Asylum Fee: What USCIS Charges, Annual Fees, and What Happens If You Miss a Payment

The asylum fee is now two separate charges. Every new Form I-589 asylum application requires a $100 filing fee, and once an application has been pending for a year, the principal applicant owes an annual asylum fee, currently $105, for each year the case stays open. Both fees come from the 2025 reconciliation law known as H.R. 1, and USCIS explains the current rules on its Form I-589 page. Who you pay, how you pay, and what happens if you miss a payment depend on whether your case is with USCIS or with the immigration court, and some of the penalties for nonpayment are on hold because of ongoing litigation.

Key Takeaways

• The initial asylum fee is $100 and the annual asylum fee is $105 under the fiscal year 2027 amounts that took effect October 16, 2026.
• Only the principal applicant pays the annual fee, there is no fee waiver, and USCIS cannot approve an asylum case while an annual fee notice remains unpaid.
• Rejection of your asylum case and loss of your work permit for nonpayment are currently stayed by a federal court, but that order is temporary and the fee itself is still owed.

What is the asylum fee, and where did it come from?

For decades, filing for asylum in the United States was free. That changed when Congress passed H.R. 1, the reconciliation law signed on July 4, 2025. The law created a fee for every asylum application and a recurring fee for each calendar year an application remains pending. DHS later wrote both requirements into its regulations in an interim final rule published April 29, 2026, which took effect May 29, 2026.

The amounts adjust for inflation each year. In its fiscal year 2027 inflation notice, USCIS kept the initial asylum fee at $100 and raised the annual asylum fee from $102 to $105, effective for requests postmarked on or after October 16, 2026.

These fees sit on top of the rest of the asylum process. If you are still putting your application together, our guide to Form I-589 and the most common filing mistakes covers the application itself.

How much does it cost to apply for asylum in 2026?

Here is how the main asylum-related charges look right now, based on the USCIS fee announcement and the Federal Register notice behind it:

• Initial asylum fee (Form I-589): $100, paid at filing.
• Annual asylum fee: $105 for each year the application is pending, paid by the principal applicant only.
• Initial work permit based on a pending asylum case (Form I-765, category (c)(8)): $570.
• Renewal of an asylum-based work permit: $275. The statute does not provide inflation increases for this fee.

The initial fee is a filing requirement. Under the April 2026 rule, an asylum application has to include it, and DHS keeps the fee even if the application is later rejected. If you are budgeting for a family’s case, our form-by-form USCIS fee cheat sheet lists other common charges.

Who has to pay the annual asylum fee?

The annual fee applies to the principal applicant whose Form I-589 has been pending for at least a year. According to USCIS, it applies to the principal only and is in addition to any other fee that may be due. Spouses and children included as derivatives on the principal’s application do not pay a separate annual fee for that application.

It applies whether your case is affirmative, meaning filed with USCIS, or defensive, meaning raised before an immigration judge in removal proceedings. The difference between those two paths matters a great deal here, because the agency that collects the fee and the process it uses are different. If you are not sure which path you are on, our explanation of affirmative vs. defensive asylum will help you sort that out.

The fee cannot be waived. USCIS says plainly on its I-589 page that you cannot request a waiver, and the Justice Department’s June 2026 immigration court fee rule states that the annual fee cannot be waived or reduced.

How do I pay the annual asylum fee to USCIS?

If your asylum case is pending with USCIS, you do not need to figure out the due date on your own. USCIS says it will send a notice to each person who must pay, and to any attorney on record. The notice states the amount and how to pay. Under the USCIS instructions on its I-589 page:

1. Watch your mail and your USCIS online account for an annual asylum fee notice.
2. Pay online through the annual asylum fee page in your USCIS online account. USCIS says this fee must be paid online.
3. Have your A-number and the receipt number printed at the top of your fee notice ready. You need both to pay.
4. Pay within 30 days of the notice.
5. Save the payment confirmation with your asylum records.

One point people miss: USCIS says that as long as an annual fee remains payable after a notice, it cannot approve your asylum application. Even setting penalties aside, an unpaid fee can stall a case that is otherwise ready for a decision.

How does the annual asylum fee work in immigration court?

If your asylum application is before an immigration judge, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) handles the fee, not USCIS. EOIR’s current approach is set out in Policy Memorandum 26-01, issued January 2, 2026. That memo makes a distinction between when the fee becomes due and when EOIR expects it to be paid:

• The fee becomes due once your application has been pending for a year.
• EOIR does not expect payment or seek enforcement until the immigration judge issues an order setting a payment deadline and that deadline passes.
• Judges set deadlines case by case, and the memo encourages them to use a written order that explains how to pay and what happens if you do not.

