US immigration fees rise effective today: Will H-1B workers, students and green card applicants from India pay more?

USCIS increased fees for asylum applications, immigration parole, certain initial employment authorisation documents and Temporary Protected Status. 

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased several immigration-related fees, including those linked to asylum applications, employment authorisation, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and certain immigration parole benefits. The changes are effective from today, October 16, 2026

These changes are related to the annual inflation adjustment mandated under the H.R. 1 reconciliation law. Earlier, USCIS mentioned the revisions account for inflation between July 2025 and July 2026 and are relatively minor.

As per a September 30 notification, the revised fees take effect on October 16. Applicants submitting requests postmarked on or after that date must include the updated fee applicable to their immigration benefit. Applications submitted with an incorrect fee may be rejected.

Which US immigration fees have increased?

The revised charges cover four categories of immigration-related fees.

• Annual asylum application fee: Increased from $102 to $105, a $3 increase.
• Immigration parole fee: The fee for Form I-131 has increased from $1,020 to $1,050, a $30 increase.
• Initial employment authorisation document (EAD): Increased from $560 to $570 for specified initial applications by asylum applicants, parole recipients and TPS applicants.
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS): The application fee for Form I-821 has increased from $510 to $520, a $10 increase.

Will H-1B workers, students and green card applicants pay more?

The latest revision does not introduce a general fee increase for all H-1B workers, international students or green card applicants from India.

H-1B workers and international students are not automatically subject to these revised charges merely because they hold those visa categories. The same applies to green card applicants: the announcement does not prescribe a blanket increase in green card application fees.

However, individuals in these groups who apply separately for an immigration benefit covered by the revised schedule may be affected, depending on their circumstances.

What should Indian applicants do?

The fee changes apply to Indians living in the US who apply for the specified benefits, including those seeking employment authorisation or TPS.

Applicants should check whether their request falls under one of the affected categories and verify the applicable fee before submitting it. USCIS has warned that requests postmarked on or after 16 October with an incorrect fee will be rejected.

The announcement does not state that every pending immigration application will automatically attract an additional charge. The revised fees apply to requests postmarked on or after the effective date that require one of the adjusted payments.

For Indian applicants, the key distinction is between these targeted immigration-benefit fee increases and the separate charges that may apply to visa petitions, visa applications and green card processing.