Trump Admin Makes Fighting Deportations Over 400 Percent More Expensive

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Dan Gooding is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. His focus is reporting on immigration and border security. He has covered immigration issues extensively, including the root causes of migration to the U.S., its impact on border communities and responses around the country. Dan joined Newsweek in 2024 from The Independent and previously worked at The Messenger, Business Insider and in U.K. local radio. He is a graduate of De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. You can get in touch with Dan by emailing d.gooding@newsweek.com. You can find him on X @DanGooding. Languages: English.

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Immigrants in the United States slated for deportation will now have to pay hundreds more dollars to the government when trying to fight their removal.

The Trump administration announced another round of new immigration form fees Tuesday, affecting those filing paperwork seeking to halt deportation proceedings, and people seeking initial Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump‘s One Big Beautiful Bill Act included provisions for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to increase certain fees immigrants pay when applying for visas, permanent residency, and ongoing benefits.

While immigration advocates have warned that these increases are a way to limit low-income immigrants from accessing legal status, USCIS is solely funded through its fees and has often been stretched due to a lack of funding and staff.

What To Know

USCIS began adjusting its fee schedule last week and had promised more alterations in the coming days and weeks as it implements Trump’s budget, recently passed by Congress.

Tuesday’s announcement saw updates to the following forms:

• EOIR-29, Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals from a Decision of a DHS Officer;
• EOIR-40, Application for Suspension of Deportation;
• EOIR-42A, Application for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents;
• EOIR-42B, Application for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents;
• I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status; and
• I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (Pursuant to Section 203 of Public Law 105-100 (NACARA))

The first four on the list apply to those fighting potential deportation in immigration courts. EOIR-29 rose from $110 to $1,010, while the other three were $130 last week and will now cost $700.

Form I-881, which also seeks a suspension of deportation, previously cost $340 and is now $765.

Form I-821, for those applying for TPS for the first time, will now have to pay $500 instead of the $50 previously.

That latter change comes after USCIS also removed options for fee waivers from select forms related to TPS last week, along with fee waivers for other immigrants, making the process significantly more expensive.

USCIS also added a new $1,050 fee for certain forms, which were previously free when applying for a green card, if the case is adjudicated by the immigration courts. These forms are:

• Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records;
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

There are also new fees for challenging when USCIS issues a “grounds of inadmissibility” order, adding an additional $1,050 on top of the same amount already charged.

A previously announced new fee for asylum applicants was also put in place.

What People Are Saying

USCIS, in its Tuesday update: “Certain forms require additional fees along with any filing fee. Additional fees are not eligible for fee waivers and must be paid by separate payment concurrent with any filing fee.”

What’s Next

USCIS said that applicants filing forms postmarked July 22, 2025, or later must pay the new fees and that any request arriving after August 21, 2025, without the proper fees will be rejected.