Applying for asylum in the United States can be a long and sometimes tricky process, especially for those who also want to apply for permanent residence. United States Customs and Immigration Services has many strict rules about both the asylum and permanent residence application processes and where they overlap.
Simply applying for asylum grants the petitioner the status of “asylum pending”. This status gives the petitioner the ability to work or study in the United States and to show that they are legally in the US. The petitioner cannot apply for lawful permanent residence through asylum pending status; however, if the asylum petition is approved, the petitioner may apply for lawful residence one year after the approval date, using their asylee status as the justification.
Although the petitioner cannot use a pending asylum application to apply for permanent residence, a submitted asylum application does not prevent the petitioner from applying for residence through other means. For example, if the petitioner submitted an asylum application and then received a permanent job offer from a company in the United States, they could apply for residence using the job offer regardless of their asylum status.
The most important thing to remember is that to apply for lawful permanent residency, the petitioner must have maintained their legal status throughout their time in the United States, unless the cause of the illegal status was not their fault.
In a precedent case (Matter of L-K), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) establishes that "a person in lawful status who files for asylum and then falls out of status is not eligible to adjust if DHS takes action on the asylum request by denying, referring or dismissing it. However, an asylee may be able to adjust status if their asylum application is pending.” (Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook, 2018-19).
Other examples of violation of legal status include staying longer on a visitor visa, working without permission, and violating the terms of a student visa. Therefore, it is critical to be diligent with applications and retain legal status in the United States.