US Immigration Fees Rise October 16, 2026: What Changes (and What Does Not)
Llandora·Updated 2026-10-14
⚠️ Disclaimer: For general information only — not tax, financial, legal, or medical advice. Figures may be outdated or incorrect; tax rules change frequently. Verify important decisions with the CRA/IRS or a qualified professional (for health topics, a licensed healthcare provider). You use this information at your own risk.
The short answer
Effective October 16, 2026, a batch of US immigration fees goes up — but only certain ones. The increases come from the annual inflation adjustment required by H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21), which ties specified fees to the Consumer Price Index. CPI-U rose 3.36% between July 2025 and July 2026, and that number is now flowing through to fee tables. The dollar amounts are small; the compliance trap is not. Here is the full picture — including the widespread confusion about H-1B fees, addressed head-on.
Which fees change on October 16
USCIS fees (per the September 30, 2026 USCIS notice):
Form / fee
Previous
New (Oct 16, 2026)
Annual asylum application fee
$102
$105
Form I-131, immigration parole fee
$1,020
$1,050
Form I-765, initial EAD — asylum applicant
$560
$570
Form I-765, initial EAD — parolee
$560
$570
Form I-765, initial EAD — TPS applicant
$560
$570
Form I-821, TPS application
$510
$520
CBP fees (per the October 1, 2026 CBP notice, 91 FR 62534):
Fee
Previous
New (Oct 16, 2026)
ESTA authorization
$40.27
$40.62
EVUS enrollment
$30.75
$31.75
EVUS applies to nationals of the People's Republic of China holding certain 10-year B-1/B-2 visitor visas, who must enroll or update before traveling to the US. Existing valid ESTA and EVUS authorizations keep their current validity — the new amounts apply to new applications and transactions from October 16 forward. The land-border I-94 fee stays at $30 due to statutory rounding rules.
The postmark rule: the part that actually bites
USCIS could not be clearer: any request postmarked on or after October 16, 2026 without the proper new fee will be rejected. Filings postmarked before October 16 may use the old fees. For anyone filing near the deadline, the practical advice is blunt — confirm every fee against the current table, and if you are mailing close to the date, consider whether the extra dollars are worth the risk of a rejection and a lost filing window.
One nuance on parole: the CBP notice ties the $1,050 parole fee to the grant of parole, collected from anyone granted parole on or after October 16, 2026, regardless of when the underlying application was submitted — unless one of the statute's exceptions applies.
Immigration court filings follow a slightly different calendar: EOIR adopted its FY2027 adjustments effective October 1, 2026 — the $105 annual asylum fee and $520 I-821 fee apply there two weeks earlier, and the H.R. 1 portion of the I-485 fee rises from $1,540 to $1,590 and the I-601 from $1,070 to $1,100 for EOIR filings.
What does NOT change — the H-1B confusion
This needs to be said directly because misinformation is spreading: these inflation adjustments do not change regular H-1B, L-1, or O-1 petition fees. They do not change I-140 fees, adjustment-of-status fees, or H-4 EAD fees. The October 16 adjustments apply only to the specific H.R. 1 fees listed above — asylum, parole, TPS-related, ESTA, and EVUS.
The H-1B fee landscape is a separate story entirely: the $100,000 proclamation fee is currently blocked by two federal court orders, and the proposed $103,265 DHS fee is only a proposal. Neither is affected by — or affects — the October 16 inflation adjustments. If someone tells you H-1B filing fees went up on October 16, they are confusing two different things.
Why this recurs every year
H.R. 1 requires DHS to adjust these specified fees for inflation each fiscal year. Expect a similar notice around October 2027, 2028, and so on. Some fees stay flat in a given year when rounding rules absorb the inflation increment — that is why, for example, the I-94 fee did not move this time. DHS has said it may write the annual adjustments directly into its fee regulations (8 CFR part 106) in a future rule, which would make the yearly updates more mechanical.
Frequently asked questions
I mailed my application on October 14 with the old fee. Is it OK?
Yes. USCIS uses the postmark date: filings postmarked before October 16, 2026 may use the previous fees.
What happens if I send the old fee on October 16 or later?
USCIS will reject the filing. You lose time, not just the fee difference.
Do ESTA/EVUS fees affect my existing authorization?
No. Existing valid authorizations keep their validity; the new amounts apply to new applications and transactions from October 16.
Did H-1B petition fees change on October 16?
No. The inflation adjustments do not touch H-1B, L-1, O-1, I-140, or adjustment-of-status fees. The H-1B $100,000 proclamation fee remains blocked by court order, and the $103,265 proposal is not final.
Will fees go up again next year?
Almost certainly, by whatever the CPI-U increase is. H.R. 1 mandates annual adjustments.
Sources
USCIS, USCIS Announces FY 2027 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees (Sept 30, 2026): https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-announces-fy-2027-inflation-increase-for-certain-immigration-related-fees
VisaVerge, ESTA and EVUS Fees Change October 16, 2026: https://www.visaverge.com/passport/esta-and-evus-fees-rise-for-us-bound-travelers-us-customs-and-border-protection-confirms/
GCEB1, USCIS Asylum, Parole & TPS Fee Hike in FY 2027: https://gceb1.com/uscis-raises-asylum-parole-and-tps-fees-for-fy-2027-what-changes-on-october-16
This article is general information about US federal fee schedules, not legal advice, and reflects the rules as of October 15, 2026. Fee tables change; always confirm the current amount on uscis.gov or cbp.gov before filing, and consult a licensed US immigration attorney for case-specific questions.
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