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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) warned that asylum applicants who do not pay the Annual Asylum Fee by the established deadline will face rejection of their application and, in some cases, the initiation of removal proceedings from the country.
The warning is part of a provisional final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security, which will take effect on May 29, and implements the requirements of the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Act of 2025, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," signed on July 4, 2025.
According to the official statement from USCIS, "if a foreign national does not pay the annual fee within 30 days of notification, USCIS will deny their pending asylum application. If a foreign national does not have legal status in the United States, USCIS will also initiate their removal process."
The fee, referred to as the Annual Asylum Fee (AAF in English), is $102 for fiscal year 2026, adjusted for inflation from the baseline $100 established by law.
This fee applies to all applicants whose application has been pending for more than one year, with no exemptions for financial difficulties.
The consequences of non-payment go beyond the rejection of the asylum application.
USCIS will also deny any pending Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) that is linked to that application, and those who already had an approved work permit will lose it immediately.
The situation impacts a vast universe of people: it is estimated that there are nearly four million pending asylum applications among cases before USCIS and immigration judges, with wait times exceeding two years on average.
The rule also introduces additional changes that impact other immigration procedures.
USCIS will retain the filing fee for Form I-589 if it is rejected due to incorrect submission, a measure that directly affects immigrants with pending cases before the agency.
In addition, the regulation limits the employment authorization for beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to one year or the remaining period of designation, whichever is shorter.
It also establishes a minimum fee of $24 for Form I-102, which corresponds to the Application for Replacement or Initial Arrival-Departure Document for non-immigrants.
The H.R. 1 created these new fees, according to DHS itself, "to increase funding for immigration enforcement operations and ensure that foreigners pay for immigration services."
USCIS began sending formal notifications to affected applicants starting October 1, 2025, when the first phase of the annual fee implementation went into effect, amidst an increasingly restrictive immigration policy by the Trump administration.
The implementation of these fees has led to litigation: in the case ASAP v. USCIS, processed in the District of Maryland, the courts agreed on corrective measures for applicants whose cases were dismissed due to non-payment, and it was determined that the agency cannot penalize applicants without prior notice and a reasonable opportunity to pay.
The public comment period on the provisional rule will remain open until June 29, 2026, and any Form I-102 submitted without the correct fee will be rejected if postmarked after May 29, 2026.
The deadline for asylum seekers with pending cases to regularize their payment situation expires on that same date, making the coming weeks a critical period for millions of people awaiting a resolution to their immigration cases in the United States.
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