Many people come to the US and apply for political asylum every year, but many of the applicants do not have a full understanding of it. Therefore, this has affected their own rights and interests. We hope the information provided will enable individuals to have a better understanding of political asylum. Individuals who receive political asylum are allowed to permanently reside in the US because they have been the subject of government persecution in their homeland or would receive government persecution upon return to their homeland because of political reasons. "Political reasons" include, but are not limited to: political views, political activities, religion, sex, and birth policies. Two conditions must be met in order to qualify for political asylum: 1. The applicant must be within the boundaries of the US. 2. The applicant must be subject to political prosecution in his/her homeland. Generally the applicant provide sufficient evidence towards the second condition. For example, the applicant may have been engaged in certain activities or expressed certain opinions that would make them targets for prosecution (i.e. Falun Gong). Those suffering from political prosecution must arrive in the US within a year of the event. Also, if a report of prosecution is found to be false, it is a violation of the law, and that individual may be subject to punishment within the US. An individual's application for asylum may include the applicant's spouse and any children who have not reached 21 years of age. If an application for asylum has not been approved within two years, the applicant may apply for his/her spouse and/or children who have not reached 21 years of age to come to the US. One year after an individual's application for asylum has been granted, he/she is eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Card ("Green Card"). Those granted asylum may also apply for employment and/or education authorization. PLEASE NOTE: This web page only for basic reference purposes, it by no means contains legal opinions. In addition, because it has been manually typed, the material accuracy has possibly been affected. This law office is not responsible for the writing on this page.