[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 21, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45637-45638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-14698]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 21, 2026 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 45637]]
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
8 CFR Part 208
[CIS No. 2841-26; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0133]
RIN 1615-AD09
USCIS Immigration Fees and Related Procedures Required by H.R.1
Reconciliation Bill; Correction
AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department
of Homeland Security (DHS).
ACTION: Correcting amendment.
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SUMMARY: This document corrects the interim final rule (IFR) that
published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2026. The IFR codified
certain immigration fees and other provisions required by the One Big
Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) and amended USCIS regulations governing
asylum and annual asylum fees, the new Form I-94 fee requirement, the
validity period for certain types of employment authorization, and the
retention of the Form I-589 filing fee for every application. This
document will restore regulatory language that was unintentionally
removed in the April 29, 2026 IFR.
DATES: Effective July 21, 2026, and applicable as of May 29, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security,
5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone 240-721-
3000 (this is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Need for Correction
On April 29, 2026, DHS published an IFR titled USCIS Immigration
Fees and Related Procedures Required by H.R. 1 Reconciliation Bill. 91
FR 22952. The IFR codified: (1) the Form I-94 fee requirement set forth
in 8 U.S.C. 1807 as it applies to USCIS; (2) the Annual Asylum Fee
(AAF) requirement in 8 U.S.C. 1808, including consequences for failure
to pay the AAF and limitations related to employment authorization
required by 8 U.S.C. 1810(b); (3) the requirement that every asylum
application include the fee required by 8 U.S.C. 1802 at filing
regardless of whether the application is rejected, and is not
refundable; and (4) the H.R. 1 limits on the validity of Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) employment authorization required by 8 U.S.C.
1803(c) and 8 U.S.C. 1811(a).
This document corrects an inadvertently omitted provision in the
regulatory text at 8 CFR 208.7 regarding the processing timeframe for
initial applications for employment authorization under 8 CFR
274a.12(c)(8). Before the IFR, 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1) provided, among other
things, that ``[i]f the asylum application is not so denied, [USCIS]
shall have 30 days from the date of filing of the request employment
authorization to grant or deny that application, except that no
employment authorization shall be issued to an asylum applicant prior
to the expiration of the 180-day period following the filing of the
asylum application filed on or after April 1, 1997.''
The IFR revised and reformatted the regulatory text at 8 CFR
208.7(a)(1). As part of those revisions, DHS inadvertently did not
include the final sentence in 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1) and as a result removed
the 30-day processing timeframe for initial (c)(8) employment
authorization applications. Therefore, this document corrects the
regulatory text, 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1) to restore the 30-day processing
timeframe for initial EAD applications based on a pending asylum
application by adding a new paragraph to maintain the missing
sentence.\1\
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\1\ On February 23, 2026, DHS published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking that proposed numerous changes related to employment
authorization based on a pending asylum application. 91 FR 8616
(Feb. 23, 2026). That rule proposed to extend the current 30-day
processing timeframe to 180 days for EAD applications received on or
after the effective date of a future final rule on the same topic.
91 FR 8618, 8655-57. The comment period for that proposed rule ended
on April 24, 2026. USCIS is reviewing the comments received in
response and will consider whether to finalize the proposed changes
to the processing timeline in a future rule. Neither the error in
the April 29, 2026 IFR nor this correction notice are related to
that regulatory change under consideration and instead simply
maintain the current regulatory text while DHS considers the long-
term policy.
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Because the IFR provides that failure to pay the Annual Asylum Fee
(AAF) results in rejection of the pending Form I-589, DHS is adding
``rejected'' to the 8 CFR 208.7(a)(1)(v) language so that the
regulation expressly covers both denials and rejections of asylum
applications. This ensures that any (c)(8) employment authorization
application filed after an asylum application has been denied or
rejected is itself rejected, and any (c)(8) application still pending
when the asylum application is denied or rejected is denied, thereby
aligning employment authorization consequences with the new AAF
rejection mechanism and with 8 U.S.C. 1810(b).
This correction is applicable as if DHS had included this provision
in the IFR that published on April 29, 2026. That rule had an effective
date of May 29, 2026. Accordingly, the correction is applicable as of
May 29, 2026, at 12 a.m. Eastern Time. In other words, DHS will apply
the corrected IFR to applications pending on, or filed on or after, May
29, 2026; DHS has continued to prioritize adjudicative resources for
initial (c)(8)-based EAD applications accordingly; and there will not
be a gap in application of the 30-day processing timeline to asylum
applicants seeking EADs under 8 CFR 208.7(a).
II. Administrative Procedure Act
Section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) generally
requires agencies to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the
Federal Register to provide a period for public comment before the
provisions of a rule take effect. 5 U.S.C. 553(b). In addition, section
553(d) of the APA requires agencies to delay the effective date of
final rules by a minimum of 30 days after the date of their publication
in the Federal Register. 5 U.S.C. 553(d). Both of these requirements
can be waived if an agency finds, for good cause, that the notice and
comment process and/or delayed effective date is impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and incorporates a
statement of the finding and the reasons therefore in the notice. 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B), (d)(3).
DHS believes there is good cause for publishing this document
without prior notice and opportunity for public
[[Page 45638]]
comment and with an effective date of less than 30 days because such
procedures are unnecessary. This document corrects a technical error in
the regulatory text and does not make substantive changes to the
policies in the IFR. Therefore, DHS believes that it has good cause to
waive the notice and comment and effective date requirements of section
553 of the APA.
List of Subjects in 8 CFR Part 208
Administrative practice and procedure, Aliens, Immigration,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, 8 CFR part 208 is corrected by making the following
amendment:
PART 208--PROCEDURES FOR ASYLUM AND WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL
0
1. The authority citation for part 208 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101, 1103, 1158, 1226, 1252, 1282, 1802,
1808; 48 U.S.C. 1806; 8 CFR part 2.
0
2. Amend Sec. 208.7 by adding paragraph (a)(1)(v) to read as follows:
Sec. 208.7 Employment authorization.
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(v) If the asylum application is not so rejected or denied, USCIS
shall have 30 days from the date of filing of the application for
employment authorization to grant or deny that application, except that
no employment authorization shall be issued to an asylum applicant
prior to the expiration of the 180-day period following the filing of
the asylum application filed on or after April 1, 1997.
* * * * *
Christina E. McDonald,
Associate General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2026-14698 Filed 7-20-26; 8:45 am]
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