The USCIS Asylum Office’s Credible Fear Lesson Plan is designed to train asylum officers and set forth standards to be followed when conducting credible fear interviews. CLINIC analyzed changes to the 2019 USCIS Asylum Office’s Credible Fear Lesson Plan and added them to a comparison chart AILA had previously created outlining changes among the 2006, 2014 and 2017 Lesson Plans. The comparison chart includes analysis from all three lesson plans with a summary of the 2019 changes.

Note: the 2019 Lesson Plan was permanently enjoined in the case Kiakombua v. Wolf, 498 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D.D.C. 2020), appeal dismissed sub nom. Kiakombua v. Mayorkas, No. 20-5372, 2021 WL 3716392 (D.C. Cir. July 19, 2021). During the litigation, USCIS reverted to using the 2017 Credible Fear Lesson Plan. It is possible, however, that USCIS will develop new lesson plans in the future.