<p>I was born in Guinea (North West Africa, at the coast) and resided there for four years before I came to the United States. Would I be under the category of those who are URM? Would affirmative action apply to me?</p>
<p>I think if you are African, as long as you have a permanent residence in America you will be considered a URM.</p>
<p>Are you of African descent or were you and your parents expats living in Guinea, or immigrants to Guinea.</p>
<p>Guinea, while relatively far North is still below the Sahara, so the indigenous people there are considered Black by the US government definitions. Someone who immigrated from Guinea to the US would be considered Black, although not African American, and would be able to check the Black/AA box on official documents, and would qualify as an URM the way CC defines it.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if your parents were African Americans assigned to the embassy in Guinea, then you would also be considered AA, and if your parents were Chinese immigrants to Guinea, or Swedish missionaries living in Guinea or something else then my answer would be different.</p>
<p>@Curious Jane</p>
<p>EVERYONE has African descent. </p>
<p>As for the OP go ahead and put down African American. Since you were born in Africa you are African American.</p>
<p>You’re right of course, but the US law is pretty clear that the category “Black or African American” doesn’t apply to white people born in Africa, for example. </p>
<p>My younger brother was born in Australia while my father spent 4 years at the embassy there. That doesn’t mean he can check “Pacific Islander”.</p>