HOW TO APPLY FOR ASYLUM - The Florence Project

B. You establish:
1. You have been physically in the U.S. continuously for at least seven years; and
2. You have good moral character (this means you have not been convicted of certain crimes or spent 6
months or more in jail); and
3. You have not been convicted of an aggravated felony as defined by section 101(a)(43) of the INA (if
you have certain other crimes or immigration offenses that make you inadmissible or deportable to
the United States, you may still be eligible if you meet additional requirements); and
4. You would suffer extreme hardship if you were removed from the U.S. or your spouse, parent or
children who are lawful permanent residents or U.S. citizens would suffer such hardship if you were
removed from the U.S.
If you meet the above requirements but have criminal convictions, you should still bring up NACARA with the
judge to see if you are eligible. Also, if you are not sure whether you applied for asylum by the deadline, you
should ask the judge if you qualify to apply to stay in the United States under NACARA.
If you were the spouse or child of a Salvadoran, Guatemalan or Eastern European who received suspension of
deportation or cancellation of removal under NACARA at the time the person received NACARA relief, you
may be eligible to apply for NACARA relief as a beneficiary as long as the spousal or parent relationship still
exists. You may also be eligible for NACARA, if you are the unmarried son or daughter of a parent who
received NACARA relief and you entered the U.S. on or before October 1, 1990.
NOTE: The continuous physical presence requirements under NACARA do not apply if you enlisted in the
U.S. armed forces while in the U.S., served 24 months in active duty status and were discharged honorably.
Relief for Haitians
In October 1998, Congress passed the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 (HRIFA) that gave
certain Haitians a way to stay in the U.S. and become lawful permanent residents. The deadline for applying
for this type of relief for Haitians was March 31, 2000. However, under VAWA 2005, spouses (husband or
wife) and children (including unmarried sons or daughters over 21 years of age) who were abused (battered or
suffered extreme cruelty) by a spouse or parent who either was eligible for HRIFA or actually became a lawful
permanent resident under HRIFA still may apply for lawful permanent resident status under HRIFA.
For an abused spouse or child (including son or daughter) to apply under this law, the abusive spouse or parent
must have been eligible under HRIFA and met the following requirements:
The abusive spouse or parent:
1Was physically in the United States on December 31, 1995;
2Was physically present in the United States continuously since at least December 31, 1995 and had not been
absent from the U.S. for more than 180 days total since December 31, 1995;
AND
3Filed for asylum and was present in the United States before December 31, 1995; or
4 Was paroled into the United States prior to December 31, 1995 and identified as having a credible fear
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FIRRP- last update June 2007