There are new fees for asylum applications and work permits

Read below to learn about new annual asylum fees at USCIS and new annual asylum fees in immigration court, as well as new fees for initial asylum applications, for work permits based on asylum, for TPS applications, for work permits based on parole, and how to pay fees.

Annual Asylum Fee - USCIS

USCIS has announced a new annual asylum fee of $100. Before this, there were no annual fees. As of October 30, 2025, because of a lawsuit filed by ASAP members, a judge has decided that no asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee. However, this pause is temporary, and if your asylum application has been pending for more than 1 year, you may be required to pay the fee soon. If the pause ends, we will update this page right away.

Who needs to pay the annual asylum fee to USCIS: 

• As of October 30, 2025, because of ASAP members’ lawsuit, no asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee. However, the judge in the lawsuit has said that she may allow the government to charge the annual asylum fee again, if the government fixes problems with how it is collecting the fee. 

• This pause is temporary, and if your asylum application has been pending for more than 1 year, you may be required to pay the fee soon.

• We will keep this website updated as we learn more, and you can read the judge’s order here. 

How to check if you can pay the annual asylum fee to USCIS now: 

• If you applied for asylum at least 1 year ago, check this USCIS payment website. Enter your A number and the receipt number from your asylum application receipt notice to learn if you can pay the fee now or if you need to wait. 

• If you can now pay, the website should proceed to the next page, and you should see a blue “Pay and Submit” button. No asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee, but you may be required to pay the fee soon. You can choose to do so now, or to wait. 

• If you have to wait, you should see an alert at the top of the page, saying “At this time, the Annual Asylum Fee payment is not due for this case. USCIS will issue a notice the first time the Annual Asylum Fee is due.” Keep checking the USCIS website every week in case there are updates. 

How to pay the annual asylum fee to USCIS if you decide to do so: 

• Even though no asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee, you can choose to pay the fee now if you are able to. 

• If you choose to pay, go to this USCIS payment website to pay the fee. Enter your A Number and the receipt number from your asylum application receipt notice.

• If your case is ready for payment, the website should proceed to the next page, and you will see a blue “Pay and submit” button. Click on the button.

• You can pay the fee by providing your credit card, debit card, or U.S. bank account information at the end of the online application. If you do not have a credit or debit card, you can also use cash to buy a pre-paid card at many large stores. Be sure to leave enough money on the card to cover the fee.

• After you enter your bank account or card information, next you should see a screen with an “Agency Tracking ID.” Save this number for your records now - you will not have another chance to write it down later.

• Check the box at the bottom and click “Continue” to submit your payment. 

• Once you have successfully submitted your payment, you should see a screen that says you successfully paid your annual asylum fee. 

• USCIS says they will send a receipt either in your USCIS online account or by mail. See an example here.

What if you receive a notice from USCIS instructing you to pay the annual asylum fee: 

• You may have received a notice from USCIS that says to pay the annual fee within 30 days. Starting in October 2025, some asylum seekers received these notices by mail or in their USCIS online account.

• No asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee, but if you received this notice, you may be required to pay the fee soon. You can choose to do so now, or to wait. 

• You may also learn you can pay now because your USCIS case status page says “Before your application can proceed further, you must pay your annual asylum fee.” If you get this message, you should be able to pay now. The message should disappear after you pay.

How much is the annual asylum fee, according to the government: 

• The annual asylum fee is currently set to $100. It is not possible to apply for a fee waiver.

• The government will only charge one annual asylum fee per asylum application (Form I-589) that was submitted. For example, if a single asylum application includes a family of four, the overall fee would be $100. It would not be $400. 

• The government will not charge the annual asylum fee for applications that have been pending for less than one year. 

• If an application has already been pending for more than one year, the government will charge a maximum of $100, which will cover all previous years that the application has been pending. The government will not charge additional fees for past years that your application has been pending. For example, if an asylum application has been pending for 5 years, the annual asylum fee would be $100. It would not be $500. 

• However, in the future, the government does plan to charge asylum applicants an annual asylum fee once per year, as long as their asylum application remains pending.

Annual Asylum Fee - Immigration Court 

The immigration court has announced a new annual asylum fee of $100. Before this, there were no annual fees.  As of October 30, 2025, because of a lawsuit filed by ASAP members, a judge has decided that no asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee. However, this pause is temporary, and if your asylum application has been pending for more than 1 year, you may be required to pay the fee soon. If the pause ends, we will update this page right away. 

If the pause ends, the government has stated that they will send a personal notice to asylum applicants to tell them the fee is due within 30 days. The government produced this statement in response to ASAP members’ lawsuit – and we will do everything we can to make sure they actually provide this notice.

