New Fees and New Editions: What to Know Before You File

Every October, the government starts a new fiscal year, and because of the 2025 budget law, many immigration fees increase annually at this time.

What’s changing

The 2025 budget law (H.R. 1) created new immigration fees and adjusted others, and it requires many to rise with inflation every year. The FY 2027 increases for USCIS forms are small, but they matter. For USCIS filings, any filing postmarked on or after October 16, 2026 must include the new amount. If it doesn’t, USCIS will reject it. Here are a few of the most common changes:

• Annual asylum fee (Form I-589): $102 → $105
• Initial work permit (Form I-765) for asylum applicants, parolees, and TPS applicants: $560 → $570

Similarly, filing fees in immigration court have increased as well. These changes, effective October 1, 2026, including the following:

• Adjustment of Status (Form I-485): $1,540 → $1,590
• BIA Appeal: $1,030 → $1,060

A rejection costs more than the $10 or $30 difference. You lose time, and in some cases you could miss a deadline that can’t be fixed later.

Make sure you’re using the current form

Apart from getting the fee amount correct, it is crucial that you file the correct edition of the form that you are filing. USCIS updates its forms often, sometimes with very little notice. When it does, it often stops accepting the old version right away.

Before you mail anything, take two minutes to check:

1. Go to the form’s page on uscis.gov and find the current edition date.
2. Compare it to the date printed at the bottom of each page of your form.
3. Check the fee on the form’s page or with the USCIS Fee Calculator. Don’t rely on a fee you found last year or on a form you saved months ago.

When in doubt, call us

If you have questions about fees, form editions, or anything related to your immigration case, give us a call! We are here to help! It’s often much easier to catch a problem before it goes in the mail than to fix it after a rejection notice arrives.