Form I-589: Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal

Form I-589 is the affirmative asylum application filed with USCIS when the applicant is not in removal proceedings. Applicants in removal proceedings file the same form defensively before an immigration judge. The application also covers withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

The core standard for asylum is a well-founded fear of future persecution — a reasonable possibility of harm — on account of one of five protected grounds. Past persecution creates a rebuttable presumption of future persecution and shifts the burden to the government.

There is no USCIS filing fee for Form I-589. Asylum is one of the few immigration benefits that has always been free to file.