Questions and Answers: Affirmative Asylum Eligibility and Applications

On Aug. 3, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a stay of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s order in East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Biden, 18-cv-06810 (N.D. Cal.), vacating the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways (CLP) rule. At this time and while the stay remains in place, USCIS will continue to apply the CLP rule.

Under the rule, certain individuals who enter the United States through its southwest land border or adjacent coastal borders are presumed to be ineligible for asylum, unless they can demonstrate an exception to the rule or rebut the presumption. Individuals are encouraged to use lawful, safe, and orderly pathways to come to the United States.

ALERT: Interpreters at Affirmative Asylum Interviews

Starting Sept. 13, 2023, affirmative asylum applicants must bring an interpreter to their asylum interview if they are not fluent in English or wish to have their interview conducted in a language other than English. Your interpreter must be at least 18 years old and fluent in English and a language you speak fluently.

Sign language interpreters are the only exception to this requirement. USCIS continues to provide sign language interpreters as a disability accommodation. Follow the instructions on your interview notice to request this disability accommodation.

If you need an interpreter and do not bring one, or if your interpreter is not fluent in English and a language you speak, and you do not establish good cause, we may consider this a failure to appear for your interview and we may dismiss your asylum application or refer your asylum application to an immigration judge. We will determine good cause on a case-by-case basis.

On Sept. 23, 2020, USCIS published a temporary final rule (TFR) requiring affirmative asylum applicants to use our contracted telephonic interpreters for their asylum interviews, instead of bringing an interpreter to the interview. We published this TFR to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during asylum interviews with USCIS asylum officers while the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency were in effect. We published four subsequent TFRs extending the requirement, with the current extension effective through Sept. 12, 2023. This fourth extension provided additional time after the national and public health emergencies expired to allow USCIS to prepare to return to the prior regulatory requirement. With the expiration of the TFR, we revert to a long-standing regulatory requirement for an affirmative asylum applicant to provide an interpreter under 8 CFR 208.9(g).

If you were placed in expedited removal proceedings, you received a positive credible fear determination, and USCIS retained your asylum application for further consideration in an Asylum Merits Interview, please visit our Asylum Merits Interview with USCIS: Processing After a Positive Credible Fear Determination page.

You may apply for asylum if you are at a port of entry or in the United States. You may apply for asylum regardless of your immigration status and within 1 year of your arrival to the United States.

You will not be eligible to apply for asylum if you:

Filed your application after being in the United States for more than 1 year. However, you may qualify for an exception if you show

You must still file your application within a reasonable time under the circumstances to be eligible for an exception.

Changed circumstances may include but are not limited to:

• Changes in conditions in your country of nationality or, if you are stateless, your country of last habitual residence
• Changes in your circumstances that materially affect your eligibility for asylum, including changes in applicable U.S. law and activities you become involved in outside the country of feared persecution that place you at risk
• If you were previously included as a dependent in someone else’s pending asylum application, the loss of the spousal or parent-child relationship to the principal applicant through marriage, divorce, death, or attainment of age 21

Extraordinary circumstances may include but are not limited to:

• Serious illness or mental or physical disability, including any effects of persecution or violent harm suffered in the past, during the 1-year period after your arrival in the U.S.
• Legal disability, such as your status as an unaccompanied child or you suffered from a mental impairment, during the 1-year period after your arrival in the U.S.

Ineffective assistance of counsel, if:

You file an affidavit explaining in detail the agreement that you had with your lawyer about the actions to be taken by your lawyer on your behalf and what your lawyer told you he or she would do for you

You have informed the lawyer whom you are criticizing of the accusations against him or her and the lawyer has been given an opportunity to respond

You indicate whether you have filed a complaint with appropriate disciplinary authorities about any violation of your lawyer’s ethical or legal responsibilities, and if not, why not

• You had Temporary Protected Status (TPS), lawful immigrant or nonimmigrant status, or you were given parole, until a reasonable period before you filed your asylum application
• You filed an asylum application before the expiration of the 1-year deadline, but USCIS rejected your application as not properly filed, returned the application to you for corrections, and you re-filed your application within a reasonable time after the return
• The death or serious illness or incapacity of your legal representative or a member of your immediate family

For a list of circumstances that may be considered changed or extraordinary circumstances, see 8 CFR 208.4 and the Asylum Bars page.

You will be barred from applying for asylum if you previously applied for asylum and were denied by the Immigration Judge or Board of Immigration Appeals, unless you demonstrate that there are changed circumstances which affect your eligibility for asylum.

You will also be barred if you could be removed to a safe third country to a two-party or multi-party agreement. Currently, the United States has a safe third country agreement with Canada that does not apply to you if you are applying for asylum affirmatively with USCIS. The Agreement only applies in Credible Fear Screenings. For more information about the safe third country agreement with Canada, see the Questions & Answers: Credible Fear Screenings page. For more information about bars to applying, see the Asylum Bars page.

In the affirmative asylum or defensive asylum processes, to apply for asylum, you must complete a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. For more information about applying for asylum in the affirmative or defensive asylum processes, see the Obtaining Asylum in the United States and the Affirmative Asylum Process pages.

If you were placed in expedited removal proceedings, you received a positive credible fear determination, and USCIS retained your case for further consideration of your eligibility for asylum in an Asylum Merits Interview, please visit our Asylum Merits Interview with USCIS: Processing After a Positive Credible Fear Determination page for information on the procedures that apply to your case. If this applies to you, you do not need to file a Form I-589. See the Form I-589 page for more information.

