Effective May 9, 2024, we will reject affirmative asylum applications improperly filed at service centers instead of at the lockbox with jurisdiction over your place of residence. We announced this change in filing location on May 31, 2023, and finalized the associated revision to Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, in the Federal Register, 88 FR 60703 (Sept. 5, 2023). We expect this change to help streamline asylum processing and improve adjudication efficiency by digitizing paper filings.

Also Read: Asylum or Refugee Status: Who Is Eligible?

Certain categories of affirmative asylum applicants must continue to mail their applications directly to the Asylum Vetting Center. Unaccompanied children (UCs) in immigration court proceedings must mail their applications to the lockbox. Online filing is also available to affirmative asylum applicants who are not in immigration court proceedings and who do not have to submit their application to the Asylum Vetting Center.

  asyum, policy, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)