U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase a range of immigration-related fees effective January 1, 2026, as part of the annual inflation adjustments required by federal law.
The most notable changes will affect asylum seekers, parolees, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries. The Annual Pending Asylum Application Fee, charged annually to certain asylum applicants with cases pending for more than one year, will rise from $100 to $102.
Initial Employment Authorization Document (EAD) fees for asylum applicants, parolees, and TPS recipients will increase from $550 to $560. Renewal or replacement EAD fees for parolees and TPS categories will go from $275 to $280.
The initial TPS application fee (Form I-821) will increase from $500 to $510. Two important fees will remain unchanged: the initial Asylum Application Fee (Form I-589) will stay at $100, and the EAD renewal fee specifically for asylum applicants will remain at $275.
These adjustments, averaging roughly 2 percent, are mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The legislation requires agencies to adjust certain immigration fees annually based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The CPI-U rose 2.70 percent between July 2024 (314.540) and July 2025 (323.048), triggering these increases.
USCIS emphasized that any application postmarked on or after January 1, 2026, without the correct fee will be rejected. The agency had published the final fee schedule in the Federal Register on July 22, 2025.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is also raising several fees under the same legislation. The parole processing fee charged to most individuals paroled into the United States will increase from $1,000 to $1,020. The Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) enrollment fee will rise from $30 to $30.75. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee will increase by 27 cents, from $40 to $40.27, because only the cost-recovery portion of that fee is subject to inflation adjustment.
The total fee for a Form I-94 issued at a land border port of entry will remain $30. Although the $24 H.R. 1 portion of that fee qualified for a small inflationary increase, the calculated adjustment rounded down to zero, leaving the combined $24 + $6 land-border fee unchanged.
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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.
