You may be entitled to remain in the United States if you can show that your government or another group in your home country would or already have persecuted you based on your race, national origin, religion, political opinion, or even because of your falling into a category in asylum law known as “membership in a particular social group”.
Here are some examples of persons that have received asylum in the past:
- Those that actively spoke out against their governments and who were persecuted as a result
- Those that have refused to join a rebel group during civil strife
- A woman who was sexually abused because a sergeant thought she supported the rebels
- Victims of severe domestic violence in their home countries
- Tribal members who are subjected to painful or embarrassing “rites of passage” after attaining a certain age
- Homosexuals who were persecuted for their sexual orientation
- Those who opposed government family planning policies, such as those in China
- Practitioners of a religion here in the US which would subject them to jailing and torture in their home country upon their return
- Those who were high ranking officials in a now toppled and persecuted government