Asylum Interview Interpreter Requirement Modification Due to COVID-19

Status: In force. The effective date has passed and nothing here records a change to that.

From the published effective date. Nothing here records a court changing it.

• Document number: 2020-21073
• Type: Final Rule
• Published: September 23, 2020
• Effective: September 23, 2020
• Agency: Homeland Security Department

Official abstract

This rule temporarily (for 180 days) amends existing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations to provide that asylum applicants who cannot proceed with the interview in English are no longer required to provide interpreters at the asylum interview but rather must ordinarily proceed with DHS-provided telephonic interpreters.

Primary source

Read the full text on the Federal Register

This page is a structured index entry, not a substitute for reading the rule. This is not legal advice.

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Data updated October 2, 2026