If you have come to the United States to escape persecution from your home country you can request refugee status in the United States by asking for asylum. The reasons for requesting asylum are if your country is persecuting you for your ethnicity, political affiliation, social affiliation (such as a tribe), gender, sexual orientation, or if a group within the country is persecuting you and the government is not willing or able to protect you. You must show that you have a genuine fear of returning to your home country and that there is no place in the country where you can escape persecution.

You must make your request within one year of entering the country and you cannot have arrived from a third country after having left the country that you are requesting asylum from. You are eligible to request a work permit while your application is pending and if you granted asylum, you may then file for your green card.

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If you have been in the country for a certain amount of time and have qualifying U.S. citizen relatives, you may ask the immigration service to stop the deportation process and allow you become a legal permanent resident. This will also depend on why you are being deported and whether your circumstances allow for a waiver or an excuse as to why you should not be deported.

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