Asylum System Described as ‘More Than Broken’ Amid Multi-Year Delays

(OMAHA, NEBRASKA) An asylum seeker whose case has stretched past two years is far from alone in this Midwestern court, where people fleeing danger now face some of the longest delays in the country. New data show that in Omaha’s immigration court, average wait times until asylum relief is granted have climbed to nearly six years, or 2,119 days, reflecting what advocates describe as a system that is “more than broken.”

Nationwide backlog: scope and recent figures

Across the United States 🇺🇸, the backlog of asylum and other immigration court cases has swelled to historic levels. As of August 2025, there are more than 3.4 million total cases pending in immigration courts, including over 2.2 million asylum applications that are still waiting for a judge’s decision.

Many people who filed their claims years ago are still living in legal limbo, unsure whether they will be allowed to stay or be ordered removed. Government figures show:

• For asylum seekers whose cases are handled by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the average wait is now about 4.3 years, with some courts — including Omaha — seeing waits close to 6 years.
• In fiscal year 2024, people who finally won asylum in court had already waited an average of 1,283 days — roughly 3.5 years — between filing and relief.
• For thousands of families, a two‑year wait is not unusual; it is closer to the minimum.

USCIS affirmative asylum backlog and delays

The crisis is not limited to immigration courts. On the affirmative side — cases filed directly with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) instead of with a judge — the line has grown just as long.

• By late 2023, the USCIS affirmative asylum backlog had passed 1 million pending cases.
• At least 388,000 of those had already been waiting for more than two years.
• 97% of cases filed in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 were not decided within the 180‑day deadline written into U.S. law.

New policy pause and its effect

Pressure on the system increased further after a key policy move late last year. On November 28, 2025, USCIS announced that it would pause making final decisions on pending affirmative asylum applications, while still accepting new filings and continuing interviews.

• Officers can still take testimony and build records, but they are not issuing grants or denials for now.
• Officials framed the pause as a temporary step, but it has effectively added another layer of delay for those already stuck in the backlog.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the decision to keep interviewing while holding back decisions may prevent some short‑term scheduling bottlenecks, but it does nothing to reduce the mountain of pending cases and may leave people in a “waiting room with no exit.” For applicants whose average wait times already stretched from months to years, the pause has felt like a door quietly closing just as they neared the front of the line.

“You plan your whole life around the court calendar, and then nothing happens for months. You can’t go back, you can’t move forward. It’s like being frozen.”

— Asylum seeker in Omaha (requested anonymity)

Filing the application and case preparation

Asylum seekers must first file a formal application — Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal — with either USCIS or the immigration court. The form, available through the Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal (form), requires detailed accounts of past harm and fears of future persecution.

• Link to form information (preserved exactly): https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum
• Experienced immigration attorneys report that preparing a single case can take 50 to 75 hours of careful legal work, even before the government schedules an interview or hearing.

That preparation often happens under severe strain:

• Many arrive after long journeys with trauma from war, political violence, or domestic abuse.
• Some are detained in immigration facilities while they gather documents and tell their story in a second language.
• Policy shifts from one administration to another can change standards for asylum overnight, forcing lawyers to rework arguments in already‑filed cases.

Work authorization delays and consequences

Work authorization — a critical lifeline for people without other legal status — has also been slowed by delays.

• By law, an asylum seeker can apply for a work permit 150 days after the government receives a complete asylum application, using Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (form).
• In theory, USCIS should process many of these work permit requests within 30 days. In practice, advocates say that timeframe has stretched, with some applicants waiting months.

Consequences reported by advocates and asylum seekers include:

• Lost job offers because applicants couldn’t show proof of legal work authorization in time.
• Employers, unfamiliar with long processing times, sometimes assume applicants are at fault or that their papers are fake.
• Parents with school‑aged children forced to choose between working off the books and risking exploitation, or staying unemployed and relying on food banks and community aid.

Human toll: families, trauma, and erosion of trust

The delays’ human impact reaches far beyond the courtroom. Families remain split across borders, with spouses and children stuck in war zones or refugee camps while a parent waits in the United States for a first hearing.

• Phone calls across time zones replace birthdays and graduations.
• Some fear not only the final decision but also what might happen if forced to return home after years away.
• A person who fled in 2019, for example, may find that violence in their region has only worsened during the years their case sat in the backlog.

Advocates say the phrase “more than broken” reflects both the numbers and a deeper sense of mistrust. When the law promises a decision within 180 days but many face average wait times measured in years, faith in the system erodes.

• Lawyers struggle to explain why hearing dates keep moving or why some courts move faster than others.
• One Nebraska legal aid attorney described it as “a kind of lottery of geography and timing, where the same claim might be decided in two years in one court and six years in another.”

Omaha: a distant horizon and serious risks

In Omaha, where the 2,119‑day average to asylum relief is among the highest, the court’s calendar plays out like a distant horizon. New asylum seekers entering proceedings now know they may not see a final judgment until the early 2030s.

• Some detach from the process and skip hearings out of fear or confusion, which can lead to automatic removal orders.
• Others cling to every notice in the mail, terrified of missing a single letter that could decide their future.

Causes: staffing, caseloads, funding, and shifting policies

Officials at USCIS and the court system point to limited staffing and growing caseloads as core reasons for the backlog. Contributing factors include:

• Over the last decade, arrivals at the U.S.–Mexico border and increased global displacement have pushed more people to seek protection.
• Congress has not provided long‑term funding to add enough asylum officers, immigration judges, and support staff to match the surge.
• Short‑term hiring efforts and policy tweaks have so far failed to cut into the millions of pending files.

Policy changes by different administrations have reshaped who can qualify for asylum and how quickly cases move:

• Shifts in case priorities (e.g., focusing first on recent arrivals or detained people) can leave older applications buried deeper in the queue.
• When government priorities change later, deprioritized files remain waiting, often with evidence and witnesses that have become harder to reach.

Limited legal aid and outcomes

For many asylum seekers, the legal maze becomes too much without help, but legal aid is in short supply.

• Nonprofit offices in Nebraska and other states report long waitlists and limited capacity.
• Because asylum law is complex and standards are strict, people who must present their own cases without a lawyer face much lower odds of success — especially when trying to recall traumatic events in detail before a judge or officer.

Despite delays, many still win asylum

Despite the backlog and delays, thousands of people each year still win asylum and begin to rebuild their lives in the United States 🇺🇸. Successful asylum recipients can eventually apply for permanent residence and then citizenship.

• Government websites stress that those who fear persecution should still file Form I-589 within one year of arrival when possible.
• USCIS continues to post guidance for applicants and legal representatives on its asylum information page: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum

“They tell you to be patient,” said the man in Omaha who has already waited more than two years with no clear end in sight. “But they don’t tell you how many years patience is supposed to last.”

Key figures at a glance

Practical takeaways and warnings

• Important: filing Form I-589 and seeking legal help as soon as possible remains crucial despite delays.
• Warning: long waits for work authorization and hearings can have severe economic and family consequences.
• Deadline note: those who fear persecution should aim to file Form I-589 within one year of arrival when possible.

If you need the official guidance, USCIS asylum information remains available at: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum.