Green Card for an Asylee: Part I

If USCIS granted you asylum status, you are eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) 1 year after receiving your grant of asylum. Your spouse and children are also eligible to apply for a green card if they were admitted to the United States as asylees or were included in your grant of asylum.

You are not required to apply for a green card; however, it may be in your best interest to do so. You may no longer qualify for asylum status with the right to remain permanently in the United States if:

• country conditions change in your home country or
• you no longer meet the definition of an asylee due to changed circumstances.

Eligibility Criteria

If you are an asylee, you may apply for a green card 1 year after being granted asylum if you:

Have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year after being granted asylum

               Continue to meet the definition of a asylee (or continue to be the spouse or child of such asylee)

               Have not abandoned your asylee status

               Are not firmly resettled in any foreign country

               Continue to be admissible to the United States (A waiver may be available to you if you are now inadmissible)

Application Process

To apply for a green card, you must file the Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status.

Note: When your green card is granted, you (and your derivative family members) will have your date of adjustment of status rolled back 1 year from the date your green card is granted.

Supporting Evidence For Form I-485

If your asylum status is granted, you should file a Form I-485 with the following supporting documentation (in this order):

               Completed and signed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

               Completed and signed Form I-693, Report of Medical Exam and Vaccination Record, if required.

               Applicable fees

                       Asylees must pay the Form I-485 application fee and the fingerprint fee

                       Applicants under the age of 14 do not need to submit a fingerprint fee

               Completed and signed Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (if applicable)

               Copy of your I-94 card

             Asylees may also submit a copy of their approval notice granting asylum or a copy of the immigration judge’s orders showing that you were granted asylum

               A completed Form G-325A, Biographic Information Sheet, if you are between 14 and 79 years of age

               Certified copies of court records (if you have been arrested)

               Two passport-style photos

Note: You must submit any foreign language documents with a certified English translation. The translator must certify that he/she is competent to perform the translation and that the translation is accurate. Note that translations submitted without a legible copy of the foreign document are not sufficient.