I-590 Registration for Classification as a Refugee

The refugee application, filed outside the United States by someone referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. It is completed with a resettlement support center rather than mailed to USCIS, and a USCIS officer interviews the applicant abroad.

USCISEdition unverified - USCIS does not publish an edition date for the I-590 on its all-forms listingPaper only

Fee: $0
Fee waiver: Not available
Who files: People referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program while outside the United States.
Where to file: Completed abroad with a Resettlement Support Center; not mailed to a U.S. address.

Usually filed with

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Refugee admissions were suspended by executive order in January 2025 and have run at historically low numbers since; the form still exists but the pipeline through it has been largely closed.

Official page. https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/refugees. Download the form there, never from a third-party site; check the edition date and fee before filing.