Asylum Fees & the Annual Fee
Asylum is no longer free. Missing the annual fee can cost you your case and your work permit.
Important: Amounts and Penalties Are Changing
Fee amounts change every fiscal year with inflation, and the consequences for missing a payment are being actively litigated — a court order in July 2026 temporarily paused them, and that pause may not last. This page is general information, not legal advice. Verify current amounts and deadlines at uscis.gov and talk to a legal organization about your case.
Applying for asylum in the United States used to be free. The budget law signed on July 4, 2025 changed that, creating a filing fee, a fee for every year your case remains pending, and higher work permit fees — none of which can be waived. The one that causes the most damage is the Annual Asylum Fee. It is easy to miss, the notice often does not arrive, and missing it can cost you your asylum application and your work permit. This page explains what you owe, when, and how to protect yourself.
On This Page
- What each asylum-related fee costs right now
- The Annual Asylum Fee: when it is due and how to pay it
- What happens if you miss the deadline
- Why you should check the portal yourself instead of waiting for mail
- Where the litigation stands and what it does not change
- What to do if you cannot afford to pay
💵 What the Fees Are
These are set by statute, adjust for inflation each fiscal year, and cannot be waived. There is no hardship exception and Form I-912 does not apply to any of them. The amounts below are fiscal year 2026 figures.
- →Filing an asylum application (Form I-589): $100. Asylum applications used to have no fee at all.
- →Annual Asylum Fee: about $100 per year — $102 in fiscal year 2026 — for every year your application is still pending.
- →First work permit based on a pending asylum application: $550.
- →Renewing that work permit: $275.
- →One fee per Form I-589, regardless of family size. Family members included on your application do not each owe a separate fee — but a family member who filed their own separate application owes their own.
- →Over a case that takes five years with one work permit, this adds up to well over $1,000 in fees that did not exist before July 2025.
📆 The Annual Asylum Fee — How It Works
This is the one that catches people out. Read this section carefully even if you have a lawyer.
- →It is owed if your asylum application has been pending for a year or more. It is due on the anniversary of filing, and again every year the case remains pending.
- →It applies whether your case is at USCIS, in immigration court, or before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
- →The agency is supposed to send you an individualized notice with the amount, the due date, and how to pay. Once that notice issues, you have 30 days.
- →Many applicants report that the notice never arrived. A notice you did not receive still starts the clock — so do not wait for mail.
- →It must be paid online. For USCIS cases, pay through your USCIS online account. For immigration court cases, pay through the EOIR payment portal at epay.eoir.justice.gov.
- →There is no fee waiver. None.
- →The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled on July 24, 2026 that the annual fee does not apply to applications for withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.
🚨 What Happens If You Miss It
A rule effective May 29, 2026 attached severe consequences to non-payment. A court has temporarily paused them — see the next section — but the safest assumption is that they apply.
- →USCIS can reject your pending asylum application outright if the fee is not paid within 30 days of notice.
- →USCIS can deny a pending work permit application based on that asylum case.
- →Work authorization you already hold can be revoked immediately.
- →If you do not have another lawful status, USCIS can initiate removal proceedings against you.
- →In immigration court, a judge may deny an asylum application for non-payment — though not an application for withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection.
🛡️ How to Protect Yourself
These steps take a few minutes and prevent the most common way people lose their case over this.
- →Write down your filing date. Your anniversary is your deadline — put a reminder in your phone for two weeks before it, every year.
- →Check the payment portal yourself around your anniversary instead of waiting for a notice. Check even if nothing has arrived in the mail.
- →Create and regularly check a USCIS online account, and keep your address current with both USCIS and the immigration court. Updating one does not update the other.
- →Save the payment confirmation and the tracking ID immediately after you pay. Screenshot it and keep a copy somewhere you will not lose it.
- →If the payment system will not accept your payment, document every attempt with screenshots and dates, and contact a legal organization right away — an attempted payment you can prove is far better than nothing.
- →If you have a lawyer, confirm with them who is responsible for tracking and paying this. Do not assume it is handled.
⚖️ Where the Litigation Stands
The fee has been challenged repeatedly. Court orders have paused and un-paused pieces of it, so the situation changes.
- →An earlier court order paused the annual fee itself from October 30, 2025 to February 2, 2026. That pause ended — both USCIS and the immigration courts can charge the fee again.
- →On July 21, 2026, a federal judge temporarily blocked the CONSEQUENCES of non-payment: rejection of the asylum application, termination of work permits, and referral to removal. The court indicated it would rule on longer-term relief in early August 2026.
- →Critically, the July 2026 order did not cancel the fee. Collection continues and you still owe it.
- →Legal aid organizations representing asylum seekers are advising people to pay on time anyway rather than rely on a temporary pause that could end at any moment.
- →Because this changes quickly, verify the current status with a legal organization before making any decision based on the litigation.
🤝 If You Cannot Afford to Pay
Do not simply skip the payment and hope. There are better options.
- →Contact a nonprofit legal services organization. Some have emergency funds that help with filing fees, and many can confirm exactly what you owe and when.
- →A representative can also check whether the fee actually applies to you — for example, if your case is for withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection only.
- →Ask about pro bono representation while you are there. Represented asylum seekers do substantially better than unrepresented ones.
- →Be wary of anyone offering to 'take care of' your fee for a large payment, or claiming to have a way around it. There is no way around it, and that is a scam.
- →If you are already past a deadline, get help immediately rather than waiting — acting quickly preserves options that closing deadlines will otherwise remove.
Official Links & Resources
USCIS — Form I-589 (Asylum Application)
The asylum application form, instructions, and current filing fee.
USCIS — Consequences for Unpaid Annual Asylum Fees
The official announcement of what happens if the annual fee goes unpaid.
EOIR Payment Portal
Pay the annual fee if your case is in immigration court.
ASAP — The Annual Asylum Fee
Plain-language guide to paying the fee, including what to do if the portal fails.
USCIS — FY 2026 Fee Inflation Adjustments
Current-year amounts for the fees created by the 2025 budget law.
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