EOIR Filing Fees for FY 2027 (October 1, 2026): What an Appeal, a Motion to Reopen, and Form EOIR-42B Cost Now

If you are in removal proceedings, every appeal, motion, and application you still have to file got more expensive on October 1, 2026. Send the old amount on anything that reaches the court or the Board on or after that date and EOIR rejects it, and on an appeal a rejection can cost you the appeal itself.

The new numbers come from a Department of Justice final rule, Inflation Adjustment for EOIR OBBBA Fees; Fiscal Year 2027, 91 FR 54211 (Aug. 21, 2026), effective October 1, 2026. It rewrites the fee tables in 8 C.F.R. § 1103.7. The adjustment is 3.4 percent, which is the change in the Consumer Price Index from July 2025 to July 2026, and the Department made it without notice and comment because H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Pub. L. 119-21, requires it every year.

Every EOIR fee now has two parts. One is the older fee EOIR collects under INA § 286(m), 8 U.S.C. § 1356(m), which did not change. The other is the H.R. 1 fee stacked on top of it, set out section by section in 8 U.S.C. § 1812. Only the H.R. 1 part moves with inflation.

What are the EOIR filing fees for FY 2027?

These are the amounts for anything filed with an Immigration Court or the Board of Immigration Appeals on or after October 1, 2026. Biometrics fees, where they apply, are separate.

The “before” column is the FY 2026 schedule, which took effect February 1, 2026. If you looked up a fee any time between February and September, that is the number you saw, and it is now wrong.

What is the EOIR-42B filing fee for cancellation of removal?

$1,690. That is $100 under § 286(m) plus $1,590 under 8 U.S.C. § 1812(j), and it is paid when you file the application with the Immigration Court. A non-permanent resident asking for cancellation has to prove ten years of continuous physical presence, good moral character, and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a qualifying relative. Before any of that is heard, the court collects $1,690.

The EOIR-42A, cancellation for a lawful permanent resident, is $730: $100 plus $630 under 8 U.S.C. § 1812(i). Suspension of deportation on the EOIR-40, which still comes up in old deportation cases, is also $730 under § 1812(h).

One change from earlier this year catches people filing more than one application. The rule used to be that if you filed several applications for relief, you paid only the most expensive fee. EOIR removed that rule in June 2026, in its interim final rule EOIR Fees, 91 FR 35369, amending 8 C.F.R. § 1240.11(f). Each application now carries its own fee.

What is the filing fee for a motion to reopen?

$1,095 if the motion is to an Immigration Judge, $1,060 if it is to the Board. If the motion rests entirely on an application for relief that itself requires no fee, the § 286(m) part drops to zero but the $950 H.R. 1 fee under 8 U.S.C. § 1812(g) still applies. EOIR used to let those motions go in free. The June 2026 rule ended that, because the statute allows only the exceptions Congress wrote.

A motion to reconsider costs the same and has to be filed within 30 days of the final order. A motion to reopen generally has to be filed within 90 days. INA § 240(c)(6)(B), (c)(7)(C)(i); 8 C.F.R. § 1003.23(b)(1).

Is there a filing fee for a motion to reopen an in absentia order?

It depends on why you are asking to reopen, and the difference is about a thousand dollars.

No fee if you did not get notice, or you were in custody. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1812(g)(3)(A), the motion fee does not apply to a motion to reopen an in absentia removal order filed under INA § 240(b)(5)(C)(ii), 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(b)(5)(C)(ii). That is the motion that argues you did not receive proper notice of the hearing, or that you were in federal or state custody and missing the hearing was not your fault. It can be filed at any time. Section 1812(g)(3)(B) gives the same exemption to a motion to reopen an old in absentia deportation order under former INA § 242B(c)(3)(B). EOIR’s regulation lists both as no-fee motions. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.24(b)(2)(iii).

Full fee if you are arguing exceptional circumstances. A motion to reopen under INA § 240(b)(5)(C)(i), which must be filed within 180 days and argues that you missed the hearing because of exceptional circumstances, is not exempt. The Department said so expressly in the June 2026 rule. Before an Immigration Judge, that motion is $1,095.

So the ground you choose decides the fee, and it also decides the deadline. If you were ordered removed for missing a hearing you never knew about, read what the Ninth Circuit just held about notice sent to a bad address.

Which EOIR filings have no fee?

A bond appeal. The H.R. 1 appeal fee “shall not apply to the appeal of a bond decision.” 8 U.S.C. § 1812(d)(3). EOIR’s regulation separately says no fee is required for a custody bond appeal. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.8(a)(2)(i). If a family member is detained and the Immigration Judge denied bond or set it too high, the appeal costs nothing to file.

Certain motions. No fee is required for a motion filed while proceedings are still pending before the Immigration Court, a motion asking only for a stay of removal, a motion both sides agree to and file jointly, the in absentia motions described above, or anything filed by DHS. 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.24(b)(2), 1003.8(a)(2).

What do asylum, adjustment, waiver, and TPS applications cost in immigration court?

DHS forms filed in immigration court carry an H.R. 1 fee too, and EOIR adjusted those in a separate notice, 91 FR 61447 (Sept. 29, 2026), also effective October 1. The H.R. 1 portions are:

These are only the H.R. 1 portions. The regular DHS fee for each form, set by the USCIS fee schedule, is owed on top of it, and the EOIR Payment Portal shows the combined total. Check the portal the day you pay.

