US Asylum Statistics 2026 Through August: Partial Immigration Court Decisions and Approval Rates
6,119 grants and 107,240 denials, totaling 113,359 merits decisions in 2026, with reporting coverage 2026-01 through 2026-08. Historical court approval rates do not predict a personal outcome. A partial year stays partial, missing months stay unavailable and this report is not an official EOIR annual publication.
How we estimate
One asylum claim per proceeding is counted, preferring ASYL over ASYW. Decision month is the proceeding completion month. The rate denominator is grants plus denials; withdrawals, abandonment and other closures are excluded. All national, monthly, court and nationality payloads request the selected calendar year. The previous-year table requests the same months in that earlier year.
Calendar-year grants, denials and monthly trends
This is a partial 2026 report, January through August. Later months are outside reporting coverage. Do not compare this total with a full previous year.
| Period | Grants | Denials | Merits decisions | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 672 | 10,086 | 10,758 | 6.2% |
| 2026-02 | 584 | 11,335 | 11,919 | 4.9% |
| 2026-03 | 773 | 14,272 | 15,045 | 5.1% |
| 2026-04 | 800 | 13,111 | 13,911 | 5.8% |
| 2026-05 | 753 | 13,182 | 13,935 | 5.4% |
| 2026-06 | 823 | 14,664 | 15,487 | 5.3% |
| 2026-07 | 879 | 16,008 | 16,887 | 5.2% |
| 2026-08 | 835 | 14,582 | 15,417 | 5.4% |
Missing or suppressed values are unavailable, not zero. A month without a reported monthly row is left unavailable in the annual table; a recorded zero stays zero.
Source: EOIR FOIA case data; reconstructed by Asylum Tracker. See the source dates below.
Court comparison within this year
A preview of up to ten groups ordered by merits-decision count, using the same calendar-year window as the national totals. These are historical group statistics and do not rate a court or predict an individual outcome. Use the existing court and nationality directories for broader comparisons.
| Recorded group (EOIR code) | Grants | Denials | Merits decisions | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (NYC) (NYC) | 505 | 10,350 | 10,855 | 4.7% |
| Santa Ana (SNC) | 179 | 6,026 | 6,205 | 2.9% |
| Sterling (STE) | 386 | 3,983 | 4,369 | 8.8% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 100 | 4,219 | 4,319 | 2.3% |
| Orlando (ORL) | 150 | 4,074 | 4,224 | 3.6% |
| West Los Angeles (WLA) (WLA) | 223 | 3,741 | 3,964 | 5.6% |
| Chicago (CHI) | 457 | 3,455 | 3,912 | 11.7% |
| Charlotte (CHL) | 146 | 3,709 | 3,855 | 3.8% |
| Newark (NEW) | 32 | 3,558 | 3,590 | 0.9% |
| New York (NYB) (NYB) | 279 | 3,024 | 3,303 | 8.4% |
Rates display from 2 merits decisions. Comparison rows require at least 30 merits decisions in this period. A null rate remains unavailable. Nationality is the recorded EOIR code, not a claim about eligibility.
Source: EOIR FOIA case data; reconstructed by Asylum Tracker. See the source dates below.
Recorded nationality comparison within this year
A preview of up to ten groups ordered by merits-decision count, using the same calendar-year window as the national totals. These are historical group statistics and do not rate a court or predict an individual outcome. Use the existing court and nationality directories for broader comparisons.
| Recorded group (EOIR code) | Grants | Denials | Merits decisions | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico (MX) | 118 | 15,058 | 15,176 | 0.8% |
| Venezuela (VE) | 694 | 11,871 | 12,565 | 5.5% |
| Honduras (HO) | 166 | 10,883 | 11,049 | 1.5% |
| Guatemala (GT) | 127 | 9,996 | 10,123 | 1.2% |
| Colombia (CO) | 139 | 7,984 | 8,123 | 1.7% |
| Ecuador (EC) | 69 | 7,498 | 7,567 | 0.9% |
| El Salvador (ES) | 147 | 6,391 | 6,538 | 2.2% |
| Nicaragua (NU) | 220 | 4,616 | 4,836 | 4.6% |
| Peru (PE) | 76 | 3,857 | 3,933 | 1.9% |
| Cuba (CU) | 189 | 3,359 | 3,548 | 5.3% |
Rates display from 2 merits decisions. Comparison rows require at least 30 merits decisions in this period. A null rate remains unavailable. Nationality is the recorded EOIR code, not a claim about eligibility.
