Asylum is granted to aliens who are in the United States and are unable or unwilling to return to their homeland because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a certain social group, or political opinion. 

Obtaining asylum status allows a person to live and work in the United States, and to apply for permanent resident status a year after asylum is granted. Below is a chronology of the typical claim for asylum

Initiation of the Asylum Claim: Application

To be granted asylum status, the applicant must first either ask for asylum at a port of entry to the United States or apply for asylum on INS form I-589.  Application must be made within one year of arriving in the United States.  Exceptions may be made allowing later application if conditions in the applicant's home country or his or her personal circumstances have changed, affecting eligibility for asylum, or if extraordinary circumstances prevented the person from applying within the regular one-year period.

Establishing Eligibility for Asylum

All asylum seekers must meet the definition of "refugee" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which includes persons outside of their country (and some persons who are still in their home country) who are unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.  Even persons who are in the country illegally may apply for asylum. If the applicant is not eligible for asylum and is in the United States illegally, he or she may be placed in removal proceedings, which could lead to deportation.