Fees Relating to Applications for Adjustment of Status
Section 100013 · Sec. 100013 ·
What this chapter is about
This part sets ten court fees in immigration cases. Adjusting status costs $1,500 and an appeal $900. Each fee rises with prices every year. Up to a quarter goes to the immigration courts.
“the Attorney General shall require the payment of a fee, equal to the amount specified in paragraph (2), by any alien who files an application with an immigration court to adjust the alien's status to that of a lawful permanent resident”
The section requires the Attorney General, on top of any other fee, to charge a fee when an alien files with an immigration court to adjust status to lawful permanent resident, or has such an application decided there, payable at filing or before decision. For fiscal year 2025 the amount is the greater of $1,500 or what the Attorney General sets by rule, rising each year with the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, rounded to the next lowest multiple of $10.
What the document actually says
“the Attorney General shall require the payment of a fee, equal to the amount specified in paragraph (2), by any alien who files an application with an immigration court to adjust the alien's status to that of a lawful permanent resident”
That sentence, in plain words
A fee is due on such a claim. It is filed with an immigration court. It asks to become a lawful permanent resident.
What this is about
It comes on top of other fees. The amount starts at $1,500. It climbs with prices each year.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“by any alien at the time such alien files an application with an immigration court for a waiver of a ground of inadmissibility, or before such application is adjudicated by the immigration court.”
The section requires the Attorney General, on top of any other fee, to charge a fee when an alien files with an immigration court for a waiver of a ground of inadmissibility, payable at filing or before decision, being the greater of $1,050 or what the Attorney General sets by rule for fiscal year 2025 and rising each year with the price index.
What the document actually says
“by any alien at the time such alien files an application with an immigration court for a waiver of a ground of inadmissibility, or before such application is adjudicated by the immigration court.”
That sentence, in plain words
The fee is due when such a claim is filed. It goes to an immigration court. It may also be paid before the ruling.
What this is about
The claim asks to lift a bar to entry. The fee starts at $1,050. It climbs with prices each year.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“by any alien at the time such alien files an application with an immigration court for temporary protected status, or before such application is adjudicated by the immigration court.”
The section requires the Attorney General, on top of any other fee, to charge a fee when an alien files with an immigration court for temporary protected status, payable at filing or before decision, being the greater of $500 or what the Attorney General sets by rule for fiscal year 2025 and rising each year with the price index.
What the document actually says
“by any alien at the time such alien files an application with an immigration court for temporary protected status, or before such application is adjudicated by the immigration court.”
That sentence, in plain words
The fee is due when such a claim is filed. It goes to an immigration court. It may also be paid before the ruling.
What this is about
The claim asks for temporary protected status. The fee starts at $500. It climbs with prices each year.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“by any alien at the time such alien files an appeal from a decision of an immigration judge.”
The section requires the Attorney General, on top of any other fee, to charge a fee when an alien appeals a decision of an immigration judge and when an alien appeals a decision of an officer of the Department of Homeland Security, each the greater of $900 or what the Attorney General sets by rule for fiscal year 2025 and rising each year with the price index. The fee on appealing an immigration judge does not apply to the appeal of a bond decision.
What the document actually says
“by any alien at the time such alien files an appeal from a decision of an immigration judge.”
That sentence, in plain words
The fee is due when an appeal is filed. It covers an appeal from an immigration judge.
What this is about
A like fee covers an appeal from an agency officer. Each starts at $900. A bond ruling is left out.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“by any practitioner at the time such practitioner files an appeal from a decision of an adjudicating official in a practitioner disciplinary case.”
The section requires the Attorney General, on top of any other fee, to charge a fee when a practitioner appeals a decision of an adjudicating official in a practitioner disciplinary case, being the greater of $1,325 or what the Attorney General sets by rule for fiscal year 2025 and rising each year with the price index.
What the document actually says
“by any practitioner at the time such practitioner files an appeal from a decision of an adjudicating official in a practitioner disciplinary case.”
That sentence, in plain words
The fee is due when such an appeal is filed. It falls on the practitioner.
What this is about
The case is one about their own conduct. The fee starts at $1,325. It climbs with prices each year.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“by any alien at the time such alien files a motion to reopen or motion to reconsider a decision of an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals.”
The section requires the Attorney General, on top of any other fee, to charge a fee when an alien files a motion to reopen or reconsider a decision of an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals, being the greater of $900 or what the Attorney General sets by rule for fiscal year 2025 and rising each year with the price index. It does not apply to a motion to reopen a removal order entered in absentia filed under section 240(b)(5)(C)(ii), or a like motion on a deportation order filed under section 242B(c)(3)(B) before April 1, 1997.
What the document actually says
“by any alien at the time such alien files a motion to reopen or motion to reconsider a decision of an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals.”
That sentence, in plain words
The fee is due when such a motion is filed. It asks a ruling to be looked at again.
What this is about
The ruling may be a judge's or the appeal board's. The fee starts at $900. Two kinds of motion are let off.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“by any alien at the time such alien files an application with an immigration court for suspension of deportation.”
The section requires the Attorney General, on top of any other fee, to charge the greater of $600 or a rule-set amount when an alien files with an immigration court for suspension of deportation, the same for cancellation of removal for a lawful permanent resident, and the greater of $1,500 or a rule-set amount for cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for an alien who is not a lawful permanent resident. Each rises yearly with the price index.
What the document actually says
“by any alien at the time such alien files an application with an immigration court for suspension of deportation.”
That sentence, in plain words
The fee is due when such a claim is filed. It goes to an immigration court. It asks to stop a deportation.
What this is about
That fee starts at $600. Cancellation for a green card holder costs the same. For others it starts at $1,500.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “may not”Who acts: Executive Office for Immigration ReviewHow: statuteSec. 100013 in the PDF
What the document says
“No fees collected pursuant to this section may be expended by the Executive Office for Immigration Review for the Legal Orientation Program, or for any successor program.”
The section provides that no more than a quarter of the fees under each subsection is transferred from the Immigration Examinations Fee Account and credited to the Executive Office for Immigration Review to keep and spend without further appropriation, with anything else going into the general fund of the Treasury, and bars that office from spending any of the money on the Legal Orientation Program or any successor.
What the document actually says
“No fees collected pursuant to this section may be expended by the Executive Office for Immigration Review for the Legal Orientation Program, or for any successor program.”
That sentence, in plain words
None of this money may go to one program. The immigration courts may not spend it there.
What this is about
The program is the Legal Orientation Program. Any program that takes its place is covered too. Up to a quarter of the fees goes to those courts.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Each distinct thing the section does: set the fee for adjustment of status, for a waiver of inadmissibility, for temporary protected status, for an appeal from an immigration judge, for an appeal from a homeland security officer, for a practitioner discipline appeal, for a motion to reopen or reconsider, for suspension of deportation, and for the two kinds of cancellation of removal, together with the shared rules on inflation and disposition and the bar on funding one program.
The ten inflation paragraphs and the ten disposition paragraphs are identical in form and are carried in summaries rather than recorded one by one.
The section points to sections 240, 242B and 286(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, none of which is indexed here.
