Understanding the Asylum Program Fee: What Employers of Foreign Workers Need to Know

Quick answer: The Asylum Program Fee is a USCIS fee most employers must pay when filing Form I-129, I-129CW, or I-140. It is $600 for most employers, $300 for small employers (25 or fewer full-time-equivalent workers) and individual self-petitioners, and $0 for nonprofits. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with whether you employ asylum seekers.

[Updated July 2026: Confirmed that the current Asylum Program Fee amounts—$600 / $300 / $0—remain in effect under the 2024 USCIS fee rule. Added a section clarifying that this long-standing employer fee is separate from the new asylum fees the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21) created for asylum applicants themselves, and cross-linked our 2025 immigration fee hub for those developments.]

If you're a business leader or HR professional handling immigration matters for your company, you may have come across a fee when filing certain petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): the Asylum Program Fee. If the name leaves you scratching your head—especially if your case has nothing to do with asylum—you're not alone. So, what exactly is this fee, and why do employers bear the extra financial burden for humanitarian immigration? Let's break it down.

The Asylum Program Fee is part of a broader USCIS fee schedule that was overhauled in the final fee rule published in early 2024 and took effect on April 1, 2024.

Hi, I'm Loren Locke, an immigration attorney based in Atlanta, and today we're discussing this fee that has caught many employers off guard. Introduced in April 2024, the Asylum Program Fee applies to many employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions. Understanding it is crucial to avoid costly mistakes and delays.

What is the Asylum Program Fee?

Despite the name, the Asylum Program Fee doesn't actually apply to asylum cases—rather, it's a mandatory cost shift designed to help fund the government's administration of the asylum program. Here's how it works:

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) uses this fee to help cover asylum-related adjudication expenses, including cases handled for individuals who cannot afford to pay.
• Rather than increasing fees for individuals seeking humanitarian relief, DHS decided to spread the cost across a group widely perceived to have deeper pockets—companies filing employment-based immigration petitions.

The Asylum Program Fee applies to the following forms: Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker), Form I-129CW (CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker), and Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker). This is a fee that sits on top of the base filing fee for those forms.

Fee Structure and Payment: How Much, When, and How to Pay

The amount you owe depends on the size and type of the petitioning organization:

• For most employers filing H-1B and other nonimmigrant worker petitions (Form I-129) or immigrant petitions for permanent residency (Form I-140), the Asylum Program Fee is $600.
• For small employers—those with 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees—the reduced fee is $300. This reduced rate also applies to individual self-petitioners, including those filing in the EB-1A extraordinary ability and EB-2 National Interest Waiver categories.
• Nonprofit organizations, including institutions of higher education, are exempt and pay $0.

A few payment mechanics that trip employers up:

• Small employers and nonprofits should be prepared to substantiate their eligibility for the reduced or waived fee. On Form I-140, for example, a petitioner claiming the small-employer rate answers the full-time-equivalent-employee question in Part 1, and USCIS determines the proper fee based on the response and any supporting documentation. Keep evidence such as an IRS tax return or quarterly federal return on hand.
• When you file multiple forms, pay each required fee separately. A single combined payment covering several forms can result in rejection.
• Acceptable payment methods include check, credit card (with Form G-1450), and money order, and the fee must be paid at the time of filing.

The Asylum Program Fee has nothing to do with your company's stance on asylum or humanitarian relief. Whether or not you employ asylum seekers is irrelevant—the fee applies because your organization is presumed, by default, to have the financial means to help subsidize the administration of the immigration system. Collected fees flow into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account (IEFA), which funds the adjudication of immigration benefit requests, including those provided without charge to refugee, asylum, and certain other humanitarian applicants.

Eligibility and Exemptions: Who Must Pay and Who Doesn't?

In short, if you are a for-profit employer with more than 25 full-time-equivalent employees filing an I-129, I-129CW, or I-140, expect to pay the full $600. If you are a small employer or an individual filing your own I-140 (a self-petition), you generally qualify for the $300 rate. If you are a nonprofit or a qualifying institution of higher education, you owe $0 on these forms.

The most common mistake I see is a mismatch between the fee paid and the petitioner's actual size or status—either a large employer claiming the small-employer discount, or a small employer overpaying because no one checked the threshold. It is worth confirming your full-time-equivalent employee count before you file.

How This Differs From the New Asylum Fees Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Because of the name overlap, employers increasingly ask me whether the Asylum Program Fee is the same thing as the new asylum fees they've read about in the news. It is not, and the distinction matters:

• The Asylum Program Fee described in this post is an employer-paid fee created by the 2024 USCIS fee rule. It rides along with employment-based petitions (I-129, I-129CW, I-140) and remains in effect at the $600 / $300 / $0 amounts.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1, Pub. L. 119-21, signed July 4, 2025) created a separate set of new fees paid by asylum applicants themselves—most notably a fee to file Form I-589 and a recurring Annual Asylum Fee for each year an application stays pending. Those fees, and the litigation affecting them, are a different topic entirely.

If your question is about the new applicant-side asylum fees or the broader 2025 fee changes, see our dedicated breakdown of the new immigration fees, which we keep current as those rules develop. This post stays focused on the employer-paid Asylum Program Fee.

Why Is This Important for Your Filing?

If you're managing immigration paperwork for your employees, you already know how high the stakes are. Filing errors, including incorrect fees, can complicate and significantly delay a time-sensitive process.

Risk of Rejection:

• If you file with the wrong fee on a paper-based application, USCIS can reject the entire package. Submitting a combined payment for multiple forms, rather than a separate payment for each required fee, can likewise result in rejection.
• Rejected filings aren't just frustrating—they can derail your timeline. If you're close to a filing deadline (for example, an H-1B extension), this kind of mistake could lead to a late filing and potentially disrupt your employee's work authorization.
• Pay every required fee separately and in full for each form you submit, especially when filing multiple forms together.

What Employers Need to Keep in Mind

While it certainly feels frustrating to pay for a program that isn't related to your specific case, the Asylum Program Fee is here to stay—and in my experience USCIS filing fees rarely, if ever, go down. A few key takeaways to reduce headaches during the filing process:

• Double-check the fee amount specific to your organization. If you have 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees, or you are filing your own I-140, you likely qualify for the reduced $300 rate. Nonprofits, confirm whether you qualify for the $0 rate.
• Check with your attorney whether you could or should file your case online. USCIS offers online filing for certain forms, which can carry a $50 discount compared to paper submissions and reduce the risk of a rejection-causing paperwork error.

For employers, these fees represent yet another cost in navigating a complex immigration system. Federal filing fees in general rarely decrease, so we shouldn't expect this particular one to disappear anytime soon.

Final Thoughts

Though it feels counterintuitive for an employer to foot the bill for asylum-related costs, this fee is now a fixed reality for those filing employer-sponsored petitions with USCIS. By staying alert, confirming your organization's size and status, and including the correct fees, you can avoid the rejections and delays that could disrupt your business and your employees' immigration journeys.

About the Author

Loren Locke is the Managing Attorney of Locke Immigration Law and a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer who adjudicated approximately 12,000 visa applications at the U.S. Consulate in Mexico. She holds a J.D. from William & Mary Law School and a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Richmond. Loren is regularly quoted on immigration policy by major publications including Newsweek, Condé Nast Traveler, and The Daily Mail, and specializes in EB-1A extraordinary ability petitions, O-1 visas, and National Interest Waivers.

Follow Loren on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube | Book a consultation | hello@lockeimmigration.com

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