Asylum/Refugee areas are misunderstood by many applicants. Most Foreign Nationals (FN) have a memory of how a person walks into a US Embassy and seeks Refugee/Asylum. Although that is very rare these days, more than 98% of Refugee/Asylum applications are not even handled directly with a US Embassy.
An applicant can apply for Asylum/Refugee in any of the following categories, not just political opinion: Race, Religion, Nationality, Membership in a Particular Social Group, and Torture Convention. That means, if an applicant has a credible fear of persecution because of his/her relationship or activities in any of the above categories (including Political Opinion) he/she may apply for Asylum/Refugee.
If an applicant is already in the USA he/she is referred to as an “Asylum” applicant. However, if the person is outside of the USA, then he/she needs to seek a Refugee status. If a person is in the USA and has fear to return to his/her home country he/she needs to consult with an immigration attorney because he/she may be eligible to apply for Asylum.
To obtain a refugee status it has to be pursued through United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This may require for the refugee applicant to be outside of his/her home country. A refugee applicant must consult the UNHCR’s office to understand how this Agency works with regard to that particular country. If UNHCR has an office in your country simply contact them to understand the process. But if there is no UNHCR’s office in your respective country then you either have to go to a neighboring country where UNHCR has an office or find out whether UNHCR may be operating through a foreign embassy in your country. For example, UNHCR may operate through Swiss, Austrian, or other embassies in your country. Also, you need to remember to use different terminology with UNHCR. They refer to you as an “Asylum” seeker while they are determining whether you are eligible for Refugee status. Once they approve your Asylum application then you will be referred to as a refugee.
One has to find out the specific UNHCR process for a particular nationality. UNHCR process is not the same for all applicants. You also need to be prepared that there may be a long wait period to have your interview scheduled with UNHCR, sometimes more than one year. Once you have located the appropriate UNHCR office and found out their process you would have to submit an application (asylum application) to them to be considered as a refugee. You would have to fill out their application, follow their process and submit it to their office. They will contact you for an interview.
In this interview, UNHCR will determine two issues: whether you are eligible to be considered a refugee and where you have a tie to be considered for that country’s refugee program. Thus, be well prepared before going to this interview. First, you want to have sufficient documents and evidence to prove your credible fear of persecution because of one of the above categories. Second, you want to show evidence that you have ties with the USA so you would be considered for refugee programs into the USA.
