Immigration Court Requirements, Fees & Annual Asylum Fee

EOIR houses both the Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals. USCIS is a separate agency. An asylum case can begin at USCIS, move to immigration court, and later reach the Board, and the filing rules, payment systems, and forms change as it moves. 

Immigration court relief applications include Form I-589 for asylum and withholding of removal, Form I-485 for adjustment of status, Forms EOIR-42A and EOIR-42B for cancellation of removal, and Form EOIR-40 for suspension of deportation. Board appeals require Form EOIR-26 or Form EOIR-29. Fees apply to nearly all applications, motions to reopen, and motions to reconsider. These amounts rose sharply under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and adjust each federal fiscal year. Applicants must pay via the EOIR Payment Portal, as filings without proof of payment are rejected.

Immigration court address changes are filed on Form EOIR-33/IC, while cases on appeal require Form EOIR-33/BIA. The change of address must be reported within five working days of moving. Hearing notices are sent to the address on file, and any notice mailed to an old address counts as delivered. 

Biometrics are required for applications filed in immigration court. Failure to appear at a scheduled biometrics appointment can cause an application to be deemed abandoned.

An annual fee of $102 is owed for every year an asylum application remains pending, whether the case sits at USCIS or in immigration court. It cannot be waived. Notice of the fee is frequently delivered to an online account rather than by mail, and missed payments have become common. A missed payment can be corrected, and the steps below explain how.