Who needs to pay the annual asylum fee to immigration court: 

• As of October 30, 2025, because of ASAP members’ lawsuit, no asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee. However, the judge in the lawsuit has said that she may allow the government to charge the annual asylum fee again, if the government fixes problems with how it is collecting the fee. 

• This pause is temporary, and if your asylum application has been pending for more than 1 year, you may be required to pay the fee soon. 

• However, if you have an upcoming immigration court hearing, you can choose to pay the fee before your hearing if you are able to, just to be safe. Because of ASAP members’ lawsuit, no immigration judge is supposed to deny an asylum application for nonpayment of the fee at this time, but we do not know what will happen in practice. 

• We will keep this website updated as we learn more, and you can read the judge’s order here. 

How to pay the annual asylum fee in immigration court if you decide to do so:

• Even though no asylum seekers are currently required to pay the annual asylum fee, you can choose to pay the fee now if you are able to. 

• The government added an option to pay the annual asylum fee on this immigration court website on or around October 23, 2025, in response to ASAP members’ lawsuit.

• If you choose to pay, go to this immigration court website, enter your A Number, and select the option that says “Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) – Pending Application for Asylum.” This option is currently located at the bottom of the list. If you are able to make a payment, save a copy of the receipt and your Payment Tracking ID for your records.  

• It appears that anyone with a case in immigration court can pay any type of fee on the immigration court website, even if they do not owe that type of fee. 

• If you tried to pay the annual asylum fee to the immigration courts (also known as EOIR) a different way, the government says that it will credit these advance payments. But the government did not explain how this process would work or who can rely on it.

How much is the annual asylum fee, according to the government: 

• The annual asylum fee is currently set to $100. It is not possible to apply for a fee waiver.

• The government will only charge one annual asylum fee per asylum application (Form I-589) that was submitted. For example, if a single asylum application includes a family of four, the overall fee would be $100. It would not be $400. The immigration courts have now explained this on this webpage.

• The government will not charge the annual asylum fee for applications that have been pending for less than one year. 

• If an application has already been pending for more than one year, the government will charge a maximum of $100, which will cover all previous years that the application has been pending. The government will not charge additional fees for past years that your application has been pending. For example, if an asylum application has been pending for 5 years, the annual asylum fee would be $100. It would not be $500. 

• However, in the future, the government does plan to charge asylum applicants the annual asylum fee once each year, as long as their asylum application remains pending.  

What if you were incorrectly charged the annual asylum fee in immigration court:

• We have heard of cases where an immigration judge required immigrants to pay the annual asylum fee even before the fee was due, and in some cases denied asylum or other applications for nonpayment of the annual asylum fee. 

• If you were incorrectly charged the annual asylum fee in immigration court, please email us at [email protected]. If you have a lawyer, please include your lawyer on the email.

Asylum Applications - Initial Filing Fee

It now costs $100 to submit a new asylum application. It is not possible to apply for a fee waiver. Before this change, there were no fees to apply for asylum.

The fee should be $100 per asylum application (Form I-589), not $100 per person. For example, if you include your spouse or children in your application, the fee should be $100 total for the entire family. But if each family member files their own separate Form I-589, each person must pay the $100 fee.

The details of how to pay the fee depend on whether you are applying for asylum in immigration court or with USCIS. 

Filing a new asylum application with USCIS: 

• Starting on July 22, 2025, it costs $100 to submit a new asylum application to USCIS. This fee is the same whether you are applying online or by mail. 

• If you are submitting your asylum application online, you can pay the filing fee at the end of the online application. If you are submitting your asylum application by mail, you can include the fee in the same envelope. Learn more about how to pay.

• If you do not pay the fee, USCIS says it will reject your asylum application and return it.

Filing a new asylum application in immigration court: 

• Starting on or shortly after July 4, 2025, it costs $100 to submit a new asylum application to immigration court. But there was no way to pay this fee in immigration court until September 23, 2025. 

• Starting September 23, before you submit your new asylum application to immigration court, pay the $100 fee on this immigration court website. Enter your A Number, and select “Court - I-589, Application for Asylum (Initial Filing).” Print the receipt showing that you paid the fee and include it with your asylum application when you submit it. Save a copy of the receipt and your Payment Tracking ID for your records. Learn more. 

• If you do not include the receipt showing that you paid the asylum fee, the immigration court may reject your asylum application. 

• You can get a receipt by entering your A Number and Payment Tracking ID on this website. If you do not know your Payment Tracking ID, you can try going back to this immigration court website and entering your A number and filing type. It should then show you your Payment Tracking ID.

• If you applied for asylum in immigration court between July 4 and September 22, 2025, read more below.

What if you applied for asylum in immigration court between July 4 and September 22, 2025? 

• Between July 4, 2025 and September 22, 2025, there was no way to pay the initial asylum application fee in immigration court. The immigration court acknowledged that there was no way to pay in this document (footnote 7). Then, on September 23, it announced a way to pay in this document. 

