The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published detailed eligibility requirements for asylum seekers who wish to obtain a Green Card through the adjustment of status process.
One-Year Physical Presence Requirement
According to USCIS, asylees must have been physically present in the United States for at least one year after being granted asylum status before they can apply for lawful permanent residence. The asylum grant must have come from USCIS, the former Immigration and Naturalisation Service, an immigration judge under the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or a federal court.
Additional Eligibility Criteria
Beyond the one-year requirement, applicants must continue to meet the definition of a refugee at the time of filing, or qualify as the spouse or child of a refugee. They must not have firmly resettled in any other country, and their original asylum grant must still be valid and unterminated. Applicants are also required to be admissible to the United States or eligible for a waiver, and USCIS must determine that approval is warranted based on individual circumstances.
Application Process
Eligible asylees apply by submitting Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, while physically present in the country. USCIS has emphasised that applicants should read the form's instructions carefully before filing. The agency also addressed grounds of inadmissibility under INA 212(a), noting that most apply generally, but certain grounds do not apply in the specific context of asylee adjustment. In some situations, grounds that would ordinarily block an application may be waived through Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability. USCIS noted that whether a waiver is available depends on the specific inadmissibility ground and the adjustment category, with eligibility varying from case to case.
