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Original Date Announced
July 27, 2026The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an interim final rule (IFR) allowing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum officers to forgo interviews in certain affirmative asylum cases if they determine from the application that the applicant is barred from, ineligible for, or does not merit asylum, referring those cases directly to immigration court instead. Footnote 22 of the IFR observes that because a recent policy change by the Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals allow immigration judges to pretermit asylum cases, asylum applications denied by USCIS without an interview may also be denied by EOIR "without a hearing."
The rule, effective July 28, 2026, applies to pending and future affirmative asylum applications and removes regulatory language describing an applicant's "right" to an interview. DHS estimates the change could affect about 444,000 pending cases and result in more than 132,000 interview-free referrals to immigration court each year.
Trump 2.0 [ID #2350]
2026.07.28 - DHS - Interim Rule Amending 8 CFR 208Effective Date
July 28, 2026Current Status
NoneOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Action: RuleSubject Matter: Asylum, Withholding and CAT Hearings and AdjudicationsAssociated or Derivative Policies
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
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New Policy
Original Source:
2026.07.28 - DHS - Interim Rule Amending 8 CFR 208
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