EAD Cost: I-765 Fees, H.R. 1 Surcharges, and Waivers

An Employment Authorization Document costs $470 to $1,030 to file through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with the base Form I-765 fee set at $520 on paper or $470 online.¹ Parolees, asylum applicants, and Temporary Protected Status holders pay a substantial surcharge on top of that base. Several categories pay nothing at all, and a fee waiver is available for applicants who can’t afford the charge.

The Base Form I-765 Filing Fee

Filing Form I-765 costs $520 by mail or $470 through your USCIS online account.¹ The same amount applies whether you’re filing an initial application, a renewal, or a replacement card, and DACA recipients filing under category (c)(33) pay the same.

There is no longer a separate biometric services fee for most I-765 applicants. Fingerprinting and identity verification are built into the base fee.² If you see older guides quoting $605, that figure comes from the previous structure and is out of date.

H.R. 1 Surcharges for Parolees, Asylum Applicants, and TPS Holders

Starting January 1, 2026, applicants in several categories pay a mandatory additional fee on top of the base amount. The surcharge was created by H.R. 1 and is adjusted annually for inflation.³

For an initial EAD, the surcharge is $560 for:

Parolees filing under category (c)(11)
Asylum applicants filing under category (c)(8) through ABC procedures
TPS holders filing under category (a)(12)
TPS applicants filing under category (c)(19)

An initial EAD for a parolee or TPS holder therefore costs $1,080 by paper or $1,030 online.¹

Renewal surcharges are lower. TPS holders and parolees pay $280 on renewal; asylum applicants pay $275. That puts a parolee renewal at $800 by paper or $750 online.³ Expect these numbers to tick up each January.

Reduced and Zero Fees for Pending Green Card Applicants

If you filed Form I-485 on or after April 1, 2024, and your application is still pending, the I-765 fee drops to $260 whether you file online or by paper.¹ This applies to both initial and renewal EADs while the green card application is under review.

If you filed Form I-485 between July 30, 2007, and March 31, 2024, and paid the I-485 fee at that time, your EAD costs $0. The I-765 fee was bundled into the I-485 fee under the old structure, and that bundling still applies to applications filed during that window.⁴ Check your I-485 filing date before you pay; this exemption catches a lot of people off guard.

Who Pays Nothing

Federal regulations at 8 CFR 106.2 list several groups that owe no filing fee:⁴

Refugees filing an initial EAD under category (a)(3)
Asylees filing an initial EAD under category (a)(5)
T visa holders filing an initial EAD under category (a)(13)
N-8 and N-9 nonimmigrants
Asylum applicants with a pending application, including derivative family members
People granted withholding of deportation or removal
Citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau
Current or former members of the U.S. armed forces
Anyone whose EAD arrived with a mistake USCIS made

If you fall into one of these groups, file Form I-765 with no payment and no fee waiver request.

Fee Waivers for Applicants Who Can’t Afford the Cost

If you’re not exempt but can’t pay, request a waiver using Form I-912. You qualify if your household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if you receive a means-tested benefit such as SNAP, Medicaid, or CHIP.⁵

DACA applicants filing under category (c)(33) cannot use Form I-912. The fee waiver is not available for that category.⁶

For applicants subject to the H.R. 1 surcharge, the standard USCIS fee may be waivable, but the H.R. 1 portion follows separate rules. Check the current I-912 instructions for your category. File Form I-912 at the same time as Form I-765; USCIS will not accept a waiver request submitted after the fact.⁶

Premium Processing (F-1 OPT Only)

Premium processing is available only for F-1 students applying for Optional Practical Training: pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT, and the 24-month STEM OPT extension.⁷ No other EAD category can use it.

The premium processing fee is $1,780 as of March 1, 2026, paid on top of the standard filing fee. USCIS guarantees action within 30 business days, meaning an approval, denial, request for evidence, or notice of intent to deny.⁷ The clock resets if USCIS issues a request for evidence and you respond. Total out-of-pocket for an F-1 student filing online with premium processing is $2,250.

Replacement Cards

If your EAD is lost, stolen, or damaged, you file a new Form I-765 and pay the full fee again, $520 by paper or $470 online, unless you qualify for a waiver.⁸ There is no discounted replacement rate.

The one exception is a card that arrived with a USCIS error. If the mistake wasn’t yours, the correction is free.⁹ If USCIS reviews the request and determines the error was on your end, you’ll be told to file and pay normally.

How to Pay

USCIS overhauled its payment system on October 28, 2025. Personal checks, cashier’s checks, and money orders are no longer accepted for paper filings unless you qualify for a specific exemption.¹⁰

Paper filers now have two options. You can pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card by including Form G-1450 with your application.¹⁰ Or you can authorize an ACH bank transfer using Form G-1650.¹¹

If you have a religious or conscientious objection to electronic payments, or if you lack access to electronic payment methods, apply for an exemption using Form G-1651. Once approved, USCIS will accept paper checks, money orders, and cashier’s checks made payable to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”¹² Online filers pay through Pay.gov during the electronic filing process.¹⁰

Whichever method you use, the payment must be exact. Even a few dollars over or under will get your entire application returned.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1055 – Fee Schedule
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
3
Federal Register. Inflation Adjustment to HR-1 Immigration Fees
4
eCFR. 8 CFR 106.2 – Fees
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Modernize Fee Payments with Electronic Funds
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1651, Exemption for Paper Fee Payment