US Raises ESTA, Parole and TPS Fees From 16 October 2026

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published three Federal Register notices on 1 October 2026 raising a set of fees created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, known as H.R. 1. The new amounts start on 16 October 2026. Visa Waiver Program travelers will pay more for ESTA. Chinese visitors with 10-year visas will pay more for EVUS. Asylum seekers, parolees, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants will pay more for several USCIS filings.

The increases are small. The filing rule is strict. USCIS says any request postmarked on or after 16 October 2026 without the correct fee will be rejected. If you plan to file in the next two weeks, check the date your envelope will carry and the amount you enclose.

Why the fees are going up

President Trump signed H.R. 1 into law on 4 July 2025. The law created new immigration fees and set minimum amounts for fiscal year (FY) 2025. The law also requires DHS to raise most of these fees every year in line with inflation.

DHS uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for July of each year. The index stood at 323.048 in July 2025 and 333.918 in July 2026. The rise works out to 3.36 percent. DHS applies this percentage to each current fee and then rounds down. Most USCIS fees round down to the next lowest multiple of $10. The annual asylum fee and the I-94 fee round down to the nearest dollar. Because of this rounding, some fees rise by $10 or $30 while others stay the same.

This is the second round of inflation increases. The first round, for FY 2026, took effect on 1 January 2026.

New USCIS fees from 16 October 2026

USCIS published its notice as Federal Register document 2026-20187 (91 FR 62540). USCIS also posted a newsroom alert on 30 September 2026. The fees below apply to requests postmarked on or after 16 October 2026.

Fees going up

• Annual asylum fee (for a pending Form I-589): $102 to $105
• Form I-765, initial asylum applicant EAD: $560 to $570
• Form I-765, initial parole EAD (valid for one year): $560 to $570
• Form I-765, initial TPS EAD: $560 to $570
• Form I-821, TPS fee: $510 to $520
• Form I-131, immigration parole fee: $1,020 to $1,050

EAD stands for Employment Authorization Document, the card proving you are allowed to work in the United States.

Fees staying the same

• Initial asylum application fee (Form I-589): stays at $100
• Renewal or extension of asylum applicant EAD: stays at $275, because H.R. 1 does not provide for an inflation increase on this fee
• Renewal or extension of parole EAD: stays at $280
• Renewal or extension of TPS EAD: stays at $280
• Re-parole EAD: stays at $280
• Special Immigrant Juvenile fee (Form I-360): stays at $250
• I-94 immigration fee: stays at $24

These H.R. 1 fees are separate from the regular USCIS filing fees. In many cases you pay both. Check the current fee page for each form on uscis.gov before you file.

ESTA, EVUS, and I-94 changes for travelers

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published its notice as document 2026-20185 (91 FR 62534). CBP will begin charging the FY 2027 amounts on 16 October 2026.

ESTA for Visa Waiver Program travelers

If you hold a passport from a Visa Waiver Program country, you need an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before you travel to the United States by air, sea, or land. The ESTA fee rises from $40.27 to $40.62.

The total is made of three parts. A $17 travel authorization fee and a $13 fee stay unchanged. A cost recovery fee rises from $10.27 to $10.62. H.R. 1 does not tell CBP to round this part, so the increase is exactly $0.35.

If CBP denies your ESTA application, you still pay the cost recovery fee. From 16 October 2026, a denied application costs $10.62.

EVUS for Chinese visitor visa holders

The Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) applies to nationals of the People's Republic of China holding a 10-year B-1, B-2, or B-1/B-2 visitor visa in a Chinese passport. You must enroll in EVUS and update your details before travel. The EVUS fee rises from $30.75 to $31.75. You pay the fee when you enroll.

Form I-94 at land borders

The H.R. 1 portion of the Form I-94 fee stays at $24. The inflation increase came to $0.81, which rounds down to zero. If you apply for a Form I-94 at a land border port of entry, the total stays at $30. This total includes a separate $6 land border fee. CBP does not charge an I-94 application fee at air or sea ports of entry, because arriving travelers there do not submit an application for the form.

The parole fee rises to $1,050

H.R. 1 requires a fee from every person paroled into the United States, unless one of 10 statutory exceptions applies. Parole lets DHS allow a person into the country on a temporary basis without a visa. The fee covers initial parole from outside the United States, parole in place, re-parole, and parole from DHS custody.

The FY 2026 parole fee was $1,020. The inflation increase came to $34.32, which rounds down to $30. The new fee is $1,050. CBP, USCIS, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) all collect this fee.

Pay close attention to timing here. The fee is triggered by the actual grant of parole, not by the date you applied. DHS says the $1,050 fee will be collected from anyone granted parole on or after 16 October 2026, regardless of when the request was submitted. Filing early does not lock in the old $1,020 amount for this fee.

DHS decides exceptions case by case. You must show your circumstances fit at least one of the 10 exceptions listed in section 100004(b) of H.R. 1. The parole fee is charged in addition to any other fee required by law.

ICE enforcement fees reach $5,300

ICE published a third notice, document 2026-20186. Two enforcement fees rise from $5,130 to $5,300. One applies to people ordered removed in absentia (in their absence) who are later arrested by ICE. The other applies to inadmissible people apprehended between ports of entry. DHS says the agency will notify each person individually and send payment instructions.

What to do before 16 October 2026

• Check your postmark date. USCIS looks at the postmark, not the date you signed the form. If you mail an application close to the deadline, plan for the date the courier will stamp on the package.
• Enclose the new amount after the deadline. A request postmarked on 16 October 2026 or later with the old fee will be rejected.
• Do not count on the old parole fee. The parole fee follows the grant date. If your parole is granted on or after 16 October 2026, expect to pay $1,050.
• Time your ESTA application. If you plan a trip later this year, applying before 16 October 2026 means paying $40.27.
• Use official websites only. Pay ESTA fees through the official CBP website and EVUS fees through the official EVUS website. Third-party sites often add their own service charges on top of the government fee.
• Review annual asylum fee notices. If your asylum case is pending for a year or more, USCIS charges the annual fee. From 16 October 2026, the amount is $105.

What these increases mean for your budget

For most visitors, the change is a few cents or a dollar. An ESTA for a family of four rises from $161.08 to $162.48 in total. An EVUS enrollment rises by $1.

The bigger impact falls on humanitarian applicants. A TPS applicant filing an initial Form I-821 and an initial TPS EAD now pays $520 plus $570 in H.R. 1 fees alone, a total of $1,090 before any regular filing fees. A parolee pays $1,050 at the grant of parole. H.R. 1 requires a fresh inflation review every fiscal year.

The FY 2027 amounts are not yet written into 8 CFR part 106, the regulation listing USCIS fees. For now, the Federal Register notices published on 1 October 2026 are the official source.

Sources to check

• Federal Register document 2026-20187, Fiscal Year 2027 Inflation Adjustment to H.R. 1 Immigration Fees (USCIS)
• Federal Register document 2026-20185, Certain DHS Immigration-Related Fees Required by HR-1: Fiscal Year 2027 Adjustments for Inflation (CBP)
• Federal Register document 2026-20186, Certain DHS Immigration-Related Fees Required by HR-1: Fiscal Year 2027 Adjustments for Inflation (ICE)
• USCIS alert dated 30 September 2026, USCIS Announces FY 2027 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees

Confirm the amount on the official agency page on the day you file, and speak with a qualified immigration attorney if your case involves parole, asylum, or TPS.