A refugee is a person who has fled his or her country of origin because of past persecution or a fear of future persecution based upon race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
 
Affirmative Asylum Processing With USCIS
Our office specializes in obtaining affirmative asylum. Attorney Hartman has written extensively on the plight of Iraqi refugees and asylees. She has represented several dozen Iraqis and their families in applying for affirmative asylum and has served as a volunteer supervising attorney for UCLA and Loyola Law School students under the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project. Ms. Hartman works closely with each client to persuasively tell their story and to assess the risks they would face if they were forced to return to their home country.

 

To obtain asylum through the affirmative asylum process you must be physically present in the United States. You may apply for asylum status regardless of how you arrived in the United States or your current immigration status.
 
You must apply for asylum within one year of the date of your last arrival in the United States, unless you can show changed circumstances (such as expiration of a student visa) or extraordinary circumstances relating to the delay in filing; and you filed within a reasonable amount of time given those circumstances.