<P> The United States recognizes the right of asylum for individuals as specified by international and federal law . A specified number of legally defined refugees who either apply for asylum from inside the U.S. or apply for refugee status from outside the U.S. , are admitted annually . Refugees compose about one - tenth of the total annual immigration to the United States , though some large refugee populations are very prominent . Since World War II , more refugees have found homes in the U.S. than any other nation and more than two million refugees have arrived in the U.S. since 1980 . In the years 2005 through 2007 , the number of asylum seekers accepted into the U.S. was about 40,000 per year . This compared with about 30,000 per year in the UK and 25,000 in Canada . The U.S. accounted for about 10 % of all asylum - seeker acceptances in the OECD countries in 1998 - 2007 . The United States is by far the most populous OECD country and receives fewer than the average number of refugees per capita : In 2010 - 14 ( before the massive migrant surge in Europe in 2015 ) it ranked 28 of 43 industrialized countries reviewed by UNHCR . </P>
<P> The United States recognizes the right of asylum for individuals as specified by international and federal law . A specified number of legally defined refugees who either apply for asylum from inside the U.S. or apply for refugee status from outside the U.S. , are admitted annually . Refugees compose about one - tenth of the total annual immigration to the United States , though some large refugee populations are very prominent . Since World War II , more refugees have found homes in the U.S. than any other nation and more than two million refugees have arrived in the U.S. since 1980 . In the years 2005 through 2007 , the number of asylum seekers accepted into the U.S. was about 40,000 per year . This compared with about 30,000 per year in the UK and 25,000 in Canada . The U.S. accounted for about 10 % of all asylum - seeker acceptances in the OECD countries in 1998 - 2007 . The United States is by far the most populous OECD country and receives fewer than the average number of refugees per capita : In 2010 - 14 ( before the massive migrant surge in Europe in 2015 ) it ranked 28 of 43 industrialized countries reviewed by UNHCR . </P>
individuals who come to the us seeking asylum are known as
individuals who come to the us seeking asylum are known as
refugees
refugees