What Is Asylum
Asylum is legal protection for someone in the United States, or at its border, who fears persecution in their home country. The fear has to be tied to one of five grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. A person granted asylum can stay, work, apply for a green card after a year, and later apply for citizenship (USCIS).
The law lets a person apply however they entered, “whether or not at a designated port of arrival” (8 U.S.C. 1158).
Key facts
- Most people must apply within one year of arriving in the United States (8 U.S.C. 1158).
- 2,324,099 asylum applications were pending in immigration court at the end of June 2026 (EOIR).
- Judges granted 7.5% of asylum cases they decided in fiscal 2026 through June, down from 45.7% in fiscal 2024 (EOIR).
- Applying costs $100, plus a yearly fee of $102 that rises to $105 on October 16, 2026 (Federal Register).
- A 2025 proclamation still blocks asylum at the southern border while the government asks the Supreme Court to uphold it.
If you or someone you know needs help with an asylum case, the Immigration Advocates Network legal directory lists free and low-cost immigration help by state. Deadlines are strict, so reach a lawyer as early as possible. To report ICE or CBP activity, or if someone is having problems with immigration agents, call United We Dream’s MigraWatch hotline at 1-844-363-1423.
Where Asylum Stands in October 2026
The rules changed several times in 2025 and 2026, and they depend on where a person is standing when they ask. This summary was verified on October 6, 2026.
- At the southern border: a January 2025 proclamation bars asylum. Two federal courts have ruled it unlawful, but a stay keeps it in force. The government asked the Supreme Court to take the case on August 24, 2026, and the petition was still pending when this was checked. People at the border can still ask for two narrower protections, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (Center for Gender and Refugee Studies).
- Inside the country: a person can still apply, either with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or as a defense in immigration court. The one-year filing deadline applies. Since July 28, 2026, USCIS can send some applications to immigration court without an interview, though it still offers one before it grants or denies a case itself (Federal Register).
- Fees: H.R. 1, the 2025 budget law, added a $100 filing fee and a yearly fee for every year a case is pending. The yearly fee is $102 and rises to $105 on October 16, 2026. Since May 29, 2026, USCIS rejects a pending application if the yearly fee is not paid within 30 days of the notice (Federal Register).
- In court: judges are deciding more cases and granting far fewer. Grants made up 7.5% of asylum decisions in fiscal 2026 through June.
- Work permits: a February 2026 proposal would make applicants wait 365 days instead of 180 before applying for a work permit. It is a proposed rule, not yet in effect (Federal Register).
How the Asylum Process Works Step by Step
Asylum runs on two tracks, depending on where the person stands when they ask. Someone who is not in deportation proceedings files an affirmative claim with USCIS and interviews with an asylum officer. Someone the government is already trying to deport raises a defensive claim before an immigration judge. People stopped at the border and placed in fast-track removal first get a credible fear screening, an interview that decides whether their claim goes forward at all.
What applying for asylum involves, from arrival to a green card
- Within 1 year of arrival File Form I-589 Apply with USCIS, or in immigration court if deportation has started. The filing fee is $100 and is not refunded.
- 180 days after filing Work permit allowed Applicants can be granted work authorization no sooner than 180 days after filing. The first permit costs $560, rising to $570 on October 16, 2026.
- Every year pending Pay the annual fee Pay the yearly fee ($102, rising to $105 on October 16, 2026). USCIS rejects an application if the fee goes unpaid 30 days after notice.
- Often years Interview or hearing An asylum officer or an immigration judge decides whether the fear of persecution is well founded and tied to a protected ground.
- 1 year after a grant Apply for a green card A person granted asylum can apply for permanent residence after one year, and later for citizenship.
Sources: 8 U.S.C. 1158; Federal Register notices on H.R. 1 fees (November 2025, April 2026 and October 2026).
Passing a credible fear screening is not a grant of asylum. It moves the case into the regular process, where the person must prove the fear is real and specific. If asylum is granted, it does not expire on a set date, which sets it apart from temporary programs like TPS, though the law lets the government end it in limited cases (8 U.S.C. 1158(c)(2)).
