Asylum

Alert: Attention EAD Applicants with Pending Asylum Applications [(c)(8) category]: USCIS Stopped Applying June 2020 Rules Pursuant to Court Order in Asylumworks v. Mayorkas.

On February 7, 2022, USCIS stopped applying the June 22, 2020, final rule, Removal of 30-Day Processing Provision for Asylum Applicant-Related Form I-765 Employment Authorization Applications, and the June 26, 2020, final rule, Asylum Application, Interview, and Employment Authorization for Applicants, to asylum applicants. On Feb. 7, 2022, in Asylumworks et al. v. Mayorkas et al., the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated these rules.

Instead, USCIS is applying the provisions in place before the above rules took effect in August of 2020. (See 8 CFR §§ 208 and 274a.) This applies to adjudications of Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, pending with USCIS as of Feb. 8, 2022, or received on or after that date.

As a result of the Asylumworks order, applicants filing for employment authorization in the (c)(8) category should not submit the $85 biometric services fee with their Form I-765. USCIS no longer requires the biometric services fee and submitting it may cause us to reject your application for overpayment.

For more information on how the order affects (c)(8) EAD applicants, the application process, and USCIS processes, please see the Asylumworks webpage.

Alert: Effective Dec. 7, 2021, we have replaced the “Asylum and Internal Relocation Guidance” of July 26, 2019, for credible fear determinations and for affirmative asylum applications.

Effective Dec. 7, 2021, we have replaced the “Asylum and Internal Relocation Guidance” of July 26, 2019, for credible fear determinations and for affirmative asylum applications. We have instructed asylum officers to consult other relevant guidance and lesson plans. Consistent with the Oct. 31, 2020, decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Kiakombua v. Wolf, 498 F. Supp.3d 1 (D.D.C. 2020), we determined that significant portions of the 2019 guidance are not legally permissible, in accordance with current practice, or otherwise applicable, and adjudicators should not apply it. This new guidance is also consistent with Executive Order 14010, Feb. 2, 2021, Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework To Address the Causes of Migration, To Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and To Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border, which requires the administration to “restore and strengthen our … asylum system.”

Alert: Following the settlement agreement in Mendez Rojas et al. v. Wolf et al., 2:16-cv-01024-RSM (W.D. Wash. Nov. 4, 2020), USCIS and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) have implemented a Uniform Procedural Mechanism (UPM) for the filing and processing of Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal.

Following the settlement agreement in Mendez Rojas et al. v. Wolf et al., 2:16-cv-01024-RSM (W.D. Wash. Nov. 4, 2020), USCIS and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) have implemented a Uniform Procedural Mechanism (UPM) for the filing and processing of Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. Under the UPM, we will send your Form I-589 to EOIR if you previously received a Form I-862, Notice to Appear (NTA), that was not filed and docketed with EOIR or that was filed and docketed with EOIR either shortly before (within 21 days) or after you filed your Form I-589 with us. We have revised the instructions under the “Where to File” section on our Form I-589 webpage. You must follow these instructions. We also provide information on What Happens After You File Form I-589 With USCIS.

If you believe you are a member of the Mendez Rojas class, you will have until April 22, 2022, to raise a claim that the one-year deadline to file a Form I-589 does not apply to you under the terms of the final settlement agreement. You may raise this claim in a new asylum filing, in a pending filing, or through a motion before the immigration court or the Board of Immigration Appeals, whichever applies. For more information regarding the class definitions and the terms of the settlement agreement, please see the final settlement agreement.

Alert: USCIS is implementing the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland’s Sept. 11 preliminary injunction in Casa de Maryland Inc. et. al. v. Chad Wolf et. al.

USCIS is implementing the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland’s Sept. 11 preliminary injunction in Casa de Maryland Inc. et. al. v. Chad Wolf et. al.

This preliminary injunction provides limited injunctive relief to members of two organizations, CASA de Maryland (CASA) and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), in the application of the Removal of 30-day Processing Provision for Asylum Applicant-Related Form I-765 Employment Authorization Applications Rule and the Asylum Application, Interview, and Employment Authorization for Applicants Rule to Form I-589s and Form I-765s filed by asylum applicants who are also members of CASA or ASAP.

Please see the section on our Form I-765 webpage, Preliminary Injunction Impacting CASA and ASAP members.

ALERT: On Aug. 2, 2019, USCIS rescinded the May 31, 2019, memorandum, “Updated Procedures for Asylum Applications Filed by Unaccompanied Alien Children,” when the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in the case of J.O.P. v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security et al., Civil Action 8:19-cv-01944, issued a temporary restraining order enjoining us from applying it.

On Aug. 2, 2019, USCIS rescinded the May 31, 2019, memorandum, “Updated Procedures for Asylum Applications Filed by Unaccompanied Alien Children,” when the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in the case of J.O.P. v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security et al., Civil Action 8:19-cv-01944, issued a temporary restraining order enjoining us from applying it. On Dec. 21, 2020, the District Court certified a class and entered an Amended Preliminary Injunction in the case of J.O.P (PDF, 57.46 KB).

