USCIS Announces Online Filing for Affirmative Asylum Applications

In previous articles we had advised that Asylum is a protection allowing a person to enter or remain in the United States, granted to foreign nationals already in the United States, or at the border, who meet the international law definition of a “refugee”.

A Refugee is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country, and cannot obtain protection in that country, due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted in the future on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

Prior to November 9, 2022, Asylum applicants were required to submit the paper version of Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. On November 9, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that Form I-589 is available to file online for certain affirmative asylum applicants, but they will also continue to accept this form by mail.

To file an online Form I-589, an applicant must first create a USCIS online account, submit the form and track the status of the adjudication of the application. There is no cost to set up an account, which provides many features, such as the ability to communicate with USCIS through a secure mailbox and respond online to Requests for Evidence.

The process to seek asylum is complicated and it is important to ensure that all requirements are correctly followed. If you should have any questions or need more information about applying for asylum or any other immigration matter, please contact the Law Offices of Azita M. Mojarad, P.C. by e-mailing us at azita@azitalaw.com or calling us at 312.641-0771.