Congress imposed exorbitant fees for immigration applications — then the Trump administration made it even worse.
In July 2025, Congress changed the immigration landscape for years to come using a budget bill to codify some of the Trump administration’s most hateful anti-immigrant proposals. This included the imposition of new “fees” or fines to access basic humanitarian protection, work permits, and more. Congress also allowed federal agencies to raise those fees by regulation or on a yearly basis.
Within weeks, the two agencies responsible for collecting fees — the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) — issued agency memoranda and notices to layer the fee increases passed by Congress on top of existing fees. As a result, many forms of immigration relief will become unaffordable for the most vulnerable immigrants and asylum seekers. What follows is an explainer on the expected impact of these fees.
First, Congress required historic and punishing fees on immigration applications.
Congress passed the H.R.1 megabill that President Trump signed into law on July 4, which changed immigration policy toward a more carceral, anti-asylum, and anti-children landscape for years to come. This new law imposed new fees and raised other fees on immigration benefits, such as:
- Historic, nonwaivable fines on asylum access, including a new annual fee for each calendar year an asylum application is pending. Only three other countries out of the 147 nations that agreed to protect asylum rights under international law charge fees to people seeking asylum.
- New unwaivable fines on access to work permits for asylum seekers, people seeking parole or humanitarian entry into the United States, and individuals seeking Temporary Protected Status. The new law simultaneously shrank the validity period for some of these work permits.
- An unprecedented fine on children seeking protection from abuse, abandonment and neglect who apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).
- A new fine to punish and charge any adult or child based on where they entered at the border, even though it is lawful to seek asylum anywhere one enters U.S. soil.
- A new fine if an immigration judge orders deportation for not having appeared in court, even though, as the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported, many people are ordered deported due to language barriers, lack of access to counsel, or lack of notice.
- Dramatically increased fees for seeking appeals or reviews of negative decisions, ensuring that many people will be “priced out” of seeking review of erroneous denials.
For more on the H.R.1 fees, see the National Immigration Project’s chart here.
Then, USCIS layered Congress’ fees on top of its prior fees, penalizing the most vulnerable immigrants.
USCIS announced on its website that some of the new statutory fees from passed under H.R. 1 took effect on July 22, 2025. The agency issued a notice in the Federal Register that, beginning in August, the new fees passed under H.R. 1 will be layered on top of current fees.
USCIS also opted to be harsher in how it implements fees by declining to waive the unprecedented fee for SIJS youth even though Congress allowed fee waivers.
USCIS has not yet implemented all the fees Congress raised in H.R. 1, noting that some require cross-agency coordination and further review — specifically related to humanitarian parole and a document related to recording entry or status known as the I-94. Finally, USCIS noted it will increase these fees on a yearly basis starting in October 2025 and may make additional increases following biennial fee reviews.
See USCIS Notice of fee increases here.
EOIR’s added fees further increased barriers to due process.
In a Policy Memorandum, EOIR issued changes effective as of July 17, 2025. Like USCIS, EOIR chose to keep existing fees and layer H.R.1’s new fees on top of those. The impact is particularly staggering for people seeking adjustment of status or lawful permanent residence, who now face nearly $3,000 in fees. Appeals and court motions to challenge wrongful decisions now cost over $1,010, undermining access to justice for many immigrants and asylum seekers.
Finally, EOIR noted it will increase the fees on a yearly basis starting in October 2025 and may make additional increases following biennial fee reviews.
See EOIR’s Policy Memorandum implementing fee increases here.
When will these fees go into effect?
For USCIS, some of the new H.R.1 fees are already in effect as of July 22, 2025. The agency updated its fee schedule here. Starting on August 21, 2025, USCIS will also add H.R.1’s fees to those it routinely collects.
EOIR has already indicated it requires submission of the new H.R.1 fees on top of prior collected fee amounts as of July 17, 2025.
We reflect some of those fees in the chart below.
The new fees are a money grab at the expense of low-income immigrants.
USCIS and EOIR previously set application fees to cover their operational expenses. However, rather than consider how the existing fees could be adjusted in light of the many unwaivable fees Congress added, both agencies now have chosen to pile H.R.1’s fees onto their existing fees. The new costs will undoubtedly deter many immigrants from pursuing the immigration benefits they qualify for—and otherwise extract money that low-income immigrants need to provide for their families’ basic needs.
How should immigrant applicants prepare?
Immigrants and asylum seekers should consult with qualified immigration attorneys to ensure they pay the necessary fee when submitting an application. These fees are subject to more changes and both USCIS and EOIR have indicated they could reject applications that do not have the correct fee. For many individuals, such a rejection could mean missing an important deadline on their application or the opportunity to appeal.