Source: EOIR FOIA case data; reconstructed by Asylum Tracker. See the source dates below.
Comparison with the previous year
Both rows use the same January-to-end-month window and the same merits definition. A comparison appears only when both years have reported decisions for the same months. Different case mix and source revisions can affect the change.
| Period | Grants | Denials | Merits decisions | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01 – 2025-08 | 20,176 | 72,914 | 93,090 | 21.7% |
| 2026-01 – 2026-08 | 6,119 | 107,240 | 113,359 | 5.4% |
Rates display from 2 merits decisions. Comparison rows require at least 30 merits decisions in this period. A null rate remains unavailable. Nationality is the recorded EOIR code, not a claim about eligibility.
Source: EOIR FOIA case data; reconstructed by Asylum Tracker. See the source dates below.
Separate agency context
This report covers EOIR immigration court decisions. USCIS affirmative asylum statistics use their own reporting periods and definitions; ICE detention statistics measure different quantities. The linked agency explorers show their actual dates. There is no combined agency asylum total here.
One asylum claim per proceeding is counted, preferring ASYL over ASYW. Decision month is the proceeding completion month. The rate denominator is grants plus denials; withdrawals, abandonment and other closures are excluded. All national, monthly, court and nationality payloads request the selected calendar year. The previous-year table requests the same months in that earlier year.
Source: EOIR FOIA case data; reconstructed by Asylum Tracker. See the source dates below.
Key facts
6,119 grants and 107,240 denials, totaling 113,359 merits decisions in 2026, with reporting coverage 2026-01 through 2026-08.
8 months with reported merits decisions in the calendar-year window 2026-01 through 2026-08. These are immigration court asylum data, not combined EOIR, USCIS and ICE totals.
Rates display from 2 merits decisions. Comparison rows require at least 30 merits decisions in this period. A null rate remains unavailable. Nationality is the recorded EOIR code, not a claim about eligibility.
- Reporting coverage
- 2026-01 – 2026-08
- Months with reported merits decisions
- 8
- Asylum approval rate
- 5.4%
- Rate denominator
- Asylum grants divided by grants plus denials on the merits. Other closures are excluded.
Explore related court data
Explore related court data
- US asylum statistics
- Asylum approval rates by country
- Compare immigration judge approval rates
- Immigration courts by city and state
- Explore EOIR asylum decision trends
- USCIS affirmative asylum statistics and reporting dates
- ICE detention statistics and reporting dates
- Definitions and source limitations
- Official EOIR case-status guide
- Immigration court backlog
- 2025 asylum statistics
Frequently asked questions
Is this a calendar-year or fiscal-year asylum report?
This report uses the selected calendar year beginning in January. If the source ends before December, the title and coverage identify a partial year. Federal fiscal-year and agency-specific reports have different periods and are not substituted here.
How is the asylum approval rate calculated?
The rate is asylum grants divided by grants plus denials on the merits, with one claim per proceeding. Other closures are excluded. Rates display from two merits decisions; the court and nationality comparison previews require at least thirty in the same period.
How does the previous-year comparison handle a partial year?
It uses the same January-to-end-month window in the previous year and the same merits definition. The table appears only when both years have reported decisions for the same months. Missing comparison periods remain unavailable.
Does this include all asylum decisions in the United States?
No. These are EOIR immigration court asylum records. USCIS affirmative asylum reporting is separate, and ICE detention measures are not asylum decisions. This report does not add agencies together or predict an individual case.