Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill created a filing fee for asylum and an annual fee that asylum seekers must pay each year their application is pending. Unfortunately, the roll out of the fee payment system was a mess. It was impossible to pay the fee unless you first received a notice from USCIS or EOIR (the Executive Office for Immigration Review–the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Courts), but some people were able to pay without receiving a notice. Other people were not able to pay even with the notice. Many people never received a notice at all. The fee was temporarily paused by a lawsuit, but then went back into effect. In short, the whole annual asylum fee (AAF) system is confusing. It’s also frightening, since failure to pay could result in your asylum case being denied.
For many asylum seekers, the window to pay the AAF closed before they could pay (or before they even knew they were required to pay). Recently, however, the window has reopened for some affirmative asylum seekers, and they have been able to pay the fee. Of course, this happened without an announcement from USCIS; we know about it only because some asylum seekers have reported that they are now able to pay the fee. We do not know how long the payment window will remain open, and so if you have not yet paid the AAF, the time to do that is now.
There are two ways to pay the AAF. One way for affirmative asylum seekers (people with cases at the Asylum Office/USCIS) and another way for asylum seekers in Immigration Court.
For affirmative asylum seekers (at the Asylum Office), they pay through the USCIS Annual Asylum Fee Payment Portal. To make the payment, you will need your Alien number and your receipt number. Both numbers should appear on your asylum receipt and your biometric notice.
If you try to pay the AAF and the website won’t accept payment, there are a few actions you can try, as recommended by ASAP, the Asylum Seekers Advocacy Project. First, document your attempts to pay. Take a photo or screenshot, or print the USCIS message that says that the payment period has expired. Record the date. Second, contact USCIS to ask them to reopen your case to allow you to pay, because you never received the payment notice. You can call USCIS at 800-375-5283 or go to the USCIS website and click “Need Help? Chat with Emma” at the bottom right side of the screen. Ask for a service request number. Record that number and the date. Third, you can request that your congressperson contact USCIS for you. You do not have to be a U.S. citizen to do this. You can find contact information for your congressperson here: House of Representatives or Senate. Keep documentation of any efforts the congressperson’s office makes on your behalf.
ASAP has also filed a lawsuit related to the asylum fee. The lawsuit has temporarily stayed (blocked) USCIS from imposing a penalty for failure to pay the AAF. However, the situation is fluid and the stay could end at any time. For this reason, it is important to pay the fee as soon as possible, or if you are unable to pay, to document your efforts to make the payment.
For people with an asylum case at the Immigration Court or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), they also need to pay the annual asylum fee. The court or the BIA should issue an order informing you that it is time to pay. However, these orders are not always issued, and if you have an asylum case pending at the Immigration Court or the BIA, you should make the payment now.
For the Immigration Court or the BIA, you can pay the AAF at the EOIR Payment Portal. You will need your Alien number to make the payment. After you pay, you will get a receipt, which you should save and then file with the Immigration Court or BIA.
If you fail to pay the AAF, the Immigration Court or BIA can deny your asylum application. If that happens, you will remain eligible for Withholding of Removal and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, but these are inferior forms of protection and they are more difficult to obtain than asylum. For this reason, it is important to pay the AAF to preserve your opportunity to seek asylum in the United States.
The asylum fee is cruel and pointless, and is often difficult to pay. It seems that the main purpose of the AAF is to harm vulnerable immigrants and the agencies that support them. It also punishes people for delays caused by the U.S. government. While litigation may mitigate the damage caused by the AAF, payment of the fee is required by law, and for asylum seekers who have not yet paid, it is crucial to make the AAF payment as soon as possible.
The post The Time to Pay the Asylum Fee Is Now appeared first on The Asylumist.