Known by its legal name of asylum, this form of immigration protection is available to people who flee their home country and claim that they are at risk of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
The immigration law that governs asylum is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (aka Hart-Celler). To qualify for asylum, you must prove that there is a well-founded fear that you will be persecuted based on one of these five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership in or perceived membership in a PSG or political opinion.
You must also have suffered past persecution to qualify for asylum. The past persecution can be direct or indirect. A direct persecution may be physical harm or threats of violence or death. Indirect persecution is the violation of your rights in some other way, such as imprisonment or discrimination based on your protected grounds.
An example of indirect persecution is a government order or policy that violates your rights to equality or freedom of expression. Indirect persecution can also include a pattern of harassment or discrimination, but it must reach a certain level of severity to be considered a well-founded fear of future persecution.
Asylum officers conducting threshold screening interviews or asylum hearings review the facts of your case and decide whether to grant you asylum. The decision of an immigration judge can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the final decision can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.