The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has paused the rollout of its new Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) following a federal court order issued last week.
On October 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland temporarily stayed the AAF implementation provisions outlined in USCIS’s July 22 notice, “USCIS Immigration Fees Required by HR-1 Reconciliation Bill.” The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project against USCIS and related federal agencies.
Under the now-paused policy, asylum applicants with pending Form I-589 applications during fiscal year 2025 would have been required to pay an annual fee. The measure also applied to individuals whose asylum cases remained pending for a year or more after filing. USCIS had begun issuing payment notices around October 1, 2025.
In a statement, the agency said it “strongly disagrees” with the court’s decision but will comply with the order pending further judicial review. It confirmed that all AAF notices have been suspended and that applicants who received them may disregard those instructions for now.
USCIS also clarified that it will not refund fees already paid and urged applicants to keep their receipts. Updated guidance on the AAF will be issued as the litigation continues.
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