Annual Asylum Fee Enforcement Starts May 29, 2026: What Massachusetts Asylum Seekers Must Do to Protect Their Cases

What Is Changing on May 29, 2026

On April 29, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published an interim final rule in the Federal Register titled USCIS Immigration Fees and Related Procedures Required by H.R.1 Reconciliation Bill, 91 Fed. Reg. 18,213. The rule codifies the immigration fee provisions enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (H.R.1) and creates a clear enforcement mechanism for the Annual Asylum Fee. The rule is effective on May 29, 2026. Public comments are due by June 29, 2026.

The Annual Asylum Fee, or AAF, is a yearly charge of $102 in fiscal year 2026 that every person with a Form I-589 pending for one year or more must pay for each additional year the application remains pending. The fee was set at $100 by statute. H.R.1 requires DHS to adjust the fee for inflation. The fiscal year 2026 inflation-adjusted amount of $102 was published in the November 2025 Federal Register notice on H.R.1 fee implementation.

The new piece is the enforcement framework. As of May 29, 2026, when USCIS sends an applicant a notice that the AAF is due, the applicant has 30 days from the notice to pay. If the fee remains unpaid after 30 days, USCIS will take a sequence of steps that should alarm every asylum applicant in Massachusetts. USCIS will reject the pending Form I-589. USCIS will deny any pending Form I-765 employment authorization application that is based on the asylum filing. USCIS will revoke or refuse to renew any asylum-based employment authorization document already issued. And if the applicant does not have another lawful status in the United States, USCIS will refer the matter for the initiation of removal proceedings.

The Background: H.R.1 and the New Asylum Fee Structure

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, often called H.R.1, was enacted in July 2025. The statute imposed new immigration filing fees and created the first-ever filing fee for Form I-589, which had been free of charge since the form's adoption. H.R.1 also created the Annual Asylum Fee. USCIS implemented the basic fee structure through Federal Register notices in July 2025 and November 2025. The November 2025 notice published the fiscal year 2026 inflation-adjusted amounts under H.R.1, which fixed the AAF at $102 for any year ending in fiscal year 2026.

The April 29, 2026 interim final rule does three things. First, it codifies the H.R.1 fee structure in the regulations at 8 CFR. Second, it sets out the consequences of nonpayment. Third, it explains how USCIS will provide notice and process payments. The rule is published as an interim final rule, which means it takes effect without prior notice and comment because the agency claims good cause based on the statutory mandate. The 60-day comment period closes on June 29, 2026, but the rule is binding starting May 29, 2026.

Who Must Pay the Annual Asylum Fee

Any noncitizen with a Form I-589 Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal that was filed on or after October 1, 2024, and that has remained pending with USCIS or with the immigration court for at least 365 days, must pay the Annual Asylum Fee. The first AAF is due on the one-year anniversary of filing. A new AAF is due each year afterward until USCIS or the immigration judge issues a final decision on the application.

The rule covers both affirmative asylum applicants whose cases are with USCIS and defensive asylum applicants whose cases are before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Applicants with cases on appeal at the Board of Immigration Appeals also owe the fee for as long as the case remains pending.

The rule does not contain a fee waiver provision for the AAF itself. H.R.1 did not authorize a waiver and the regulations follow the statute. That is a significant change from prior asylum practice, in which Form I-589 had no filing fee and most ancillary fees could be waived for indigent applicants.

How USCIS Will Notify You and How to Pay

USCIS will send a personal notice when the AAF is due. The notice is being sent to the applicant's mailing address of record under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(2). For applicants represented by counsel, USCIS will also send a copy to the attorney of record via Form G-28. The notice will state the amount due, the deadline, and the method of payment.

For affirmative asylum applicants whose Form I-589 is pending with USCIS, payment is made online through the myUSCIS account portal at myaccount.uscis.gov. The applicant or counsel logs in, locates the Annual Asylum Fee item, and pays by credit card, debit card, or U.S. bank account ACH transfer. The system generates an electronic receipt that the applicant should save.

For defensive asylum applicants whose Form I-589 is before an immigration judge in removal proceedings, payment is made online through the EOIR Pay portal at epay.eoir.justice.gov. The applicant logs in, enters the applicant's name and A-Number, selects the filing type for the Annual Asylum Fee, completes the payment, and saves the receipt with the EOIR tracking identifier. The receipt should be filed with the immigration court to document compliance.

The Consequences of Nonpayment

The interim final rule sets out a cascading set of consequences for nonpayment that begins running 30 days after USCIS issues the notice. The 30-day clock is fixed by the rule. There is no statutory or regulatory grace period beyond that 30 days.

The asylum application is rejected. Under the new rule, USCIS will administratively reject the pending Form I-589 if the AAF is not paid within 30 days. Rejection means the application is treated as if it had never been filed. The filing date is lost. Any one-year filing deadline under INA section 208(a)(2)(B) that had been protected by the original filing date may no longer be available. This is one of the most severe operational consequences of the rule.

The work permit application is denied. Any pending Form I-765 (c)(8) application for employment authorization that is based on the asylum filing will be denied. The applicant loses the prospective right to work in the United States. Family members covered as derivatives on the asylum application are affected as well.

