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Original source update: December 14, 2025.
People from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan may have very different experiences and legal claims. Coming from a former Soviet republic does not by itself establish eligibility for asylum.
The essential questions
An applicant generally must show past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution connected to at least one protected ground: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The case must also address who caused or may cause the harm, whether the government was involved or unable or unwilling to provide protection, and whether safe relocation inside the country is possible.
Facts must connect the harm to a protected ground
Political activity, religious practice, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, family relationships, or an opinion attributed to the applicant may be relevant in a particular case. The analysis depends on specific facts and current law. General instability, economic hardship, discrimination, or fear of crime may be serious without necessarily satisfying the asylum standard.
Timing matters
Asylum applicants generally must file within one year after arrival in the United States unless a recognized exception applies. Do not assume another temporary status or a pending application automatically solves a one-year deadline problem.
Official source: Executive Office for Immigration Review: Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Convention Against Torture.