VAM v. USCIS: Annual Asylum Fees and Work Permits

"The government is making things difficult for immigrants who, like me, are trying to do everything right.”  - ASAP Member 

On July 1, 2026, ASAP members filed a lawsuit to challenge USCIS’s implementation of the annual asylum fee and attacks on work permits for asylum seekers and TPS holders. A different ASAP lawsuit, ASAP v. EOIR, is separately challenging the immigration court’s implementation of the annual asylum fee.

On August 5, 2026, the judge ruled that USCIS temporarily cannot impose penalties for failure to pay the annual asylum fee. But it is still important to check every week to find out if your annual asylum fee is due. Read our annual asylum fee page for details about how to pay the fee. Read more below about case developments.

Case Summary:

On July 1, 2026, ASAP members filed a lawsuit to challenge USCIS’s implementation of the annual asylum fee and attacks on work permits for asylum seekers and immigrants with Temporary Protected States (TPS). 

We filed this lawsuit alongside members of the National TPS Alliance (NTPSA), the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts (VAM), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and SEIU Local 32BJ (32BJ). The lawyers on the case are from ASAP, Democracy Forward, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). 

ASAP members have raised serious concerns about the annual asylum fee and work permits, and we filed this lawsuit in response to their concerns. 

The four key issues in the lawsuit are below, along with their current status. 

• Charging the annual asylum fee: ASAP members argued that USCIS is charging the annual asylum fee in an unlawful way, including by providing unreliable notice and charging the fee retroactively.

  • Unfortunately, USCIS can continue to charge the annual asylum fee. Asylum seekers should continue to check every week to see if their fee is due and pay it as soon as possible. Learn more here. 

• Penalties related to the annual asylum fee: ASAP members argued that USCIS is imposing harsh penalties for not paying the annual asylum fee, including immediately terminating work permits and rejecting asylum applications.

  • The judge agreed with ASAP members and said that USCIS cannot currently impose penalties for people who missed the payment deadline – even though USCIS can still charge the fee. The judge paused these penalties for the first time on July 21 and then continued the pause in a second decision on August 5. The pause on penalties is temporary and could change in the future.

• TPS-based work permit validity: ASAP members argued that USCIS was unlawfully attempting to end some TPS-based work permits early, on July 22. This affects some people with TPS from El Salvador, Sudan, and Ukraine.

  • If you have TPS for El Salvador, Ukraine, or Sudan, you applied for a work permit renewal during the re-registration period, and you have not yet received a new work permit, USCIS says they will send a notice automatically extending your work permit. The work permit extensions for El Salvador are valid through September 9, 2026.  The work permit extensions for Sudan and Ukraine are valid through October 19, 2026. Learn more here.

• Asylum-based work permit processing: ASAP members argued that USCIS unlawfully removed a long-standing rule that required initial work permits for asylum seekers to be processed within 30 days — and made this change without informing the public. 

  • On July 21, USCIS reinstated the 30-day processing requirement for initial work permits for asylum seekers. USCIS made this change after ASAP members raised this issue in the lawsuit. This was a major win! 

Lawsuit Timeline:

• July 1, 2026: ASAP members filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, alongside members of the National TPS Alliance (NTPSA), the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts (VAM), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and SEIU Local 32BJ (32BJ). 

• July 2, 2026: The organizations filed a Motion for a Stay of Agency Action.

• July 13, 2026: ASAP filed a supplemental declaration about problems with the annual asylum fee and work permit processing. 

• July 15, 2026: The organizations filed an Emergency Motion for an Administrative Stay, asking the judge to pause the USCIS policies until he has time to make a decision. 

• July 21, 2026: USCIS published a “correcting amendment” to the April 2026 Interim Final Rule. The correction re-instates the requirement for USCIS to process initial work permits for asylum seekers within 30 days! This is a win for ASAP members.

• July 21, 2026: The judge granted our Emergency Motion for an Administrative Stay in part.

• July 30, 2026: An in-person hearing was held in the U.S. District Court in Boston, Massachusetts.  

• August 5, 2026: The judge granted in part and denied in part our Motion for a Stay of Agency Action. The judge temporarily blocked USCIS from imposing penalties for failure to pay the annual asylum fee. But the judge allowed USCIS to end some TPS-based work permits early. 

• August 6, 2026: The organizations filed a Notice of Appeal, and an Emergency Motion for a Stay Pending Appeal in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

• August 7, 2026: The First Circuit denied the Emergency Motion for a Stay Pending Appeal without prejudice, directing the organizations to file in the District Court. The organizations then filed an Emergency Motion for a Stay in the District Court.

• August 10, 2026: The District Court denied the Emergency Motion for a Stay. The organizations then filed a Renewed Emergency Motion for a Stay and Immediate Administrative Stay in the First Circuit Court of Appeals. The First Circuit denied our Motion for an Immediate Administrative Stay, and ordered briefing on the Emergency Motion for a Stay.

• August 12, 2026: The government filed an Opposition to our Emergency Motion for a Stay.

Selected Documents: 

Below is a selection of documents related to the lawsuit. 

• This lawsuit challenges several DHS policies, including an April 2026 Interim Final Rule (IFR) about the annual asylum fee, TPS, and work permits. 

• ASAP’s First Comment Opposing the IFR, submitted alongside NTPSA, SEIU, and 81 other organizations (May 29, 2026) 

• ASAP’s Second Comment Opposing the IFR (June 29, 2026) 

• Complaint (July 1, 2026)

• Motion for a Stay of Agency Action (July 2, 2026)

• DHS’s Correcting Amendment to the April 2026 Interim Final Rule (July 21, 2026)

• Order Granting in Part the Emergency Motion for an Administrative Stay (July 21, 2026)

• Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part the Motion for a Stay of Agency Action (August 5, 2026) 

• Renewed Emergency Motion for a Stay Pending Appeal (August 10, 2026)