Existing work permits are revoked. An asylum-based EAD that has already been issued and approved can be revoked or USCIS can refuse to renew it on the same nonpayment basis. The EAD is the practical key to lawful employment, lawful Social Security number issuance, and in most cases the Massachusetts driver's license under the Work and Family Mobility Act. The loss of the EAD has cascading consequences far beyond the asylum case itself.

Removal proceedings may be initiated. If the applicant does not have another lawful immigration status in the United States at the time the asylum application is rejected, USCIS will refer the case for the initiation of removal proceedings. That means an applicant who has been waiting years for an asylum interview can lose the case, lose the work permit, and be served with a Notice to Appear, all because a $102 fee was not paid on time.

Why This Hits the Massachusetts Brazilian and Haitian Communities Hard

The new enforcement rule lands on two communities in Massachusetts that have heavily relied on the asylum process to navigate the immigration system over the last decade. Brazilian asylum applicants are the largest national-origin group filing affirmative asylum claims with USCIS in the Northeast region. Many Brazilian families in Framingham, Marlborough, Everett, Malden, Lowell, and Milford have asylum applications pending for two or three years. Many of those applicants also hold asylum-based EADs that they use to work and to maintain a Massachusetts driver's license under the WFMA. Haitian asylum applicants in Brockton, Mattapan, Randolph, Everett, Malden, and Stoughton face the same exposure. The AAF will hit families across both communities almost simultaneously this summer.

For a family of four with two adult asylum applicants who each filed a separate I-589, the annual exposure is $204 per year. The principal applicant pays $102 and any adult co-applicant or independently filing spouse pays $102. Children listed as derivatives on a parent's Form I-589 do not owe a separate fee. Children with their own independent Form I-589 do owe a separate fee.

The financial exposure compounds over time. A family with two parents and two children, both parents filing independently, who entered the asylum system in 2024 and remain pending in 2027, will have paid the AAF three times by then, for a total of $612 over three years. The fee is a real burden on working families. The consequence of nonpayment is far worse.

What Massachusetts Asylum Applicants Should Do This Week

The rule takes effect on May 29, 2026. Notices will start arriving shortly afterward for applicants whose anniversary date has already passed. Here is what I am telling clients this week.

Confirm your mailing address with USCIS and EOIR. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(2) and the EOIR-33 change of address rule at 8 CFR 1003.15(d), every applicant has an affirmative duty to keep USCIS and the immigration court informed of the current mailing address. If your AAF notice is sent to an old address, the 30-day clock still runs. File Form AR-11 with USCIS within 10 days of any address change. File Form EOIR-33 with the immigration court within 5 days of any address change. Do both. Each agency runs a separate address record.

Create a myUSCIS account if you do not already have one. Affirmative asylum applicants pay the AAF online through myaccount.uscis.gov. The account is free to create. The applicant or counsel will need the receipt number from the Form I-589 filing. Have the account ready to use before the notice arrives.

Defensive asylum applicants should familiarize themselves with EOIR Pay. If your asylum case is before an immigration judge in removal proceedings, the AAF is paid through epay.eoir.justice.gov. Save your A-Number, your case information, and your immigration court information. Have the EOIR Pay portal ready to use before the notice arrives.

Calendar your anniversary date. The first AAF is due on the one-year anniversary of your Form I-589 filing. If you do not know that date, find the original receipt notice or the immigration court hearing notice. The receipt date is the filing date. Set a calendar reminder 60 days before that anniversary date each year. Set another reminder 30 days before. The cost of a missed deadline is the case itself.

Talk to your attorney before paying if you are unsure. A small number of applicants may have an open question about whether the AAF applies to them. For example, applicants whose Form I-589 was filed before October 1, 2024 may have a different obligation profile, and the rule's full reach on those legacy cases is being studied by the immigration bar. An experienced asylum attorney can help you determine your obligation and document the payment correctly.

Save every receipt. When you pay through myUSCIS or EOIR Pay, the system generates a receipt with a tracking number. Save a PDF copy. Save a screenshot. Email it to yourself. Keep a paper copy in your immigration file. If a payment is ever lost in the system, the receipt is the only proof you have that you paid on time.

How This Connects to Other Recent Policy Changes

The AAF enforcement rule arrives at a moment of broad change in asylum practice. Three other recent developments interact directly with it.

In December 2025, USCIS announced that asylum-based EADs issued under category (c)(8) would carry an 18-month maximum validity, with renewals from certain high-risk countries paused starting January 1, 2026. Asylum applicants from many countries already face shorter EAD validity periods than before. The AAF revocation framework adds another path to losing the EAD.

In February 2026, DHS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking titled Employment Authorization Reform for Asylum Applicants, 91 Fed. Reg. 8,495. That proposed rule would change the USCIS processing deadline for initial (c)(8) EAD applications from 30 days to 180 days and would pause acceptance of new (c)(8) EAD applications when processing times exceed 180 days. The proposal is not yet final. If finalized in its current form, the changes will compound the impact of the AAF revocation framework.

In April 2026, a federal court in the District of Massachusetts ordered USCIS to lift adjudication holds on approximately 200 plaintiffs' applications affected by the strengthened screening and vetting procedures USCIS began applying in 2025. The order did not bind cases beyond the named plaintiffs but it signaled that some of the broader processing holds may be vulnerable in litigation.

Read together, these developments mean asylum cases are taking longer, work permits are being issued for shorter periods, and the financial and procedural cost of keeping a case alive is rising. The AAF is the cash component of that pressure.

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