US has introduced new fees for certain immigrants who were previously not allowed to pay to file for employment authorization in America.
All foreigners need to have an employment authorization before they can start their job in America. It is also the responsibility of the US employers to ensure that all employees, regardless of their citizenship or national origin, are authorized to work in the country.
Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766/EAD) is one way to prove that a foreign worker is authorized to work in the United States for a specific time period. To apply for EAD, a foreigner has to file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.
However, not all are required to get an EAD before working in America. You do not need to apply for an EAD if you are a lawful permanent resident or holding a Green Card (Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card), which is evidence of your employment authorization.
You also do not need to apply for an EAD if you have a non-immigrant status that authorizes you to work for a specific employer incident to your status, for example, you are an H-1B, L-1B, O, or P non-immigrant.
The fee for filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, is $470 online and $520 in paper form.
However, foreigners under asylum, parolee, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) categories were exempted.
New Fees for These Categories
Now, the new fees for foreigners who file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for asylum, parolee, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) categories (a)(4), (a)(12), (c)(8), (c)(11), (c)(19), and (c)(34) are: For initial EAD applications, $550; and for renewal or extension EAD applications, $275.
Also, a new fee of $100 for foreigners who file Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal and an Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) of $100 (which must be paid online) for all foreigners with a pending Form I-589 for each calendar year their application remains pending, has been introduced.
There is one exception to these fees. If a foreigner requests an EAD after USCIS approves a new period of parole (re-parole) by filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, the fee will be the lower H.R. 1 fee of $275.
Any foreigner who filed or files a Form I-589 after October 1, 2024, that remains pending with USCIS for 365 days must pay the AAF is of the first anniversary of his or her filing date and each year thereafter that the application remains pending on such day of the calendar year.
For the first time, the AAF is due, foreigners who file for asylum do not need to monitor the time their application has been pending and if the AAF applies to them.
USCIS will issue personal notices to foreigners when their annual asylum fee is due, which will include the amount of the fee, when it must be paid, how the fee must be paid, and the consequences of failing to pay. USCIS will guide future years’ AAF payments in subsequent issuances.
Other Changes
H.R. 1 also changed validity periods for some EAD categories. For foreign parolees, initial employment authorization is valid for no more than one year or the duration of the foreigner’s parole, whichever is shorter. For foreigners with TPS, initial and renewal employment authorizations are valid for no more than one year or for the duration of the foreigner’s TPS status, whichever is shorter.
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. The fees in H.R. 1 do not supersede or replace those promulgated by the USCIS Fee Rule, rather, they will be charged “in addition” to current fees.