Appendix A: I-589 Public Comments and Responses Matrix

Appendix A: I-589 Public Comments and Responses Matrix

Comment #	Public Comments	USCIS Response
Comment 1.	Commenter: Irena Sullivan from The Tahirih Justice Center
Form	Current Question: Page 6, Part B, Question 2 Information About Your Application (continued) Proposed Change: Clarify whether an “arrest” includes immigration apprehension. Explanation: It is currently unclear.	Response: Form amended to include inserting within parentheses "including for an immigration law violation" at the end of the sentence, after "other than the United States."
Form	Current Question: Page 7, Part C, Questions 2a and 2b Additional Information About Your Application Proposed Change: Provide two separate boxes for the responses. Explanation: The question has two parts and should therefore have two separate boxes for the responses to maximize clarity.	Response: The instructions are sufficiently clear.
Form	Current Question: Page 8, Part C, Question 6 Additional Information About Your Application (continued) Proposed Change: Clarify whether an “arrest” includes immigration apprehension. Explanation: It is currently unclear.	Response: Form amended to include inserting within parentheses "including for an immigration law violation" at the end of the sentence, after "in the United States."
Form	Current Question: Page 4, Part A.III., Question 5 Information About Your Background, names of parents and siblings Proposed Change: Increase the size of the spaces provided for applicants to write their siblings’ and parents’ names Explanation: Most names do not fit in the spaces provided and therefore cannot be accurately written. This is particularly true for those who have two last names	Response: Applicant already has the option to include additional information by using "Supplement B, or additional sheets of paper, if necessary)."
Instructions	Current Question: Page 7-8, Part VI, Questions 1 & 2 Required Documents and Required Number of Copies That You Must Submit With Your Application Proposed Change: Instead of describing “Required Documents and Required Number of Copies” using the current paragraph format (“ie, documents such as…”), use a bullet point format listing exactly what documents are required, how many copies of each are needed, and what documents are just examples of what could be submitted to fulfill the application requirements. Explanation: The way it this is currently written is confusing for and not specific enough	Response: This is a valid concern and one that we intend to undertake as we consider a comprehensive revision. Currently, it goes beyond the scope of this extension.
Instructions	Current Question: Page 8, Part 9 Biometrics, Including Fingerprints and Photographs Proposed Change: Add the following words in red below, to the second paragraph of this instruction: “You and your eligible spouse or children, regardless of age, listed on your asylum application as derivatives must provide biometrics…” Explanation: The way the instruction is currently worded is unclear because it wrongly implies that all family members listed on the Form I-589 (regardless of derivative status) need to undergo biometrics.	Response: The sentence has been corrected to: "You and your eligible spouse and children, regardless of age, included as derivatives on your asylum application..."

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