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Original Date Announced
February 13, 2017USCIS issues revised lesson plans for training asylum officers, eliminating language reminding officers that credible fear interviews (CFI) and reasonable fear interviews (RFI) are only initial screening interviews rather than full adjudications. The asylum officer is required to make a full credible/reasonable fear determination at the initial interview in place of finding a significant possibility that an immigration judge would later find that the applicant had established a credible/reasonable fear of persecution. [ID# 9]
USCIS Memo: Release of Updated Asylum Division Officer Training Course Lesson PlansEffective Date
February 27, 2017Subsequent Trump-Era and Court Action(s)
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April 30, 2019
Lesson Plan Overview: Credible Fear of Persecution and Torture Determinations
Further revisions of USCIS Asylum Officer training in making credible fear determinations.
View Document -
November 2, 2020
On October 31, 2020, a D.C. District Court vacated new credible fear standards contained in USCIS lesson plans. The order applies to both April 2019 and September 2019 versions of the Lesson Plan. The case, Kiakombua v. Wolf (D.D.C. 1:19-cv-01872) was brought in 2019 by IRAP and RAICES.
Go to article on refugeerights.org
Biden Administration Action: Other
July 19, 2021Kiakombua v. Wolf: Protecting the credible fear process for seeking asylum
This Biden administration action effectively affirms the court-ordered vacatur of the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On July 19, 2021, the Biden administration called off its appeal of the district court's vacatur of the Trump-era lesson plans that raised the credible fear standard. Kiakombua v. Mayorkas (D.C. Cir. 20-cv-5372).
Go to article on refugeerights.orgCurrent Status
Not in effectMost Recent Action
July 19, 2021 Action: Other Kiakombua v. Wolf: Protecting the credible fear process for seeking asylumJuly 19, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
Original Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/Actual In LitigationTrump Administration Action: Change in PracticeSubject Matter: Asylum, Withholding and CATAgencies Affected: USCISAssociated or Derivative Policies
- April 30, 2019 Asylum interviewers will no longer be trained to consider lack of asylum seekers' evidence
- July 9, 2019 Asylum seekers given less time to prepare for credible fear interviews
- December 11, 2020 EOIR and DHS issue final rule significantly restricting asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protections
Pre Trump-Era Policies
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February 13, 2017
At an initial interview, asylum officers previously needed to find only a "significant possibility" that, in a full hearing, an Immigration Judge could deem the applicant credible.
Credible Fear Screening
Commentary
2017.03.08 CNN Politics: Trump admin quietly made asylum more difficult in the US
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