Can You Still Apply for U.S. Asylum After the USCIS Freeze?

(UNITED STATES) The Biden administration has ordered an indefinite nationwide freeze on asylum decisions, halting one of the core protections in the U.S. immigration system and leaving millions of people in legal limbo. The move follows the fatal shooting of a National Guard member near the White House in late November 2025 and has triggered urgent questions about how long the shutdown will last and what it means for people who fear persecution if they are sent back to their home countries.

What the agency announced

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced that the agency would suspend all asylum processing nationwide while it reviews and tightens security checks for applicants. According to the agency, the freeze will last until vetting procedures are “fully secured,” with no date given for when decisions might restart.

The order applies to:

• Cases in immigration court
• Cases filed directly with USCIS

Effectively, the asylum system is on pause across the country.

Scale and scope

The scale of the freeze is enormous. Government figures cited in internal briefings show it affects roughly 2.5 million people, including:

These numbers include families who have already been waiting years, people who passed initial screenings at the border, and long‑time residents who filed claims after conditions changed in their home countries.

Related immigration actions

Officials say the decision is part of a wider immigration review ordered under President Trump but now being carried forward and expanded by the current administration.

As part of that broader review, the administration has also:

• Ordered re-interviews
• Placed freezes on green card adjudications for refugees admitted between January 20, 2021, and February 20, 2025

For those refugees, long‑planned steps toward permanent residence are suddenly on hold, adding another layer of uncertainty.

Immediate impact on asylum seekers

For asylum seekers, the immediate impact is stark.

• People waiting for their first interview with USCIS or for a final decision in immigration court are being told their cases are simply on hold.
• Lawyers say applicants who hoped to argue their cases this winter are now being pushed into an undefined future.
• VisaVerge.com reports that legal clinics have already begun warning clients that deadlines and hearing dates may effectively become meaningless if the freeze continues for months or longer.

Filing during the freeze

The decision freeze also affects people who have not yet filed an asylum application.

• As of November 29, 2025, USCIS is not processing new filings, and existing cases are stuck where they are in the system.
• This does not change the legal one‑year filing rule written into U.S. law, which normally requires most people to file for asylum within a year of arriving in the country.
• Advocates worry that people who follow the law and try to file now will end up trapped between a filing requirement on paper and an agency that refuses to move cases forward.

USCIS has directed the public to its asylum information page on uscis.gov, but the site so far offers only general guidance and does not provide a date for when the freeze might lift.

The form normally used to apply for asylum, Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, remains available on the USCIS website, and the agency still lists the form at this official page. However, immigration lawyers say that even if people continue to submit the form, they should expect no progress on their cases until USCIS formally restarts processing.

Administration rationale and responses

Inside the government, supporters of the move argue:

• The pause is necessary after the shooting near the White House, which raised questions about how well background checks work in high‑risk cases.
• It would be irresponsible to keep approving asylum or related benefits until every step of the vetting process has been reviewed.

While officials have not publicly linked the suspect’s immigration status to any specific case, the administration is using the incident to justify the broad shutdown across multiple programs.

Critics counter that:

• Using a single security incident to justify stopping all asylum decisions nationwide goes far beyond what is needed.
• The United States has legal obligations under domestic law and international agreements to provide protection for people who face persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
• By freezing decisions with no timeline, the government is effectively denying protection without issuing formal denials that could be challenged in court.

“An open‑ended suspension of decisions risks denying protection and violating due process,” critics warn.

Human and legal consequences

Immigration attorneys point to the human cost of keeping people in limbo for an unknown period:

• Many asylum seekers cannot safely return home and depend on the possibility of work authorization and eventual legal status to support themselves and their families.
• USCIS has not said whether work permit renewals connected to pending asylum claims will be processed during the freeze.
• Lawyers fear knock‑on effects if associated benefits are delayed or questioned.

Policy analysts note that previous administrations have paused parts of the immigration system after security incidents, but:

• The scope of this freeze is far broader than earlier moves.
• Earlier actions tended to target specific countries or categories; this decision sweeps in almost every pending asylum case and ties them to a security review with no public end date.
• There is concern that a temporary pause could become a long‑term shutdown.

Impact on immigration courts and procedures

The freeze is expected to place additional pressure on immigration courts, which already struggle with long backlogs.

• Judges and court staff must adjust hearing calendars.
• Cases close to resolution may be pushed back indefinitely.
• Some court administrators report confusion over which steps they can legally take while the executive branch keeps decisions on hold.

For asylum seekers who had prepared for long‑awaited hearings, the sudden change can feel like the floor has dropped out from under them.

Lack of clarity and potential legal challenges

The Department of Homeland Security has not released detailed criteria for what “fully secured” vetting means in practice, leaving applicants and their lawyers guessing about the standards that must be met before the system restarts.

• Without clear benchmarks, lawsuits are likely if the freeze continues for an extended period.
• Advocacy groups are preparing legal challenges, arguing that an open‑ended suspension of decisions violates both the Immigration and Nationality Act and basic due process protections.

What people with pending cases should do now

For now, people who have already filed asylum applications can:

• Check their general case status through existing USCIS tools — but understand that updates will not move cases forward while the freeze is in place.
• Stay in contact with their lawyers.
• Keep copies of all documents.
• Watch for any new announcements from USCIS or the immigration courts.

Community groups are urging continued vigilance and preparedness even as the broader system remains at a standstill.