Motion to Reopen in Immigration Court: Fees, Waivers, and Payment

The fee to file a motion to reopen in immigration court is $1,065 before an Immigration Judge and $1,030 before the Board of Immigration Appeals, effective February 1, 2026.¹ Some motions owe no fee at all, and filers who cannot afford the fee can request a waiver. Everyone else pays electronically through the EOIR Payment Portal, and getting the amount or the method wrong will get the motion rejected before a judge ever sees it.

Current Amounts and Why They Change

The Executive Office for Immigration Review adjusts its filing fees each fiscal year for inflation. For fiscal year 2026, the amounts are:

Immigration Judge motion to reopen or reconsider: $1,065
Board of Immigration Appeals motion to reopen or reconsider: $1,030

Any motion postmarked on or after February 1, 2026, that arrives with the wrong amount will be rejected.² Because the numbers change annually, confirm the current fee on the EOIR website before you file. Submitting last year’s amount is one of the most common preventable mistakes.

Motions That Owe No Fee

Several categories of motions to reopen are automatically fee-exempt. You do not have to request a waiver for these. You simply file without payment.

Before an Immigration Judge

A motion to reopen filed with the immigration court owes no fee when it falls into any of these categories:³

Motions based exclusively on relief that itself carries no fee, including asylum, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture protection, and relief under the Violence Against Women Act, T visas, or U visas. The word “exclusively” matters. If the motion also raises a form of relief that carries its own fee, the exemption is lost.
Motions to reopen in absentia removal or deportation orders filed under INA § 240(b)(5)(C)(ii) or former INA § 242B(c)(3)(B).¹
Motions filed while proceedings are already pending before the immigration court.
Motions requesting only a stay of removal, deportation, or exclusion.
Joint motions agreed to by all parties.
Motions filed by DHS rather than the respondent.

Before the Board of Immigration Appeals

The BIA’s exemption list mirrors the immigration court’s closely. No fee is required when the motion is based exclusively on an application for relief that carries no fee, when it is a joint motion, when it is filed while another appeal or motion is already pending before the Board, or when it requests only a stay.⁴

Requesting a Fee Waiver

If your motion does not qualify for an automatic exemption and you cannot afford the fee, file Form EOIR-26A (Fee Waiver Request) with your motion. The form requires a declaration under penalty of perjury that you are unable to pay.⁵

What the Form Asks For

EOIR-26A requires a detailed picture of your finances: monthly wages and salary, income from self-employment or a business, and any support you receive from public assistance, family members, or other sources.⁵ Supporting documents strengthen the request. Proof of public benefits, recent pay stubs, and bank statements help establish that you genuinely cannot pay.

If the Waiver Is Denied

A denied waiver at the BIA is not the end of the line. If the request does not establish inability to pay, you get 15 days to re-file with either the full filing fee or a new waiver request, and any applicable filing deadline is paused during that cure period.⁴ The regulations for motions before an Immigration Judge do not spell out an equivalent 15-day cure in the same terms, so getting the payment or waiver right on the first submission matters more at the trial-court level.

How to Pay the Fee

As of February 23, 2026, EOIR no longer accepts checks or money orders for filing fees. All payments must go through the EOIR Payment Portal, and this applies to both Immigration Court and BIA filings.⁶

The portal accepts debit cards, credit cards, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and ACH bank transfers. Payments are processed through Pay.gov, so EOIR itself does not collect or store your payment information.⁷ After paying, you receive a digital receipt with a tracking ID. Save or print it immediately. EOIR does not email a copy, and the tracking ID is what you will need to retrieve a replacement if the original is lost. If you pay by ACH, contact your bank ahead of time to remove any debit block for the Treasury Department’s ACH originator ID (7001010352).⁸

One boundary to be aware of: the motion filing fee is separate from any fee owed on the underlying application for relief. Fees for applications filed in connection with immigration court proceedings go to DHS, not to the court, and the DHS fee receipt must accompany the motion when it is filed with the immigration court.³ Two payments, two recipients.

What Happens If Payment Is Wrong

A motion submitted without the correct fee, without a valid fee receipt, or without a completed EOIR-26A waiver request will be rejected and returned. The motion is not considered filed until the fee requirement is satisfied, which means the 90-day filing deadline keeps running while you fix the problem.² The two mistakes that most often cause rejection now are paying the prior year’s amount and trying to send a check. Confirm the current fee on the EOIR website, pay through the portal, and keep the tracking ID from your digital receipt with the filing.

1
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Types of Appeals, Motions, and Required Fees
2
Federal Register. Inflation Adjustment for EOIR OBBBA Fees – Fiscal Year 2026
3
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.24 – Fees Pertaining to Matters Within the Jurisdiction of an Immigration Judge
4
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.8 – Fees Before the Board
5
U.S. Department of Justice. Form EOIR-26A – Fee Waiver Request
6
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Forms and Fees
7
Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR Payment Portal Frequently Asked Questions
8
EOIR Payment Portal. EOIR Payment Portal