Winning asylum can feel like the end of a long and frightening road. Then someone tells you that asylum is not permanent, and a new set of questions begins. When can you apply for a Green Card? What happens to your spouse and children? And how do the policy changes of the past year affect your case? Those concerns are reasonable, and you are not alone in having them. Below, we explain who qualifies for a Green Card as an asylee, how the one-year rule works, what to file, and what has changed in 2026.
At Getachew & Ansari Immigration Attorneys, P.C., our San Jose asylum attorneys represent asylum seekers from the first filing through permanent residence, and we work in English, Amharic, Spanish, Dari, and Farsi.
Can an Asylee Get a Green Card?
Yes. A person granted asylum in the United States can apply for lawful permanent resident status, commonly called a Green Card. The asylee must have accumulated at least one year of physical presence in the United States after the asylum grant before USCIS can approve permanent residence, although under current USCIS policy the full year does not necessarily have to be completed before Form I-485 is filed. The legal basis is Section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and the application is filed with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Form I-485.
Asylees do not need a family member or employer to sponsor them. The asylum grant itself is the basis for the application. Both principal asylees and derivative asylees (spouses and children who received asylum through the principal) can apply.
Who Qualifies for a Green Card Through Asylum?
Under INA 209(b)Â and its regulation, 8 CFR 209.2, an asylee may adjust status if the asylee:
- Has been physically present in the United States for at least one year after being granted asylum, by the time USCIS decides the application
- Continues to meet the definition of a refugee, or is still the spouse or child of a refugee
- Has not firmly resettled in another country
- Is admissible to the United States as an immigrant, or qualifies for a waiver
The second requirement is the one people tend to overlook. If the circumstances that made you a refugee have fundamentally changed, or if you have done something that suggests you no longer fear return, eligibility can be questioned. The law also says USCIS “may” grant adjustment, which means the decision involves discretion as well as eligibility.
How Long After Asylum Can You Apply for a Green Card?
USCIS allows an asylee to file Form I-485 before completing one full year of physical presence, but the one-year requirement must be satisfied when USCIS decides the application. This has been USCIS policy since February 2023. Filing early can create delays or additional evidence requests, and USCIS may deny the application if it reaches a decision before the one-year requirement is met.
For a principal asylee, the clock starts on the date asylum was approved, as shown on the approval notice from the asylum office or the order from the immigration judge.
Only time inside the United States counts. According to the USCIS Policy Manual, an asylee who travels abroad does not meet the requirement until the total time spent in the United States after the grant adds up to one year. Time spent outside the United States generally does not count toward the one-year physical-presence requirement, so travel may delay the date on which USCIS can approve the application. Our article on whether an asylee can travel outside the U.S. explains the risks of those trips in more detail.
There is no deadline to apply, and we generally advise against waiting long once the year is complete or nearly complete. Asylum status can be terminated in some circumstances, as we explain below, and a Green Card puts you on the path to citizenship.
What Is the AS6 Category on a Green Card?
AS6 is the class of admission code printed on the Green Card of a principal asylee who adjusted status. Derivative asylees receive related codes: AS7 for the spouse of a principal asylee and AS8 for the child.
The code matters later. It tells USCIS, employers, and benefit agencies that your permanent residence came through asylum, and it can be relevant when you apply for naturalization or for certain public benefits. If your card shows the wrong category, you can ask USCIS to correct it.
Can Derivative Asylees Apply for Their Own Green Cards?
Yes, and each family member must file a separate Form I-485. A spouse or child cannot be listed on the principal’s application.
The family relationship generally must still exist when USCIS decides the case. The Policy Manual states that a derivative spouse who has divorced the principal asylee no longer qualifies as a derivative, and a child who marries or no longer meets the definition of a child loses derivative eligibility. Losing derivative eligibility does not automatically terminate the person’s existing asylum status, but the person generally can no longer adjust as a derivative. Depending on the circumstances, the person may need to seek a separate grant of asylum as a principal, including through USCIS’s nunc pro tunc asylum procedures, before becoming eligible to adjust under INA 209(b). The Child Status Protection Act can protect some children who turn 21. If your family members are still abroad, start with our guide to derivative asylum and Form I-730.
What Do You Need to File for an Asylee Green Card?
The core filing is Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. A typical asylee filing includes:
- Form I-485 with the filing fee or a fee waiver request
- Proof of asylum status, such as the asylum approval notice, immigration court order, or Form I-94
- A complete medical examination on Form I-693 signed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon (some derivative asylees who completed a medical exam abroad have different requirements)
- Two passport-style photos and a copy of government-issued identification
- Certified court records for any arrest, charge, or conviction, anywhere in the world
Two points surprise many asylees. Asylees do not file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, because the public charge ground of inadmissibility does not apply to them. And USCIS generally does not require a passport from your home country if you cannot safely obtain one. Fees change periodically, so check the current USCIS fee schedule before filing. Asylees who meet USCIS’s fee-waiver eligibility requirements may request a fee waiver for an eligible filing.
What If You Have a Criminal Record or Other Inadmissibility Issue?
Asylees have access to one of the broadest waivers in immigration law. Under INA 209(c), USCIS can waive most grounds of inadmissibility for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest. The request is made on Form I-602.
