To be eligible for Asylum Status a person must:
- be in the United States or at the U.S. border ( Those Applying from overseas must apply as refugee status)
- be unable or unwilling to avail protection of their country of nationality
- because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Case law defines persecution as, “a threat to the life or freedom of, or the infliction of suffering or harm upon those who differ in a manner that is regarded as offensive