DHS, DOJ Blocked from Requiring Retroactive Asylum Fees (1)

A federal judge in Baltimore blocked the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security from retroactively imposing asylum fees that have put some immigrants at risk of losing deportation protections.

Temporarily staying policies at US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review will prevent irreparable harm to immigrant applicants while allowing the agencies to resolve policy inconsistencies, Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the US District Court for the District of Maryland found in an order Thursday.

Gallagher said she’ll consider a motion to lift her stay on the fees once USCIS and EOIR have enacted uniform policies giving asylum applicants fair notice of fee deadlines, instructions for payment, and explanations of consequences for nonpayment.

Immigrant advocates had asked Gallagher to enter a temporary restraining order blocking collection of fees for some immigrants.

The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project sued the government earlier this month over attempts to require fee payments from immigrants with pending asylum claims when President Donald Trump signed a GOP tax cut and spending bill into law in July. That law—which added tens of billions in new funding for immigration enforcement—mandated application fees from asylum applicants for the first time. First-time applicants are required to pay $100 to submit a claim and $100 for every year an application is pending thereafter.

Individuals in removal proceedings at immigration courts can file a defensive claim through EOIR. Those who aren’t in removal proceedings can file an affirmative claim with USCIS.

In a lawsuit filed in the District of Maryland, ASAP argued that the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act by demanding payments from asylum applicants who filed claims before the law took effect. That’s despite the statute’s requirement that the first fees would be due one year after it became law.

The rollout of the fees at USCIS, housed in the Department of Homeland Security, and EOIR, part of the Department of Justice, also created confusion among immigrants, the group said. Some asylum applicants had already had claims denied or received removal orders from immigration judges over failure to pay annual fees—even after DOJ had submitted a brief to the court stating that no fees were currently due. Both agencies said after the litigation was filed that they would send notifications the fee was required within 30 days. But ASAP said notices sent by USCIS so far haven’t included specific due dates for the payments.

“No one should lose their asylum case because of a new fee they did not know about or could not pay on short notice,” said Swapna Reddy, ASAP’s co-executive director. “Today’s decision isn’t the end of our fight, but it means that for now, no one has to pay the annual asylum fee.”

DHS and DOJ didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Plaintiffs are represented by the ASAP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. USCIS and EOIR are represented by the DOJ.

The case is Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project v. USCIS, D. Md., No. 1:25-cv-03299, order issued 10/30/25.