Payment in immigration court goes through the online EOIR Payment Portal. EOIR’s fee rule says the portal is the only accepted payment method. Keep the receipt, because you may need to show the court that you paid.

This area is in flux. On September 22, 2026, a federal judge in Maryland ruled in Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project v. EOIR that parts of the process the immigration courts have used to charge the annual fee were unlawful, granting the plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion in part. It is not yet clear how EOIR will change its practice, and the decision is subject to appeal. Until there is clear guidance, read every order from the court carefully, and do not ignore a payment deadline a judge has set.

What happens if I miss an annual asylum fee payment?

On paper, the consequences are serious. Under the DHS rule announced in April 2026, if a person does not pay within 30 days of notice, USCIS would reject the pending asylum application. USCIS would also deny any pending work permit application based on that asylum case, and people already working on an asylum-based permit would lose work authorization. For someone without other lawful status, DHS said USCIS would also start removal proceedings. A rejected applicant who wants to apply again would have to file a new I-589 with a new filing fee.

Right now, those consequences are paused. On August 5, 2026, the federal district court in Massachusetts granted a stay in Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts v. USCIS blocking implementation of the consequences for failure to pay the annual fee until the court issues a final ruling on the merits. USCIS described the earlier version of that order in a public alert, which listed rejection of asylum applications, termination of work authorization, and removal based solely on nonpayment as stayed.

The same alert makes a point people should not overlook: the court expressly allowed USCIS to keep collecting the fee. If USCIS sent you a notice, you still need to pay it according to its instructions. The stay is temporary. It can end when the court rules on the merits, and a ruling for the government would put the penalties back in play.

In immigration court, the risk depends on the judge’s order. A judge who sets a payment deadline can treat a missed payment as a problem in your case. Given the September ruling, the details may shift, which is exactly why missing a deadline is a gamble we do not recommend.

Does the asylum fee affect my work permit?

It can. People with a pending asylum case may apply for a work permit under category (c)(8). According to the USCIS Form I-765 page, you must wait 150 days after filing your I-589 to apply, and USCIS cannot issue the permit until a total of 180 days has passed. Our post on when you can apply for an asylum work permit explains that clock in more detail.

The April 2026 rule ties that clock to the fee. If an application is rejected for nonpayment, DHS says the time counting toward work authorization stops, because the application is no longer pending. While the court stay is in place, USCIS has said it will not terminate work authorization based on nonpayment. That protection depends on the litigation, so the safer course is to keep your annual fee current.

The fees for the work permit itself are also higher than they used to be: $570 for an initial (c)(8) application and $275 for a renewal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fee waiver for the asylum fee?

No. USCIS states on its I-589 page that you cannot request a waiver of the annual asylum fee, and EOIR’s fee rule says the annual fee cannot be waived or reduced in immigration court either.

Do my spouse and children each pay the annual asylum fee?

Not for the principal’s application. USCIS says the annual fee applies to the principal applicant only. A family member who filed a separate asylum application of their own is a different situation, so check each pending application.

How long do I have to pay after I get a USCIS notice?

USCIS says you should pay within 30 days of the notice, online through your USCIS account, using your A-number and the receipt number on the notice.

If the penalties are on hold, do I still need to pay?

Yes. The court order pauses certain consequences but allows USCIS to keep collecting the fee, and USCIS cannot approve your case while a noticed fee remains unpaid.

How We Can Help

The asylum fee looks like a small administrative detail, but it now touches deadlines, work permits, and the status of the case itself. We track annual fee notices and court payment orders for our asylum clients, confirm payments are made through the right system, and keep an eye on the litigation so our clients know whether a change affects them. We also look at the bigger picture, including whether you filed within the one-year asylum deadline and what other protection may be available.

Our founding attorney Denisse Ilabaca is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by The Florida Bar, a distinction held by fewer than two percent of Florida attorneys. The first step is a free pre-evaluation, where we review the facts and tell you whether we can help. If it is a fit, we invite you to a paid consultation with a full case review and a written flat-fee quote. Call us at (407) 917-2087 or start your immigration intake online.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Fee amounts adjust each year, agency rules and court orders on the asylum fee are changing, and every case depends on its own facts. Reading this post does not create an attorney-client relationship with Ilabaca Law, PLLC. To discuss your situation, call (407) 917-2087.