Eligibility for Asylum or Refugee Status
Before you can even start thinking about whether to apply for status as an asylee or refugee in the U.S., you need to have a firm grasp of the legal grounds upon which a person may be found eligible. Simply fearing persecution is not enough, and many people who do fear persecution are barred from eligibility because of something in their past. Learn more here.
Asylum and Refugee Eligibility: The Basics
Asylum and Refugee Eligibility: The Basics
-
Asylum or Refugee Status: Who Is Eligible?
Asylum and refugee status are special legal protections available to people who have left their home country for their own safety and are afraid to return.
-
When, How to Include Family Member Dependents on Your Asylum Application
If you want your family members in the U.S. to receive approval of asylum along with you, they can be included in your application -- but such a step may also result in the whole family facing removal proceedings together.
-
Chances of Winning a Grant of Asylum in the U.S.
Your asylum application will be decided based on your unique facts, evidence, and witness statements. Moreover, asylum officers and Immigration Judges have a certain amount of discretion, and your chances might vary depending on who gets assigned to your case.
-
Risks and Benefits of Affirmatively Applying for Asylum
If you haven’t yet been stopped by U.S. immigration officials or placed in removal (deportation) proceedings, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the best and worst of what could happen next.
-
Which Countries Do Most People Granted Asylum in the U.S. Come From?
Over the years, both the mix of people applying for asylum (protection from overseas persecution) in the U.S. and the people whose applications are granted has varied a great deal.
-
How to Get a Referral to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
How refugees can become eligible for referrals to USRAP, where they can request such referrals, and what alternatives they should consider before choosing this route to the United States.
-
Crossing the U.S. border without permission or using lies or false documents makes many applicants for immigration benefits inadmissible to the U.S.—what about asylum applicants?
Country-Specific Asylum Eligibility
Country-Specific Asylum Eligibility
-
Can I Apply for U.S. Asylum If I'm From India?
Despite being the world’s largest democracy with 1.22 billion people, thousands of Indians regularly leave India to seek asylum.
-
Can I Apply for U.S. Asylum If I'm From Mexico?
It is extremely difficult to gain asylum from Mexico. Here you will learn the reasons why.
Asylum and Refugee Eligibility: Frequently Asked Questions
Asylum and Refugee Eligibility: Frequently Asked Questions
-
Can I Apply for Asylum After Deportation and Illegal Reentry?
Although the law doesn't explicitly bar your application, this area of law is unclear, and you'll need a lawyer's help.
-
I Waited Too Long to Apply for Asylum in the United States: Can I Apply for Asylum in Canada?
The Safe Third Country Agreement between the U.S. and Canada says that (with some exceptions) you can apply for asylum only in the first country you arrived in.
-
Can I Sponsor a Refugee to Come to the United States?
Many Americans who are concerned about the plight of people fleeing violence or war in other parts of the world wonder whether they can individually sponsor a refugee. Unfortunately the news on this is not good.
-
Bars to Receiving Asylum or Refugee Status
Asylum and refugee status are special legal protections under U.S. immigration law, available to people who have left their home country for their own safety and are afraid to return; but they are not available to people who are barred for any of various reasons, described here.
-
Lived in Another Country? When Being Firmly Resettled Bars Your Right to Asylum in the U.S.
A person is barred from receiving asylum in the U.S. if an immigration judge or asylum officer finds that he or she was already firmly resettled or has a right to residence in another country.
What Persecution Means Under U.S. Asylum and Refugee Law
MoreWhat Persecution Means Under U.S. Asylum and Refugee Law
-
Can You Claim Asylum Based on Being a Persecuted Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender Person?
Understanding the legal basis for LGBTQ asylum in the U.S.
Talk to an Asylum attorney.
How It Works
- Briefly tell us about your case
- Provide your contact information
- Choose attorneys to contact you