Can I Apply for a Green Card While My Asylum Case Is Pending?

If you have fled persecution in another country and are applying for asylum in the United States, then you will probably need to wait until your asylum case is approved, plus one year after that, before you can apply for a U.S. green card (adjust your status to U.S. lawful permanent resident). But that's assuming asylum is your only basis upon which to apply for U.S. residence. If, by chance, you have some separate basis of eligibility for a U.S. green card, such as through a close family member who has U.S. citizenship, it's possible to submit parallel applications for immigration benefits. We'll discuss the relevant legal and procedural issues here.

How Long Will It Take for an Asylum Applicant to Get a Green Card?

For some people applying for asylum in the United States, the application process moves fairly quickly. They might be approved after a matter of months, after submitting their Form I-589 and having a personal meeting with an asylum officer. Or, if the the asylum officer doesn't approve their case, they might move on to immigration court and be approved after an individual hearing with an immigration court judge (in removal or deportation proceedings).

Then again, things can drag from the start. The agency in charge of this process, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is notoriously backlogged. Many applicants get stuck in bureaucratic backups, or their case needs a long time to be heard, or their immigration judge gets terminated and they have to be switched to another judge's overloaded docket, and so on. And then if their case is denied, they'll need to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and possibly to a federal court after that.

If and when USCIS or an appeals body finally approves you for asylum, you will be able to apply for a green card one year later, through a process known as "adjustment of status."

No notification is sent to asylees to remind them to apply for a green card. If granted asylum, you should keep track of the one-year anniversary, and apply to adjust status as soon as you are eligible. That's because, if conditions in your home country improve and you no longer fear persecution there, your asylum status could be taken away. In fact, if and when you apply for a green card as an asylee, you will likely be asked to prove your continued fear of persecution.

Be aware, though, that as of mid-2025 you could face some serious and unusual delays in the green card application process. That's because the Trump Administration reportedly put a pause on processing these applications, with the idea of evaluating whether more intense vetting procedures should be implemented. It's unclear when this will resume and what changes might then be made to the process.

Alternative Paths to a U.S. Green Card

If the processing of your asylum case has been seriously delayed or is perhaps continuing on into appeals to higher courts, then it might make sense for you to pursue some alternate path to a U.S. green card. For example, you might be lucky enough to fall in love with and marry a U.S. citizen, to win a place in the annual diversity visa lottery, or to find a U.S. employer willing to sponsor you for a job in your field.

Again, there is no prohibition on having more than one type of application pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the same time. No immigration application is speedy, but there's still the possibility that your alternative path will move more quickly than an asylum application.

And, while a grant of asylum will offer you a long-term right to stay in the United States, it is not as secure as having a green card. Your right to asylum is, as mentioned, conditioned on your continued fear of experiencing persecution if you were returned to your home country. Once you have a green card, however, this condition no longer applies, and you can start counting the time until you are eligible to apply for naturalized U.S. citizenship, which is the most secure status of all.

See a Lawyer for Professional Advice

Immigration law is highly complex, and submitting a winning asylum case requires detailed presentation of facts, documentary evidence, and legal arguments. If your case seems to be tied up in processing, perhaps it's because you need some help in making a convincing case for asylum.

Consult an experienced immigration attorney for help with both the asylum application and any other applications for a green card that you might conceivably submit at the same time. The attorney can also help you prepare for any in-person interviews or court appearances, and accompany you there.