Immigration Laws

The United States of America has an established system in place to address the needs of those who have encountered extreme persecution or fear for their lives while residing in their home countries. The process of political asylum in the USA is a series of steps and rules that must be met in order to gain the ability to reside in the states legally. The first requirement for getting protected status relates to where the individual is when they make their initial request for protection.

If the person who seeks to live in America is outside of the United States in their country of origin when they make their initial contact to ask for protection, then they are applying for refugee status protection. It must be shown that they are in danger if they remain in their home nation or that the risk of persecution to them at home is very high.

When a person is residing inside the United States already and they make the request for political asylum, the request must be made while at an American port of entry such as an airport or border crossing. Their request for asylum must be received within one year of their residing in the country. Some exceptions are allowed to this one year limit if there have been recent changes in their home country such as war or other extreme conflict that can jeopardize their safety if they were to return home.

The person who is already within America who applies for political asylum has the same requirement as a person from outside the states asking for refugee status: they must prove they are in danger of persecution or physical harm if they were to return to their country of origin.

Once an application has been submitted, there is an interview of the applicant that will take place within 60 days of their application being received. It is imperative the applicant appear for their scheduled interview, since failure to appear could result in their case file being closed.

If their application is granted and the asylum status is awarded, there is permission given by the government of the United States for this person to live and be employed in the country. The waiting period for work authorization is longer than just the granting of asylum status and may take an additional 90 days or more.

There are limits on the number of people granted asylum in any given year and the ability to attain full citizenship is also not guaranteed by succeeding in this process.