the country of feared persecution that place you at risk
- If you were previously included as a dependent in someone else’s pending asylum application, the loss of the spousal or parent-child relationship to the principal applicant through marriage, divorce, death, or attainment of age 21
Extraordinary circumstances may include but are not limited to: ·
- Serious illness or mental or physical disability, including any effects of persecution or violent harm suffered in the past, during the 1-year period after your arrival in the U.S.
- Legal disability, such as your status as an unaccompanied minor or you suffered from a mental impairment, during the 1-year period after your arrival in the U.S.
Ineffective assistance of counsel, if:
- You file an affidavit explaining in detail the agreement that you had with your lawyer about the actions to be taken by your lawyer on your behalf and what your lawyer told you he or she would do for you
- You have informed the lawyer whom you are criticizing of the accusations against him or her and the lawyer has been given an opportunity to respond
- You indicate whether you have filed a complaint with appropriate disciplinary authorities about any violation of your lawyer’s ethical or legal responsibilities, and if not, why not
- You had Temporary Protected Status (TPS), lawful immigrant or nonimmigrant status, or you were given parole, until a reasonable period before you filed your asylum application
- You filed an asylum application before the expiration of the 1-year deadline, but USCIS rejected your application as not properly filed, returned the application to you for corrections, and you re-filed your application within a reasonable time after the return
- The death or serious illness or incapacity of your legal representative or a member of your immediate family
For a list of circumstances that may be considered changed or extraordinary circumstances, see 8 CFR 208.4 and the Asylum Bars page.
- You will also be barred from applying for asylum if you previously applied for asylum and were denied by the Immigration Judge or Board of Immigration Appeals unless you demonstrate that there are changed circumstances that affect your eligibility for asylum
- You will also be barred if you could be removed to a safe third country to a two-party or multi-party agreement
- Currently, the United States has a safe third country agreement with Canada that does not apply to you if you are applying for asylum affirmatively with USCIS
- The agreement only applies in Credible Fear Screenings
- For more information about the safe third country agreement with Canada, see the Questions & Answers: Credible Fear Screenings page
- For more information about bars to applying, see the Asylum Bars page
Please Note
Information your asylum-related information may not be shared with third parties without the asylum applicant’s written consent or the Secretary of Homeland Security’s specific authorization.
