The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a sweeping set of new immigration-related fees that will take effect from July 22, 2025, impacting applicants worldwide, including those from Nigeria. The new charges, introduced under U.S. legislation H.R. 1, apply to various visa and immigration benefit categories, including asylum, parole, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and cannot be waived under any circumstances.
According to a Federal Register notice published on July 18, applicants submitting immigration forms from July 22 must include the updated fees. USCIS warned that any applications postmarked on or after August 21 without the required payments will be rejected.
Among the most significant changes is the introduction of a $100 filing fee for Form I-589, the application for asylum and withholding of removal. In addition, applicants with pending asylum claims will now be required to pay a new $100 Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) for each year their case remains unresolved. USCIS noted that the AAF must be paid online, with individualized notices to be sent out when payments are due.
For work authorization, the agency has set new fees for applicants in categories including asylum, parole, and TPS. The initial application for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) will now cost $550, while renewals or extensions under certain categories—such as (a)(4), (a)(12), (c)(8), (c)(11), (c)(19), and (c)(34)—will require a $275 fee. For re-parole applicants filing Form I-131, the EAD fee has been reduced to $275 to reflect the new structure under H.R. 1.
Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) applicants filing Form I-360 will now face a $250 fee. The cost of registering for Temporary Protected Status using Form I-821 has also seen a sharp increase, rising from $50 to $500.
USCIS clarified that these new fees are separate from existing charges listed under 8 CFR part 106 and must be paid in full, regardless of whether an applicant would have previously qualified for a fee waiver using Form I-912 or similar methods.
The agency also revealed changes to the validity periods of work permits. For parolees, initial EADs will be valid for a maximum of one year or until the end of the parole period, whichever comes first. For TPS beneficiaries, both initial and renewal EADs will also be limited to one year or the duration of their TPS status.
USCIS indicated that additional fee changes related to other forms, including Form I-131 and Form I-102, are expected to be announced in a future Federal Register notice and are not part of this rollout.