• If you tried to submit your asylum application between July 4-September 22, 2025 and it was rejected for not paying the fee, you can pay the fee now and submit your asylum application again with a copy of the receipt. See instructions here. You can include a cover letter explaining how you previously tried to submit your asylum application and how you paid the fee as soon as possible after the immigration court created a method of payment.

• If you successfully submitted your asylum application between July 4 - September 22, we do not know if the immigration court will require you to pay the fee by a certain time. But to be on the safe side, you can pay the fee now and submit copies of the receipt to the immigration court and the government attorney. You can find the address of the government attorney (OPLA) for your immigration court on this webpage. Choose your state, choose “Office of the Principal Legal Advisor”, and press “Apply” to narrow the search.

Work permits for asylum seekers 

Initial work permits: Starting on July 22, 2025, it costs $550 to apply for a first work permit as an asylum seeker. Before, there was no fee. Learn how to pay the fee.

Renewal work permits: Starting on July 22, 2025, the cost to renew your work permit as an asylum seeker increased by $275. If you are renewing your work permit online, it now costs a total of $745. If you are renewing your work permit by mail, it now costs a total of $795. Learn how to pay the fee. 

What if you pay the wrong fee: If you pay the wrong fee, USCIS says it will reject your work permit application and return it.

Can you request a fee waiver: It is not possible to request a fee waiver for an initial work permit. For a renewal work permit, it is still possible to request a fee waiver, but only for a portion of the total.

Other changes: The new law also says that some work permits for asylum seekers will automatically end after an asylum seeker loses their case. But this is only true in specific circumstances – learn more here. 

In one piece of good news, thanks to ASAP members’ advocacy, this law does NOT shorten the length of work permits for asylum seekers. (Originally, the bill included a proposal that would have shortened work permits for asylum seekers to only 6 months.) New work permits for asylum seekers continue to be valid for 5 years.

TPS and TPS-based work permits 

Starting on July 22, 2025, the fee to apply for TPS for the first time increased. The fee also increased to apply for a work permit based on approved TPS or a pending TPS application.

• First time TPS registration: $530 

• Initial work permit: $1070 (if applying by mail) or $1020 (if applying online) 

• Renewal work permit: $795 (if applying by mail) or $745 (if applying online)

• You can pay the fee at the same time as you submit your application. Learn how to pay the fee.

Another change is that work permits based on approved TPS or a pending TPS application will only be valid for one year, or until the expiration date of the TPS – whichever is shorter. (But if you had already received your work permit before July 2025, your work permit should still be valid until the expiration date.)

Work permits based on parole 

The fee to apply for a work permit based on parole also increased beginning on July 22, 2025:

• Initial work permit: $1070 (if applying by mail) or $1020 (if applying online) 

• Renewal work permit: $795 (if applying by mail) or $745 (if applying online)

• You can pay the fee at the same time as you submit your application. Learn how to pay the fee.

Work permits based on parole will only be valid for one year, or until the expiration date of the parole – whichever is shorter. (But if you had already received your work permit before July 2025, your work permit should still be valid until the expiration date or until you receive a notice from the government ending your parole and work permit.)

How to pay a fee to immigration court or USCIS

There are different types of immigration fees, and how to pay depends on the type of fee.

The annual asylum fee. If you are seeking asylum in immigration court, you can pay the annual asylum fee on this immigration court website (read more above). If you are seeking asylum at USCIS, you can pay the annual asylum fee on this USCIS website (read more above). 

Other immigration court fees. Other fees to immigration court or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) can be paid online at this immigration court website. 

Other USCIS fees. You generally pay USCIS fees at the time you file your application, whether you file online or by mail. You can check this USCIS website and select your form to find the fee.

If you file an application with USCIS online, you pay the fee online with a credit card, debit card, or bank account transfer (ACH). If you do not have a credit or debit card, you can use cash to buy a pre-paid card at many large stores. Be sure to leave enough money on the card to cover the filing fee.

If you file an application with USCIS by mail, you include the fee payment with the mailing. There are a few options, which were updated on October 28, 2025:

• Credit Card or Debit Card. To pay with a credit card or debit card, fill out Form G-1450. Include the form on top of your application. If you do not have a credit or debit card, you can use cash to buy a pre-paid card at many large stores. Be sure to leave enough money on the card to cover the filing fee.

• Bank Account. To pay by electronic debit (ACH) from a U.S. bank account, fill out Form G-1650. Include the form on top of your application.

• Check or Money Order. As of October 28, 2025, to pay by check or money order, you must sign and include Form G-1651, Exemption for Paper Fee Payment, on top of your application with your check or money order. Make the check or money order payable to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security”. Write your A-number (for example, A# 000-000-000) somewhere on the check or money order.