Yes. You may apply for asylum with USCIS regardless of your immigration status if:

• You are not currently in removal proceedings
• You file an asylum application within 1 year of arriving to the United States or demonstrate that you are within an exception to that rule.

Yes, but you may be barred from being granted asylum depending on the crime. You must disclose any criminal history on your Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, and at your asylum interview. If you do not disclose such information, your asylum claim will be referred to the immigration court and may result in fines or imprisonment for committing perjury. For more information on bars to receiving asylum, see the Asylum Bars page.

You must list your spouse and children on your Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, regardless of whether they are:

• Alive, missing or dead
• Born in other countries or in the United States
• Under 21 years old or adults
• Married or unmarried
• Living with you in the United States or elsewhere
• Stepsons or stepdaughters or legally adopted;
• Born when you were not married
• Included in your asylum application or filing a separate application

You may include your spouse as a dependent on your asylum application. You may also include your children if they are:

• Under the age of 21
• Unmarried
• In the United States

You should bring your family members to your asylum interview. If you are granted asylum status, family members included on your application will also be granted asylum status (unless they are barred from asylum) and will be allowed to remain in the United States. If you are referred to the Immigration Court, your family members will also be referred to court for removal proceedings if they are not in legal status.

If you are granted asylum and your spouse and any unmarried children under 21 years old are outside the United States, you may file a Form I-730, Refugee and Asylee Relative Petition, for them to obtain derivative asylum status. For more information about benefits for your dependents, see the Family of Refugees & Asylees page.

We will send you a notice to go to a USCIS Application Support Center (ASC) to have your fingerprints taken after we receive your asylum application. You are exempt from the fingerprinting fee and do not need to submit a fingerprint card. Your spouse and children will also need to be fingerprinted if they are between 12 years and 9 months of age and 79 years of age. For ASC locations, see the ASC Locator page.

Yes. Every individual who applies for asylum will be subject to a series of background and security checks. If you are not eligible for a final grant of asylum, your application may be referred to Immigration Court for removal proceedings. Background and security checks consist of:

• FBI check on your biographical information and fingerprints
• Check of your biographical information against law enforcement databases.

Your child will continue to be eligible as a dependent on your asylum application if they turned 21 after you filed your application and while it remains pending. For more information about derivative asylum, see the Family of Refugees & Asylees page.

There is no fee to apply for asylum.

The asylum officer will determine if you are eligible for asylum by evaluating whether you meet the definition of a refugee. See section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). We will make the determination of whether you meet the definition of a refugee based on information you provide on your application and during an interview with an asylum officer.

The asylum officer will also consider whether any bars to asylum apply. You will be barred from being granted asylum if you:

• Ordered, incited, assisted, or participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion
• Were convicted of a serious crime (including aggravated felonies)
• Committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States
• Pose a danger to the security of the United States
• Were firmly resettled in another country prior to arriving in the United States

For more information on bars to asylum, see the Bars to Applying and Receiving Asylum page.

A decision should be made on your asylum application within 180 days after the date you filed your application unless there are exceptional circumstances. For more information about the step-by-step asylum process, see the Affirmative Asylum Process page.

The legal provisions governing the Asylum Program can be found in Section 208 of the INA. Rules concerning eligibility requirements and procedures can be found at 8 CFR 208. Asylum officers also rely on case law to adjudicate asylum claims. Administrative decisions made by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) can be found on the BIA Appeals page.

You have a right to bring a lawyer or representative to your asylum interview and to immigration proceedings before an immigration court. See the Finding Legal Advice page.

Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) may also be able to assist in identifying persons to help you complete your Form I-589. The current address of the UNHCR is:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
1775 K Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 296-5191

For more information about UNHCR, see the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website.

You must bring an interpreter if you do not speak English fluently. The interpreter must be fluent in both English and a language you speak and must be at least 18 years old. USCIS does not provide any interpreters during the asylum interview. The following people cannot serve as your interpreter:

• Your attorney or representative of record
• A witness testifying on your behalf at the interview
• A representative or employee of your country

If you have a document that is not in English, you are required to provide a certified translation of the document in English.

You can find out the status of a pending asylum application by sending a written inquiry or by visiting the asylum office with jurisdiction over your case. Please provide in writing the following information when you write to the asylum office:

• Your A-Number (the 8- or 9-digit number following the letter "A")
• Your legal name and, if different, the name as it appears on the application
• Your date of birth
• Date and location of your asylum interview, if applicable

You may also inquire at the asylum office where your case is pending. See the Asylum Office Locator page.

You can check also your Case Status Online. All you need is the receipt number that we mailed you after you filed your application.

If you applied for asylum and have not yet received a decision, you should not leave the United States without first obtaining advance parole. Advance parole allows certain individuals to return to the United States without a visa after traveling abroad. If you leave the United States without first obtaining advance parole, we will presume you abandoned your asylum application. Advance parole does not guarantee that you will be allowed to reenter the United States.

If you plan to depart the United States after being granted asylum, you must obtain permission to return to the United States before departure by obtaining a refugee travel document. Your spouse and children who were granted asylum must also obtain refugee travel documents before leaving as well.

A refugee travel document may be used for temporary travel abroad and is required for readmission to the United States as an asylee. If you do not obtain a refugee travel document in advance of departure, you may be unable to reenter the United States, or you may be placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge.

To obtain a refugee travel document file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.

Yes, asylum-related information may not be shared with third parties without the asylum applicant’s written consent or the Secretary of Homeland Security’s specific authorization.

Yes. For more information on children applying for asylum, see the Asylum Procedures for Minor Children page.