PAY THE ANNUAL ASYLUM FEE
On July 4, 2025, the U.S. government passed a law that created new fees for asylum applicants. These fees include an Annual Asylum Fee for certain individuals who previously filed an asylum application, and their asylum application remains pending. On October 30, 2025, a judge paused the implementation of the Annual Asylum Fee. However, the pause ended on February 2, 2026. Follow the instructions below to pay the Annual Asylum Fee for your case:
Immigration Court (EOIR)
The Immigration Courts (called the Executive Office for Immigration Review or EOIR) are now charging an Annual Asylum Fee of $102. You are not required to pay the fee until you receive a written order order from an Immigration Court telling you to pay the fee (example HERE, Source: Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)). However, we recommend that you go ahead and pay the Annual Asylum Fee NOW if your asylum application has already been pending for a year or longer.
To pay the Annual Asylum Fee:
Go to the EOIR Payment Portal
Enter your case number (“A” Number)
Click on the drop down menu for “Filing Type”
Select the option that says:
Court - Form I-589, Annual Asylum Fee for Asylum and Withholding of Removal (AAF)
Make a $102 payment
Make sure to save your “Payment Tracking ID” and your payment receipt
PLEASE NOTE: If you previously tried to pay the Annual Asylum Fee to the Immigration Courts by selecting a different filing type on the EOIR Payment Portal, such as:
Court - I-589, Application for Asylum - Initial Fee, or
Court - Form I-589, Initial Application Fee for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal.
you may want to consider paying the fee again under the correct category. The Director of EOIR previously stated that advance payments will be applied to the fees you owe once your billing notice is issued. However, the government has not released any information about the process to get credit for an advance payment and it is not clear whether it is safe to rely on this statement.
Watch the videos below for a step-by-step guide to paying the Annual Asylum Fee to EOIR:
Video in English (Source: Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP))
Video in Spanish (Source: Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP))
BoarD of immigration appeals (BIA)
The government has said that it will also charge the Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) for cases on appeal at the BIA, if you filed for asylum more than one year ago. The government has not confirmed the process to pay the AAF for a case on appeal at the BIA, but we believe you should receive a written order when you are required to pay the fee. Even if you have not yet received an order telling you to pay the AAF, you can try to pay the fee now by following the instructions above for Immigration Court (EOIR). Please note: There is currently no option on the EOIR Payment Portal to specifically pay the AAF to the BIA. However, if you make a payment under the filing type “Court - Form I-589, Annual Asylum Fee for Asylum and Withholding of Removal (AAF),” we believe that the BIA should credit that payment made even if a specific option to pay the BIA annual asylum fee later becomes available. However, the government has not specifically confirmed that.
U.S. Citizenship and immigration services (USCIS)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now charging an annual asylum fee of $102. If your asylum application has been pending for more than one year, USCIS can charge the annual asylum fee at any time. You may have already received a notice in the mail from USCIS or on your USCIS online account. However, we recommend that you pay the Annual Asylum Fee NOW even if you have not received a notice!
To pay the fee:
Enter your case number (“A” number) and Receipt Number.
Click “Continue to Payment.”
Click the blue button that says “Pay and Submit” and enter your credit card, debit card, or U.S. bank account information.
Before you submit your payment, write down or screen shot the Agency Tracking ID at the top of the page and save it in a safe place (YOU MAY NEED THIS NUMBER IN THE FUTURE TO PROVE THAT YOU PAID THE FEE!!!).
Then click the blue button that says “Continue” to submit your payment.
After you pay the Annual Asylum Fee to USCIS, you should receive a receipt for your payment by mail or in your USCIS online account. When you get your receipt (example HERE, Source: Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), make sure to keep it in a safe place.
Watch the videos below for a step-by-step guide to paying the Annual Asylum Fee to USCIS:
Video in English (Source: Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP))
Video in Spanish (Source: Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP))
Other Important Notes
If you do not have a bank account or a credit or debit card, you can use cash to buy a pre-paid debit card to make the payment. Make sure to add extra money to the card to cover any transaction fees.
You only need to pay one Annual Asylum Fee for each asylum application (Form I-589) filed. For example, if a father filed an asylum application and included his wife and three children in his application, he must pay a total fee of $102, not $510. However, if his wife and three children also filed separate independent asylum applications in addition to being included in the father’s application, each family member must pay a fee of $102, and the family would have to pay $510 total.