Benefits and Risks of Applying for Asylum

Benefits and Risks of Applying for Asylum

What are the possible benefits of applying for asylum?

If you win asylum:

• You will be protected from deportation, and you can live and work anywhere in the United States for as long as you want.
• You can request asylum for your spouse and unmarried children who were under the age of 21 when you submitted your application—even if they are outside of the United States or living in the United States without legal status.
• You will be able to get permission from the government to travel outside of the United States and return to the United States.
• You can access some public benefits and assistance that you did not have before.
• After you win asylum, you can choose to apply to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder). A few years after becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident, you can choose to apply to become a U.S. citizen.

Applying for asylum can also give you certain protections even before the government decides on your asylum application.  

• If you already have a case in immigration court, applying for asylum will protect you against deportation while your asylum application is pending. This means that if you applied for asylum in immigration court, you will not be deported until an immigration judge has decided on your asylum case. 
• If the judge does not grant you asylum, you still have an opportunity to fight against that decision. This process is called an appeal. If you appeal, the government cannot deport you until the Board of Immigration Appeals has decided on your appeal.
• After a waiting period of 150 days, you can apply for a work permit while your asylum application is pending.

What are the possible risks of applying for asylum?

• If you do not have a case in immigration court, the U.S. government may not know that you are in the country. Applying for asylum will alert immigration authorities that you are here. You will also need to provide your address to the government when you apply for asylum. If you move, you must update your address with the government.
• If an asylum officer does not grant you asylum and you do not have other immigration status, your case will be sent to immigration court. In immigration court, you will have another chance to fight for asylum. However, if an immigration judge denies your case, you could eventually be deported.
• If you already have a case in immigration court, then the U.S. government already knows you are in the country, so these risks may not affect you.

It is also important to be honest in your asylum application. If the government thinks you lied about important facts about your asylum claim, they may say that your asylum application was “frivolous.” If that happens, the government may bar you from getting other types of immigration status, even if they aren’t related to asylum.

This resource was created by the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) and edited by Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative (I-ARC). You can view the original resource and any updates on ASAP’s website here: https://help.asylumadvocacy.org/faqs-general-orientation/