New Rule Lets USCIS Skip Asylum Interviews and Send Cases Straight to Court

A July 28, 2026 interim final rule lets USCIS asylum officers refer affirmative asylum applications to immigration court without conducting an interview, effective immediately while public comments are collected. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the change targets a backlog of roughly one million cases. The rule is classified as an interim final rule, bypassing standard notice-and-comment procedure.