Asylum seekers are displaced people fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries who are unable or unwilling to return due to past persecution or fear of future persecution.
Asylum seekers must be on U.S. soil to request asylum. You cannot apply for asylum from outside the U.S. Some do so at a port of entry, such as an airport or an official land crossing, while others cross the border and request asylum from U.S. immigration officers. Some enter the U.S. with a visa (tourist, work, student, etc.) and then file an asylum claim later (more on this process below). Some are undocumented and file once they can access help. Regardless of where or how you enter, entering the U.S. to ask for asylum is not illegal.
Asylum seekers are eligible for work permits, social security numbers, and driver’s licenses.
Asylum seekers come from many different countries all over the world. The families CASP offers support to at the moment are from Central America, the Caribbean, South Asia, and East and West Africa.
If a person is granted asylum, the U.S. cannot deport them; these people are called asylees. Asylum seekers are those who have not yet been granted asylum but are in the process.
To be granted asylum, you must show all of the following:
- You have been harmed or have a good reason to believe you will be harmed in your country of origin.
- You are unable or unwilling to return to your country of origin due to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
- You would not be safe if you moved to another part of your country of origin.
High crime rates, poverty, lack of opportunity, general conflict, or climate change are not currently considered reasons for asylum under U.S. law. You must demonstrate that you were personally targeted based on one of the protected grounds or reasons stated above.
