Recent Law Includes New and Updated Immigration Fees and Shortened Validity of Certain Employment Authorization Documents

With the enactment of H.R. 1, also known as One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there are some noteworthy changes to USCIS fees applicable to some immigration benefits that have traditionally been free or of lower cost. Applicants must submit the new fees with benefit requests postmarked on or after July 22, 2025. USCIS will reject any form postmarked on or after Aug. 21, 2025, without the proper fees.  Notably,

• There is a new fee for applications for asylum – $100
• There is a new Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) for each calendar year the asylum application remains pending (USCIS will send individual alerts, payable online only) – $100
• There is a changed fee for applications for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) for the following categories: asylum, parolee, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) categories. The categories are (a)(4), (a)(12), (c)(8), (c)(11), (c)(19), and (c)(34). The fees are: 
  • For initial EAD applications – $550; and 
  • For renewal or extension EAD applications – $275
• There is a new fee for applications for Special Immigrant Juvenile – $250
• There is a changed fee to register for TPS – $500

H.R. 1 also changed validity periods for some EAD categories. Notably, 

• Parolees (EAD category C11) – initial employment authorization is valid for 365 days or for the duration of the parole, whichever is shorter.
• Individuals with TPS (EAD categories A12/C19) – initial employment authorization is valid for 365 days or for the duration of the TPS status, whichever is shorter. For renewal applications pending or filed on or after July 22, 2025, it may only be automatically extended for up to one year or the duration of TPS (whichever is shorter). 

Employers with employees employed under the above-mentioned EAD categories should be mindful of both the new fees, and particularly, the shortened duration of some EAD categories so that they timely complete reverification based on these new shortened validity periods.