I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal

On Dec. 11, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California approved a class action settlement agreement in Ms. L. v. ICE, 18-cv-00428 (S.D. Cal.) (“Settlement Agreement”). This lawsuit relates to families who were apprehended together by the U.S. government at the U.S.-Mexico border between Jan. 20, 2017 and Jan. 20, 2021, but were then separated and kept apart. The Settlement Agreement provides benefits for Ms. L. Settlement Class members applying for asylum. For more information, please visit our Applying for Asylum with USCIS for Ms. L. Settlement Class Members page.

ALERT: Important Information About Where to File Form I-589

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 Form I-589 revision 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.

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. See the “Where to File” and “Special instructions” sections below for more information and to learn where to file your application. You can also use our Filing Instructions Tool to determine where to file your Form I-589.

ALERT: Filing Tips for Affirmative Asylum Applications

USCIS is seeing an increase in the submission of paper-filed affirmative asylum applications that we must reject because they are incomplete or improperly filed. To avoid rejections and processing delays when filing Form I-589 with USCIS, it is important to properly submit a complete and signed application to the correct location.

• Carefully review the Form I-589 Instructions and ‘Form Filing Tips’ section below to ensure your asylum application is complete and on the correct 03/01/2023 edition of the form.
• File your Form I-589 in the correct location. See the ‘Where to File’ section below for more information. You can also use our Filing Instructions Tool to determine where to file your Form I-589.

ALERT: Expeditious Asylum Adjudication for Certain Afghans

On Sept. 30, 2021, the president signed the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act. At the direction of Congress, citizens and nationals of Afghanistan or persons with no nationality who last habitually resided in Afghanistan, and who meet eligibility criteria, are entitled to certain benefits, including rapid adjudication of asylum applications.

Please follow the specific instructions on our Information for Afghans page.

Use this form to apply for asylum in the United States and for withholding of removal (formerly called “withholding of deportation”). You may file for asylum if you are physically present in the United States and you are not a U.S. citizen.

Obtain asylum in the United States by:

• Filing for affirmative asylum if you are not in proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR); or
• Filing for asylum defensively if you are in proceedings in front of an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) at EOIR. See “Where to File” section below for information about how to determine if you are in proceedings before EOIR.

If you fail to file Form I-589 within 1 year of your arrival in the United States, you may not be eligible to apply for asylum under section 208(a)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

May I file my Form I-589 with USCIS?

The Filing Instructions Tool provides information about where to file Form I-589 based on the information that you provide. The tool does not determine whether you are eligible for asylum.

For more information on whether you may file Form I-589 with USCIS, review the “Where to File” section below.

If you are eligible to file Form I-589 with USCIS, review the “Where to File” and “Special Instructions” sections below to learn whether you may file your Form I-589 online, or if you must file by mail.

Form Details

03/01/23 . You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

Dates are listed in mm/dd/yy format.

If you complete and print this form to mail it, make sure that the form edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of all pages and that all pages are from the same form edition. If any of the form’s pages are missing or are from a different form edition, we may reject your form.

If you need help downloading and printing forms, read our instructions.

Who May File with USCIS

You may file your affirmative Form I-589 with USCIS if you are not a U.S. citizen, are physically present in the United States, and:

• You have never been issued an A-Number; or
• You have been issued an A-Number, but you are not currently in Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) proceedings (see below for more information about how to check whether you are in EOIR proceedings); or
• You are in removal proceedings and are currently, or were previously determined to be, an "unaccompanied alien child" (UAC).

You may not file your Form I-589 with USCIS if you are currently in proceedings with EOIR, unless you are currently, or were previously determined to be, a UAC as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2). You must file your Form I-589 with EOIR if you are in proceedings before an immigration judge or before the Board of Immigration Appeals and you are not and were never determined to be a UAC.

These steps will help you determine whether you are in EOIR proceedings:

1. Have you been issued an "Alien Number" (A-Number)? The A-Number begins with the letter “A” and is followed by 8 or 9 digits (for example, A123456789). This number is printed on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and EOIR correspondence and documents, including USCIS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents.
2. If you have been issued an A-Number, check whether you are in EOIR proceedings by:
   • Calling the EOIR Automated Case Information Hotline toll-free in the United States at 800-898-7180 (TDD 800-828-1120) or 304-625-2050 (local toll call); or
   • Checking the EOIR Automated Case Information online system.
3. If the EOIR hotline or online system has information regarding your name and next hearing date, then your Form I-862, Notice to Appear (NTA), has been filed and docketed with EOIR and you are in EOIR proceedings. If you want to apply for asylum, you must file your Form I-589 with EOIR. To locate where to file your Form I-589 with EOIR:
   • Use the EOIR hotline or online system to locate an address for the immigration court where you must file your Form I-589; or
   • Find immigration court information on the Department of Justice’s website.
4. If you are currently in EOIR proceedings and you were asked to provide your biometric and biographical information to USCIS for your Form I-589 filed with EOIR, please refer to the Instructions for Submitting Certain Applications in Immigration Court and for Providing Biometric and Biographic Information to U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (PDF, 279.49 KB) and the Instructions for Form I-589 (PDF, 143.49 KB) at Part 1, Section XII. Where to File, about how to submit this information.

