The one-year filing deadline for asylum is a rule that requires anyone seeking asylum in the United States to file their asylum application (Form I-589) within one year of their last arrival in the country. If an applicant misses this deadline, their asylum case may be denied as untimely, unless they can show that they qualify for an exception. Exceptions may include changed circumstances, such as new conditions in the applicant’s home country that create fresh fear of persecution, or extraordinary circumstances, such as serious illness, legal disability, or ineffective assistance of counsel, that prevented them from filing earlier. Even with an exception, the applicant must still file within a reasonable time after the circumstances changed.