Some grounds cannot be waived under INA 209(c), including controlled-substance trafficking and specified national-security, terrorism, adverse-foreign-policy, Nazi-persecution, genocide, torture, and extrajudicial-killing grounds. A criminal record also raises a separate concern, because certain convictions can lead to termination of asylum. Anyone with an arrest or conviction should have an attorney review the records before filing.
Will You Have an Interview?
Maybe. Under 8 CFR 209.2(e), USCIS decides case by case whether an asylee adjustment application requires an interview, and it updated its interview criteria for refugee and asylee applicants in 2025. Interviews are generally required when an officer cannot confirm identity or admissibility from the available immigration records, and the Policy Manual directs that derivative asylees who were never interviewed be referred to a field office.
If you live in the South Bay, any interview will likely take place at the USCIS San Jose Field Office, and your fingerprints will be collected at the San Jose Application Support Center.
How Have 2025 and 2026 Policy Changes Affected Asylee Green Card Applications?
The USCIS Hold Policies and the 2026 Court Orders
This area changed quickly over the past year. On December 2, 2025, USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192. It placed a hold on all pending asylum applications regardless of nationality and on pending benefit requests, including Green Card applications, filed by people born in or citizens of the 19 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949. A second memo on January 1, 2026 (PM-602-0194) extended the hold to the additional countries named in Proclamation 10998.
Federal courts have since blocked those holds. On June 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated both memos in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, and USCIS announced it would follow that order pending further review. On August 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California certified a class of affected applicants in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Edlow, preliminarily enjoined both memos, and directed USCIS to adjudicate covered applications in its normal course. USCIS has said it disagrees with that ruling but will comply while the litigation continues.
For asylees from Afghanistan, Iran, and the other listed countries, an application covered by those hold policies should no longer remain frozen solely because of PM-602-0192 or PM-602-0194, although ordinary processing times, screening, and case-specific review still apply. The litigation is not over. Our Afghan immigration lawyers and Iranian immigration lawyers are monitoring these cases closely.
Does the May 2026 USCIS Memo on Adjustment of Status Apply to Asylees?
USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 on May 21, 2026. The memorandum specifically addresses adjustment of status under INA 245 and emphasizes the discretionary nature of that form of adjustment and the availability of consular processing.
Asylee adjustment is governed by a different provision, INA 209(b). Section 209(b) has always made approval discretionary, but PM-602-0199 does not specifically state that it changes the standards USCIS applies to asylee adjustment. Asylee applicants should therefore look primarily to INA 209(b), 8 CFR 209.2, and USCIS’s asylee adjustment guidance when evaluating eligibility. If you are unsure which rules apply to your case, an experienced adjustment of status lawyer can review it with you.
Can USCIS End Your Asylum Before You Get a Green Card?
It can happen. Asylum can be terminated if the person no longer meets the refugee definition, obtained asylum through fraud, or falls within certain criminal or security grounds. Voluntarily returning to the country you fled can raise this issue.
There is an important protection here in California. Under the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Nijjar v. Holder, USCIS cannot terminate asylum on its own in cases governed by Ninth Circuit law. Instead, the case must go to immigration court, where an immigration judge decides. Our article on whether the government can end your asylum status covers the termination grounds in more detail.
When Can an Asylee Become a U.S. Citizen?
Sooner than many people expect. When USCIS approves an asylee’s Green Card, it records the start of permanent residence as one year before the approval date. Because most permanent residents can apply for naturalization five years after their residence date, and may file up to 90 days early, an asylee may be eligible to apply for citizenship roughly four years after the Green Card is approved. Our citizenship and naturalization team can confirm your exact filing date.
Frequently Asked Questions About Green Cards for Asylees
Do asylees need a sponsor for a Green Card? No. Asylees apply on their own, based on the asylum grant, and do not file an Affidavit of Support.
Do I have to wait exactly one year after asylum before filing Form I-485? Not necessarily. USCIS currently requires one year of physical presence after the asylum grant by the time it adjudicates the application, rather than at filing. Filing before completing the year may cause delays or a denial if USCIS adjudicates the case too soon.
Does a derivative spouse lose eligibility after divorce? A divorced spouse generally can no longer adjust as a derivative asylee, though asylum status itself is not automatically lost.
Is there a limit on asylee Green Cards each year? No. The former annual cap on asylee adjustments was eliminated by the REAL ID Act of 2005.
Contact an Experienced Asylum Lawyer at Getachew & Ansari Immigration Attorneys, P.C.
Moving from asylum to lawful permanent residence provides greater long-term stability and puts an asylee on the path toward U.S. citizenship. The filing itself is straightforward on paper, but the questions underneath it are not: whether your travel history affects the one-year count, whether a family member still qualifies as a derivative, whether an inadmissibility issue arising from a past arrest or conviction may qualify for a waiver, and how the 2026 court orders and USCIS memos apply to you. Our firm handles asylum and Green Card cases together, which lets us look at your full history before anything is filed.
Managing Attorney Medya Ansari came to the United States as an immigrant herself, and she leads a team that speaks English, Farsi, Dari, Spanish, and Amharic. You can learn more about our firm and the communities we serve across San Jose and the Bay Area.
Call 408-292-7995 or contact our office to schedule a consultation about your asylee Green Card application.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Immigration policies affecting asylees changed several times in 2025 and 2026 and continue to be litigated. Confirm current requirements with USCIS or an attorney before filing.
