New U.S. Immigration Fees Could Add $2,150 Per Family by 2028

(UNITED STATES) President Trump’s July 4, 2025 signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—now Public Law 119-21—is rippling through the immigration system in a way families and employers will feel far beyond airports and courtrooms, with new analyses projecting higher household costs and a sharp jump in fees for people seeking legal status or protection.

The source material projects that recent U.S. immigration policies, including mass deportation plans and the law’s fee hikes, will raise costs for American families by $2,150 annually in goods and services by 2028, as labor supply tightens and prices for everyday needs climb. It also cites fiscal estimates that unlawful immigrants impose a net $225,000 cost on the federal government over 30 years, a figure driven by public benefits and public goods outpacing taxes paid.

Those claims have become central to the political argument around enforcement, but immigrant advocates and some business groups say the new fee structure, in particular, will make lawful pathways harder to reach and push more people into the shadows.

How the law shifts costs and fees

At the center of the shift is a long list of new charges that were once free or far cheaper for people fleeing persecution, applying for work permits, or seeking humanitarian help. The law, described in the source material as funding $150 billion in enforcement spending, has pushed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to collect more money at the front end of many cases.

USCIS followed with a Federal Register notice dated July 22, 2025, requiring the new rates for applications postmarked after that date, with rejections for missing fees beginning August 21, 2025, according to the source material.

Important: USCIS says fee information and updates are posted on its official site, including the agency’s main fee resources at USCIS Fee Schedule. The new charges will adjust annually for inflation using CPI-U starting FY2026, so families and employers should expect these figures to continue changing.

Immediate practical effects

• The policy change is immediate and retroactive in some cases, affecting pending applications and emphasizing payment up front.
• Legal challenges were already underway “as of late 2025,” aimed at whether retroactive asylum fees can stand.

Fees and example impacts

Below is a summarized view of the notable fee changes and examples cited in the source material. (All original figures and examples are preserved.)

Additional process references:
– Applicants typically file EAD requests on Form I-765; USCIS posts the form and instructions at Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

Who is most affected

• Asylum seekers: An asylum application that used to be free now carries a $100 fee plus $100 per pending year. The source material gives a stark example: a person who filed on July 7, 2024 and is still waiting on July 7, 2025 would face the added cost even though the case started under the old rules.
• People needing work authorization: Higher EAD fees ($550 initial, $275 renewal) can delay access to work and affect rent, groceries, and child care.
• TPS holders and vulnerable families: The jump from $50 to $500 for TPS is a 900% increase that falls on families who already may face unstable employment and housing.
• Children in protective cases: SIJS moving from free to $250 adds another barrier for minors trying to secure lawful status.
• Mixed-status households: Waiver fee increases (e.g., $1,050) can strain households where U.S. citizen relatives face hardship if family members are kept out.
• Employers, especially small businesses: A cited $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions would severely affect hiring of skilled foreign workers.

Fiscal arguments and contested estimates

Supporters of tougher enforcement point to long-term fiscal estimates in the source material:

• $225,000 net cost per unlawful immigrant over 30 years (federal government), driven by public benefits and public goods outweighing taxes paid.
• Specific breakdowns include:
  • EB-3 “Other Worker” visa: $270,000 net cost per immigrant.
  • Family preference categories (F-1 through F-4): $24,000 net cost per immigrant.
• Full amnesty for all unlawful immigrants could add $1.3 trillion to the national debt over 30 years, even if GDP rises.
• Per-capita public goods spending could increase to $2,742 annually over the long run.

The material also notes that age and education change the fiscal math:
– A 30-year-old with some college is listed as a $500 net cost over 30 years.
– A 50-year-old is listed at $600,000.

Those figures are already being used by both camps: one side arguing to prioritize younger, educated migrants; the other arguing public costs justify enforcement.

Broader policy signals

Alongside fee changes, the source material flags additional policy moves that could reduce legal inflows:

• Possible “public charge” reinterpretations.
• Cuts to refugee admissions.
• Entry bans from certain countries.
• Ongoing or proposed measures that could cancel work permits for:
  • TPS holders,
  • Paroled immigrants from Afghanistan,
  • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients,
  • People covered under the Cuba–Nicaragua–Haiti–Venezuela policy.

Critics warn that removing legal work permissions tends to push people into off-the-books jobs, reducing tax revenue and shrinking the labor force. Supporters counter that enforcement reduces public costs.

Legal, practical, and human implications

• USCIS is issuing Requests for Evidence for payments, which can slow cases and leave people without valid proof they can work.
• The higher fees—and the threat of retroactive application—are prompting court challenges about whether retroactive asylum fees are lawful.
• The source material includes no named accounts from immigrants directly affected, but the numbers point to hard choices: whether to renew work permits, whether to appeal a case, or whether to file at all.

Key takeaway: According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the fee hikes and enforcement funding built into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are likely to reshape who can afford to seek protection and lawful status, and how quickly they can do it, as court fights over retroactivity play out.

Reactions and advocacy

• Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), condemned the direction, saying the policies funnel $150 billion into “a ruthless deportation machine” at the expense of healthcare and due process.
• AILA warned the fees “erect severe barriers to legal pathways” and would harm businesses, making it among the loudest critics from the immigration bar.
• Business groups worry about hiring impacts, especially if high fees (e.g., $100,000 for H-1B petitions) are applied.

Practical resources

• USCIS main fee resources: USCIS Fee Schedule
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization: Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
• Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status: Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
• Form I-131, Application for Travel Document: Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
• Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility: Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility

If you want, I can:
1. Produce a printable two-page summary card of the fee changes and deadlines.
2. Create a timeline of legal challenges and implementation dates (July 4, 2025; July 22, 2025; Aug 21, 2025; Sept 30, 2025).
3. Extract all fee figures into a downloadable CSV for budgeting or advocacy use.