Important: If you file your Form I-589 anywhere other than the immigration court identified by the EOIR hotline or online system, EOIR will reject your Form I-589 and send you a notice that specifies the address where you should file your Form I-589. If you do not follow these instructions and any additional instructions from DHS or EOIR, your Form I-589 may be rejected or closed or it may take longer to process your Form I-589.

For more information about applying for asylum while in EOIR proceedings, see the section on Defensive Asylum Processing with EOIR on the Obtaining Asylum in the United States webpage.

Filing with USCIS

If you are eligible to apply for asylum with USCIS as outlined in the section above, you may file your Form I-589 with USCIS online or by mail depending on your situation. The mailing address to file your paper Form I-589 will depend on where you live and whether you are subject to the Special Instructions (see section below).

To determine whether you may file your Form I-589 with USCIS online or by mail, use our Filing Instructions Tool.

Note: You cannot file online and must file your Form I-589 by mail if:

• You are currently, or were previously determined to be, an unaccompanied alien child (UAC) as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2). UACs must file by mail to the address listed in the “Where to File with USCIS by Mail” chart below to ensure we identify their Form I-589 appropriately.
• You were previously in removal proceedings, but your removal proceedings were dismissed or terminated. Individual whose removal proceedings were dismissed or terminated and who seek to file a Form I-589 with USCIS must file by mail to the address listed in the “Where to File with USCIS by Mail” chart below to ensure their application is not rejected and the appropriate filing date is applied to the application. See the “Special Filing Instructions if EOIR Dismissed or Terminated Your Removal Proceedings, and You Want to Apply for Asylum with USCIS” section for additional information regarding the filing of Form I-589 for those applicants whose removal proceedings were dismissed or terminated by EOIR, including for applicants who previously filed a Form I-589 with EOIR before the dismissal or termination of their removal proceedings.
• DHS previously issued you a Form I-862, Notice to Appear (NTA), but the NTA was not filed with EOIR and you have never been in EOIR proceedings. You may file your Form I-589 with USCIS by mail using the address listed in the chart below. For more information about how we will process your Form I-589, see our What Happens After You File Form I-589 With USCIS page.
• Your asylum application falls into 1 of these categories and must be filed by mail at the Asylum Vetting Center as indicated in the Special Instructions section of this page:
  • Loss of Derivative Status After Asylum Approval but Before Adjustment of Status (Nunc Pro Tunc)
  • Loss of Derivative Status After Initial Filing but Before Final Decision
  • Simultaneous Filing as a Principal Applicant and a Derivative Applicant
  • Previously Issued a Final Action by USCIS on a Form I-589

  Note: See the “Special Instructions” section below for additional information about specific filings as well as more information about when Form I-589 must be filed at the Asylum Vetting Center and the mailing instructions. If you must submit Form I-589 to the Asylum Vetting Center, you cannot submit it online or by mail to the locations listed in the chart below.

  Where to File with USCIS by Mail

  If you are not required to file your Form I-589 with the Asylum Vetting Center as indicated in the Special Instructions section of this page, then use this chart to determine where to mail your Form I-589.

  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Maryland
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Texas

  USCIS Dallas Lockbox

  U.S. Postal Service (USPS):

  USCIS
  Attn: I-589 (Box 653080)
  P.O. Box 653080
  Dallas, TX 75265-3080

  FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:

  USCIS
  Attn: I-589 (Box 653080)
  2501 S. State Highway 121 Business Suite 400
  Lewisville, TX 75067-8003

  • Any other state or territory

  USCIS Chicago Lockbox

  U.S. Postal Service (USPS):

  USCIS
  Attn: I-589
  P.O. Box 6893
  Chicago, IL 60680

  FedEx, UPS, or DHL deliveries:

  USCIS
  Attn: I-589 (Box 6893)
  131 S. Dearborn St., 3rd Floor
  Chicago, IL 60603-5517

  Filing Fee

  You can find the filing fee for Form I-589 by visiting our Fee Schedule page.

  Form Filing Tips

  See our Filing Instructions Tool to determine whether to file your Form I-589 with USCIS online or by mail.

  General Filing Tips for filing Form I-589 by mail:

  • Review the instructions for eligibility requirements for yourself, spouse, and children.
  • Use the 03/01/23 edition of the form. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.
  • Complete the form in English. This includes explanation fields on the form.
  • Do not submit passport-style photos, multiple copies of the form, or multiple copies of supporting documentation.
  • If you already have a Form I-589 pending with USCIS, do not submit another Form I-589. Submitting another Form I-589 will not result in faster processing of your case and may cause additional delays.
  • Once we have accepted your Form I-589 for processing, do not submit additional correspondence or evidence to the Lockbox or the Atlanta Vetting Center. You must submit these items to the local asylum office where we are processing your case.

