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2.0

DHS Allows Asylum Officers to Bypass Some Interviews

  1. Original Date Announced

    July 27, 2026

    The 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 208
  2. Effective Date

    July 28, 2026

Current Status

None

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Final/Actual
Trump Administration Action: Rule
Agencies Affected: DHS USCIS EOIR

Documents

Trump-Era Policy Documents

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