USCIS, Jan. 31, 2018 – “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the agency will schedule asylum interviews for recent applications ahead of older filings, in an attempt to stem the growth of the agency’s asylum backlog.

USCIS is responsible for overseeing the nation’s legal immigration system, which includes adjudicating asylum claims. The agency currently faces a crisis-level backlog of 311,000 pending asylum cases as of Jan. 21, 2018, making the asylum system increasingly vulnerable to fraud and abuse. This backlog has grown by more than 1750 percent over the last five years, and the rate of new asylum applications has more than tripled.

To address this problem, USCIS will follow these priorities when scheduling affirmative asylum interviews:

Applications that were scheduled for an interview, but the interview had to be rescheduled at the applicant’s request or the needs of USCIS; Applications pending 21 days or less since filing; and All other pending applications, starting with newer filings and working back toward older filings.

Applications that were scheduled for an interview, but the interview had to be rescheduled at the applicant’s request or the needs of USCIS; Applications pending 21 days or less since filing; and All other pending applications, starting with newer filings and working back toward older filings.

Additionally, the Affirmative Asylum Bulletin issued by USCIS has been discontinued.

“Delays in the timely processing of asylum applications are detrimental to legitimate asylum seekers,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “Lingering backlogs can be exploited and used to undermine national security and the integrity of the asylum system.”

This priority approach, first established by the asylum reforms of 1995 and used for 20 years until 2014, seeks to deter those who might try to use the existing backlog as a means to obtain employment authorization. Returning to a “last in, first out” interview schedule will allow USCIS to identify frivolous, fraudulent or otherwise non-meritorious asylum claims earlier and place those individuals into removal proceedings.

For details on how we will schedule interviews, go to our Affirmative Asylum Interview Scheduling * page.”

* “Starting January 29, 2018, the Asylum Division will give priority to the most recently filed affirmative asylum applications when scheduling asylum interviews.

USCIS’ predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, first established this interview scheduling approach as part of asylum reforms implemented in January 1995. This approach was in place until December 2014. The aim is to deter individuals from using asylum backlogs solely to obtain employment authorization by filing frivolous, fraudulent or otherwise non-meritorious asylum applications.

Giving priority to recent filings allows USCIS to promptly place such individuals into removal proceedings, which reduces the incentive to file for asylum solely to obtain employment authorization. This approach also allows USCIS to decide qualified applications in a more efficient manner.

USCIS will now schedule asylum interviews in the following order of priority:

First priority: Applications that were scheduled for an interview, but the interview had to be rescheduled at the applicant’s request or the needs of USCIS. Second priority: Applications that have been pending 21 days or less. Third priority: All other pending affirmative asylum applications will be scheduled for interviews starting with newer filings and working back towards older filings.

Workload priorities related to border enforcement may affect our ability to schedule all new applications for an interview within 21 days.

Asylum office directors may consider, on a case-by-case basis, an urgent request to be scheduled for an interview outside of the priority order listed above. Please submit any urgent interview scheduling requests in writing to the asylum office with jurisdiction over your case. Go to the USCIS Service and Office Locator page for contact information.

For asylum applicants who live far from an asylum office or an asylum sub-office, asylum offices schedule asylum interviews at USCIS field offices (“circuit ride” locations) as resources permit. Please contact the asylum office with jurisdiction over your case for more detailed information.”