[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2561-2563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01012]
[[Page 2561]]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Executive Office for Immigration Review
[Dir. Order No. 01-2026]
Inflation Adjustment for EOIR OBBBA Fees; Fiscal Year 2026
AGENCY: Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of Justice.
ACTION: Notice of inflationary fee adjustment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (``Department'') is announcing
inflationary adjustments to immigration-related fees for filings with
the Executive Office for Immigration Review (``EOIR'') under the One
Big Beautiful Bill Act (``OBBBA'') for Fiscal Year (``FY'') 2026. OBBBA
requires the Attorney General to annually adjust for inflation the
OBBBA fees that EOIR collects. This notice sets out the EOIR-collected
OBBBA fees for the remainder of FY 2026 and their effective dates.
DATES: The fees announced in this notice are effective February 1,
2026. Any filing with an Immigration Court or the Board of Immigration
Appeals postmarked on or after February 1, 2026, without the proper
filing fee or an applicable request for fee waiver will be rejected.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamee E. Comans, Acting Assistant
Director, Office of Policy, Executive Office for Immigration Review,
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2500, Falls Church, VA 22041, telephone (703)
305-0289 (not a toll-free call).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Abbreviations
CPI-U--Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
DHS--Department of Homeland Security
EOIR--Executive Office for Immigration Review
FRN--Federal Register Notice
FY--Fiscal Year
INA--Immigration and Nationality Act
OBBBA--One Big Beautiful Bill Act
PM--Policy Memorandum
I. Background and Authority
On July 4, 2025, a Congressional budget reconciliation bill (H.R.
1), commonly referred to as the OBBBA,\1\ became law. Public Law 119-
21, 139 Stat. 72. As relevant to EOIR, OBBBA (1) introduced new
immigration fees to be collected by the Attorney General beginning in
FY 2025 (``OBBBA fees'') on top of any preexisting EOIR fees, (2)
authorized the Attorney General to adjust EOIR-collected OBBBA fees
through rulemaking, and (3) mandated that the Attorney General annually
update EOIR-collected OBBBA fees for inflation based on the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (``CPI-U''). See OBBBA, Title X,
Subtitle A, Part I, Sec. 100002, 100009, 100013; 8 U.S.C. 1802, 1808,
1812.
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\1\ The official name of the legislation is ``An Act To provide
for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.''
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On July 9, 2025, EOIR issued a policy memorandum (``PM'') that
explained the FY 2025 OBBBA fees to be collected by EOIR. See EOIR PM
25-35, Statutory Fees Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 9,
2025). Then, on July 17, 2025, EOIR issued another PM, which superseded
and replaced PM 25-35 and clarified that OBBBA fees apply in addition
to any other fees authorized by law, including preexisting EOIR fees.
See EOIR PM 25-36, Statutory Fees Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
(July 17, 2025) (amended). Thus, PM 25-36, as amended, provided
additional information on the collection of fees and listed the total
applicable EOIR fee amounts for the remainder of FY 2025, inclusive of
any applicable FY 2025 OBBBA fees. Id. The total EOIR fees for the
remainder of FY 2025, as set forth in PM 25-36, were as follows:
$2,940 for any application for adjustment of status (Form
I-485) to that of a lawful permanent resident filed with the
Immigration Court or adjudicated in Immigration Court, inclusive of the
$1,500 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(a) (8 U.S.C.
1812(a));
$100 for any application for asylum (Form I-589) filed
under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (``INA'') (8
U.S.C. 1158), inclusive of the $100 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in
Section 100002 (8 U.S.C. 1802);
$100 annually for any application for asylum (Form I-589)
for each calendar year that the asylum application remains pending,
inclusive of the $100 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100009(a)-
(b) (8 U.S.C. 1808);
$700 for any application for cancellation of removal (Form
EOIR-42A) filed with an Immigration Court for an alien who is a lawful
permanent resident, inclusive of the $600 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth
in Section 100013(i) (8 U.S.C. 1812(i));
$1,600 for any application for cancellation of removal and
adjustment of status (Form EOIR-42B) filed with an Immigration Court by
an alien who is not a lawful permanent resident, inclusive of the
$1,500 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(j) (8 U.S.C.
1812(j));
$700 for any application for suspension of deportation
(Form EOIR-40 \2\) filed with an Immigration Court, inclusive of the
$600 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(h) (8 U.S.C.
