On July 4, 2025, the U.S. government passed a new law. This law adds new fees to apply for asylum and work permits, and makes other changes that impact ASAP members. These fees could also increase again in future years. Below are some of the key changes.
Work permits for asylum seekers
Initial work permits: Starting on July 22, 2025, it costs $550 to apply for a first work permit as an asylum seeker. Before, there was no fee.
Renewal work permits: Starting on July 22, 2025, the cost to renew your work permit as an asylum seeker increased by $275. If you are renewing your work permit online, it now costs a total of $745. If you are renewing your work permit by mail, it now costs a total of $795. Learn how to pay the fee.
What if you pay the wrong fee: If you pay the wrong fee on or after August 21, 2025, USCIS says it will reject your work permit application and return it.
Can you request a fee waiver: It is not possible to request a fee waiver for an initial work permit. For a renewal work permit, it is still possible to request a fee waiver, but only for a portion of the total.
Other changes: The new law also says that some work permits for asylum seekers will automatically end after an asylum seeker loses their case. But this is only true in specific circumstances – learn more here.
In one piece of good news, thanks to ASAP members’ advocacy, this law does NOT shorten the length of work permits for asylum seekers. (Originally, the bill included a proposal that would have shortened work permits for asylum seekers to only 6 months.) New work permits for asylum seekers continue to be valid for 5 years.
Asylum applications
It now costs $100 to submit a new asylum application, and $100 per year to continue with your asylum case. It is not possible to apply for a fee waiver. Before this change, there were no fees to apply for asylum. The details of how to pay the fee depend on whether you are applying for asylum in immigration court or with USCIS.
Filing a new asylum application in immigration court:
The government has not yet set up a system for payment of the new $100 filing fee. For now, you are supposed to be able to submit your asylum application in immigration court without the fee, and then pay the fee later.
However, there have been reports of some judges refusing to accept asylum applications without the $100 payment. If this happens to you, you can try to submit your asylum application again with a copy of this government document that says the court should accept it (footnote 7).
Filing a new asylum application with USCIS:
Starting on July 22, 2025 it costs $100 to submit a new asylum application to USCIS. This fee is the same whether you are applying online or by mail.
If you are applying for asylum online, you can pay the fee at the end of your application by submitting your bank account or credit card information.
If you are applying by mail, you can include a check or money order on top of your application. Or, most people can include a Form G-1450 on top of your application.
If you pay the wrong fee on or after August 21, 2025, USCIS says it will reject your asylum application and return it.
Annual fee to continue your asylum case:
It will now cost $100 per year to continue with your asylum case. This is true whether you applied for asylum in immigration court or with USCIS. This fee could also increase in future years.
Based on our current understanding, people who applied for asylum before July 2025 will also have to pay this annual fee, and the government is planning to charge the first $100 annual fee in fall of 2025 for anyone whose asylum application has been pending for at least 1 year. For example, if your application has been pending for 3 years, you would pay $100 this year. Then, you would need to pay $100 per year (or more) going forward, as long as your asylum case remains pending.
However, the government has not yet provided information about how to pay these annual fees or how exactly the process will work. If you applied with USCIS, they should send you a notice with instructions when you are required to pay the annual fee. We will update this website as we learn more.
TPS and TPS-based work permits
Starting on July 22, 2025, the fee to apply for TPS for the first time increased. The fee also increased to apply for a work permit based on approved TPS or a pending TPS application.
First time TPS registration: $530
Initial work permit: $1070 (if applying by mail) or $1020 (if applying online)
Renewal work permit: $795 (if applying by mail) or $745 (if applying online)
Another change is that work permits based on approved TPS or a pending TPS application will only be valid for one year, or until the expiration date of the TPS – whichever is shorter. (But if you had already received your work permit before July 2025, your work permit should still be valid until the expiration date or until you receive a notice from the government ending your parole and work permit.)
Work permits based on parole
The fee to apply for a work permit based on parole also increased beginning on July 22, 2025:
Initial work permit: $1070 (if applying by mail) or $1020 (if applying online)
Renewal work permit: $795 (if applying by mail) or $745 (if applying online)
Work permits based on parole will only be valid for one year, or until the expiration date of the parole – whichever is shorter. (But if you had already received your work permit before July 2025, your work permit should still be valid until the expiration date.)
Other changes
This bill made many other changes, some related to immigration and some about other issues.
This bill increases the amount of money that the government can spend on immigration arrests and detention.
The bill also increased fees for other immigration applications and processes, such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). If you are planning to submit a new application to USCIS, you can check this USCIS website and select your form.
ASAP aims to provide factual information about current immigration laws. This information is not legal advice.