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Online Filing Available for Affirmative Asylum Applications

By February 1, 2023Immigration
A man submitting an application online

USCIS recently announced that online filing is now available for Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal affirmative asylum applicants.

What is an Affirmative Asylum Applicant?

An affirmative asylum applicant is an applicant that files an asylum application while physically present in the United States. Unless an exception applies, you must file the asylum application with USCIS within 1 year of your physical arrival to the United States.

Restrictions

However, there are certain affirmative asylum applicants who are not eligible to file their applications online. This includes:

  • Applicants in removal proceedings or applicants before the Board of Immigration Appeals;
  • Applicants who are considered an unaccompanied alien child and in removal proceedings;
  • Applicants who are among the categories of applicants who must currently file by mail with the Asylum Vetting Center as outlined in the Special Instructions section on USCIS’S for Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal page; or
  • Applicants who have already submitted a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal.

Will the New Online Processing for Affirmative Asylum Applicants Impact the Processing Time of my Application?

As stated on USCIS’s website, online filing has some benefits, such as receiving an immediate confirmation number once an application has been submitted and the ability to create an online account to check the status of your application. However, online filing is relatively new, resulting in the lack of established data to determine whether online filing has any effect on the processing time of an application compared to mailed applications.

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