Latest Asylum Policy Manual

On May 16 2016, USCIS issued its latest asylum policy manual in order to guide its adjudicators on the policy.

This manual provides information on how to process an affirmative asylum application within an Asylum Office. Unless specifically indicated, an Asylum Office Director determines which personnel (e.g., Asylum Officer, Asylum Clerk) perform certain procedures outlined in this manual.

Manual Structure
The manual is divided into five (5) sections. Section I, “Background Information,” lists references with which all asylum personnel should be familiar in order to process an asylum application. Section II, “The Affirmative Asylum Application,” follows the processing of an application from the point at which an applicant receives a blank asylum application, through the issuance of a decision by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Section III, “Expanded Topics,” the lengthiest section, provides more detail on some topics referenced in Section II, and includes topics that may cause an asylum application to be handled differently from the norm. While it is not possible to anticipate all possible variations, this section addresses the most common.
Section IV, “How To…” explains how to prepare certain documents that Asylum Office personnel issue to applicants in support of a decision to approve, deny, or refer an asylum application.
Section V, “Appendices,” contains the appendices referred to in the manual.

Read Full Manual here: Asylum Policy Manual May 2016