USCIS moved under the Trump administration asylum rules on Monday to stop offering interviews to all affirmative asylum applicants before referral to immigration court. The change is set to take effect on Tuesday and would let the government send some applicants straight into court without first sitting for an asylum interview.
USCIS and Joseph Edlow
USCIS said the rule could affect more than 444,000 backlogged cases and that more than 132,000 asylum seekers a year may be referred directly to immigration court. By the end of 2025, USCIS said the backlog exceeded 1.4 million.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the asylum system has long been “exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization.” He said, “America’s asylum system exists to protect individuals who genuinely fear persecution and this rule will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely adjudication of those claims instead of to those seeking to use the system as a loophole.”
Executive Office for Immigration Review
USCIS wrote in the interim final rule that it will no longer offer interviews to all affirmative applicants before referral to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Department of Homeland Security said there was never a statutory right to an interview or a requirement to conduct one. The rule also says it can help identify aliens that pose a danger to public safety or national security and place them in removal proceedings.
It is a direct break from longstanding practice, under which affirmative asylum seekers received a formal interview with immigration officials before any referral. Under the new rule, the interview stage can be skipped, which narrows the path between filing and court.
Reuben Kerben in Manhattan
Immigration lawyer Reuben Kerben, speaking to Courthouse News on Monday, said some of his clients have been waiting as long as 15 years for their asylum interview. He called the rule “another tool to keep the deportation machine humming.”
Kerben said the change could leave many asylum seekers unable to secure work permits on the expedited timeline. For applicants already inside the backlog, the practical shift is that their cases may move from waiting for an interview to facing immigration court sooner, with less time between filing and removal proceedings.
