I-589Asylum

What asylum is

People come to the United States seeking protection (asylum) because they have suffered persecution, or fear they will suffer persecution, on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. You can apply only if you are physically present in the United States and are not a U.S. citizen. If you are eligible for asylum, you may be permitted to remain in the United States.^[4]

A third path applies if you were placed in expedited removal proceedings, received a positive credible fear determination and USCIS kept your asylum application for further consideration in an Asylum Merits Interview. The affirmative process described on this page does not apply to you; USCIS explains that process on a separate page.^[4,7]

Who qualifies, and the 1-year deadline

To be eligible for asylum you must meet the definition of a refugee in section 101(a)(42)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The asylum officer also decides whether you are eligible to apply for asylum (see the 1-year deadline and the bars to applying below) and whether you are barred from a grant of asylum under INA 208(b)(2).^[7]

File Form I-589 within 1 year of your last arrival in the United States (or of April 1, 1997, if that is later). If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next day that is none of these. You must prove by clear and convincing evidence that you filed in time, or show the asylum officer, immigration judge or Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that you qualify for an exception. The filing date is the day USCIS receives the application (in court cases, the day the immigration court or the BIA receives it); if USCIS receives it after the year but you have clear and convincing documentary evidence that you mailed it within the year, the mailing date counts. If you are in, or arrive in, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the year is counted from Jan. 1, 2030, or your last arrival in the United States (including the CNMI), whichever is later.^[7,8]

Changed circumstances are changes that materially affect your eligibility, such as changed conditions in your country of nationality (or, if you are stateless, your country of last habitual residence); changes in your own situation, including changes in U.S. law or activities outside the country you fear that put you at risk; or, if you were a dependent on someone else's pending asylum application, losing that spousal or parent-child relationship through marriage, divorce, death or turning 21. You must then file within a reasonable period; if you learned of the change only after it happened, that is taken into account.^[8]

Extraordinary circumstances are events directly related to missing the deadline, such as: serious illness or mental or physical disability during the first year after arrival (including effects of past persecution or violent harm); legal disability during that first year, for example being an unaccompanied minor or having a mental impairment; ineffective assistance of counsel, if you file a detailed affidavit about your agreement with the lawyer, the lawyer has been told of the allegations and given a chance to respond, and you say whether you filed a complaint with the disciplinary authorities (and if not, why not); keeping Temporary Protected Status (TPS), lawful immigrant or nonimmigrant status, or parole until a reasonable period before filing; a timely application that USCIS rejected as not properly filed and returned to you for corrections, which you then refiled within a reasonable period; or the death, serious illness or incapacity of your legal representative or an immediate family member. You must show you did not create the circumstances on purpose, that they were directly related to the late filing and that the delay was reasonable. An immigration attorney can apply these rules to your facts.^[8]

Bars to asylum

Filing Form I-589

Fees

Public Law 119-21 requires the principal applicant to pay the Annual Asylum Fee for each year the I-589 is pending (each calendar year, under 8 CFR 106.2), on top of any other fee, and it cannot be waived. USCIS sends a notice with the amount and how to pay; pay it online within 30 days of the date the notice is sent, using your Alien Registration Number (A-Number) and the receipt number on the notice. While the fee remains payable, USCIS cannot approve your application, and an application whose annual fee is not paid will be rejected.^[1,9]

Pub. L. 119-21 fees are paid separately from any filing fee, are owed even when the filing fee is $0 or waived, and adjust every year. USCIS's I-589 page says new inflation-adjusted amounts apply to requests postmarked on or after Oct. 16, 2026, and that a request without the proper fee will be rejected. The asylum fee paid at filing is not refunded if the application is rejected. As of Feb. 5, 2026, after a court decision in Ms. L. v. ICE, USCIS has paused collecting these asylum fees from confirmed members of that case's settlement class and their qualifying additional family members (QAFMs); they write the notation USCIS requires at the top of the first page of a paper I-589 and mail it, and should not file online. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says it does not agree with that decision and is evaluating its options.^[1,3,9]

After you file (affirmative asylum)

The steps of the affirmative process with USCIS.

1. 1

   Receipt and biometrics notice

   Once USCIS has your completed application, you receive two notices: an acknowledgment that it was received, and a notice to go to an Application Support Center (ASC) for fingerprinting. Keep the receipt number; you need it to check your case status online.^[4,7]

2. 2

   Biometrics appointment

   Bring your appointment notice to the ASC. Each family member included on your application gets a separate appointment, whatever their age, and must attend. If someone cannot go, ask to reschedule before the appointment, online or through the USCIS Contact Center. After a missed appointment you must ask for a new one within 10 calendar days and show exceptional circumstances; otherwise USCIS may dismiss the application if you maintain a lawful basis to remain in the United States, or refer it to an immigration judge if you do not. If you are a parolee who misses the appointment, USCIS decides case by case whether to end your parole and refer your case to an immigration judge.^[7]

