Refugees

In general, you must be given access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The following priorities are available to Afghan Nationals:

Priority-1 Individual Cases: Cases are identified and referred to the program by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a U.S. embassy, or a designated non-governmental organization.
Priority-2 Groups of special humanitarian concern: On Aug. 2, 2021, the Department of State announced a new Priority 2 Designation for certain Afghan nationals and eligible family members. For further information, please visit the Refugee Processing Center.
Priority-3 Family Reunification: Spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, or parents of individuals already admitted to the U.S. as refugees or asylees are in this category.

Under United States law, a refugee is someone who:

Is located outside of the United States
Is of special humanitarian concern to the United States
Demonstrates that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group
Is not firmly resettled in another country
Is admissible to the United States

A refugee does not include anyone who ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

The Refugee Process

You must receive a referral to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for consideration as a refugee. For more information on the referral criteria, see the USRAP Consultations and Worldwide Processing Priorities page.

If you receive a referral, you will receive help filling out your application and then be interviewed abroad by a USCIS officer who will determine whether you are eligible for refugee resettlement. For more information about eligibility, see our Refugee Eligibility Determination page.

Your case may include your spouse, child (unmarried and under 21 years of age), and in some limited circumstances, other family members. You may include a same-sex spouse in your application provided that you and your spouse are legally married. As a general matter, USCIS looks to the law of the place where the marriage took place when determining whether it is valid for immigration law purposes. Same-sex partners who are not married but who are qualified to access the U.S. Refugee Admissions under one of the three designated worldwide processing priorities may have their cases cross-referenced so that they can be interviewed at the same time and, if approved by USCIS, resettled in the same geographic area in the United States.

There is no fee to apply for refugee status. The information you provide will not be shared with your home country.

For more information about USRAP and the referral process, see our USRAP Consultations and Worldwide Processing Priorities page.

Coming to the United States

If you are approved as a refugee, you will receive a medical exam, a cultural orientation, help with your travel plans, and a loan for your travel to the United States. After you arrive, you will be eligible for medical and cash assistance. For more information on benefits available to refugees, please see the Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement page.

Bringing Your Family to the United States

If you are a refugee in the United States and want your family members who are abroad to join you, you may file Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, for your spouse and unmarried children under 21. You must file within two years of your arrival to the United States unless there are humanitarian reasons to excuse this deadline. For more information about bringing your family to the United States, see our Family of Refugees and Asylees page.

You may also be eligible to file an Affidavit of Relationship for your spouse, child (unmarried, under 21), or parents. The Affidavit of Relationship is the form used to reunite refugees and asylees with close relatives who are determined to be refugees but are outside the United States. The Affidavit of Relationship records information about family relationships and must be completed in order to begin the application process for relatives who may be eligible to enter the United States as refugees through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. For information on the current nationalities eligible to file, see U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees & Migration.

Working in the United States

As a refugee, you may legally work as soon as you arrive in the United States. When you are admitted to the United States you will receive a Form I-94 containing a refugee admission stamp. We will also create a digital Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for you. After you are admitted to the United States, we will adjudicate your Form I-765. We will generally produce your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) within one to two weeks after we approve your application. We will mail your EAD via U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail to your address of record. The time frame for you to receive your EAD card may vary, depending on delivery times. While you wait for your EAD, you can present your Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, to your employer as proof you can legally work in the United States.

Filing for a Permanent Residency (Green Card)

If you are admitted as a refugee, you must apply for a Green Card one year after coming to the United States. To apply for permanent residency, file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status. There is no fee for refugees to file the Form I-485. In addition, refugees do not have to pay for fingerprinting/biometrics fees.

For more information on obtaining a Green Card, see our Green Card for Refugees page.

Traveling Abroad

If you have refugee status and want to travel outside the United States, you will need to obtain a Refugee Travel Document in order to return to the United States. If you do not obtain a Refugee Travel Document in advance of departure, you may be unable to re-enter the United States. If you return to the country from which you fled, you will have to explain how you were able to return safely.