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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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New immigration fee rules set to take effect next month could lead to asylum seekers facing losses of work permits, rejection of cases or even deportation.
The move by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) codifies new rules requiring asylum applicants to pay an annual fee while cases are pending, with nonpayment leading to application rejections.
The rule is part of President Donald Trump and his administration's moves to overhaul the American immigration system, one of his sweeping campaign promises in his run for a second stint in the White House. Trump has moved to restrict legal immigration pathways and increase costs systemwide, imposing higher fees for asylum seekers and other applicants as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Measures now being implemented through federal rulemaking link payment compliance more directly to legal status and work authorization, marking a shift toward a fee-based enforcement mechanism within the immigration process.
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The changes apply to both pending and future asylum applicants. Federal data show more than 1.4 million pending affirmative asylum cases, with total applications across the system exceeding 2 million.
Ricky Murray, a former senior USCIS official, said that the rule effectively turns fee payment into a high-stakes compliance trigger.
"That’s an extraordinary level of severity for what is, at the core, a fee issue. This is not a merits-based determination. In fact, in many ways, this allows the government to dispose of cases without ever reaching the substance and facts of the asylum case," Murray told Newsweek.
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Who Is Impacted
The new rule includes additional fee-related provisions affecting other immigration filings, including charges tied to arrival and departure documentation.
DHS said it will issue individualized notices to applicants regarding payment obligations.
Under existing law, asylum applicants convicted of aggravated felonies are ineligible for employment authorization. A pending application for an employment authorization document must be denied if the asylum application is denied before the EAD decision. Employment authorization may be renewed while the asylum claim remains pending.
Individuals without lawful status who are rejected could ultimately face deportation, depending on their circumstances.
The Trump administration has clamped down on both legal and unauthorized migration, increasing immigration arrests and tightening eligibility for immigration benefits. The Trump administration has increasingly arrested migrants at USCIS appointments as the agency has worked more closely with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to coordinate arrests.
Annual Fee Requirement
Under the new rule, asylum applicants must pay an annual asylum fee for each year their case remains pending. DHS says that failure to pay within 30 days of receiving notice will result in the application being rejected. Any associated employment authorization application will also be denied.
The regulation further provides that once an application is rejected for non-payment, the agency will take no further action on the case. Applicants seeking asylum after a rejection would need to file a new application and pay applicable fees.
"This rule, if finalized, would reduce the incentive to file frivolous, fraudulent, or otherwise meritless asylum claims by changing filing and eligibility requirements for aliens requesting employment authorization based on a pending asylum application," USCIS wrote in an alert.
Murray said the policy “raises real legal questions” about whether it creates a procedural barrier to asylum eligibility and aligns with U.S. legal obligations.
"This fundamentally reshapes asylum access, conditioning access to asylum on the ability to pay."
The rule, published Tuesday in the Federal Register, takes effect May 29, 2026, and implements new fee and enforcement provisions administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and its parent agency, DHS.
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