USCIS Arlington Asylum Office: Interview, Decision, and Travel

The USCIS Arlington Asylum Office is at 1525 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209, and it conducts affirmative asylum interviews for applicants living across a defined set of eastern states. Interviews are by appointment only, take place in a private room with a single asylum officer, and generally run about an hour.¹ The office’s public phone number is 703-235-4100, and the public email is ArlingtonAsylum@uscis.dhs.gov.²

If you’re mailing documents rather than visiting, use the mailing ZIP: USCIS Arlington Asylum Office, 1525 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300, Mailstop 2500, Arlington, VA 20598-2500.² Every visitor passes through a security checkpoint on the way in. USCIS facility rules prohibit photographing or recording inside any USCIS office, except during naturalization ceremonies, so keep your phone silenced in the waiting area and off during the interview itself.³

Who Is Interviewed at the Arlington Office

Arlington handles affirmative asylum interviews for applicants living in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. It also covers a large block of western Pennsylvania counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Bradford, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Warren, Washington, and Westmoreland.²

If your address is in one of those areas when USCIS schedules you, your interview notice will send you to Arlington. Move during the process and jurisdiction can shift to a different asylum office, which is one reason the address-change rule matters so much.

What to Bring to Your Interview

USCIS guidance says any additional documents should be submitted at least five business days before the interview.⁴ The Arlington office may set its own timing, so check your interview notice. If you filed on paper, mail additions to the asylum office; if you filed online, upload them to your USCIS online account.

On the day itself, bring:⁵

Any passports, travel documents, and your Form I-94 if you have one.
Originals of the documents you submitted with your I-589, including birth and marriage certificates. The officer may want to inspect originals.
A copy of your Form I-589, in case the office is missing anything.
Any new supporting evidence you haven’t already submitted: police reports, medical records, country condition reports, witness statements.
Certified English translations of any non-English document, with the translator’s certification that the translation is accurate and that they are competent in both languages.
Your spouse and any unmarried children under 21 included as derivatives, along with their identity and supporting documents.

Corroborating evidence matters. Country condition reports from credible sources, news articles about the events you describe, medical or psychological evaluations, and detailed declarations from people who witnessed what happened to you all strengthen your account. An officer can grant asylum on testimony alone, but supporting proof removes doubt.

Bringing Your Own Interpreter

If you’re not fluent in English, you must bring your own interpreter. USCIS does not provide one, with the sole exception of sign language interpreters as a disability accommodation.⁶ Your interpreter must be at least 18 and fluent in both English and a language you speak fluently.⁷

Your attorney cannot serve as your interpreter. Neither can a witness testifying for you, nor any representative of your home country’s government.⁸ If you arrive without an interpreter, or with one who isn’t qualified, USCIS may treat it as a failure to appear, which can lead to dismissal or referral to an immigration judge.⁷ Line this up early.

Having an Attorney Present

You have the right to an attorney or accredited representative at the interview. To exercise it, you and your attorney must file Form G-28 with USCIS.⁵ Your attorney may make a statement, comment on the evidence, and ask follow-up questions of you and any witnesses; the officer has discretion to limit the length of any statement or require it in writing.⁸

Attorneys who can’t be there in person may participate by telephone. That requires Form G-1593 (Certification for Remote Participation), submitted to the asylum office in advance.⁵

How the Interview Runs

Arrive well before your scheduled time. Between security, check-in, and waiting for an officer to call your name, you’ll be at the office longer than the interview itself, which typically lasts about an hour.¹

The interview happens in a private room, not a courtroom. The asylum officer has authority to place you under oath, verify your identity, present and receive evidence, and question you and any witnesses.⁸ After swearing you in, the officer walks through your I-589, covering your identity, your travel history, and the facts of your persecution claim. The setting is designed to be nonadversarial, but expect pointed follow-up questions about anything that looks inconsistent or thin. Answer honestly and directly. If you don’t remember something, say so; don’t guess.

How and When You Get a Decision

After the interview, the officer reviews your file, testimony, and evidence, then drafts a written decision. A supervisory asylum officer reviews it before it becomes final. This takes time, often weeks or months, and there is no reliable way to speed it up. Most applicants receive the decision by mail; some may be told to pick it up in person.

Four outcomes are possible:⁹

A grant. You receive a letter and a completed Form I-94 confirming asylum status.
A referral to immigration court. If the officer cannot approve your application and you lack lawful status, the case goes to an immigration judge for removal proceedings. This is not a denial; the judge reviews your claim fresh, and you do not need to refile your I-589.
A notice of intent to deny. If you hold valid legal status (a visa, TPS) but the officer finds you ineligible, you get a written explanation and 16 days to respond in writing with new evidence or argument.
A denial. If you hold valid legal status and either don’t respond to the notice of intent to deny or your response doesn’t overcome the stated reasons, the application is denied. There is no appeal, but you may reapply if you can show changed circumstances.

Rescheduling or Missing Your Interview

If you need to reschedule before the interview or within 45 days after a missed one, you have to show “good cause,” meaning a reasonable excuse.¹⁰ USCIS evaluates each request on its own, and repeated requests can make it harder to establish good cause later.

Past the 45-day mark, the standard jumps to “exceptional circumstances,” which USCIS defines as compelling situations like serious illness, the death of a close family member, or being a victim of extreme cruelty. You’ll need a detailed written explanation and supporting documentation such as medical records or police reports.¹⁰

If you miss the interview and can’t establish exceptional circumstances within 45 days, the consequence depends on your status. Without lawful status, USCIS refers your application to an immigration judge for removal proceedings. With lawful status, USCIS administratively closes and dismisses your application.¹⁰ Either way, your 180-day EAD clock stops.

Report Address Changes Within 10 Days

If you move, federal law requires you to report the new address to USCIS within 10 days.¹¹ The quickest route is your USCIS online account, which updates the address almost immediately and satisfies the legal requirement. A paper Form AR-11 works too, but processing is slower. Failing to report a move is a common reason applicants miss their interview notice, and a move outside Arlington’s jurisdiction can transfer the case to a different office entirely.

Travel While Your Case Is Pending

Leaving the United States during a pending asylum case is risky and requires planning. Travel abroad without first getting advance parole from USCIS and you may be unable to return, or you may be treated as having abandoned the application.

Returning to the country where you claim to fear persecution is especially damaging. Federal regulations presume that an applicant who returns to the country of claimed persecution has abandoned the asylum application, unless they can demonstrate compelling reasons for the trip.¹² Overcoming that presumption is very hard: voluntarily going back to the place you say you fear directly undercuts the claim.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Affirmative Asylum Process
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Asylum Office – Arlington
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part A Chapter 8 – Conduct in USCIS Facilities
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Tips to Help You Through the Asylum Process
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Affirmative Asylum Interview
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affirmative Asylum Applicants Must Provide Interpreters Starting Sept. 13
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers: Affirmative Asylum Eligibility and Applications
8
eCFR. 8 CFR 208.9 – Procedure for Interview Before an Asylum Officer
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Types of Affirmative Asylum Decisions
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Establishing Good Cause or Exceptional Circumstances for Rescheduling Affirmative Asylum Interviews
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card
12
eCFR. 8 CFR 1208.8 – Limitations on Travel Outside the United States