Affirmative asylum applications are proactively filed by individuals who are not in removal proceedings and believe they qualify for asylum. These applications are submitted directly to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Defensive asylum applications, on the other hand, are filed by individuals who are already in removal proceedings in Immigration Court. This is typically a “defense” against their removal from the U.S. The application becomes a part of their court proceedings, and the immigration judge will decide on their asylum eligibility.