Overview
- USCIS says multiple core applications can now be filed and tracked online, including I-589 (asylum), N-400, I-130, I-90, I-765, I-539 and G-1450 for card payments.
- New tools such as FOIA FIRST and myE‑Verify accompany features to save drafts, fix errors before submission, pay fees electronically, message USCIS and respond to RFEs.
- The agency began notifying on October 1 that pending affirmative asylum cases must pay a $100 administration fee each year, due within 30 days and payable digitally with no exemptions.
- Online filing for I-589 is limited to certain affirmative cases and is not available for matters before EOIR or the BIA, unaccompanied minors in removal, or duplicate pending filings.
- USCIS says essential operations continue during the partial shutdown, issued public anti‑fraud warnings, reported an arrest at a Fairfax office, and touted a recruitment surge offering bonuses up to $50,000 as experts caution scrutiny may tighten.