USCIS Releases Instructions on Filing Form I-589s with the Asylum Vetting Center
USCIS announced via the Form I-589 webpage that beginning 11/2/20, asylum offices will no longer accept the filing of Form I-589s that previously were filed directly with a local asylum office. These forms must be filed with the Asylum Vetting Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
| If you are filing Form I-589 previously filed directly with a local asylum office: See Special Instructions. (PDF, 117.25 KB) |
USCIS Asylum Vetting Center Courier Address: |
The USCIS Asylum Vetting Center was mentioned in the June 26, 2020, Final Rule:
The Asylum Division also expanded its field operations, opening the Asylum Pre-Screening Center in Arlington, VA, and sub-offices in Boston and New Orleans. Its most significant expansion, however, is just getting underway. Currently, the Asylum Division is establishing an asylum vetting center— distinct from the planned DHS-wide National Vetting Center—in Atlanta, Georgia. This center will allow for the initiation of certain security checks from a central location, rather than at individual asylum offices, in an effort to alleviate the administrative burden on asylum officers and to promote vetting and processing efficiency. USCIS has already begun hiring for the center, which will ultimately staff approximately 300 personnel, composed of both asylum and Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) positions. USCIS expects completion of the center’s construction in 2020.
Related Resources
- USCIS Final Rule on Employment Authorization for Asylum Applicants (85 FR 38532, 6/26/20)
- District Court Preliminarily Enjoins Certain Provisions of New DHS Asylum EAD Rules (Casa de Maryland, Inc., et al. v. Wolf, et al., 9/11/20)