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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this Thursday new increases in several immigration-related fees starting January 1, 2026, an inflation adjustment that will be applied annually under the HR-1 Act, passed in 2025.
Although the increase seems small in percentage terms, ranging from 2 to 10 dollars depending on the process, it comes at a particularly difficult time, as it is the third consecutive hike migrants have faced in less than two years.
For thousands of Cubans who rely on work permits, TPS, asylum, or parole to stabilize their lives in the U.S., the news feels like another burden on a ladder that keeps getting steeper.
At first glance, the announced increase for 2026 seems moderate. The work permit fee for asylum seekers or TPS rises from 550 to 560 dollars, and renewals go from 275 to 280 dollars. The TPS application fee increases from 500 to 510 dollars, and the asylum fee, currently halted by a court order, goes up from 100 to 102 dollars.
But this increase comes over fees that had already skyrocketed in 2024 and 2025:
2024: the first jolt
It was the first increase since 2016. USCIS raised, for example:
- Permanent residency: from 1,225 to 1,440 dollars.
- The work permit: from 495 to 520 dollars (online it cost 470).
- Naturalization: from $640 to $710 online, and up to $760 in paper.
Additionally, under the new rule, the work permit and travel permit are no longer included in the residency fee, raising the total cost above 2,000 dollars.
2025: the toughest stage
With the approval of Law HR-1 during the Trump administration, the major blow arrived:
- The immigration appeals have increased from 110 to 900 dollars.
- The residence increased to 1,500 dollars just for the application.
- The pardon I-601 is set at $1,050.
- Reopening a case in court now costs 5,200 dollars.
- Requesting parole reached $1,000, a mandatory fee upon receiving approval.
Even procedures that were previously free, such as parts of the Parole in Place, no longer have exemptions.
Lawyer Willy Allen then warned him: "How expensive things are going to get! Many people are going to lose their asylum."
Today, the increases in 2026 feel like the continuation of that escalation.
USCIS confirms: the increases will be annual
The notice published in the Federal Register explains that each year, starting in 2026, fees will automatically increase according to inflation, for the period from July 2024 to July 2025 on this occasion, as required by Law HR-1.
This means that the immigration system has entered a logic of permanent increases, where costs no longer depend on rate studies conducted every few years, but rather on the simple rise of the price index.
Who will be affected in 2026?
The new increases apply to procedures such as:
- Work permit for asylum seekers, TPS, or parole (initial and renewals).
- TPS Application.
- Application for EAD linked to parole or re-parole.
- Annual asylum fee (if the court order is lifted).
The rates for the following will not increase:
- I-589 to apply for asylum.
- EAD renewals for asylum applicants.
- I-360 for special immigrant minors.
2026 is just beginning to take shape, and it is already clear that regularization will cost more. After two years of significant increases, any additional amount weighs double on the wallets and hopes of those trying to build a new life in the United States.
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