Beginning August 21, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase the fees for 30 immigration processes, primarily asylum petitions and work permits for certain immigrants, according to a document published in the Federal Register.
Initially, USCIS will charge for the first time for asylum applications and withholding of removal under that category, which will cost $100, but each year, immigrants who applied for asylum will have to pay an additional $100 if Form I-589 remains pending.
“Applicants must submit the new fees along with benefit requests postmarked on or after July 22, 2025,” the agency stated. “USCIS will reject any form postmarked on or after August 21, 2025 that does not include the corresponding fees.”
However, this is only the first set of fee increases USCIS will implement, following the approval of H.R.1 or the tax law passed under the Reconciliation process by Republicans.
“H.R. 1 established specific fees for various forms, benefits, statuses, petitions, requests, and applications related to immigration, administered by different government agencies,” the agency noted. “This notice announces the new fees administered by USCIS. USCIS will deposit and retain a portion of the revenue.”
There are some cases where fees can be waived, but the agency warns that immigration petitions will be rejected if the new fees are not paid.
Higher Costs for Work Permits
In total, 24 of these USCIS fee increases correspond to Employment Authorization Document (EAD) petitions.
“A new fee for aliens filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for asylum, parole, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) categories,” the agency stated.
For initial EAD applications, the cost is $550; for renewal or extension, the price will be $275.
Other Processes
There is a new fee for Special Immigrant Juvenile protection, which will now be $250 for any alien filing Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant.
Notably, while the administration of former President Donald Trump ordered the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), it also set a maximum cost increase for registering in that program, rising from $50 to $500.
“Any alien who filed or files a Form I-589 after October 1, 2024, that remains pending with USCIS for 365 days must pay the AAF upon reaching one year from the filing date and each subsequent year the application remains pending on that calendar day,” it was stated.
USCIS also modified the validity periods for some work permit categories, for example, for aliens with temporary stay permits or ‘parole,’ the initial employment authorization is valid for one year or for the duration of the permit indicated by their authorization.
For aliens with TPS, initial and renewal employment authorizations are valid for a maximum period of one year or for the duration of the stay permit, whichever is shorter.
The agency said it will inform immigrants who need to update the payment for their immigration protections.
“USCIS will issue personal notices to aliens when their annual asylum fee is due, which will include the amount, date, and payment method, as well as the consequences of not paying,” it was stated.
Double Charging?
This fee increase is different from the public comment processes USCIS implements, as they were directly authorized by Congress, so the new costs are in addition to existing ones.
“Each fee must be paid separately,” the agency specified. “This means that the fees under H.R. 1 do not replace or supersede those enacted by the USCIS Fee Rule, but will be charged in addition to the current fees.”
Thus, immigrants will be informed about the costs of their processes and the additional payment required.
For example, an immigrant applying for asylum renewal will have to pay $795 with an integrated fee.
For an initial TPS registration, the integrated cost will be $530.
It is important for immigrants to seek advice from their attorneys to know the exact amount for their petition processes.
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