Asylum
Starting Aug. 14, 2024, asylum officers conducting threshold screening interviews (TSI) for noncitizens who are processed pursuant to the U.S.-Canada Third Country Agreement (STCA) will consider credible testimony, documents, and other reliable evidence available at the time of the TSI. Additional documentary evidence may not be submitted after the interview concludes. A lack of documentary evidence alone does not preclude noncitizens from establishing that they qualify for an exception to the STCA.
Additionally, DHS will set the consultation period for noncitizens awaiting the TSI to a minimum of four hours beginning at the time the noncitizen is provided an opportunity to consult with a person of the noncitizen’s choosing and continuing only during the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time.
ALERT: Court Order on Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Final Rule
Special Filing Instructions if EOIR Dismissed or Terminated Your Removal Proceedings, and You Want to Apply for Asylum with USCIS
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.
At this time, the option to file an online Form I-589 is only available for certain affirmative asylum applicants. Affirmative asylum applicants may not file an online Form I-589 if they:
- Are in proceedings in immigration court or before the Board of Immigration Appeals;
- Are an unaccompanied alien child as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 279(g) and are in removal proceedings;
- Are among the categories of applicants who must currently file by mail with the Asylum Vetting Center as outlined in the Special Instructions section of our Form I-589 webpage; or
- Already submitted a Form I-589, which is still pending with USCIS.
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 physically present in the United States as dependents on your affirmative or defensive asylum application at the time you file or at any time until a final decision is made on your application. To include your child as a dependent on your application, the child must be under 21 years old 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 application at Case Status Online. You will need the receipt number that we provided you after you filed your application.
To apply for employment authorization and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), you must file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. For more information, see the Form I-765 webpage.
Based on a Pending Asylum Application:
You are generally eligible for an EAD when your asylum application has been pending for 180 days. To apply for an EAD based on your pending asylum application under the (c)(8) category, you may file Form I-765 150 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. This is 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 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 our Establishing Good Cause or Exceptional Circumstances webpage.
For more information regarding employment authorization and applicant-caused delays, see The 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock Notice (PDF, 410.8 KB). If we approve your application for employment authorization based on your pending asylum application, your EAD will be valid for up to 5 years.
After your 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 you do not need an EAD to work if you are an asylee.) If we approve your affirmative asylum application, we will mail an EAD to your address of record. If you do not receive your EAD within 90 days of your asylum grant, you may call the USCIS Contact Center. When you call, indicate that you are calling about an auto EAD. You may also contact us by clicking on “Connect to Live Agent” in the Chat with Emma feature on our website. Have your Form I-589 receipt available when you call us about your EAD. If you were granted asylum by an immigration judge, you must file Form I-765 to obtain an EAD.
If you are denied asylum, your employment authorization will terminate when your EAD expires or 60 days after your asylum application is denied, whichever is later. If you are not in lawful immigration status or an unexpired period of parole, and an asylum officer “refers” your asylum application to an immigration judge for further consideration, your EAD will remain valid through the expiration date on your EAD. 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 are in an unexpired period of 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.
If you are scheduled for an asylum or NACARA 203 interview at an asylum office and you have an attorney or an accredited representative, they may participate in your interview remotely by telephone.
To participate remotely, they must complete Form G-1593, Certification by Attorney or Accredited Representative for Remote Participation in an Affirmative Asylum and/or NACARA 203 Interview (PDF, 248.05 KB), and submit it to the asylum office where we have scheduled your interview.
Please carefully read the information on Form G-1593 and consult with your attorney or accredited representative to determine whether you want them to participate remotely.
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.
You may be approved 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 News
- Asylum and Refugee News Releases
- Asylum and Refugee Alerts
- USCIS Welcomes Refugees and Asylees (PDF, 1.35 MB)
Asylum
- J.O.P. Proposed Settlement Agreement (PDF, 184.12 KB)
- The 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock Notice (PDF, 410.8 KB)
- Rosario Class Action
- Notice of Proposed Settlement and Hearing In Class Action Involving Detained Noncitizens Who Are Awaiting a “Reasonable Fear Determination”
- Obtaining Asylum in the United States
- The Affirmative Asylum Process
- Types of Affirmative Asylum Decisions
- Asylum Merits Interview with USCIS: Processing After a Positive Credible Fear Determination
- Preparing for Your Affirmative Asylum Interview
- Minor Children Applying for Asylum By Themselves
- Immigration through the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) Section 203
- Asylum Bars
- Benefits and Responsibilities of Asylees
- Asylum Division Training Programs
- Basic Eligibility for Section 204(l) Relief for Surviving Relatives
- Asylum Division Quarterly Stakeholder Meeting
Asylum Forms
Find Asylum Offices and Related Areas
Questions and Answers
Other USCIS Links
Non-USCIS Links