USCIS to Provide Interpreters for Asylum Interviews at No Cost

खसोखास अमेरिका ब्यूरो

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प्रकाशित मिति : आश्विन ६, २०७७ मंगलबार

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a temporary final rule to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) by using government-contracted telephonic interpreters for affirmative asylum interviews at no cost to the applicant.

This temporary final rule changes for the next 180 days the requirement that asylum applicants who do not speak English must bring an interpreter to their affirmative asylum interview. Under the modified regulation, USCIS will temporarily require applicants to proceed with a USCIS contract interpreter, provided the applicant is fluent in one of the 47 different languages available.

The government-contracted interpreters will be provided at no cost to asylum applicants. The interpreters are carefully vetted and tested and must pass rigorous background checks as well as meet a high standard of competency. The contract interpreters already regularly serve as interpreters for border screening interviews and act as interpreter monitors or occasionally serve as the primary interpreter during affirmative asylum interviews.

Asylum applicants who are unable to proceed with the interview in English or any of the available languages listed must continue to provide their own interpreter.

The temporary rule will amend existing Department of Homeland Security regulations for 180 days and goes into effect on Sept. 23. On March 23, 2021, asylum applicants unable to proceed with the interview in English will again be required to provide their own interpreter.

If you refuse to use a USCIS contract interpreter, USCIS will  dismiss your application

Effective until March 22, 2021, if you are an asylum applicant and are unable to proceed with your interview in English, you may be required to use a USCIS contract interpreter at your asylum interview instead of bringing your own interpreter.

If you fluently speak one of the languages listed below, you will be required to use a USCIS contract interpreter, which USCIS will provide free of charge, at your asylum interview. USCIS contract interpreters are carefully vetted and must meet high standards of competency. If you refuse to use a USCIS contract interpreter, USCIS will consider that a failure to appear without good cause and USCIS will dismiss your application or refer your application to immigration court.

If you are not fluent in any of the languages listed below, you must bring an interpreter to your asylum interview who is fluent in English and your native language or any other language in which you are fluent. Your interpreter must be 18 years or older, not be your legal representative or witness, and not be a representative or employee of your country of nationality (or, if stateless, your country of last habitual residence). If you are unable to provide such interpreter, you may provide an interpreter fluent in your language and one of the languages listed below. USCIS will provide a relay interpreter to interpret between the language listed below and English.

USCIS contract interpreters are available for these 47 languages:

• Akan
• Albanian
• Amharic
• Arabic
• Armenian
• Azerbaijani
• Bengali
• Burmese
• Cantonese
• Creole/Haitian Creole
• Farsi-Afghani/Dari
• Farsi-Iranian
• Foo Chow/Fuzhou
• French
• Georgian
• Gujarati
• Hindi
• Hmong
• Hungarian
• Indonesia/Bahasa
• Konjobal
• Korean
• Kurdish
• Lingala
• Mam
• Mandarin
• Nepali
• Pashto/Pushtu
• Portuguese
• Punjabi
• Quiche/K’iche
• Romanian
• Russian
• Serbian
• Sinhalese
• Somali
• Spanish
• Swahili
• Tagalog
• Tamil
• Tigrinya
• Turkish
• Twi
• Ukrainian
• Urdu
• Uzbek
• Vietnamese

If a contract interpreter is not available at the time of your interview, then USCIS will reschedule your interview

If you need an interpreter for one of these languages but a contract interpreter is not available at the time of your interview, then USCIS will reschedule your interview. The interview delay will be attributed to USCIS, and not to you, for the purposes of employment authorization under 8 CFR 208.7.

Following March 22, 2021, asylum applicants unable to proceed with an asylum interview in English will again be required to provide their own interpreters.