Title: Asylum or Refugee Status: Who Is Eligible? | Nolo
Headings: Asylum or Refugee Status: Who Is Eligible?
Asylum or Refugee Status: Who Is Eligible?
If you've fled your home country and are afraid to go back, you might qualify for asylum or refugee status in the U.S.
Get debt relief now. We've helped 205 clients find attorneys today.
What Is Persecution?
What Do the Five Grounds of Persecution Mean?
If You Think You're Eligible for Asylum

Content: That is, who should seek asylum status, and who should seek refugee status? It's simply a matter of where you are when you apply. People outside of the U.S. must apply for refugee status, typically through the U.N. High Commission for Refugees. ( They cannot specify that they'd like to go the U.S. or any particular country, however.) An annual limit is placed on total approvals, by the U.S. President. That number went to record lows during the Trump Administration, though the Biden Administration has pledged to raise it. People who have already made it to the U.S. border or the interior (perhaps by using a visa or by entering illegally) can, in theory, apply for asylum status. This also became much more difficult under the Trump Administration, owing to ever-changing policies such as " Wait in Mexico. " Then later, following the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Trump Administration extended a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Order giving permission to border agents to expel anyone who arrived without an entry visa or permission, without conducting interviews to see whether they have a credible fear of persecution. Litigation on these matters is ongoing, and again the Biden Harris Administration is working to undo the damage.