D.D.C. 1:26-cv-02921
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) and partners filed a lawsuit challenging an interim final rule that allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to send people seeking asylum directly to immigration court without first assessing their legal claims in an affirmative asylum interview.
The new rule allows asylum officers to refer cases to immigration court for deportation proceedings, based only on their written application, without ever speaking to the asylum seeker about the persecution they fled. The rule took effect July 28, 2026, and applies to new and pending applications.
For decades, the affirmative asylum process has given people an opportunity to explain their asylum claims and answer questions in a non-adversarial interview with a trained asylum officer. The asylum officer has then decided whether to grant the application or refer it to immigration court, where the applicant must defend themself against deportation. The new rule allows USCIS to eliminate the interview entirely.
The rule, which was filed without advance notice or a meaningful opportunity for public comment, further restricts access to asylum in the United States and is a massive and unlawful departure from established procedures that many asylum seekers had relied on when they filed their applications.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), and Human Rights First on behalf of Immigration Equality, Oasis Legal Services, HIAS, and the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. The organizational plaintiffs represent thousands of people with affirmative asylum applications pending before USCIS.
Related Documents:
Complaint (August 19, 2026)
Other Advocacy:
NIJC Federal Register comment (September 25, 2026)
Letter to USCIS from Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (September 30, 2026)
Media:
Press Release: Immigrant Rights Groups Sue to Protect Due Process for Asylum Seekers (August 2026)