# After asylum is granted

Source: https://www.qaravan.org/resources/immigration/after-asylum/

What to do after the decision: work, documents, family, travel and a green card after a year.

This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.

When USCIS or a judge grants asylum, you become an asylee. Some steps with documents depend on who made the decision.

## Start here

- Don't travel abroad without a refugee travel document: you may not be let back in.
- You can petition for relatives with form I-730 within 2 years of the grant, for free.
- You can work right away; a card is not required.

## The first weeks after the decision

1. Keep the papers that show your asylum grant Keep the decision letter and your I-94 marked for asylum. If a judge or the BIA granted asylum, the marked I-94 usually comes by mail once the decision is final.
2. You can work right away You don't need a card to work. For the employer's form I-9 you can show the I-94 with another document, such as a state driver's license.
3. Get the card if USCIS granted asylum If USCIS granted asylum, the card comes by mail for free, with no form I-765. If it hasn't come in 90 days, contact the USCIS Contact Center; its phone line answers only in English and Spanish, so if you speak no English, ask a lawyer for help.
4. File Form I-765 if a judge granted asylum After a judge's decision no card comes by itself. File form I-765 under category (a)(5): the first card is free, renewals and replacements are not.
5. If you have no asylum document Wait at least 45 days after the judge's or BIA's decision becomes final, then tell the USCIS Contact Center that the document hasn't come; its phone line answers only in English and Spanish, so if you speak no English, ask a lawyer for help.
6. Report your address within 10 days Report a new address to USCIS within 10 days, best online.

## Which papers prove what

Papers for a person granted asylum

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## Bringing your family: Form I-730

The asylee files form I-730; relatives can be abroad.

1. Check whom you can include A spouse and unmarried children under 21, and in some cases children over 21.
2. Meet the two-year deadline Within 2 years of the grant; it can be extended for humanitarian reasons.
3. There is no fee Form I-730 is free.
4. Collect the evidence Proof of your status (I-94, judge's decision, work permit card and so on), a photo of each relative, a copy of the relative's I-94 if they are in the US, proof of the relationship (marriage and birth certificates) and certified translations.
5. Mail the form Use the January 20, 2025 edition and the Phoenix Lockbox address.
6. Wait for your relatives to be called Relatives abroad are interviewed at USCIS international offices or through the State Department: the National Visa Center sends the case to an embassy or consulate. Asylum offices don't handle I-730 questions; the USCIS Contact Center does.

## Where to send Form I-730

- USCIS Phoenix Lockbox, the mail-in processing address for Form I-730 Granted asylum By regular mail: USCIS, Attn: I-730, P.O. Box 20018, Phoenix, AZ 85036-0018. By courier (FedEx, UPS, DHL): USCIS, Attn: I-730 (Box 20018), 2108 E. Elliot Rd., Tempe, AZ 85284-1806. [uscis.gov](https://www.uscis.gov/i-730) USCIS, Attn: I-730, P.O. Box 20018, Phoenix, AZ 85036-0018

## Including your family: two routes

Family members and asylum

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## Travelling abroad

Without the right document you may not be let back in.

Travel documents

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## A green card one year after asylum

1. Wait for one year You can apply for a green card once you have been in the US for a year since the grant; the year is checked on the day of the decision. You can file earlier, but USCIS may ask for more documents and take longer.
2. Use the right edition of Form I-485 Use the September 18, 2026 edition of I-485: other editions sent on or after September 18, 2026 are rejected. Filing addresses changed on October 7, 2026; forms postmarked by November 9, 2026 to the old addresses are still accepted.
3. Attach the documents Proof of the asylum grant, proof of a year in the US, two photos, a copy of your ID, birth certificate, passport pages and, if needed, certified police or court records. For family members, proof of the relationship.
4. Take the medical exam If an exam is required, the I-693 report is filed with the I-485.
5. File Form I-602 if needed If you may be found inadmissible, file form I-602 (a waiver request).
6. File a separate packet for each family member Each family member files their own package.
7. Keep other forms out of the same envelope Don't put an I-765 or I-131 in the same envelope as the I-485.
8. Check the fee Under the Fee Schedule (Form G-1055, edition of October 26, 2026) an adult pays $1,440 on paper or $1,390 online, and a child under 14 filing with a parent pays $950 or $900. You can ask to waive the fee with Form I-912.

## Before you leave

- Admission to the US is not guaranteed Granted asylum Get the refugee travel document before you leave, allowing time for processing. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) makes the final call on letting you in. [uscis.gov](https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/travel-documents)
- BIA decision of August 13, 2026 (Matter of Delcarmen-Lara) Asylum applicants The BIA held that leaving the US on advance parole counts as a departure for the unlawful presence bar. If you spent more than 180 days in the US without lawful status before the trip, you may be found inadmissible when you come back. Talk to a lawyer or accredited representative before any trip. [uscis.gov](https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/travel-documents)
- A trip to the country where you faced persecution Granted asylum According to USCIS, an asylee who travels to the country where they faced persecution may be asked why they could go back and, in some cases, face proceedings to end their asylum, even after getting a green card. While an asylum application is pending, such a trip is treated as abandoning it unless you show compelling reasons. Talk to a lawyer or accredited representative before any such trip. [uscis.gov](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/news/Asylee_travel_information.pdf)

## Glossary: definitions of special terms and abbreviations

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[All pages: Immigration and asylum](https://www.qaravan.org/resources/immigration/)

**Sources, checked November 2026**

- [uscis.gov/i-730](https://www.uscis.gov/i-730)
- [uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/trave…](https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/travel-documents)
- [uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/news/Asylee_travel_info…](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/news/Asylee_travel_information.pdf)