How to Get Asylum in the U.S.

If you are currently within the United States and have experienced persecution in your home country, or you have a well-founded fear of persecution should you return there, you might want to apply for asylum. Asylum is a form of humanitarian relief that allows you to stay and work in the United States until it is safe to return home. (See 8 U.S.C. § 1158.)

If, after one year or more as an asylee, you wish to apply for U.S. lawful permanent residence (a green card), you may do so (assuming you still qualify for asylum at that time). Then a few years later, you may apply for naturalized U.S. citizenship.

Cautions Regarding Filing Form I-589 for Asylum

This article assumes that you're not already in deportation (removal) proceedings, and have not been ordered deported by an immigration judge. It discusses what's called the "affirmative" application process for asylum. If you are already in deportation proceedings, you might still be able to apply for asylum, but will do best with a lawyer's help.

Three additional cautions:

1. You might need to act quickly. There's a one-year deadline on applying, as described below.
2. You should never file a frivolous application for asylum, meaning one that has no actual basis in reality. For example, some people have been known to “borrow” someone else’s story of persecution in an effort to gain status in the United States. If you do this, and you are caught, you will never be granted any other sort of U.S. visa or green card.
3. Under the 2nd Trump Administration, obtaining asylum is becoming more difficult and risky. For example, if you entered the United States unlawfully through the Southern border, your application could result in your being held in detention while your case is being considered, you could be barred from eligibility due to unlawful entry, and you could even be deported to a country (not your own) that is considered "safe." This is a changing area of the law, so be sure to consult an attorney before proceeding.

What Types of Persecution Qualify a Person for Asylum?

Persecution can include various severe forms of discrimination, harassment, beatings, torture, unjust arrest or imprisonment, or other type of harm. The persecution that you faced in the past, or your well-founded fear of future persecution, must either come from your country’s government or from forces beyond the government’s control (such as vigilante squads or guerrilla groups).

In addition, the persecution must be based on one of five grounds, including either your:

• religion
• race
• nationality
• political opinion, or
• membership in a particular social group.

Persecution based on any other ground does not qualify for asylum. This can be a major disqualifier for asylum. For example, someone might fear returning to the home country because an angry neighbor has threatened to take revenge over an old grudge, but that would not qualify the person for asylum.

A more classic asylum case would be that of someone who was arrested or threatened after participating in demonstrations against the government; was forcibly recruited into the country's military; was a victim of violence by another tribe; or experienced discrimination as a result of religion.

Written Application for Asylum: Form I-589

The first thing to pay attention to is the deadline for applying for asylum, which is within one year from when you entered the United States or when your permitted stay under a visa/I-94 ran out (if you had one). If you entered the United States illegally, that has not been a bar to applying for asylum, but is considered one under the 2nd Trump Administration.

If more than a year has already passed since your entry or status-expiration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may make an exception for you and allow you to apply, but you would want to talk to an attorney about this.

Your next step will be to fill out USCIS Form I-589 Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal, available for free on the USCIS website. Be sure to answer the questions fully, honestly, and carefully, using the supplement page at the end to supply an extensive statement detailing your experiences and fears. If you don't, it could be sent back to you or (if you're already in removal court proceedings) the judge could deny the case without holding a hearing ("pretermit" it).

The I-589 submission must, as of 2025, be accompanied by a fee. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) that Trump signed into law charges asylum applicants a minimum of $100 to file, to be adjusted annually for inflation. In addition, applicants will have to pay another $100 for each year (365 days) the I-589 is pending, even though this is largely out of the applicant's control and could add up to many years. No fee waivers or reductions are available (not even for low-income applicants).

The I-589 form itself is only a small part of the written application process. You submit documents proving who you are (such as your passport; include all pages) and how you were persecuted in the past or why you might be persecuted upon return. The more personal to you the documents are, the better. For example, if you could come up with a document showing your church membership, a photo of you in the newspaper being beaten by members of another religion, and a doctor’s report describing the extent of your injuries, those would be ideal. However, most people aren’t able to come up with such specific documents.

That’s why it’s also important to collect documents that more broadly show the conditions you are describing in your country. For example, reports by human rights organizations or non-governmental organization (NGOs), affidavits by experts, reports from doctors and mental health professionals who have examined or worked with you, and newspaper reports describing persecution faced by you or people in a similar situation to yours are all fine forms of documentation. You'll need to obtain word-for-word translations of any foreign language documents into English.

You’ll submit the application form and supporting materials either by mail or online (after setting up a USCIS account).

Your testimony at your asylum interview (described below) will also be very important. Sometimes, a person's entire case rests upon their ability to convincingly tell their story of persecution.

Attending the Asylum Interview

Some weeks after submitting your Form I-589 to USCIS, you will be called in to a local USCIS office for an interview about your asylum application. If you do not speak English, you’ll need to bring an interpreter with you.

The asylum officer will ask you about the information on your application and your fear of persecution. Before you arrive, carefully study all names, dates, and facts stated on your application. Any inconsistencies between your written and spoken testimony can be taken as a sign that you are not telling the truth. The interviewer might also ask you about things that are not on your application, for example to establish that you are really from a certain country or were really a member of a certain religion or group there.

The officer will not make a decision on your asylum application that day, but will either mail it to you or have you come back on a future day to receive the decision in writing from the person at the front desk.

What Happens If Your Asylum Application Is Denied

If your application for asylum is denied, your case will (unless you’re still in valid visa status) be referred to immigration court for removal proceedings.

There, you will be allowed to present your entire case over again before an immigration judge. You’ll be able to add additional documents, call witnesses, and present your own oral testimony (as well as undergo cross examination by the lawyer for the U.S. government). Such hearings can go on for several hours, including postponements to later days.

At the end of the hearing or soon after, the immigration judge will issue a decision in your case (either orally at the end of the hearing or in writing later). If that decision is negative, you can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (B.I.A.), then to a federal circuit court, and even to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, you will have to pay for your own lawyer throughout this process.

Do You Need a Lawyer to Apply for Asylum?

It is wise to get a lawyer to represent you from the beginning in your request for asylum. (See these articles on working with an immigration lawyer.) The application process depends upon gathering a number of convincing documents and preparing to testify, all of which a lawyer will help you with. Fortunately, various charitable organizations might be able to line you up with a free (pro bono) or low-cost lawyer.