To determine if the court’s order in this case applies to you, read more at U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in the case of J.O.P. v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security et al., Civil Action 8:19-cv-01944

Every year people come to the United States seeking protection because they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to:

Race
Religion
Nationality
Membership in a particular social group
Political opinion

You may only file this application if you are physically present in the United States, and you are not a U.S. citizen.

If you are eligible for asylum you may be permitted to remain in the United States. To apply for asylum affirmatively or defensively, file a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, within 1 year of your arrival to the United States. Visit our Obtaining Asylum in the United States page for more information on affirmative and defensive filings. There is no fee to apply for asylum.

You may include your spouse and children who are in the United States on your affirmative or defensive asylum application at the time you file or at any time until a final decision is made on your case. To include your child on your application, the child must be under 21 and unmarried. For more information see our Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal page.

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.

If you have an asylum application pending with us, you can check the status of your case at Case Status Online. You will need the receipt number that we provided you after you filed your application.

Permission to Work in the United States

To apply for employment authorization, you must file a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. For more information, see the Form I-765 webpage.

Based on a Pending Asylum Application:

To apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) based on your pending asylum application under the (c)(8) category, you may file a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, 150 days after you file your asylum application. You are not eligible to receive an EAD until your asylum application has been pending for at least another 30 days, for a total of 180 days, commonly referred to as the 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock.

Delays that you request or cause while your asylum application is pending with an asylum office or with the Executive Office for Immigration Review do not count toward the 150-day waiting period or the 180-day eligibility period.

Delays you may request or cause may include:

Asking to transfer a case to a new asylum office or interview location, including when the transfer is based on your change of address;
Asking to reschedule an interview for a later date;
Failing to appear at an interview or biometrics appointment;
Failing to provide a competent interpreter at an interview (if required);
Asking to provide additional evidence at or after an interview;
Submitting large volumes of evidence immediately before an interview that requires a reschedule; or
Failing to receive and acknowledge an asylum decision in person (if required).

If you are required to receive and acknowledge your asylum decision at an asylum office but you fail to appear, your 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock will stop, and you may be ineligible to receive employment authorization. If your case has been referred to an Immigration Court, your 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock will not start again until your first hearing with an immigration judge.

If you fail to appear for a scheduled asylum interview without good cause, or fail without good cause to provide a competent interpreter if you are required to do so, we may refer your Form I-589 to an immigration judge, and you will be ineligible for employment authorization based on your pending Form I-589. For additional information about establishing good cause, please review Establishing Good Cause or Exceptional Circumstances .

For more information regarding employment authorization and applicant-caused delays, see The 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock Notice (PDF, 520.99 KB). If we approve your application for employment authorization based on your pending asylum application, your EAD will be valid for up to 2 years.

After the Asylum Application is Adjudicated:

If you are granted asylum, you are immediately authorized to work. (Some asylees choose to obtain EADs for convenience or identification purposes, but an EAD is not necessary to work if you are an asylee.)

If you are denied asylum, your employment authorization will terminate when your EAD expires or 60 days after your asylum application was denied, whichever is later. If you are not in lawful immigration status (or do not have parole), and an asylum officer “refers” your asylum application to an immigration judge for further consideration, your EAD remains valid through the date of expiration, unless you renew it. If an immigration judge denies your asylum application, your employment authorization will terminate on the expiration date printed on your EAD, unless you appeal the immigration judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) or, after BIA review, you appeal the BIA’s decision to a federal circuit court. You may be otherwise eligible for employment authorization if you are a valid immigrant or nonimmigrant or have parole or temporary protected status.

ALERT: If you are applying for your initial (first) employment authorization based on having a pending asylum application, you may be a member of the class action case, Rosario v. USCIS, Case No. C15-0813JLR (W.D. Wash. July 26, 2018). To learn more, visit the Rosario Class Action page.

Having Your Attorney or Representative Participate in Your Asylum and/or NACARA 203 Interview from a Remote Location via telephone.

If you are scheduled for an asylum or NACARA interview at an asylum office and you have an attorney or accredited representative, they may participate in your interview remotely through a telephone connection.

To participate remotely, they must choose the document corresponding to the asylum office where we have scheduled your interview:

Each document is specific to that asylum office. Please carefully read the information on the document for the office where we have scheduled your interview, and consult with your attorney or accredited representative to determine whether you want them to participate remotely.

Bringing Your Family to the United States

If you are granted asylum you may petition to bring your spouse and children to the United States by filing a Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition. To include your child on your application, the child must be under 21 and unmarried.

You must file the petition within 2 years of being granted asylum unless there are humanitarian reasons to excuse this deadline. There is no fee to file this petition.

Filing for Permanent Residence (Green Card)

You may apply for a Green Card 1 year after being granted asylum. To apply for a Green Card, file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status. You must submit a separate Form I-485 application packet for yourself and, if applicable, for each family member who received derivative asylum based on your application.

For more information about Green Cards, see our Green Cards for Asylees page. For more information about asylum, see our Asylum Questions and Answers page.

Asylum

Permission to Work in the United States

Having Your Attorney or Representative Participate in Your Asylum and/or NACARA 203 Interview from a Remote Location via telephone.

Bringing Your Family to the United States

Filing for Permanent Residence (Green Card)

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