If your spouse or unmarried children under 21 were with you in the US and were mentioned in your Form I-589, Asylum Application, they may have been granted asylum. If your family remained overseas when you filed, you can file a petition for them to receive derivative asylum status. Note that you can only petition for a spouse or child you are related to, whom you were also related to on the date you were granted asylum. This means you cannot petition for a spouse you have divorced, a new spouse or a recently adopted child. To obtain derivative asylum status for your family members, file Form I-730, Refugee and Asylee Relative Petition. The deadline to submit the form is two years from the date you were granted asylum. If you have missed the deadline, contact an experienced asylum lawyer at Spar & Bernstein to determine whether you qualify for exceptions for humanitarian reasons.