Green Card for Asylees: Eligibility, How to Apply, and What to Submit

Eligibility for Adjustment of Status as an Asylee

To be eligible for a Green Card as an asylee, you must meet all of the following requirements:

• You properly file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;
• You are physically present in the United States when you file your Form I-485;
• You have been granted asylum status by USCIS (or former INS), an immigration judge with EOIR, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or a federal court;
• You have been physically present in the United States for at least one year after you were granted asylum;
• You continue to meet the definition of a refugee (for principal asylees), or you are the spouse or child of a refugee (for derivative asylees);
• You have not been firmly resettled in any foreign country;
• Your grant of asylum has not been terminated;
• You are admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence, or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other form of relief; and
• You merit the favorable exercise of discretion.

Grounds of Inadmissibility

To qualify for a Green Card, you must generally be admissible. Reasons for inadmissibility are listed in INA 212(a). Certain grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to asylum-based adjustments; others may be waived for asylees using Form I-602 (Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability). See USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7, Part M for the full analysis of applicable grounds and waivers for asylee adjustments.

How to Apply

If you are an asylee physically present in the United States, apply for a Green Card by filing Form I-485. If you file less than one year after being granted asylum, USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence regarding the one-year physical presence requirement, which may delay adjudication.

What to Submit (Principal Asylee)

• Form I-485 with the required fee or Form I-912 (Request for Fee Waiver);
• Proof of your asylum grant (copy of grant letter, immigration judge decision, or Form I-94 showing the asylum grant date);
• Evidence of one year of physical presence in the United States after the asylum grant;
• Two passport-style photographs;
• Copy of government-issued identity document with photograph;
• Copy of your birth certificate (if available);
• Copy of passport page with nonimmigrant visa (if available);
• Copy of passport page with admission or parole stamp (if available);
• Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, or partial I-693 (if applicable — must be submitted with the I-485 or the I-485 may be rejected);
• Certified police and court records of criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable); and
• Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (if applicable).

Derivative Asylees: Eligibility and What to Submit

Derivative asylees must separately meet all eligibility requirements, including having been physically present in the US for one year since their own derivative asylum grant, continuing to be the principal asylee's spouse or child, and neither the principal nor the derivative's asylum having been terminated.

Derivatives submit the same documents as principal asylees, plus:

• Copy of documentation showing relationship to the principal (marriage certificate, birth certificate, or adoption decree); and
• Evidence of their own derivative asylum status (grant letter, IJ decision, Form I-94, or approved Form I-730 petition filed on their behalf).

Employment Authorization and Travel Documents

Asylees do not need an EAD to work in the United States — work authorization is incident to asylee status. For affirmative grants, USCIS issues an EAD automatically at no cost when granting asylum; no I-765 is needed for the initial EAD. If you were granted asylum by an immigration judge, you must file Form I-765 to receive an EAD.

If you file Form I-765 to renew or replace your EAD while also filing Form I-485, do not file them in the same envelope. Asylees file I-765 under category "(a)(5)" and do not pay the filing fee for an initial EAD, though renewals and replacements require the standard fee.

If you wish to travel outside the United States, apply for a Refugee Travel Document by filing Form I-131 before departing. Do not file your I-131 in the same envelope as your I-485.