Asylum Seekers

Asylum Seekers (June 8, 2016)

U.S. asylum law is made up of several different legal authorities, including U.S. immigration statutes and regulations, federal case law and international treaties and conventions.  People who are outside of the United States may apply for refugee protection under the United Nations Protocol, to which U.S. is a signatory.  People who have arrived in the U.S. or are physically inside the country may apply for asylum protection.

In order to qualify for asylum protection, an individual must meet the basic definition of a refugee: [A]ny person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country because of persecution or wellfounded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in particular social group, or political opinion.