1812(h));
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\2\ PM 25-36 inadvertently labeled this form as Form I-881;
however, Form EOIR-40 is the correct form.
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$500 for any application for temporary protected status
(Form I-821) filed with an Immigration Court, inclusive of the $500 FY
2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(c) (8 U.S.C. 1812(c));
$2,100 for any application for waiver of grounds of
inadmissibility (Form I-601) filed with an Immigration Court, inclusive
of the $1,050 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(b) (8
U.S.C. 1812(b));
$1,010 for any appeal from a decision of an Immigration
Judge (Form EOIR-26)--except for bond appeals, which have no fee--
inclusive of the $900 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(d)
(8 U.S.C. 1812(d));
$1,010 for any appeal from a decision of a Department of
Homeland Security (``DHS'') officer (Form EOIR-29), inclusive of the
$900 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(e) (8 U.S.C.
1812(e));
$2,000 for any appeal in a practitioner disciplinary case
(Form EOIR-45), inclusive of the $1,325 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in
Section 100013(f) (8 U.S.C. 1812(f));
$1,045 for any motion to reopen or reconsider a decision
of an Immigration Judge--except for motions to reopen an in absentia
removal order filed in accordance with INA 240(b)(5)(C)(ii) (8 U.S.C.
1229a(b)(5)(C)(ii)), or motions to reopen an in absentia deportation
order filed in accordance with the former INA 242B(c)(3)(B) (prior to
April 1, 1997)--inclusive of the $900 FY 2025 OBBBA fee set forth in
Section 100013(g) (8 U.S.C. 1812(g));
$1,010 for any motion to reopen or to reconsider a
decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, inclusive of the $900 FY
2025 OBBBA fee set forth in Section 100013(g) (8 U.S.C. 1812(g)).
On October 30, 2025, the United States District Court for the
District of Maryland issued a temporary stay of EOIR's PM 25-36. Asylum
Seeker Advocacy Project v. USCIS, No. SAG-25-03299, 2025 WL 3029552 at
*9 (D. Md. Oct. 30, 2025) (ASAP). Although the order in ASAP
temporarily stayed PM 25-36, it did not stay, restrain, or otherwise
enjoin OBBBA's fee-imposing provisions nor any of EOIR's fee-imposing
regulations. See id. On January 2, 2006, EOIR rescinded PM 25-36.
[[Page 2562]]
Thus, the Department is adjusting EOIR-collected OBBBA fees for
inflation for FY 2026 as required by OBBBA, and this FRN provides
notice of those inflationary fee adjustments.
II. Basis for Adjustment
OBBBA requires that all EOIR-collected OBBBA fees be adjusted
annually for inflation and directs that a specific adjustment formula
be applied to each fee. See, e.g., OBBBA sections 100002, 100009; 8
U.S.C. 1802, 1808.
For all but one EOIR-collected OBBBA fee, OBBBA states that the
inflation-adjusted OBBBA fee is the sum of (1) ``the amount of the fee
required . . . for the most recently concluded fiscal year''; and (2)
``the product resulting from the multiplication of the amount referred
to in [(1)] by the percentage (if any) by which the [CPI-U] for the
month of July preceding the date on which such adjustment takes effect
exceeds the [CPI-U] for the same month of the preceding calendar year,
rounded to the next lowest multiple of $10.'' See sections 100002,
100013 (emphasis added); 8 U.S.C. 1802, 1812. In contrast, section
100009 (Annual Asylum Fee) uses the same formula but with the product
resulting from the multiplication of the prior July FY's OBBBA fee of
July FY 2025 by the percentage of the change in CPI-U between July 2024
and July 2025 rounded down to the nearest dollar rather than to the
next lowest multiple of $10. See section 100009 (emphasis added); 8
U.S.C. 1808.
Thus, for all OBBBA fees except the Annual Asylum Fee, EOIR
calculated the inflation-adjusted FY 2026 OBBBA fees by:
1. determining the percentage by which the CPI-U changed between
July 2024 (314.540) and July 2025 (323.048) \3\ (approximately 2.70
percent);
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\3\ See U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index
News Release (July 2025), https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_08122025.htm.
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2. multiplying that result by the FY 2025 OBBBA fee;
3. rounding that result to the next lowest multiple of $10;
4. and adding that result to the FY 2025 OBBBA fee.
