Asylum provides entry and residence into the United States to an individual fleeing persecution. The applicant must be unwilling or unable to return to his/her home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular group, or political opinion.

The applicant must submit extensive documentation to establish that persecution resulted directly from one of these grounds and not from private disputes or from general authoritarian measures exacted by regimes in other states. Membership in a particular social group is restricted to an individual who can establish that because of an immutable characteristic or common trait such as sex, color, kinship, or in some cases a shared past experience, he/she has suffered at the hands of others. To establish this ground, the applicant must submit documentation that the group has a discernible identity, and that the individual is a member of that group which has been persecuted as a result of its distinguishing and distinctive characteristics. Persecution on the basis of political opinion can be established where the applicant demonstrates an actively and openly-held opinion in opposition to those in a position of authority, or where the person has been persecuted by virtue of an "imputed opinion".

Persecution is not limited to physical abuse or torture; it may include denial of benefits normally afforded citizens in the state. Denial of educational and employment opportunities, arbitrary interferences with the individual’s family members, and other restrictions on an individual’s rights amounting to a "threat to life or liberty," satisfy the definition of persecution. General conditions of hardship and criminal prosecution for violating a state’s laws, on the other hand, do not constitute persecution.

Evidence of past persecution is generally a sufficient basis for an asylum claim unless a change of circumstances indicates that no fear of further persecution is warranted. A simple assertion of past persecution is insufficient, and the applicant has to provide extensive documentation as to injuries, threats of violence, and restrictions.

For the most part, however, the applicant must base the asylum claim on a "well-founded fear of future persecution". In addition to one of the five grounds listed above, this requires proof that there is a reasonable likelihood that the persecution feared will occur and the individual’s home country will probably not afford any type of protection. The applicant has to submit evidence establishing that the individual is one who will likely be persecuted, and that the persecutor has the ability to exact such punishment. This further necessitates that the applicant establish he/she fears persecution not only in one area of the country from which one is fleeing, but that such individual will be sought and persecuted in any and/or all parts of that country.

Certain individuals are automatically precluded from seeking asylum even if they meet the above requirements. These include persons who:

• have participated in the persecution of others;
• have been convicted of a particularly serious crime or of a serious non-political crime outside of the United States;
• are terrorists or a danger to the security of the United States;
• have been firmly resettled in a third country (i.e., has an offer of permanent resident status or citizenship in another country); and
• failed to file the application within one year of entering into the United States (some exceptions apply).