Form I-589: how to apply for asylum in the U.S. (2026)

What Form I-589 asks for, and where it goes

One Form I-589 asks for three kinds of protection: asylum, withholding of removal under INA 241(b)(3), and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

Asylum requires persecution, or a well-founded fear of it, because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. That ground must be at least one central reason for the harm.

Withholding and CAT protection require a higher showing (“more likely than not”). They do not lead to a green card and do not extend to your spouse or children.

You may apply whatever your status, as long as you are physically present in the United States.

If you are not in removal proceedings, you file affirmatively with USCIS. Many applicants can file online; USCIS's Filing Instructions Tool says whether you must file by mail.

If you are in removal proceedings, you file defensively with the immigration court that has your case. Check EOIR's Automated Case Information portal or 1-800-898-7180 with your A-number. A Form I-589 filed anywhere else is rejected.

The one-year deadline

You must prove by clear and convincing evidence that you filed within 1 year of your last arrival in the United States.

A late application can be accepted for changed circumstances that affect your eligibility, such as worsening conditions in your country, or for extraordinary circumstances that prevented filing, such as serious illness.

The regulations also list keeping a lawful nonimmigrant status, TPS or parole until a reasonable period before filing as an extraordinary circumstance (8 CFR 208.4). This matters for people who were in the U.S. on a student, work or investor visa when conditions at home changed.

If the one-year bar applies, withholding of removal and CAT protection may still be available before an immigration judge.

Fees from 16 October 2026

Note 1

Filling in the form, part by part

• Part A.I (you): your legal name as on your passport, other names used, date and country of birth, your A-number if you have one, and the I-94 number and status from your last entry. If you entered without inspection, write “No Inspection”. Give the street address where you actually live; a P.O. box goes only in the mailing-address field.
• Part A.II (spouse and children): list your spouse and every child, including adult, step, adopted and deceased children, wherever they live. You may include only a spouse and unmarried children under 21 who are in the United States. Attach your marriage certificate and each included child's birth certificate. More than four children: use Supplement A.
• Part A.III (background): residences and jobs for the past 5 years and your schooling, most recent first. Check dates against old documents instead of guessing.
• Part B (your claim): the core of the case. For each “Yes”, explain who harmed or threatened you, what happened, when and where, why (which protected ground), and what you fear on return. Use Supplement B or extra sheets.
• Part C (history and bars): earlier applications, travel through other countries, any harm to others, and Question 5 on the one-year deadline. Every “Yes” needs an explanation.
• Part D (signature): you must sign. Anyone other than your spouse, parent or child who helped must sign Part E. USCIS rejects an unsigned form, and a missing Part E makes it incomplete.
• Leave Parts F and G unsigned; you sign them at the interview or hearing.

Rules that get applications rejected or weakened

• Complete the form in English, including all explanations. The Turkish version on uscis.gov is for reading only.
• Translate every foreign-language document in full. The translator signs a certification that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate, with printed name, date and contact details.
• Send copies, not originals. USCIS or the court may keep any original you send.
• When mailing to USCIS, do not send passport photos, extra copies of the form or extra copies of evidence. In immigration court, file one extra copy of the I-589 for each family member included.
• Put your name, A-number, signature and date on every extra sheet and on the cover page of supporting documents.
• USCIS may decide or refer a case without an interview and without a request for evidence. What you file may be your only chance to meet your burden of proof.
• An application is frivolous if a material element is deliberately fabricated. A frivolous finding can bar you permanently from all immigration benefits, even if someone else told you to write it.

After you file

• Biometrics: you and each included family member must attend. Since 21 August 2026, a missed appointment needs a reschedule request within 10 calendar days, with proof of exceptional circumstances.
• Interview: if you cannot proceed in fluent English, bring a competent interpreter aged 18 or older at your own cost. Your attorney or a witness cannot interpret. Since 21 August 2026, USCIS reschedules an interview only for exceptional circumstances.
• Evidence: file it with the asylum office at least 14 calendar days before the interview. Late evidence may be left out or may lead to rescheduling, which can affect your work permit.
• Scheduling: USCIS schedules rescheduled interviews first, then applications pending 21 days or fewer, then other cases newest first; some officers also work through the oldest cases.
• Address changes: tell USCIS within 10 days (Form AR-11). If you are in court, also file Form EOIR-33 with the court within 5 days.
• Work permit: you may file Form I-765 150 days after a complete application is filed, and it can be granted once the case has been pending 180 days. Delays you cause do not count.
• Travel: leaving the U.S. without advance parole is presumed to abandon the application. Returning to the country you fear is presumed abandonment unless there were compelling reasons.

How Merit can help

Merit's U.S.-licensed attorneys (Nora Busra Turan: Texas, New York, Maryland; Beyza Candelen: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) prepare and review I-589 filings and represent applicants at asylum interviews and in immigration court. See asylum and removal defense.

Where a claim rests on proceedings in Turkey, the firm's lawyers licensed in Turkey (Istanbul Bar) can explain Turkish court and prosecution documents. This guide is general information, not legal advice.