An asylum-seeker is a person who has fled his/her country of origin and formally applied for asylum in another country but whose claim has not yet been concluded.
Every refugee is initially an asylum-seeker, but not every asylum-seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee. While they wait for their claim to be accepted or rejected, they are called asylum-seekers.
If an applicant is denied refugee status at the first instance level during refugee status determination (RSD), he/she can appeal this negative decision. Until a final decision is reached, this person remains an asylum-seeker.