The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has published a Federal Register notice announcing inflationary adjustments to certain immigration-related fees established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1). These changes will take effect January 1, 2026, and apply to benefit requests postmarked on or after that date.
Why Are Fees Changing?
HR-1 requires DHS to update fees annually based on inflation, using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for July of the preceding year. Between July 2024 and July 2025, CPI-U increased by approximately 2.7%, prompting modest fee increases for FY 2026.
New Fees Effective January 1, 2026
|
Form Type |
Previous Fee |
New Fee |
|---|---|---|
|
Annual Asylum Application Fee (currently stayed via court order) |
$100 |
$102 |
|
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization – Initial Asylum Applicant Employment Authorization Document (EAD) |
$550 |
$560 |
|
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization – Initial Parole EAD |
$550 |
$560 |
|
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization – Renewal or Extension of Parole EAD
|
$275 |
$280 |
|
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization – Initial Temporary Protected Status (TPS) EAD |
$550 |
$560 |
|
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization – Renewal or Extension of TPS EAD |
$275 |
$280 |
|
Form I-131, Part 9 – EAD requested upon authorization of a new period of Parole (Re-parole) |
$275 |
$280 |
|
Form I-821, Application for TPS |
$500 |
$510 |
Fees Not Changing (In the future, DHS will publish a Federal Register notice with information about the inflationary adjustment for the immigration parole fee):
- I-589 Asylum Fee (Initial): $100
- I-765 Renewal/Extension of Asylum Applicant EAD: $275
- I-360 Special Immigrant Juvenile Fee: $250
Key Compliance Note
Any immigration benefit request postmarked on or after January 1, 2026 must include the updated fee. Applications submitted with incorrect fees will be rejected.
Erickson Insights & Analysis
While these adjustments are relatively small, they reflect a statutory mandate for annual inflation updates under HR-1. Employers and applicants should:
- Update internal checklists and payment systems to reflect new fees.
- Plan ahead for filings early in 2026 to avoid rejections due to outdated fee amounts.
- Monitor for future DHS notices, as additional HR-1 fees will be adjusted in subsequent announcements.
Erickson Immigration Group will continue monitoring developments and sharing updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or if you have case-specific questions.