Obtaining Refugee
Status
How
Do I Obtain Protection As A Refugee?
You may obtain refugee protection
either outside or inside of the United States. Outside the U.S.,
this is achieved by applying for a refugee visa. If you are inside
the U.S. or at a U.S. port of entry, you may obtain refugee protection
by applying for asylum. Both asylum and refugee applicants are individuals
seeking protection in the U.S. on the grounds that they fear persecution
in their homeland. Though the application process may be somewhat
different, they are adjudicated under the same legal standard, set
out above.
Refugees generally apply for a refugee
visa in refugee camps or at specified processing sites outside of
their home countries. In certain cases, such as Cuba, Vietnam, or
the former Soviet Union, individuals have been permitted to apply
for refugee protection from within their home country. Individuals
overseas seeking to to be considered for the U.S. refugee program
apply by filing a Registration for Classification as a Refugee,
Form I-590. If accepted
as a refugee, the person is sent to the U.S. and receives assistance
through the United States "Refugee Resettlement Program."
Asylees apply for protection either
from within the United States or at a U.S. port of entry.An individual
seeking protection as an asylee must file an Application for Asylum,
Form I-589, with either the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) within
one year of arrival in the United States, unless the individual
can show changed circumstances affecting his/her eligibility for
asylum or extraordinary circumstances relating to the delay in filing.
