Refugees
Refugee status is a form of protection that may be granted to people who meet the definition of refugee and who are of special humanitarian concern to the United States. Refugees are generally people outside of their country who are unable or unwilling to return home because they fear serious harm. You may seek a referral for refugee status only from outside of the United States.
Asylum
Asylum status is a form of protection available to people who:
- Meet the definition of refugee
- Are already in the United States
- Are seeking admission at a port of entry
You may apply for asylum in the United States regardless of your country of origin or your current immigration status. Asylum seekers 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
Asylum application can be filed affirmatively directly with the asylum office, or filed in the court to an Immigration Judge, which is called defensive filing. An Asylum application must be filed within one year after the applicant was first admitted into the US unless there was extraordinary circumstances that prevented the applicant from filing timely.
A few key issues must be addressed for a successful asylum application:
- Has the applicant suffered past persecution, therefore the future fear of persecution is presume, or if the applicant has not suffered past persecution, is the applicant’s fear of future persecution reasonable?
- Was the persecution suffered by the application committed by the state actor or individual that the state actor was unwilling or unable to control?
- Was the persecution based on one of the five statutorily prescribed grounds?
- Has the Applicant barred from applying for Asylum application for any reason?
- Is the Applicant credible?
If you have suffered persecution for the statutorily prescribed grounds in your home country as mentioned above, you may be eligible for Asylum and you should contact our office for a valuable consultation.