Asylum and Refugee Program
Asylum
The United States does not grant asylum in its diplomatic posts abroad. Under U.S. law, the United States grants asylum only to aliens who are physically present in the United States.
U.S. Refugee Program
To be eligible for consideration under the U.S. refugee program, an applicant must meet the definition of a refugee: a person outside the United States who has been persecuted or has a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. In addition, he or she must be able to establish that he or she is not already firmly resettled in a foreign country and must fall within certain refugee processing priorities.
Refugee Processing
USCIS Athens does not accept refugee resettlement applications unless they are referred by the Ambassador’s office. Persons interested in refugee protection in Greece should contact the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at:
Tagiapiera 12, Paleo Psychiko, Athens, Greece 154 52
Telephone: 210-672-6462 or 6463
Fax: 210-672-6417
Email: great@unhcr.org
Inquiries about the status of pending refugee resettlement applications submitted to USCIS officials in Lebanon, Turkey, Yemen, UAE and Kuwait should be e-mailed to uscis.athens@dhs.gov with the notation “Status of Pending Refugee Claim” and the case number on the subject line.
Additional Information
For more information about the U.S. asylum and refugee programs please visit the Asylum and Refugees pages on the USCIS website. For general information and processing criteria please see the State Department Website.
Derivative Refugee/Asylee Petitions (Form I-730)
Persons who are beneficiaries of Form I-730 petitions and live in Greece are interviewed at the USCIS Athens office. If you have been notified that your I-730 has been approved and sent to USCIS Athens and have not yet been contacted by our office, please contact us at uscis.athens@dhs.gov with the notation “Inquiry re I-730” on the subject line or by fax at 210-729-4304.