Summary: On October 1, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Federal Register notice raising several humanitarian-related fees created by the 2025 law known as H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to account for inflation. USCIS announced the change on September 30, 2026. The new amounts apply to requests postmarked on or after October 16, 2026.
What happened
H.R. 1, signed on July 4, 2025, created new fees for asylum, humanitarian parole, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and related work permits, and requires DHS to adjust them every year for inflation. For fiscal year 2027, USCIS measured inflation from July 2025 to July 2026 at about 3.36 percent. The law requires most fees to be rounded down to the next lower $10, so some fees went up by $10, a few by a different amount, and some did not change.
According to USCIS, the changes include the annual fee for pending asylum applications (up $3), the immigration parole fee (up $30), the TPS application fee (up $10), and the fee for an initial work permit for asylum applicants, parolees and TPS holders (up $10). Renewal work permit fees for parolees and TPS holders stayed the same, and H.R. 1 does not allow an inflation increase to the asylum applicant renewal work permit fee.
Who is affected
- People with pending asylum applications, who pay an annual fee under H.R. 1.
- People who are paroled into the United States and do not meet an exception to the parole fee.
- TPS applicants and people seeking initial work permits based on asylum, parole or TPS.
USCIS states that any request postmarked on or after October 16, 2026 without the correct fee will be rejected.
What it means
These are not new fees; they are the yearly inflation updates that Congress built into H.R. 1. The previous adjustment took effect on January 1, 2026. The increases are modest, but because a request with the wrong fee is rejected rather than held, outdated amounts can cause delays for people seeking asylum, humanitarian parole or TPS. DHS says it may later write these annual adjustments into its regulations. Current amounts are listed in the official notice and on the USCIS fee pages.
Source: Federal Register (USCIS) – Fiscal Year 2027 Inflation Adjustment to H.R. 1 Immigration Fees (published October 1, 2026)
See also: USCIS – USCIS Announces FY 2027 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees (published September 30, 2026)
Wondering how this affects you or your family? Every case is different. Schedule a consultation with Attorney James Betzold, by phone or video, or call (833) 847-2335.
This article is a news summary for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration law changes often and every case is different; only a legal consultation with Attorney James Betzold can determine how this news applies to you.