I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal
ALERT: For certain applicants who electronically filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, based on a pending Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, the receipt notice did not include language about the 540-day automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extension. On or before the week of March 20, we will send these applicants an email or text notification instructing them to sign into their USCIS online account. Once signed in, they will find their corrected receipt notice. We will also send corrected paper receipt notices by mail. Please note that if you are eligible for the 540-day automatic EAD extension, any USCIS receipt notice for your Form I-765, together with your expired EAD, will serve as acceptable proof of employment authorization and EAD validity during the automatic extension period.
ALERT: We are currently experiencing delays in issuing receipts for Form I-589. Due to these delays, you may not receive a receipt notice in a timely manner after you properly file your Form I-589. Read our news alert for more information.
ALERT: Expeditious Asylum Adjudication for Certain Afghans
On Sept. 30, 2021, the president signed the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act. Per Congressional direction, citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, or persons with no nationality who last habitually resided in Afghanistan, who meet eligibility criteria are entitled to certain benefits, including expeditious adjudication of asylum applications.
Please follow the specific instructions on our Information for Afghans page.
Use this form to apply for asylum in the United States and for withholding of removal (formerly called “withholding of deportation”). You may file for asylum if you are physically present in the United States and you are not a U.S. citizen.
If you fail to file Form I-589 within one year of your arrival in the United States, you may not be eligible to apply for asylum under section 208(a)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
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Immediately before you file Form I-589: If you have been issued an Alien Number (A-Number), you should take the following step before filing your Form I-589. The A-Number begins with the letter “A” and is followed by eight or nine digits. This number is printed in all DHS and Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) correspondence. Call the EOIR Automated Case Information Hotline toll-free in the United States at 800-898-7180 (TDD 800-828-1120) or 304-625-2050 (local toll call), or check the EOIR Automated Case Information online system.
If the EOIR hotline or online system has information regarding your name and next hearing date, then your case has been filed and docketed with EOIR and you must file your Form I-589 with EOIR. The EOIR hotline or online system will provide an address for the immigration court where you should file your Form I-589. You also may locate immigration court information on the Department of Justice website. If you file your Form I-589 anywhere other than the court identified by the EOIR hotline or online system, EOIR will reject your Form I-589 and send you a notice that specifies the address where you should file your Form I-589. If you file your Form I-589 with USCIS, we may reject your Form I-589.
If the EOIR hotline or online system indicates that your A-Number did not match a record in the system, or if you have never been issued an A-Number, then you must file your Form I-589 with USCIS. See the chart below for information about where to file your Form I-589 with USCIS. If you file your Form I-589 with EOIR and the court has no record of your A-Number, the immigration court will reject and return your Form I-589.
The filing instructions below apply only to applications filed with USCIS. If the EOIR hotline or online system has information regarding your name and next hearing date, please see Section XII, Where to File? in the Instructions for Form I-589 (PDF, 169.6 KB) for individuals in proceedings in immigration court.
See our What Happens After You File Form I-589 With USCIS page for more information about this process.
If you previously would have filed your Form I-589 with a local asylum office: You must now file your Form I-589 with the Asylum Vetting Center in Atlanta, Georgia. See the Special Instructions section for more information.
| If you live in: | Then file your application with the: |
|---|---|
| USCIS Texas Service Center U.S. Postal Service (USPS), FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries: USCIS TSC |
| USCIS California Service Center U.S. Postal Service (USPS): California Service Center FedEx, UPS, or DHL: USCIS California Service Center |
| USCIS Nebraska Service Center U.S. Postal Service (USPS): Nebraska Service Center FedEx, UPS, or DHL: USCIS Nebraska Service Center |
Biometrics services may be required at no cost to you.
Filing Tips: Go to our Tips for Filing Forms by Mail page for information on how to help ensure we will accept your application.
We will reject any Form I-589 that is missing the explanation of why you are applying for asylum or that is missing any addendums that you reference in your application.
Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject any unsigned form.
Instructions on filing Form I-589 that used to be filed with a local asylum office.
When you file your Form I-589, you must include a letter explaining why you are filing with the Asylum Vetting Center and identifying which category below applies to your Form I-589. If your Form I-589 does not fit one of the categories listed below, we will reject it, with instructions to file with the appropriate service center.
The following Form I-589s must be filed with the Asylum Vetting Center:
- Loss of Derivative Status After Asylum Approval but Before Adjustment of Status (Nunc Pro Tunc): If you are currently a derivative asylee, but you are unable to adjust status to lawful permanent resident due to a loss of derivative relationship, then you may submit a new Form I-589 and request a grant of asylum nunc pro tunc. In your letter, please provide information about your previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
- Loss of Derivative Status After Initial Filing but Before Final Decision: If you withdrew from a principal’s Form I-589 as a dependent, or if you lost derivative status by marriage, divorce, or death of the principal applicant, then you may submit a Form I-589 as a principal applicant. In your letter, please provide information about your previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
- Simultaneous Filing as a Principal Applicant and a Derivative Applicant: If you are already listed as a derivative applicant on another pending Form I-589, you may file a Form I-589 as a principal applicant. Also, you and your spouse may file separate Forms I-589 at the same time as principal applicants and list each other as derivative applicants. In your letter, please provide information about any previous Form I-589s and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
- Previously Issued a Final Action by USCIS on a Form I-589: You may be eligible to file a new Form I-589 with USCIS if we previously denied your Form I-589 or sent you a notice dismissing your Form I-589 with USCIS, or if you previously withdrew your Form I-589 with USCIS and we did not place you in immigration court proceedings.
- Previously in Immigration Court Proceedings: If you have reason to believe we have jurisdiction over your Form I-589 and you were previously in immigration court proceedings, then you may submit a Form I-589.
- Asylum Office Director or Asylum Division Chief’s Consent: If none of these categories apply to your Form I-589, you must receive explicit consent, in writing, from the local asylum office director with jurisdiction over your case or from the Asylum Division chief before submitting your Form I-589 to the Asylum Vetting Center. The Asylum Vetting Center will not accept your Form I-589 submission if you do not include written documentation of this consent.
If you are filing Form I-589 in one of the categories listed above with USCIS, you must mail your application to:
U.S. Postal Service (USPS):
USCIS Asylum Vetting Center
P.O. Box 57100
Atlanta, GA 30308-0506
FedEx, UPS or DHL:
DHS-USCIS Asylum Vetting Center
401 W. Peachtree St. NW, Suite 1000
Atlanta, GA 30308
- Asylum
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- The Affirmative Asylum Process
- Types of Affirmative Asylum Decisions
- Obtaining Asylum in the United States
- What Happens After You File Form I-589 with USCIS
- Revised Guidance on Informal (“Camp”) Marriages (PDF, 997.34 KB)
- Asylum Merits Interview with USCIS: Processing After a Positive Credible Fear Determination