The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has addressed the massive increase in backlog f0r asylum applications that has occurred over the last 5 years. The USCIS announced that the number of pending applications for asylum has hit “crisis-level,” at outstanding 311,000 cases. In the announcement addressing the backlog, the USCIS stated that an increased number of outstanding applications can also mean an increased number of fraudulent asylum applicants. The USCIS has found that some people will apply for asylum when they are only trying to obtain employment authorization.

The way in which the USCIS plans to reduce the level of backlog is by scheduling affirmative asylum interviews from newest to oldest. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that their priorities are in order, as follows:

First will be the individuals who had asylum application interviews scheduled but it needed to be rescheduled because of either their own needs or the needs of USCIS. Next, the USCIS will schedule interviews for asylum applicants that have filed their applications within the last 21 days. Finally, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will schedule interviews for all other asylum applicants going from newer filing to older.

If you have applied for asylum and have any questions about the new schedule for interviews, contact our firm today and we would be happy to assist you.

The Law Offices of Cheryl R. David practices immigration law throughout NYC. If you have questions about your particular matters regarding immigration please contact the office to discuss your circumstances and options.