Asylum statistics show changes in applications, pending cases, and decisions over time. The figures below cover U.S. fiscal years, distinguish affirmative and defensive applications where reported, and identify the partial-year FY 2026 results separately.
Contents
- How to read these asylum statistics
- Applications from FY 2016 through FY 2019
- Applications from FY 2021 through FY 2025
- Pending asylum applications
- Decisions from FY 2016 through FY 2018
- Decisions from FY 2021 through FY 2023
- Partial-year FY 2026
How to read these asylum statistics
The U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Total Asylum Applications report supplies the application and pending-case figures. The Asylum Decisions report supplies the decision figures. Each number is tied to the fiscal year stated in the relevant report.
Affirmative and defensive applications are reported separately in several periods. The total is the reported total for U.S. asylum filings in that fiscal year; it should not be read as a count of people, because the supplied figures describe applications. FY 2026 figures cover only the first three quarters, so they are not full-year results or forecasts.
Applications from FY 2016 through FY 2019
Before FY 2021, reported U.S. asylum filings increased each year from FY 2016 through FY 2019. The Total Asylum Applications report recorded 83,671 total applications in FY 2016. That total consisted of 12,676 affirmative applications and 70,995 defensive applications.
In FY 2017, the total reached 146,804 applications. The annual count included 22,017 affirmative applications and 124,787 defensive applications. In FY 2018, total filings rose to 166,518, including 48,663 affirmative applications and 117,855 defensive applications.
FY 2019 had the highest total in this pre-FY 2021 group: 217,505 applications. The report recorded 61,718 affirmative applications and 155,787 defensive applications that year.
| Fiscal year | Affirmative applications | Defensive applications | Total applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2016 | 12,676 | 70,995 | 83,671 |
| FY 2017 | 22,017 | 124,787 | 146,804 |
| FY 2018 | 48,663 | 117,855 | 166,518 |
| FY 2019 | 61,718 | 155,787 | 217,505 |
The reported mix changed within this period. Defensive applications were higher than affirmative applications in every listed fiscal year, while affirmative applications rose from 12,676 in FY 2016 to 61,718 in FY 2019.
Applications from FY 2021 through FY 2025
The Total Asylum Applications report recorded 89,904 total U.S. asylum filings in FY 2021: 22,938 affirmative applications and 66,966 defensive applications. In FY 2022, total filings increased to 267,532, made up of 23,424 affirmative applications and 244,108 defensive applications.
Total applications rose again in FY 2023 to 515,929. The reported count included 12,765 affirmative applications and 503,164 defensive applications. For FY 2024, the report recorded 912,717 total applications, including 901,008 defensive applications. The supplied figures do not state an affirmative FY 2024 count separately.
FY 2025 had 879,603 total U.S. asylum filings. The supplied figures do not state separate affirmative and defensive counts for that fiscal year.
| Fiscal year | Affirmative applications | Defensive applications | Total applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2021 | 22,938 | 66,966 | 89,904 |
| FY 2022 | 23,424 | 244,108 | 267,532 |
| FY 2023 | 12,765 | 503,164 | 515,929 |
| FY 2024 | Not stated separately | 901,008 | 912,717 |
| FY 2025 | Not stated separately | Not stated separately | 879,603 |
The reported totals show a substantial increase from FY 2021 to FY 2024, followed by a lower total in FY 2025. This is a reported pattern, not a projection. Because the supplied data does not provide every category for FY 2024 and FY 2025, those years should be compared using the reported totals rather than by estimating missing categories.
Pending asylum applications
Pending cases measure applications that remained pending at the end of the stated fiscal year, or at the partial-year point for FY 2026. According to the Total Asylum Applications report, 411,908 U.S. asylum applications were pending at the end of FY 2016.
The pending total was 524,189 at the end of FY 2017 and 620,623 at the end of FY 2018. At the end of FY 2019, 784,622 applications remained pending. The FY 2020 figure was 868,911.
Pending applications continued to rise in the later reported years. The end-of-year total was 957,556 in FY 2021, 1,259,816 in FY 2022, 1,781,532 in FY 2023, and 2,530,933 in FY 2024.
| Measurement point | Pending applications |
|---|---|
| End of FY 2016 | 411,908 |
| End of FY 2017 | 524,189 |
| End of FY 2018 | 620,623 |
| End of FY 2019 | 784,622 |
| End of FY 2020 | 868,911 |
| End of FY 2021 | 957,556 |
| End of FY 2022 | 1,259,816 |
| End of FY 2023 | 1,781,532 |
| End of FY 2024 | 2,530,933 |
The FY 2026 partial-year figure is reported differently from the end-of-year figures above. Through the third quarter of FY 2026, 2,324,099 applications remained pending. It is therefore a measurement through the third quarter, not an end-of-FY 2026 total.
Decisions from FY 2016 through FY 2018
The Asylum Decisions report lists grants, denials, and administrative closures for the earlier decision years supplied here. In FY 2016, decisions included 8,651 grants, 11,689 denials, and 21,560 administrative closures.
In FY 2017, the report recorded 10,524 grants, 17,575 denials, and 10,886 administrative closures. In FY 2018, decisions included 13,134 grants, 26,499 denials, and 2,092 administrative closures.
These categories describe reported decision outcomes and administrative closures for the stated fiscal years. They are not the same measure as applications filed during those years, because decisions can concern cases filed earlier.
Decisions from FY 2021 through FY 2023
For FY 2021 through FY 2023, the Asylum Decisions report includes grants, cases not adjudicated, and total completed decisions.
FY 2021 included 7,403 grants and 14,209 cases not adjudicated. The report recorded 46,113 total completed decisions. In FY 2022, there were 22,501 grants, 72,242 cases not adjudicated, and 158,601 total completed decisions.
FY 2023 included 32,073 grants and 109,309 cases not adjudicated. Total completed decisions reached 222,263. The supplied decision figures for this later period do not provide denial counts for FY 2021, FY 2022, or FY 2023, so denial totals should not be inferred from the other categories.
| Fiscal year | Grants | Cases not adjudicated | Total completed decisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2021 | 7,403 | 14,209 | 46,113 |
| FY 2022 | 22,501 | 72,242 | 158,601 |
| FY 2023 | 32,073 | 109,309 | 222,263 |
The change in labels between the earlier and later periods matters. FY 2016 through FY 2018 are reported with denials and administrative closures, while FY 2021 through FY 2023 are reported with cases not adjudicated and total completed decisions. The categories should be kept distinct when comparing years.
Partial-year FY 2026
Through the third quarter of FY 2026, the Total Asylum Applications report recorded 199,069 U.S. asylum filings. That included 69,852 affirmative applications and 129,217 defensive applications. The same partial-year report recorded 2,324,099 pending applications.
The Asylum Decisions report recorded 7,231 grants, 89,740 denials, and 254,680 total completed decisions through the third quarter of FY 2026. These are partial-year figures and should not be treated as a completed FY 2026 total or as a forecast for the fourth quarter.
| FY 2026 measurement through Q3 | Reported count |
|---|---|
| Affirmative applications | 69,852 |
| Defensive applications | 129,217 |
| Total applications | 199,069 |
| Pending applications | 2,324,099 |
| Grants | 7,231 |
| Denials | 89,740 |
| Total completed decisions | 254,680 |
The partial-year snapshot places filings, pending applications, and decisions in the same measurement window, but the measures answer different questions: applications count filings, pending cases count unresolved applications at the reported point, and completed decisions count reported adjudication activity.