Asylumist

Rumors of Asylum’s Death Have Been Greatly (Somewhat? Slightly?) Exaggerated

In a recent announcement, the White House stated that asylum grant rates have “collapsed” in Immigration Court, with less than 7% of cases being approved. How does this overall negative trend apply to an individual case? https://asylumist.com/2026/06/03/rumors-of-asylums-death-have-been-greatly-somewhat-slightly-exaggerated/

USCIS Memo Seeks to Limit Adjustment of Status; How Does This Affect Asylees, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers?

wants most people who come to the U.S. on non-immigrant visas to leave the country and obtain their Green Card overseas through consular processing. What about asylees, refugees, and people with pending applications? https://asylumist.com/2026/05/27/uscis-memo-seeks-to-limit-adjustment-of-status-how-does-this-affect-asylees-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/

The Administration’s Attack on I-730 Petitions

Asylee and refugee "follow to join" beneficiaries from "banned" countries are being blocked from coming to the United States. https://asylumist.com/2026/05/20/the-administrations-attack-on-i-730-petitions/

New Tool to Monitor USCIS’s Progress (or Lack Thereof)

The American Immigration Council (AIC) has a new web page that collects and organizes statistical information from . Here, we’ll examine a few of the trends revealed by AIC, with an emphasis on asylum and asylum-adjacent applications. https://asylumist.com/2026/05/13/new-tool-to-monitor-usciss-progress-or-lack-thereof/

Green Card Processing for Asylees Is Down 95% Since President Trump Took Office

A new report from the Cato Institute found that USCIS under the Trump Administration has slashed overall Green Card processing by about 50%. Certain categories of Green Card applicants–including asylees and refugees–have been hit much harder. https://asylumist.com/2026/04/29/green-card-processing-for-asylees-is-down-95-since-president-trump-took-office/

New–and Dangerous–Questions at the Asylum Office

Recently, we’ve been seeing some unusual questions during interviews. Since this is the Trump Administration, you can probably guess that the new questions are not designed to make life easier for asylum seekers. https://asylumist.com/2026/04/22/new-and-dangerous-questions-at-the-asylum-office/

USCIS Ends Some “Holds,” Including on Certain Asylum Seekers

In a rare bit of good news from the Trump Administration, USCIS has issued an update indicating that some holds have been lifted for seekers and others. https://asylumist.com/2026/04/08/uscis-ends-some-holds-including-on-certain-asylum-seekers/

Affirmative Asylum Cases Dismissed and Sent to Court Without an Interview

seekers who were living their lives, working and going to school, with at least some measure of stability, suddenly found themselves in imminent danger of deportation, and in some cases, detained in a remote location. https://asylumist.com/2026/04/01/affirmative-asylum-cases-dismissed-and-sent-to-court-without-an-interview/

A German Right-Wing Influencer Has Requested Asylum in the U.S. Does She Have a Case?

Ben Harville examines whether the German seeker has a case under the Trump Administration's new asylum regime. https://asylumist.com/2026/03/25/a-german-right-wing-influencer-has-requested-asylum-in-the-u-s-does-she-have-a-case/

Interview with an Immigration Judge: Larry Burman

We had some technical issues/cyber attacks last week, but the blog seems to be working now. So I am re-posting this interview with one of my favorite IJs: https://asylumist.com/2026/03/11/interview-with-an-immigration-judge-larry-burman/