New H.R.1 (OBBBA) Immigration Fees: Asylum, Work Permit (EAD), and TPS Charges

Status: Partially blocked — USCIS Immigration Fees Required by H.R.1 (OBBBA) — new asylum, EAD, and TPS fees (FR Doc. 2025-13738; 90 FR 34511 (Jul 22, 2025))

Fees remain in effect, but enforcement of the Annual Asylum Fee is now partially blocked. Under H.R.1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025), USCIS began charging first-ever, non-waivable fees on July 22, 2025: a $100 fee to file an asylum application (Form I-589), a separate $100-per-year Annual Asylum Fee while a case stays pending (adjusted to $102 for 2026), $550 for an initial work-permit application (Form I-765) for asylum applicants, parolees, and TPS holders ($275 to renew an asylum-based EAD), and a Temporary Protected Status application (Form I-821) fee raised from $50 to $500. None of these fees can be waived. On July 21, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts (Venez. Ass'n of Mass. v. USCIS, No. 26-cv-13038, D. Mass.) administratively stayed four applications of H.R.1: applying it to previously-extended TPS-based EAD expiration dates; rejecting Form I-589 for non-payment of the Annual Asylum Fee; terminating work authorization for non-payment; and initiating removal solely for non-payment. The court's order expressly allows USCIS to keep collecting the Annual Asylum Fee, so anyone who received a USCIS notice must still pay it, and all other H.R.1 fees and requirements remain in effect. A motion hearing is set for July 30, 2026.

Next step: Motion hearing set for July 30, 2026, at 3:00 PM before Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, on the motion to stay agency action; the July 21 administrative stay holds in the meantime.

Verified against the primary source as of 2026-07-25 — status can change with a single court ruling. Official source.

What’s happening

In effect. Under H.R.1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025), USCIS began charging first-ever, non-waivable fees on July 22, 2025: a $100 fee to file an asylum application (Form I-589), a separate $100-per-year Annual Asylum Fee while a case stays pending (adjusted to $102 for 2026), $550 for an initial work-permit application (Form I-765) for asylum applicants, parolees, and TPS holders ($275 to renew an asylum-based EAD), and a Temporary Protected Status application (Form I-821) fee raised from $50 to $500. None of these fees can be waived. A Maryland federal court briefly paused only the Annual Asylum Fee on October 30, 2025, but lifted that stay on February 2, 2026, so all of the fees are now being collected.

Who it affects

People applying for or with a pending asylum case (Form I-589); asylum seekers, parolees, and TPS holders who apply for or renew a work permit (Form I-765/EAD); and people registering or re-registering for Temporary Protected Status (Form I-821). These are three of the largest humanitarian categories, and the charges apply even to filings that used to be free. Because the fees cannot be waived, they raise the up-front cost of applying for humanitarian protection and work authorization.

How it got here

  1. Jul 4, 2025 President signs H.R.1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), which authorizes the new immigration fees.
  2. Jul 22, 2025 USCIS Federal Register notice (90 FR 34511) takes effect; USCIS begins collecting the non-waivable H.R.1 fees on benefit requests postmarked on or after this date.
  3. Oct 30, 2025 A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (ASAP v. EOIR) temporarily stays only the Annual Asylum Fee on Administrative Procedure Act grounds; the other H.R.1 fees stay in effect.
  4. Feb 2, 2026 The court lifts the stay and denies the preliminary injunction; USCIS and the immigration courts resume charging the Annual Asylum Fee, adjusted to $102 for 2026.
  5. Apr 29, 2026 USCIS publishes a follow-up Federal Register notice, "USCIS Immigration Fees and Related Procedures Required by H.R.1," updating fee procedures.
  6. Jul 21, 2026 USCIS publishes a correcting amendment (91 FR 45637) to the April 29, 2026 interim final rule, applicable as of May 29, 2026. It restores the 30-day timeframe for deciding initial asylum-based (c)(8) work-permit applications, and adds 'rejected' to 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1)(v) so that a work permit is rejected or denied when the asylum application is rejected — the mechanism by which non-payment of the Annual Asylum Fee also costs the applicant the work permit.
  7. Jul 21, 2026 A federal court in Massachusetts (Venez. Ass'n of Mass. v. USCIS, No. 26-cv-13038, D. Mass.; Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton) grants in part an emergency motion for an administrative stay, pausing four applications of H.R.1: applying it to previously-extended TPS-based EAD expiration dates; rejecting Form I-589 for non-payment of the Annual Asylum Fee; terminating work authorization for non-payment; and initiating removal solely for non-payment. The order expressly allows USCIS to keep collecting the Annual Asylum Fee.

What to watch next

Watch the remaining ASAP v. EOIR case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (summary-judgment briefing on the Annual Asylum Fee as applied by the immigration courts) and the annual inflation adjustments to these fees each January.

Official sources

This page is general information about ongoing litigation, not legal advice. A case’s status can change with a single ruling, and outcomes can turn on facts specific to each person. For advice on a specific situation, consult a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative.