Starting this Friday, October 16, applying for parole, requesting the first work permit, or keeping an asylum case open will cost more in the United States.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now applying the annual inflation adjustment to the fees established by the H.R. 1 law, the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, signed on July 4, 2025.
The increases are small, ranging from $3 to $30, but the mistake could be costly: according to the official notice published in the Federal Register on October 1, any application postmarked on or after October 16 that does not include the correct fee will be rejected.
This means that they return the package to you and you miss the submission deadline.
In this guide we explain how much each procedure commonly used by Cubans costs now, which fees remain unchanged, who is exempt from the parole fee, and what to do to avoid having your application rejected.
The rates that are increasing starting October 16
The adjustment is calculated using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), which rose by approximately 3.36% between July 2025 and July 2026.
Most of the figures are rounded down to the nearest ten.
These are the new amounts:
- Annual asylum fee (for asylum cases pending for more than a year): from 102 to 105 dollars.
- Parole Fee (charged when the government grants a parole, including requests made with form I-131): from 1,020 to 1,050 dollars.
- First work permit (EAD) for asylum applicants, category (c)(8): from 560 to 570 dollars.
- First work permit for individuals with parole, category (c)(11): from 560 to 570 dollars.
- First work permit for TPS (Temporary Protected Status): from 560 to 570 dollars.
- TPS Application (form I-821): from 510 to 520 dollars.
What is it that doesn't change?
Several rates remain the same because rounding absorbed inflation or because the law does not provide for adjustments
- Initial asylum application (form I-589): 100 dollars.
- Renewal of the work permit for asylum seekers: 275 dollars. The law does not allow for this amount to be adjusted for inflation.
- Renewal of work permit for parole or TPS: 280 dollars.
- Work permit linked to a new parole (re-parole): 280 dollars.
- Special Immigrant Juvenile Petition (SIJ): 250 dollars.
- I-94 Fee: 24 dollars. At the land border, the total remains 30 dollars, according to the notice from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office.
These fees are added to the regular fee of the form
This is the point that generates the most confusion. The fees of H.R. 1 do not replace the usual USCIS fees: they are charged in addition to them.
This is explained by the notice from USCIS in July 2025 that initiated these charges.
For example, if you are applying for your first work permit with parole, you will pay the base fee for Form I-765 plus the $570 from H.R. 1.
Before sending anything, calculate the total using the official USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055) or with their fee calculator.
Another important difference: these rates do not allow exemptions (fee waiver).
The USCIS rule from April 29 states clearly: they cannot be exempted or reduced, and no exemption requests can be made for them.
If you qualify for the regular waiver with form I-912, you may be exempt from the usual part of the process, but you still need to pay the H.R. 1 portion.
Parole and re-parole: when is the $1,050 paid?
The parole fee is not paid when submitting the application, but rather when the government grants you the parole.
This is established by the notice from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) dated October 16, 2025.
They charge CBP at the ports of entry, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for those under their responsibility, and USCIS for the cases they handle.
A fee is charged each time a parole is granted: the initial one, the parole in place, and the new parole or re-parole.
In the cases of USCIS, the agency first issues a conditional approval, and the parole is only granted after you make the payment.
The law provides for ten exceptions. Among them, several may be of interest to Cuban families:
- Who have Cuban and Haitian entrant status.
- Those who have a pending status adjustment and return from a temporary trip abroad.
- Severe medical emergencies, the imminent death of a close family member in the U.S., or attending their funeral, when there is no time to process a visa.
To qualify for an exception, you must demonstrate it to the DHS. It is not automatically applicable.
Annual asylum fee: 105 dollars, and what happens if you don't pay it
If your asylum application has been pending for over a year, you must pay a fee each year while it remains open. As of October 16, the fee is $105.
If you have an asylum case with USCIS, here we explain how to pay it step by step.
- If your case is with USCIS: the agency will send you a notice with the amount, deadline, and method of payment, which is online. You have 30 days to pay. If you do not pay, USCIS will deny your asylum application, deny or reject any pending work permits, and any existing permit will be immediately revoked. Additionally, if you do not have legal status, DHS may initiate a deportation process.
- If your case is in immigration court: según el memorandum PM 26-01 from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), la corte no exige el pago hasta que el juez dicta una orden con fecha límite. Se paga en el portal de pagos de la EOIR.
Failing to pay on time has serious consequences.
On July 24, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled in the case Matter of L-F-R- that failing to pay the annual fee is "fatal" to the asylum application.
That said, the BIA clarified that the fee does not affect other protections: the withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
In CiberCuba we reported on that ruling, which affected a Cuban woman.
How to prevent your application from being rejected?
- Check the shipping date. What matters is the postmark. Everything sent from October 16 must carry the new rates.
- Add the two parts together. Base fee of the form plus the H.R. 1 fee, if applicable to you.
- Confirm your category. A first work permit and a renewal do not have the same payment, nor does an asylum seeker and a person on parole. If you have an I-220A, confirm with a lawyer which category applies to you, because that document is not the same as a parole.
- Don’t wait until the last minute to renew. Renewals submitted from October 30, 2025, will no longer receive automatic extensions for work permits, except for certain cases of TPS, and the DHS made that decision final on Wednesday with a final rule. On CiberCuba, we explain what this means for Cubans. If your application is rejected due to a payment error, you could be left unable to work.
- Read your notices. If USCIS or the judge asks you for the annual asylum fee, pay the specified amount within the deadline and keep the receipt.
If you want to review the eligibility codes and the steps to apply for a work permit, check our .
Frequently asked questions
I submitted my application before October 16 with the old fee, will it be rejected? The rejection rule applies to applications with postmarks from October 16 onward. If you sent it before, the previous fee was the correct one.
Do I have to pay the 1,050 dollars when requesting a new parole? Only if it is granted and you are not in one of the exceptions. The fee is charged upon the approval of the parole, not when submitting the application.
Can I request to have the fee waived because I don't have any money? Not for the fees under H.R. 1. The law does not allow for exemptions or reductions.
Will they go up again? Yes. The law requires these rates to be adjusted for inflation every fiscal year, so it is expected that there will be another update next year.
Aviso legal: este artículo ofrece información general con fines exclusivamente informativos y no constituye asesoría legal. Las leyes y políticas migratorias de EE.UU. cambian con frecuencia. Para evaluar tu caso concreto, licenciado o un representante acreditado por el Departamento de Justicia.
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