NEWYORK: The US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) department has ended the free apply for asylum service and now the applicant will have to pay $100 fee when applying for asylum including annual $100 fee until the application is decided.
The US Immigration Services Agency (USCIS) has increased the fees for several immigration cases, which has been in effect since July 22.
It is pertinent to mention that earlier there was no fee for submitting an asylum application in the United States, but now from July 22, every applicant will have to submit a $100 fee with the asylum application.
Besides, an annual fee of $100 will also have to be paid to keep this application active. This annual fee will be mandatory to be submitted on an annual basis until the USCIS makes a decision on the asylum application.
USCIS currently has more than 2 million pending asylum cases.
The work permit fees have also been increased. The applicants of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or asylum seekers will also have to pay an initial fee of $550 to obtain a work permit, while the fee for extending the work permit has been set at $275.
The work permit for TPS and asylum seekers were earlier without any charges in the US while in case of a delay of 6 months or more, the initial work permit is provided free of charge.
However, from July 22, the asylum application fee will now be $100, while a separate fee of $100 will have to be paid every year to keep the application active. The free initial work permit facility has been abolished and from July 22, the work permit initial fee will be $550 and the work permit extension fee will be $275.
