Former INS Commissioner Doris Meissner on challenges facing asylum seekers coming to the United States Asylum seekers are supposed to have a court decision on their application within 180 days of applying. However, a significant backlog in processing cases has led many applicants to wait months or even years for a decision. Doris Meissner, former commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and a senior fellow and director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, joins CBSN to discuss what can be done to alleviate the issues in the system.