USCIS Fees Went Up on October 16. Filings Without the New Amount Are Being Rejected.

The fees created last year by H.R. 1 — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — are indexed to inflation and adjusted every fiscal year; last year’s adjustment took effect January 1, 2026, this year’s on October 16. This year’s adjustment is 3.36 percent, and it is already in force. A rejected filing is a lost postmark, and for some of these forms the postmark is the deadline.

What changed

The Federal Register notice lists thirteen line items. Six went up, in four groups: the annual pending-asylum fee, from $102 to $105; the initial employment authorization fee for asylum applicants, parolees and TPS applicants, from $560 to $570; the TPS application fee on Form I-821, from $510 to $520; and the parole fee on Form I-131, from $1,020 to $1,050.

What did not

The initial asylum application fee stays at $100. EAD renewals for asylum applicants stay at $275; for parolees and TPS holders at $280; re-parole EADs at $280. The special immigrant juvenile fee stays at $250 and the I-94 fee at $24. The notice explains that H.R. 1 does not provide for inflation adjustment of the asylum-applicant EAD renewal fee, and that the others stay put only because the 3.36 percent increase, rounded down to the next lowest $10 (or, for the annual asylum fee and the I-94 fee, to the nearest dollar), lands on the same amount.

The arithmetic, for those who want it

The consumer price index for all urban consumers was 323.048 in July 2025 and 333.918 in July 2026; the ratio is 1.0336. The statutory authority is Title X, Subtitle A, Part I of H.R. 1, Public Law 119-21, codified in chapter 16 of title 8.

What to do

Anything mailed on or after October 16 with the old amount comes back. For the annual asylum fee that is not a nuisance; as we wrote in August, missing that payment can end the case. Check every fee against the current USCIS fee schedule before sealing the envelope, and keep proof of payment with the mailing receipt.

This article is general legal information about a published fee schedule, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees change; confirm the current amount on uscis.gov before filing. This website is attorney advertising.