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USCIS Will Conduct Selected Interviews for OAW Asylum Applicants…

July 7, 2022

USCIS Will Conduct Selected Interviews for OAW Asylum Applicants at Local Field Offices

Dear Stakeholder,

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a chart that lists locations where Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) asylum applicants who qualify for expeditious processing may have their asylum interviews.

What This Means

To make the interview process more convenient for applicants who live far from an asylum office, USCIS asylum officers participate in periodic “circuit rides” to USCIS field offices. Your asylum interview may be held at a USCIS field office closer to where you live if you are an OAW asylum applicant who qualifies for expeditious processing under section 2502(c) of the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act. Visit the “Asylum” section on USCIS’ Information for Afghan Nationals page to see if you qualify for expeditious processing.

Please note that interview locations are subject to change and the interview notice will list the exact location where you should report for your asylum interview.

Why This Matters

During recent CIS Ombudsman engagements, stakeholders repeatedly expressed concern with OAW asylum applicants having to travel long distances for interviews. We appreciate all the stakeholders who alerted us to this matter and applaud USCIS’ efforts to help manage OAW applicants’ expectations with respect to how far they will need to travel for their asylum interviews.

More Information

Please visit USCIS’ OAW Circuit Ride Locations and Information for Afghan Nationals pages for more information about asylum processing for OAW applicants.

The CIS Ombudsman will continue to meet with stakeholders and USCIS to address concerns related to OAW asylum applicants. We will share additional updates on this topic when available. For more information on our office, please visit www.dhs.gov/cisombudsman or follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Please complete the CIS Ombudsman Customer Satisfaction Survey. We appreciate your feedback.