...What Is the New Asylum Rule? Citizenship and Immigration Services) officers to refer certain affirmative asylum applications to the Justice Department's immigration courts without conducting an asylum interview. The affirmative asylum process is used by migrants who apply for asylum with U.S. The agency says it had more than 1.4 million pending affirmative asylum cases at the end of the 2025 fiscal year. DHS said asylum officers will continue reviewing application materials and may request additional evidence before making a referral decision.