Developments affecting asylum seekers, including interview scheduling, filing deadlines, and screening standards.
The Asylum Division continues to schedule interviews on a last-in, first-out basis, meaning recently filed applications are generally interviewed first. Applicants with long-pending cases should keep their address current with USCIS and gather updated country-conditions evidence, since an interview notice can arrive with limited lead time.
Asylum applications must generally be filed within one year of arrival, but the law recognizes exceptions for changed circumstances (such as new conditions in the home country) and extraordinary circumstances (such as serious illness or ineffective assistance). If you missed the deadline, do not assume you are ineligible — have an attorney evaluate whether an exception applies.
Recent policy changes have raised the screening standard applied in some credible fear interviews and limited asylum eligibility for certain individuals who crossed between ports of entry. The details are highly fact-specific and continue to change through litigation. Anyone with family members in expedited removal should seek counsel immediately — timelines are extremely short.
Headlines rarely tell you what a change means for your family, your job, or your pending application. Wilsons’s Law Firm advises prospective and current clients on asylum, family and employment immigration, naturalization, and humanitarian relief. Write to us with a short description of your situation and we will follow up to schedule a consultation.