Some studies suggest that there are as many as 89 million people displaced worldwide. For many of these individuals, their aim is to reach a place where they can find safety. Asylum is the legal process whereby those who have fled their homeland attempt to obtain refugee status and live in a safer destination. This is a human right as embodied in Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
There are numerous misconceptions surrounding the issue of why people seek asylum, so it can help to identify the more common reasons why this occurs.
Global conflict
The United States has been free from largescale conflict on its soil for hundreds of years now. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many other nations. War and conflict leave millions of people with no other choice than to flee their homeland and seek refuge in a safe place such as the United States.
Persecution
In some nations, people are persecuted at a state level purely on the basis of their religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. These groups, and others are protected in the United States, and people are generally free to follow the lifestyle of their choosing as a result.
These are just two of the key reasons why people may need to claim asylum in the United States, and there are numerous others. Seeking asylum is awful, in fact, it is a human right to seek protection under certain circumstances. To stand a greater chance of success with your claim, it will benefit you to seek legal guidance as soon as you’ve decided to pursue asylum.
Applying for Asylum in the U.S. – One Year Rule
To apply for affirmative asylum, an applicant must file their application within one year of arriving in the United States. There is an exception if the applicant can show a change in circumstances occurring more than one year after their arrival affecting the applicant. If the applicant waits more than one year, the case gets much more difficult, even if it meets the exception. Examples of changed circumstances is a regime change, outbreak of civil war, death of a leader, or changes in the laws abroad.