The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it has paused the mailing of notices for the Annual Asylum Fee (AAF), following a temporary stay issued by a federal court in Maryland last week.
The agency, which strongly disagrees with the ruling, has stated that it will comply with the terms of the October 30, 2025, order while it considers further judicial review of the matter. This action follows a lawsuit, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project v. USCIS, filed by immigrant advocates who challenged the fee’s implementation.
Prior to the court’s intervention, USCIS had begun issuing $100-fee notices to applicants whose asylum applications had been pending for more than a year. The agency’s notices had warned that failure to pay the fee within 30 days could lead to negative consequences and processing delays.
This ambiguity over the exact penalty, which many feared could include application cancellation, had prompted a rush among numerous applicants to pay the fee promptly.
The AAF was mandated by a Congressional bill and detailed in a July 22, 2025, Federal Register notice, aiming to apply the $100 fee to any non-citizen with a Form I-589 pending during the entire fiscal year 2025, or on the one-year anniversary of filing for applications submitted after October 1, 2024.
After the court’s temporary stay, USCIS is advising applicants who have already received a notice directing them to pay the AAF to disregard that instruction. However, the agency has been explicit that any annual asylum fees paid before the pause are non-refundable.
Applicants who made a payment are urged to keep their receipts secure. USCIS stated it will issue updated instructions on the payment of the AAF as the legal proceedings advance.
The federal judge, in granting the preliminary injunction, noted that government agencies must first resolve inconsistencies and provide applicants with clear notice of deadlines, proper payment instructions, and explanations of consequences for nonpayment before the fee can be implemented.
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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.