The annual asylum fee deserves its own warning. It is owed for each calendar year an asylum application stays pending, and in Matter of L-F-R-, 29 I&N Dec. 787 (BIA 2026), decided July 24, 2026, the Board held that if you do not pay it by the deadline the Immigration Judge sets, the asylum application should be pretermitted or deemed abandoned. The same decision held that the fee and the consequence of not paying it do not reach statutory withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture. Those claims still have to be decided.

Why does a TPS application cost $520 in court but $510 at USCIS until October 16?

Because the two agencies changed on different days. EOIR’s adjustment took effect October 1, 2026. USCIS published its own FY 2027 notice, 91 FR 62540, on October 1, and it does not take effect until October 16, 2026.

So from October 1 through October 15, the H.R. 1 portion of the I-821 fee is $520 in immigration court and $510 at USCIS. The trigger is different too. EOIR applies the new amount to anything filed on or after October 1. USCIS rejects any benefit request postmarked on or after October 16 without the new fee. I go through the USCIS side, form by form, in New USCIS Fees Start October 16. The Court Already Changed Its Own on October 1.

Can an EOIR filing fee be waived?

The asylum fees cannot. The statute says it twice. The asylum application fee “shall not be waived or reduced,” 8 U.S.C. § 1802(e), and the annual asylum fee “shall not be waived or reduced,” 8 U.S.C. § 1808(d). EOIR’s regulations repeat it. 8 C.F.R. §§ 1208.3(a)(1), 1103.7(b)(4)(iii). Inability to pay is not a way around either one.

Most other EOIR fees still can be. Section 1812, which sets the appeal, motion, and cancellation fees, has no no-waiver clause. An Immigration Judge has discretion to waive the fee for a motion or an application for relief on a showing that you cannot pay, supported by a sworn affidavit or a declaration under penalty of perjury. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.24(d). If the judge denies the waiver, the regulation gives you 15 days to refile with the fee and tolls the filing deadline during those 15 days. For an appeal or a motion before the Board, the request goes on Form EOIR-26A and has to be filed with the appeal or motion. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.8(a)(3).

A fee waiver request is not a way to buy time. It has to go in with the filing, inside the deadline.

What happens if you pay the wrong EOIR fee?

The filing comes back. Both EOIR fee documents say the agency “will continue to reject any filings that are not accompanied by a proper filing fee or request for an applicable fee waiver.” A rejected filing does not count as filed.

That matters most on an appeal. A Notice of Appeal to the Board is due 30 calendar days after the Immigration Judge’s decision, and it counts as filed on the day the Board receives it, not the day you sent it. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b), (c). EOIR tried to shorten that to 10 days in an interim rule earlier this year, but a federal court set the 10-day deadline aside before it took effect, and 30 days remains the rule. An appeal that arrives without the fee or a fee waiver request inside that window is not properly filed, and the Immigration Judge’s decision becomes final as though no appeal was taken. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(d).

Picture a Notice of Appeal paid at $1,030, last year’s amount, that reaches the Board in October. It is short by $30. It comes back, and by the time it does, day 30 may be gone.

Two more mechanics. Fees are paid only through the EOIR Payment Portal, and paying the fee is not the same as filing the appeal, motion, or application. 8 C.F.R. § 1103.7(a)(1). And fees are generally non-refundable, so overpaying to be safe is not a plan either.

If you have an Immigration Judge’s decision in hand or a motion deadline running, the time is shorter than it looks. Call (562) 495-0554 or book a free consultation at blerner.timetap.com.

The mistakes that cost people their cases

Using a number you looked up in September. Every chart printed before August 21, 2026 is out of date for filings made now. Confirm the amount on the EOIR Payment Portal on the day you pay.

Paying the USCIS amount in court, or the court amount at USCIS. Until October 16 they are different for some forms. Know where the filing is going.

Paying the motion fee on an in absentia motion that is exempt, or skipping it on one that is not. Lack of notice and custody are exempt. Exceptional circumstances is not.

Assuming one fee covers several applications. It no longer does.

Letting the annual asylum fee slide. After Matter of L-F-R-, missing the court’s payment deadline can end the asylum claim.

What to do now

If you have an Immigration Judge’s decision, count 30 days from the date of the decision and work backward from that date, not from the fee change. If you are preparing an EOIR-42B, budget $1,690 plus biometrics, and if that is out of reach, the fee waiver under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.24(d) is the first thing to look at. If you have an asylum application pending, find out whether the court has set an annual fee deadline in your case. If a bond decision went against you, the appeal is free to file.

Removal cases turn on deadlines far more often than people expect. A fee schedule only becomes dangerous where it meets a deadline, and that is the part almost nobody reads.

While a case is pending, applicants for several forms of relief, including asylum, cancellation of removal, and adjustment of status, may be able to apply for employment authorization. Our guide to work permit applications (Form I-765) covers the eligibility categories and the evidence USCIS expects.

If you or a family member is in removal proceedings or detained, the timeline is already running. Call (562) 495-0554 or book a free consultation at blerner.timetap.com.

Brian D. Lerner, Certified Specialist, Immigration and Nationality Law (State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization). Fee amounts are current as of October 5, 2026.

This article is general information about United States immigration law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case. Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner, A Professional Corporation, 3233 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803. Brian D. Lerner is a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.