3. 3

   Interview

   If USCIS schedules an interview, it takes place at an asylum office or another location, often a USCIS field office, as stated in your notice. You may bring an attorney or accredited representative, and witnesses. You must bring your spouse and any children seeking derivative asylum, and an interpreter if you cannot proceed in English. The interview generally lasts about 1 hour, though this varies by case.^[7]

4. 4

   Officer decides, supervisor reviews

   The asylum officer decides whether you are eligible to apply for asylum, whether you meet the refugee definition and whether you are barred from a grant. A supervisory asylum officer reviews the decision for consistency with the law and, depending on the case, may refer it to asylum division staff at USCIS headquarters for more review.^[7]

5. 5

   Decision

   In most cases you return to the asylum office to pick up the decision 2 weeks after the interview. It can take longer, and the decision is normally mailed, if you are in valid immigration status, were interviewed at a USCIS field office, have pending security checks or your case is being reviewed at USCIS headquarters.^[7]

Working while you wait, and after a grant

While your case is pending, you can file Form I-765 for a work permit (EAD) under category (c)(8) 150 days after you file a complete asylum application, but no EAD can be issued until the application has been pending 180 days (the “180-Day Asylum EAD Clock”). If your asylum application is rejected as incomplete, the 150 days do not start. If your application is recommended for approval, you can apply as soon as you receive that notice. Aggravated felons are not eligible.^[4,5]

Delays you request or cause, at the asylum office or in immigration court, do not count toward the 180 days. Examples: asking to move your case to another asylum office or interview location (including because you changed address), asking to reschedule an interview, missing an interview or biometrics appointment, not providing a competent interpreter when required, asking to provide more evidence at or after the interview or within 14 calendar days before it, and not appearing to receive a decision in person when required. If you miss a scheduled interview without establishing exceptional circumstances, or fail without good cause to provide a required interpreter, USCIS may refer your I-589 to an immigration judge and you become ineligible for an EAD based on it. If you must pick up your decision at the asylum office in person and do not appear, your clock stops and you may be ineligible for a work permit; if your case was referred to an immigration court, the clock does not start again until your first hearing with an immigration judge.^[4,5]

A (c)(8) EAD can be renewed for as long as the asylum officer or immigration judge needs to decide the case, including any administrative or judicial review; for it to be renewed before it expires, USCIS must receive the renewal 90 days before the expiration date. If USCIS denies your asylum application, the EAD ends immediately. If you do not maintain a lawful basis to remain and an asylum officer refers your case to an immigration judge, the EAD stays valid until its expiration date. If an immigration judge denies or rejects the application, it ends 30 days later unless you appeal to the BIA; if the BIA denies the appeal, it ends immediately.^[4,5]

If you are granted asylum, you may work right away and do not need an EAD to do so. After an affirmative grant, USCIS mails you an EAD at no cost; if an immigration judge granted asylum, you get one only by filing Form I-765 (category (a)(5), no fee for the first card). For your employer's Form I-9, you can also show the Form I-94 that DHS issues with your asylum grant, together with another acceptable document such as a state-issued driver's license.^[4,6]

Your spouse and children

You can include your spouse and your unmarried children under 21 who are physically present in the United States on your application, when you file or at any time until a final decision. To add someone to an I-589 pending with USCIS, mail a request to the asylum office where your case is; do not file another I-589. Each included family member gets a biometrics appointment and must come to the interview.^[1,4,7]

After you are granted asylum, you can petition for your spouse and unmarried children under 21 to come to the United States with Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition. File within 2 years of the grant unless humanitarian reasons excuse the deadline. There is no fee.^[3,4]

Getting a green card as an asylee

You can apply for a green card with Form I-485 while physically present in the United States. To be eligible you must have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year after you were granted asylum, still meet the refugee definition (or be the spouse or child of a refugee), not have firmly resettled in any foreign country, still have your grant of asylum (not terminated), be admissible or eligible for a waiver (Form I-602) or other relief, and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.^[6,10]

The 1 year of physical presence is measured on the day USCIS decides your I-485, not the day you file. You may file earlier, but if USCIS cannot confirm the year it may ask for more evidence and the case may take longer; USCIS says your application may be processed more quickly if you wait until 1 year after the grant. Each family member who received derivative asylum through you files a separate I-485 packet. If you are required to submit Form I-693 (the immigration medical examination and vaccination record) or a partial I-693, submit it with your I-485; otherwise the I-485 may be rejected.^[4,6]

If USCIS approves, it records your permanent residence as beginning one year before the approval date. There is no appeal of a denial, but USCIS will tell you of your right to renew the request in removal proceedings under section 240 of the INA. If you have already been placed in removal proceedings, the application can be filed and considered only in those proceedings. Do not send a Form I-765 or Form I-131 in the same envelope as your I-485.^[6,10]

Recent policy changes

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