On November 9, 2022, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that certain individuals seeking to apply for asylum in the United States may now electronically file Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal through the USCIS website.
At this time, only applicants that are not in removal proceedings and are physically present in the United States may file Form I-589 online to apply for affirmative asylum. The USCIS specifies that applicants may not file Form I-589 if they:
- Are in proceedings in immigration court or before the Board of Immigration Appeals;
- Are an unaccompanied alien child as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 279(g) and are in removal proceedings;
- Are among the categories of applicants who must file by mail with the Asylum Vetting Center as outlined in the Special Instructions section of the Form I-589 webpage; or
- Already submitted a Form I-589, which is still pending with USCIS.
To file Form I-589 online, applicants must create a free USCIS online account, which will allow applicants to submit forms and relevant documents and to track the status of their immigration case. Applicants can find step-by-step instructions on how to create an online account here.
USCIS will continue to accept the latest paper version of the Form I-589 by mail.
If you have any questions regarding how to apply for affirmative asylum, or any immigration matter, please do not hesitate to contact KILO Immigration, a Sacramento law firm, by filling out this contact form.