  Required Form Fields: We may reject your Form I-589 if the following form fields are blank:

  • Part A.I., Information About You
    • Complete Last Name (Question 4.)
    • Residence in the U.S. (where you physically reside) (Question 8.). A complete address includes Street Number and Street Name, City, State, and Zip Code. Applicants must reside in the United States.
    • Date of Birth (Question 12.)
    • Country of Birth (Question 13.)
    • If applicable, please ensure the following are completed:
      • Information About Your Spouse (Questions 1 – 24) and Children (Questions 1 – 21) fields.
        • If you have more than 4 children, you must supply information about each additional child on Form I-589, Supplement A. Use additional copies of the Form I-589 Supplement A as needed to list all of your children.
        • You must provide a response in at least 1 box or provide an explanation for:
          • Questions 1. – 1.B.
          • Questions 2. – 3.A.
          • Question 4.
          • You must select No or Yes, and if Yes, provide an explanation for:
            • Question 1.
            • Questions 2.A. and 2.B., or
            • The Explanation Box under Question 2.B.
            • Questions 3. – 6.
            • Signature of the Applicant (The person in Part A.1.)

            Filing Tips: Review our Tips for Filing Forms by Mail page for information on how to ensure we will accept your form.

            We will reject any Form I-589 that is missing the explanation of why you are applying for asylum or that is missing any addendums that you reference in your Form I-589.

            Do not forget to sign your Form I-589. We will reject any unsigned form.

            Special Instructions

            Applications that Must be Filed with the Asylum Vetting Center

            Below are instructions for filing Form I-589 if you cannot file at the locations listed in the “Where to File” section above because your Form I-589 requires special handling.

            When you file your Form I-589, you must include a letter explaining why you are filing with the Asylum Vetting Center and identifying which category below applies to your Form I-589. If your Form I-589 does not match any of the categories listed below, we will reject it, with instructions to file with the appropriate lockbox.

            The following Forms I-589 must be filed with the Asylum Vetting Center:

            • Loss of Derivative Status After Asylum Approval but Before Adjustment of Status (Nunc Pro Tunc): If you are currently a derivative asylee, but you are unable to adjust status to lawful permanent resident due to a loss of derivative relationship, then you may submit a new Form I-589 and request a grant of asylum nunc pro tunc. In your letter, please provide information about your previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
            • Loss of Derivative Status After Initial Filing but Before Final Decision: If you withdrew from a principal’s Form I-589 as a dependent, or if you lost derivative status by marriage, divorce, or death of the principal applicant, then you may submit Form I-589 as a principal applicant. In your letter, please provide information about your previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
            • Simultaneous Filing as a Principal Applicant and a Derivative Applicant: If you are already listed as a derivative applicant on another pending Form I-589, you may file Form I-589 as a principal applicant. Also, you and your spouse may file separate Forms I-589 at the same time as principal applicants and list each other as derivative applicants. In your letter, please provide information about any previous Form I-589 and explain that you are now filing independently as a principal applicant.
            • Previously Issued a Final Action by USCIS on a Form I-589: If you previously filed Form I-589 with USCIS, you may be eligible to file a new Form I-589 with USCIS if you have not been placed into immigration court proceedings after USCIS denied or dismissed your Form I-589, including if we dismissed it after you withdrew your Form I-589.

            If your Form I-589 matches a category listed above, you must mail your Form I-589 to USCIS at the address below:

            Mailing by U.S. Postal Service (USPS):

            USCIS Asylum Vetting Center
            P.O. Box 57100
            Atlanta, GA 30308-0506

            Mailing by FedEx, UPS or DHL:

            DHS-USCIS Asylum Vetting Center
            401 W. Peachtree St. NW, Suite 2500
            Atlanta, GA 30308

            Special Filing Instructions if EOIR Dismissed or Terminated Your Removal Proceedings, and You Want to Apply for Asylum with USCIS

            If EOIR dismissed or terminated your removal proceedings, you may apply for asylum with USCIS by mail using the location listed in the “Where to File with USCIS by Mail” chart above in the “Where to File” section. You may not file online. Please see the How USCIS Processes a Form I-589 Filed After Removal Proceedings are Dismissed or Terminated webpage for additional information on the handling of a Form I-589 filed with USCIS after your removal proceedings were dismissed or terminated:

            For information about employment authorization based on a pending Form I-589 after dismissal or termination of your removal proceedings, see the “Special Instructions” section of the Form I-765 page.

            Related Links
            • Asylum
            • Affirmative Asylum Frequently Asked Questions
            • The Affirmative Asylum Process
            • Types of Affirmative Asylum Decisions
            • Obtaining Asylum in the United States
            • What Happens After You File Form I-589 with USCIS
            • Revised Guidance on Informal (“Camp”) Marriages (PDF, 997.34 KB)
            • Asylum Merits Interview with USCIS: Processing After a Positive Credible Fear Determination