On October 1, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began sending formal notices to aliens with a pending Form I‑589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal who must pay a newly mandated Annual Asylum Fee (AAF). This change reflects the agency’s implementation of Public Law 119‑21 (P.L. 119-21) and associated regulatory guidance.
What applicants need to know
- If you filed a Form I-589 and your case remains pending, you will receive a notice outlining the new fee obligation. USCIS also sends notices to any legal representative listed via Form G‑28.
- The law requires a $100 Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) for each calendar year your asylum application remains pending.
- The fee is mandatory and not waivable, even in cases of financial hardship.
- Payment must be made online via the official portal: my.uscis.gov. You will need your Alien Registration Number (A-Number) and your Form I-589 receipt number.
- Failure to pay could result in delays or negative impacts on the asylum application process.
Why this change matters
P.L. 119-21 and the related regulatory amendments mark a significant shift in asylum-fee policy. Under previous law, applicants with pending asylum filings were not subject to a recurring fee merely for the application remaining pending. The new AAF seeks to impose a cost for each year the application is unresolved.
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For applicants, this means:
- A recurring administrative cost year after year, not just at the time of filing.
- No possibility of fee waiver under the AAF even if you might otherwise qualify for fee waivers on other immigration benefit filings.
- Increased importance of tracking your case and payment deadlines to avoid adverse consequences.
Key deadlines and applicability
- If your Form I-589 was filed after October 1, 2024, and remains pending for 365 days, you will get a notice that the AAF is due on the one-year anniversary and each calendar year thereafter.
- If your case was filed on or before October 1, 2024, and is still pending at the end of fiscal year 2025 (September 30, 2025), AAF of $100 for FY 2025 is due. There is no retroactive application of the fee for years before FY 2025.
- USCIS has published updated fee schedules (e.g., Form G-1055) to reflect the AAF and other fee-machinery changes.
Practical steps for applicants and representatives
- Monitor your mailbox (or your attorney’s contact) for the notice from USCIS that the AAF is due.
- Strongly consider paying early — while the notice may allow 30 days, timely payment reduces risk of processing delays.
- Document your payment — download and save the receipt from the online payment portal, include it in your case file.
- Check your address and contact information on file with USCIS, so notices are not missed.
- If represented, ensure your representative listed on Form G-28 receives the notice and is aware of the fee obligation.
- Plan accordingly — recognise this is a recurring annual cost for as long as the asylum application remains unresolved.
Why non-payment is risky
Although the law does not use the phrase “automatic dismissal,” the USCIS notices and guidance warn that failure to pay the AAF may negatively affect your application, including processing delays. In practical terms, applicants should treat this as a mandatory compliance step to avoid putting their case at risk.
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Summary
The Trump administration’s legal framework (via P.L. 119-21) has brought in a new recurring fee for pending asylum applicants: the Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) of $100 per calendar year that an application remains pending.
Starting October 1, 2025, USCIS is issuing notices to applicants of pending Form I-589s and their attorneys or representatives. The fee is non-waivable, must be paid online via the official portal, and non-payment may harm the processing of the asylum case. Applicants and their legal representatives should be alert to the notice, be ready to pay, and keep documentation of payment.
