2. What is an asylee?

A: As a general term, the word refugee refers to a person who flees from his/her home country to seek refuge or safety elsewhere. Under U.S. immigration law, the term U.S. refugee has a very specific meaning. It refers to a person who, while abroad, met U.S. criteria for classification as a “refugee”; underwent all required pre-entry processing before arrival in the United States; and was consequently admitted to the United States for planned resettlement, with the immigration status of “U.S. refugee”.

The general standard for defining a refugee is that the person must have been the victim of persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution, based upon religion, nationality, political opinion, race, or membership in a particular social group. U.S. refugees can apply for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status after they have been physically present in the United States for one year as a U.S. refugee. They can later apply for U.S. citizenship, usually five years from their date of arrival in the U.S.

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A: An asylee is a person who has been granted asylum: that is, granted the right to remain permanently in safety, in the United States. In contrast to a U.S. refugee who underwent processing overseas, an “asylee” is a person who first reached the United States, usually as a visitor or other non-immigrant status; and either upon or after arrival declared him/herself to be a “refugee”, based on the refugee standard described in the answer above; made a formal application for asylum; and was granted asylum by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services or by an Immigration Judge. An asylee can apply for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status after he/she has been physically present in the United States with the status of asylee for one year.

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