Asylum is United States protection for people who cannot safely return to their home country because of persecution they have suffered or fear suffering on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. It is one of the hardest cases in all of immigration law to win — and one of the most consequential, since a grant leads to legal status, employment authorization, and eventually a green card and citizenship.

This 20-page plain-language Playbook explains the full asylum system: who qualifies under the refugee definition, the five protected grounds and the particular social group analysis, past persecution versus well-founded fear, the one-year filing deadline and its exceptions, affirmative asylum filed with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and defensive asylum raised in immigration court, credible fear and reasonable fear screening at the border, the related protections of Withholding of Removal and Convention Against Torture relief, employment authorization timing, derivative asylum for family members, appeals through the Board of Immigration Appeals and federal courts, how a grant leads to lawful permanent residence, and where to find legal help.

What’s inside

What asylum actually is
Who qualifies: the refugee definition
The five protected grounds and particular social group
Past persecution versus well-founded fear
The one-year filing deadline
Affirmative asylum with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Defensive asylum in immigration court
Credible fear and reasonable fear at the border
Withholding of Removal and Convention Against Torture relief
Employment authorization while the case is pending
Family members and derivative asylum
Appeals and judicial review
From asylum to green card
When something goes wrong
Resources and legal aid

20 pages. Instant download. Written by an inactive Illinois-licensed attorney with 25 years of legal experience. Not legal advice. Asylum cases should almost always be handled with the help of an experienced attorney; resources for finding representation are included.