The Somali refugee who unleashed a brutal slashing rampage at the Ohio State University that left 11 injured on Monday, is just 18 years old according to NBC.

But with his balding hair, mustache and goatee, Abdul Razak Ali Artan has the appearance of someone who could be much older.

Authorities have not yet verified the terror suspect's age - but it is possible pretending to be younger could have helped Artan's immigration status in the US.

Artan entered the U.S. in 2014 - when he was around 16, based on current reports of his age.

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Abdul Razak Ali Artan has been identified as the Ohio State student who went on a stabbing rampage at the school on Monday, injuring eleven. The student newspaper shared this photo of Artan today. It is from an interview with him earlier this year

As a minor, he would have been eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status - if he could persuade a court he was under 18 and abused, neglected, or abandoned by his parents.

The Status, one of the faster routes to a green card, and allows for extra benefits, such as having the card application fee waived.

On the other hand, as a minor, if his parents had already been granted asylum, they could apply for him to join them as he was unmarried and under the age of 21.

However, it could be difficult to verify his true age as he entered the United States as a refugee.

Many fleeing persecution in their country are unable to provide legal documentation, which can be seized, withheld or simply never issued in their country of birth.

But others can withhold their details for another reason altogether.

Unlike the UK, which pledged to resettle thousands of refugee children in the face of the growing crisis in Europe, the U.S. is not bound to accept displaced young people.

Across the pond, that pledge has come under fire from critics who say it is being abused by adult refugees pretending to be minors to enter the country.

The Somalia refugee mowed down a crowd of innocent bystanders at the university before slashing at them with a knife (pictured is the scene)

A knife-wielding man, named as Artan, was killed on Monday after going on a rampage at the Ohio State University. Above, a body is seen on the campus

The situation started outside Watts Hall on the school's Columbus campus, just before 10am on Monday

Yet it can still pay off to be considered a minor when seeking asylum in the United States.

If a family member has been granted asylum, they are allowed up to two years to apply for asylum for their spouse and children - as long as their kids are unmarried and under the age of 21.

Anyone over that age would have to apply independently for asylum.

That means the applicant would not only have to prove a 'well-founded fear of persecution in his own country based... on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.'

They would also have to fall under the strict refugee cap imposed by Congress every year.

Alan Harujko, 28, (pictured) is the officer that shot the knife-wielding attacker dead

In the face of the international refugee crisis last year, President Obama announced he was increasing the cap from 70,000 in 2015, to 85,000 this year, and up to 100,000 by 2017.

But in 2014, the cap had remained at just 70,000 - with almost the exact same amount of refugees admitted as the cap number - suggesting that at least some who applied were not granted asylum.

Another benefit of entering the U.S. as a 'young' refugee means that someone entering without family could be eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

The status, which is declared in court by state - so typically classes a minor as someone under the age of 18 - is open to minors who were abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both parents.

Juvenile Status is one of the faster routes to a green card and allows for extra benefits, such as having the card application fee waived, according to NOLO.

Typical grounds for inadmissibility, such as not having entered the U.S. legally, do not matter for Special Immigrant Juveniles.

Once granted, a Special Immigrant Juvenile can apply for their siblings to come to the United States, but has one drawback is that they can never apply for their parents.

There are currently estimated to be more than 100,000 Somalian refugees living in the United States.

There has been a small trickle of Somalia immigrants into the United States since the 1920s. But numbers exploded during the 1990s when a bloody civil way broke out after rival factions toppled Siad Barre's regime in 1991.

The United States had a tight cap on the numbers of refugees until President Obama announced he was increasing the numbers incrementally to 100,000 by 2017

Since then, news agencies report there have been half a million casualties and more than 1.1 million people have been displaced by the brutal war which has raged for more than two decades.

Between 2013 and 2015 alone, the United States has accepted more than 25,000 Somalian refugees.

It appears Artan entered the country in 2014 as one of 9,000 Somalian refugees - the highest Somalian influx in the past three years.

He'd originally left Somalia with his family for Pakistan . He later came to America in 2014 where he gained legal permanent status.

Refugees must apply for asylum within their first year in the United States. Following a year in the U.S. they are offered the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. After five years, they can apply for citizenship.

Somalians were the third most commonly accepted refugees by America in 2014, making up 12.9 per cent of overall refugees, after Iraq and Burma.

That same year was in the midst of the international refugee crisis, as the number of people displaced or fleeing persecution in their own countries hit an unprecedented 59.5 million, according to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

There were also more than 1.2 million asylum seekers worldwide.