Asylum is a form of protection that may allow a person who is physically present in the United States, or who arrives here, to remain if the person meets the legal definition of a refugee and is otherwise eligible.
The basic idea
A refugee, for U.S. asylum purposes, is generally a person who cannot or will not return to the country of nationality because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Asylum is not granted simply because conditions in a country are dangerous. The applicant must connect the feared or experienced persecution to at least one protected ground and satisfy the other legal requirements.
Asylum is different from refugee processing
A person seeking asylum applies from inside the United States or at a port of entry. Refugee processing generally concerns people seeking protection from outside the United States. The legal concepts overlap, but the procedures are different.
Why evidence organization matters
An asylum application may involve Form I-589, a personal declaration, identity and travel records, witness evidence, medical or police records when available, and country-conditions evidence. Not every case has every type of document.
A useful starting point is to build a timeline and organize evidence around the important events rather than collecting documents without a clear purpose.
Official sources
This page gives general information and does not determine whether a particular person qualifies for asylum.