The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) announced Thursday that certain immigration-related fees will increase in 2026 to account for inflation. The fees will affect several forms tied to asylum, work permits, and temporary protected status (TPS), according to a news release from U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. These changes are being made under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “Any immigration benefit request postmarked on or after January 1, 2026 without the proper filing fee will be rejected,” U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wrote in a Federal Register filing. Why It Matters U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is responsible for administering the nation’s immigration and naturalization system. The agency processes applications for citizenship, permanent residency, asylum, work authorization, and other immigration benefits. Under the Trump administration, U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has slapped additional fees on initial and renewal applications for employment authorization, TPS, asylum filings, parole-related applications, and certain special immigrant petitions, increasing the overall cost for applicants. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment authorization documents (EADs) for initial asylum applicants and initial parole applicants will increase from $550 to $560. Renewal or extension of parole EADs will go from $275 to $280, and initial TPS EADs will rise from $550 to $560, with renewals or extensions increasing from $275 to $280. Re-parole EADs filed under Form I-131, Part 9, will also increase from $275 to $280. The application fee for TPS (Form I-821) will climb from $500 to $510. Some fees will remain unchanged under this notice. The initial asylum application fee (Form I-589) stays at $100, the renewal or extension of asylum applicant EAD remains $275, and the Special Immigrant Juvenile Fee (Form I-360) continues at $250. DHS has indicated that future Federal Register notices will provide updates on the inflationary adjustment for the immigration parole fee. U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wrote in a post on X that DHS will “continue to adjust these fees for inflation each fiscal year.” Since President Trump took office in January 2025, his administration has implemented a series of changes that have reshaped how U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services operates. The agency has been directed to enforce stricter vetting measures, including a new screening for “anti-Americanism.” The White House has issued executive orders altering admission and citizenship priorities, focusing on South Africans. The administration will slash refugee admissions to 7, 500 for the 2026 fiscal year. DHS moved to expand USCIS’s authorities by creating armed “special agents” with powers to execute warrants, make arrests, and carry firearms under new changes. The agency has also reinstated more intrusive background measures, including the return of neighborhood and workplace checks for some naturalization applicants, and ended certain benefit extensions, such as the automatic extension for employment authorization documents. Meanwhile, U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is rolling back steep fee hikes for the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program after a Color ado judge ruled the increases were unlawful. The EB-5 visa allows immigrants to gain permanent residency by investing in U. S. job-creating businesses, often through regional centers. Fees will revert to previous levels: the I-526 form drops from over $11,000 to $3,675, petitions to remove residency conditions from over $9,500 to $3,750, and regional center applications from nearly $48,000 to $17,795. What People Are Saying Attorney Abhinav Tripathi wrote in a post on LinkedIn: “It’s not a major upheaval, but it’s still worth noting and planning for, especially for cases in the categories affected.” U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post on X that it has “issued a Federal Register notice to increase certain immigration-related fees we charge as mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill.” What Happens Next U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services urges applicants to verify the correct fee amount when submitting applications to avoid any delays in processing. The fees come into effect on January 1, 2026.
https://www.newsweek.com/u-s-immigration-fees-to-rise-in-2026-what-to-know-11086936
U.S. Immigration Fees To Rise In 2026—What To Know