One Family’s Case, From Maine to a Texas Detention Center
Olivia Mabiala Andre came to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo in December 2022, a minor traveling with her mother and siblings. The family settled in Maine and applied for asylum together. An immigration judge denied the claim, and the Board of Immigration Appeals denied their appeal (NBC News).
In November 2025, the family tried to seek asylum in Canada. Canadian officials sent them back to the United States as the first safe country they had reached, and immigration officers detained them. Andre, by then 19 and in her first year of college studying to be a nurse, was held at several facilities and then at the Dilley detention center in South Texas. She stayed there when her mother and younger siblings were released in March (ABC News).
On May 6, 2026, a federal judge in San Antonio ruled that her detention was unlawful, in part because the government had not determined, when it detained her, that she was a danger to the community or a flight risk. She was released on May 8, after about six months in detention. “I couldn’t believe it. I started crying, shaking,” she told NBC News. A federal appeals court has blocked the family’s deportation while it reviews their case.
Her case shows how long the process runs and how a denial is appealed.
Asylum and Refugee Status
People mix up asylum and refugee status because both protect people fleeing persecution, and the legal test for who qualifies is nearly the same. What differs is where the person is standing when they ask, and who decides.
A refugee is approved before ever setting foot in the country, and can work as soon as they arrive (USCIS). An asylum seeker is already here, or at the door, and asks after arriving.
Asylum Grants Fell to 7.5% of Court Decisions
Immigration courts are finishing more asylum cases than before, and far fewer of those decisions are grants. Here, the grant rate means grants divided by grants plus denials, by federal fiscal year, which starts in October. Cases that end because they were abandoned, withdrawn, or closed without a ruling are left out.
Judges granted asylum in 45.7% of decided cases in fiscal 2024 and 7.5% in fiscal 2026 through June.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| FY2019 | 29.4% |
| FY2020 | 26% |
| FY2021 | 34.4% |
| FY2022 | 45.9% |
| FY2023 | 48.1% |
| FY2024 | 45.7% |
| FY2025 | 24.4% |
| FY2026 through June | 7.5% |
Source: DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review, Asylum Decisions table, data generated July 24, 2026. Grant rate computed as grants divided by grants plus denials.
The drop comes from how cases end, not only from how judges rule. In nine months of fiscal 2026, courts recorded 92,081 asylum applications as abandoned, more than in the previous four full years combined (EOIR). An application can be marked abandoned when a person misses a deadline or a filing, which is one reason a lawyer and a current mailing address matter so much.
| Group | FY2024 (full year) | FY2026 (through June) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granted | 32.4 | 7.2 | −25.2 |
| Denied | 38.5 | 89.7 | +51.2 |
| Marked abandoned | 18.4 | 92.1 | +73.7 |
Source: DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review, Asylum Decisions, data generated July 24, 2026.
Fewer judges are handling this caseload. The courts had 557 permanent active immigration judges on December 31, 2025, a net loss of 178 since the end of fiscal 2024 (Acacia Center for Justice). After 192 hires in fiscal 2026, EOIR counted 662 judges on June 30, 2026, plus 53 temporary judges (EOIR). In fiscal 2025, 56,316 completed court asylum cases had no lawyer of record, and asylum seekers have no right to a lawyer paid for by the government (EOIR).
The Fight Over the Border Asylum Ban
The border ban began with a January 2025 proclamation, lost in a federal trial court in July 2025, stayed in part that August, lost again on appeal in April 2026, and reached the Supreme Court in August 2026.
- Proclamation bars border asylum Proclamation 10888 declares an invasion and suspends asylum at the southern border.
- Trial court rules the ban unlawful Judge Randolph Moss rules a president cannot replace the asylum statute Congress wrote.
- Appeals court stays part of the ruling The ban stays in force for asylum while withholding and torture claims must be heard.
- Appeals court rules the ban unlawful A divided D.C. Circuit panel holds the proclamation and its guidance unlawful where they replace the procedures Congress wrote.
- Government asks the Supreme Court The Justice Department petitions for review on August 24. The stay keeps border asylum closed meanwhile.
Sources: NPR; D.C. Circuit No. 25-5243; Center for Gender and Refugee Studies.