For the Annual Asylum Fee, pursuant to section 100009, EOIR
calculated the inflation-adjusted FY 2026 OBBBA fee by:
1. determining the percentage by which the CPI-U changed between
July 2024 (314.540) and July 2025 (323.048) \4\ (approximately 2.70
percent);
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\4\ Id.
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2. multiplying that result by the FY 2025 OBBBA fee;
3. rounding that result down to the nearest dollar;
4. and adding that result to the FY 2025 OBBBA total fee.
Table 1 summarizes the FY 2026 Inflation-Adjusted OBBBA fees.
Additionally, Table 1 provides the new FY 2026 EOIR total fees,
inclusive of the FY 2026 Inflation-Adjusted OBBBA fees.
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\5\ This amount does not include any applicable biometrics fees.
Table 1--FY 2026 Inflation-Adjusted OBBBA Fees and FY 2026 EOIR Total Fees
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Round down to
Immigration fee type Current OBBBA CPI-U change Inflation next lowest Round down to FY 2026 OBBBA FY 2026 EOIR
fee (%) adjustment $10 nearest dollar fee total fees \5\
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Form I-485, Application to Register $1,500 2.70 $40.50 $40 N/A $1,540 $2,980
Permanent Residence or Adjust Status...
Form I-589, Application for Asylum and 100 2.70 2.70 0 N/A 100 100
for Withholding of Removal--Initial
Application............................
Form I-589, Application for Asylum and 100 2.70 2.70 N/A 2 102 102
for Withholding of Removal--Annual
Asylum Fee.............................
Form EOIR-42A, Application for 600 2.70 16.20 10 N/A 610 710
Cancellation of Removal for Certain
Permanent Residents....................
Form EOIR-42B, Application for 1,500 2.70 40.50 40 N/A 1,540 1,640
Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment
of Status for Certain Nonpermanent
Residents..............................
Form EOIR-40, Application for Suspension 600 2.70 16.20 10 N/A 610 710
of Deportation.........................
Form I-821, Application for Temporary 500 2.70 13.50 10 N/A 510 510
Protected Status.......................
Form I-601, Application for Waiver of 1,050 2.70 28.35 20 N/A 1,070 2,120
Grounds of Inadmissibility.............
Form EOIR-26, Notice of Appeal from a 900 2.70 24.30 20 N/A 920 1,030
Decision of an Immigration Judge.......
Form EOIR-29, Notice of Appeal to the 900 2.70 24.30 20 N/A 920 1,030
Board of Immigration Appeals from a
Decision of a DHS Officer..............
Form EOIR-45, Notice of Appeal from a 1,325 2.70 35.78 30 N/A 1,355 2,030
Decision of an Adjudicating Official in
a Practitioner Disciplinary Case.......
Motion to reopen or reconsider a 900 2.70 24.30 20 N/A 920 1,065
decision of an Immigration Judge--
except for motions to reopen an in
absentia removal order filed in
accordance with INA Sec.
240(b)(5)(C)(ii) and motions to reopen
an in absentia deportation order filed
in accordance with former INA Sec.
242B(c)(3)(B) (prior to April 1, 1997),
filed by an alien......................
Motions to reopen or reconsider a 900 2.70 24.30 20 N/A 920 1,030
decision of the Board of Immigration
Appeals filed by an alien..............
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[[Page 2563]]
III. Effective Date and Implementation
EOIR will require the FY 2026 filing fees established in this
notice for any filings with the Immigration Courts or the Board of
Immigration Appeals postmarked on or after February 1, 2026. EOIR will
reject any filings postmarked on or after February 1, 2026, that are
not accompanied by a proper filing fee or request for an applicable fee
waiver.
EOIR will update its website and electronic payment portal with the
filing fee amounts established in this notice and any future
inflationary adjustments.\6\ See, e.g., EOIR, Types of Appeals,
Motions, and Required Fees (last updated Oct. 22, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/eoir/types-appeals-motions-and-required-fees; EOIR,
EOIR Forms (last updated Nov. 21, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-forms; EOIR, EOIR Payment Portal, https://epay.eoir.justice.gov/index. EOIR may codify the fees covered by this notice and annual
adjustments in a future rule.
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\6\ The fee amount for each type of application, appeal, motion
or other form is reflected on the EOIR Payment Portal, which
includes options to pay based on which fee amount was operative at
the time of filing.
Daren K. Margolin,
Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of
Justice.
[FR Doc. 2026-01012 Filed 1-20-26; 8:45 am]
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