Roxana V. Muro is a knowledgeable immigration attorney with years of experience. Contact the Law Offices of Roxana V. Muro at 909-297-1860 with any immigration issues you may have.

What is Political Asylum?

If a person wants to claim asylum in the United States, they must show that they have been persecuted by their home country on account of their:

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Nationality
  • Political opinion, or
  • Membership in a particular social group

This page will focus on political opinion, also known as political asylum. If a person is granted asylum, they are allowed to stay in the United States in order to remain safe from the persecution in their home country. Asylees can apply for permanent residence after a year in the United States.

Political asylum applies a person’s country persecutes a person for their political views. So, for example, if a person is an active or perceived member of a political party against the government, and the government has made credible death threats against members of that political party, political asylum likely applies.

Persecution is generally considered threats of, or actual infliction of suffering or serious threat to a person’s life or freedom. Harassment is generally not enough to reach the requirement of persecution; however, when basic life necessities are involved, such as discrimination in housing that may be persecution.

Persecution does not necessarily need to come from the government of the person’s home country. Persecution by the government, government agents such as law enforcement, or groups that the government is unable to control, such as a drug cartel or paramilitary group count qualify as persecution as well.

What Do Political Asylees Need to Show?

In order to apply for asylum, the person applying must be present in the United States. An asylum applicant is allowed to enter the United States for the purpose of applying for asylum, or if they already in the United States on, for example, travel and believe they will be persecuted if they return to their home country they may apply while still in the United States.

The burden is upon the asylum applicant to show they have a credible fear of persecution. Generally, an applicant must show:

  1. The persecution is occurring
  2. The persecution is occurring on account of a person’s political belief’s
  3. The applicant is at risk of persecution.

To show a credible fear, the applicant should show the persecution the government is engaging in and that the applicant is at risk of facing persecution because of their political beliefs. The applicants must be a central core of the persecution, or political asylum will not apply.

Ultimately, whether the United States has wide discretion to accept or deny asylum applicants. Therefore, when preparing to apply for asylum, an applicant should gather as much verification documentation as possible to bolster their claims. For example, documents, photographs, passports, and newspaper articles can all be helpful in making a verifiable asylum claim.

Hire an Attorney Today!

This page is a basic primer on political asylum. Political asylum can be very complex. If you believe you have a valid claim for political asylum in the United States, hiring an experienced and knowledgeable immigration attorney to assist, you will give you the best chance of succeeding with your political asylum claim. If you believe you qualify for political asylum or have any other immigration-related issues, contact the law offices of Roxana V. Muro at 909-297-1860. You can’t afford NOT to.

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