The border asylum ban, 2025 to 2026: Jan 2025: Proclamation bars border asylum (Proclamation 10888 declares an invasion and suspends asylum at the southern border.). Jul 2025: Trial court rules the ban unlawful (Judge Randolph Moss rules a president cannot replace the asylum statute Congress wrote.). Aug 2025: Appeals court stays part of the ruling (The ban stays in force for asylum while withholding and torture claims must be heard.). Apr 2026: Appeals court rules the ban unlawful (A divided D.C. Circuit panel holds the proclamation and its guidance unlawful where they replace the procedures Congress wrote.). Aug 2026: Government asks the Supreme Court (The Justice Department petitions for review on August 24. The stay keeps border asylum closed meanwhile.).
January 2025: On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Proclamation 10888, “Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion,” which suspended asylum at the southern border. Border appointments scheduled through the CBP One app were canceled the same day (NPR).
July 2025: On July 2, 2025, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled the suspension unlawful, holding that a proclamation cannot override the asylum statute.
August 2025: On August 1, 2025, the D.C. Circuit stayed part of that ruling while the appeal went forward, so asylum stayed closed at the border but withholding and torture-convention claims had to be heard (Center for Gender and Refugee Studies).
April 2026: On April 24, 2026, a divided D.C. Circuit panel affirmed the ruling. Judge Childs wrote for the court, joined by Judge Pillard, holding the proclamation and its guidance unlawful where they replace the removal procedures in the immigration law. Judge Justin Walker concurred in part and dissented in part.
August 2026: The government asked the full appeals court to rehear the case on June 8, 2026, and was denied. It petitioned the Supreme Court on August 24, 2026 (Center for Gender and Refugee Studies). Until the stay ends, asylum remains unavailable at the border.
A Fair Hearing or a Return to Danger
Asylum decides whether a person can stay rather than be sent back. Withholding of removal, the protection still available at the border, requires showing harm is more likely than not, and unlike asylum it does not lead to a green card or extend to a spouse and children, who can join a person granted asylum (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(3)).
The Honest Disagreement
The administration’s case for tighter limits is in its own documents. Proclamation 10888 says “the sheer number of aliens entering the United States has overwhelmed the system.” The February 2026 work permit proposal argues that work authorization during a pending case is a “pull factor” and creates an incentive to file “frivolous, fraudulent, or otherwise meritless” claims (Federal Register).
The challengers argued that a president cannot set aside the asylum statute, and the trial judge agreed: “The President cannot adopt an alternative immigration system, which supplants the statutes that Congress has enacted” (NPR). Groups that track the courts point to the loss of experienced judges as one cause of the backlog (Acacia Center for Justice).
Two courts have ruled on the legal question so far, and the Supreme Court may have the last word.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to cross the border to seek asylum?
The law lets a person apply for asylum however they entered. Entering between ports of entry can carry separate penalties, but it does not by itself bar the claim. At the southern border, the 2025 proclamation blocks asylum while the government appeals the rulings against it.
What is withholding of removal?
It is a narrower protection that stops the government from sending a person to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. It requires proving the harm is more likely than not, and unlike asylum it does not lead to a green card or let a spouse and children join.
Will the government give me a lawyer?
No. People in immigration court can have a lawyer, but not one paid for by the government. Free and low-cost help is listed in the Immigration Advocates Network directory.
Can asylum seekers work?
Not right away. An applicant can be granted a work permit no sooner than 180 days after filing, and the first permit costs $560, rising to $570 on October 16, 2026. A person granted asylum can work immediately.
What You Can Do
- If you are applying, protect your case. File within one year of arriving, pay the yearly fee as soon as the notice comes, and keep your address current with USCIS and the immigration court so you never miss a notice. Find free or low-cost help in the Immigration Advocates Network directory.
- If someone you know is detained or facing agents, call United We Dream’s MigraWatch hotline at 1-844-363-1423 and connect them with a lawyer from the directory.
- Support legal representation. Tens of thousands of people finish their asylum cases each year with no lawyer. Local legal-aid groups listed in the directory take volunteers and donations.
- Ask Congress to fund the immigration courts. The courts lost 178 permanent judges between the end of fiscal 2024 and December 2025, and 2.3 million asylum applications were pending in June 2026.
- Ask your members of Congress to protect the right to seek asylum. Use the letter and call script below.