Annual Asylum Fee – What you Need to Know
Denice Flores • October 9, 2025
Under the new regulation, if a person filed or files Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal after October 1, 2024, and the application remains pending with USCIS for 365 days, the applicant must pay an Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) on the one-year anniversary of his or her filing date.
Asylum seekers must pay an annual $100.00 fee every year
their case remains pending. Unlike many other immigration fees, there are no waivers or exemptions available.
- The annual asylum fee is triggered once your asylum application has been pending for 365 days or 1 year.
- USCIS will notify applicants when payment is due, and fees must be paid electronically through the USCIS online system.
- For individuals in removal proceedings, the fee must be paid through the EOIR Payment Portal.
- Missing a payment could result in your application being deemed abandoned or dismissed.
If you or someone you know is applying for asylum, please consult with an immigration attorney to ensure compliance with these new rules and to safeguard your case.
This blog is not intended to be legal advice and nothing here should be construed as establishing an attorney client relationship. Please schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney before acting on any information read here.
Denice Flores
This Facebook widget is no longer supported.
Similar Posts
As of April 1, 2024, USCIS has instituted an inflation adjustment to immigration application filing fees . These fee increases apply to a majority of the different application types, including family-based, non-immigrant, and immigrant petitions. As a part of these fee increases, USCIS has also instituted a new program designed to provide funding to the United States’ Asylum Program, in order to better address the massive backlog of pending asylum claims currently waiting to be adjudicated. Unfortunately, these changes have led to confusion among petitioners for when they are required to pay the Asylum Program Fee, and when they may qualify for a 50% or complete exemption from the fee. The Asylum Program Fee is required to be submitted by employers in all I-129 and I-140 petitions filed on or after April 1, 2024. The Asylum Program Fee is $600, however, certain exemptions apply . Small employers , defined as having 25 or fewer total employees, qualify for a reduction of the Asylum Program Fee, but are still required to submit a reduced fee of $300. Individual petitioners, or self-petitions, such as in the case of an EB-2 National Interest Waiver, are considered small employers for the purpose of the Asylum Program Fee and are also required to submit the reduced $300 fee. Non-profit organizations are exempted from the Asylum Program fee and are not required to submit any additional funds with the ordinary I-129 or I-140 filing fee. In addition, non-profits qualify for a 50% reduction of the ordinary filing fee in certain types of applications, bringing the overall filing fee burden down substantially for non-profit organizations. With these changes to USCIS’ filing fee schedule, USCIS is hoping for significant improvements to efficiency and processing for pending asylum applicants. If you or your petitioning organization need any assistance in preparing an application for an immigration benefit, including ensuring proper compliance with the new fee requirements, our office is ready and waiting to help!
Asylum is an application that allows an individual to remain in the United States instead of being removed or having to return to their home country where he or she fears persecution or harm. An asylum application can be filed one of two ways.
Each year, many people come to the United States seeking refuge from harm or persecution that they suffered in their home country. Those people apply for Asylum (Form I-589) either before USCIS or in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has concluded the annual H-1B cap lottery for Fiscal Year 2027, with employers and legal representatives now able to check selection outcomes through their registration portals.
In 1948, the world came together to declare that certain rights are inherent to every human being, regardless of nationality. Chief among these is the right to safety.
The Universal Right to Seek Safety
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), specifically Article 14, guarantees that "everyone has the right to
On January 14, 2026, the Trump administration announced a freeze on immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries . The administration states that this “visa freeze” is intended to review security protocols, “reduce risks,” and control immigration flows. However, the immediate reality is that this change in policy has temporarily suspended visa processing and restricted travel for applicants from numerous countries across the globe. While the legal landscape surrounding these suspensions is highly fluid and subject to change, it is important to consider how this “visa freeze” might impact your current status or immigration plans. The scope of the restrictions varies drastically depending on your country of origin and specific visa category. Most notably, a nationality-based travel ban restricts visa issuance for 19 countries : Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Beyond this targeted ban, a broader freeze affects applicants from a designated list of up to 75 countries, leading to indefinite delays for many visa petitions. However, it is important to note that immigrant visa applications first need to be processed through USCIS, which has not paused processing applications from the 75 countries. Thus, it is important to contact an attorney to understand at what point in the process this visa freeze may affect your case. While Brazil is included in the list of 75 countries, at the time of this publication, the freeze does not include non-immigrant visas for Brazil . Non-immigrant visas are granted to foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States on a temporary basis for specific purposes, such as tourism, studying, or temporary work. This means that Brazilian applicants can still safely pursue non-immigrant employment options, such as O visas for individuals with extraordinary ability or P visas for internationally recognized athletes, without being subjected to the current travel bans or suspensions. This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. There are many changes and uncertainties, so please consult with a qualified attorney at Santos Lloyd Law Firm, P.C. to understand how these evolving policies might affect your specific case
