On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a policy bill imposing new fees on asylum seekers, parolees, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, among others. The bill establishes a minimum $550 fee for initial work permit applications for asylum seekers, parolees, and TPS applicants and recipients, effective for fiscal year 2025.
This fee may be increased by the Secretary of Homeland Security through regulatory measures and will be adjusted annually for inflation starting in fiscal year 2026, based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rounded to the nearest $10.
Work permit renewals or extensions for asylum seekers, parolees, and TPS holders will incur a minimum fee of $275, with similar inflation adjustments. Work permits issued under these categories are valid for one year or for the duration of the parole or TPS designation, whichever is shorter.
The bill also introduces a $1,000 immigration parole fee for individuals paroled into the U.S., with exceptions for specific humanitarian cases, such as medical emergencies, organ donation, or imminent family death.
A $250 fee is set for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status applications, and a $500 fee applies to TPS applications, both subject to annual inflation adjustments.
Nonimmigrant visa holders face a $250 “visa integrity fee,” which may be refunded if the visa holder complies with all conditions, including not engaging in unauthorized employment, and departs within five days of the visa’s expiration or secures a status adjustment.
For Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record applications, a minimum $24 fee is required, with 20% allocated to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for processing and the remainder deposited into the U.S. Treasury’s general fund.
Other fees include: $1,500 for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident; $1,050 for waivers of inadmissibility grounds; $900 for appeals of immigration judge or Department of Homeland Security decisions; $1,325 for appeals in practitioner disciplinary cases; $900 for motions to reopen or reconsider immigration decisions (with exceptions for certain in-absentia removal orders); $600 for suspension of deportation; and $600 or $1,500 for cancellation of removal for permanent or nonpermanent residents, respectively.
All these fees are subject to inflation adjustments and cannot be waived or reduced, except for specific parole exemptions. Of the work permit fees collected, 25% will be allocated to USCIS, with at least 50% dedicated to detecting and preventing immigration benefit fraud, and the remainder deposited into the Treasury’s general fund.
Parole and TPS work permit fees, along with SIJ, TPS, visa integrity, and annual asylum fees, are fully directed to the Treasury. For adjustment of status, inadmissibility waivers, TPS applications, and various appeals, up to 25% of fees are transferred to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) from the Immigration Examinations Fee Account, with the rest going to the Treasury.
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Kishor Panthi
View More PostsKishor Panthi is the founder and editor-in-chief of Khasokhas and NepYork. He is the author of three books, “Kampan,” "UNTRANSLATABLE" and “Zero Mile.” He writes about social issues, immigration, and politics.
