On April 29, 2026, DHS published an interim final rule codifying certain immigration fees and other provisions required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), amending USCIS regulations governing asylum and annual asylum fees, the new Form I-94 fee requirement, the validity period for certain types of employment authorization, and the retention of the Form I-589 filing fee for every application. A week later, USCIS issued a correction notice to fix an error in that rule.
What changed
The correction document will restore regulatory language that was unintentionally removed in the April 29, 2026 IFR. The correction is effective July 21, 2026, and applicable as of May 29, 2026.
The Federal Register notice does not specify which precise regulatory text was removed or is being restored. To see the exact language reinstated, you will need to compare the correction document (FR Doc. 2026-14698) against the original April 29, 2026 rule, or consult USCIS directly at 240-721-3000.
Why it matters
The H.R.1 IFR codified major fee and procedural changes affecting asylum adjudication, employment authorization, and I-94 processing. If critical regulatory language was omitted from the April rule, it could have left ambiguity about how USCIS adjudicators must apply those rules—or created a gap between the statutory requirement and the published regulation.
This correction closes that gap retroactively to May 29, 2026 (the original IFR effective date), meaning the restored language should be treated as operative for all filings and adjudications since May 29, even though the correction was not formally published until July 21.
If you filed anything under the April 29 rule between May 29 and July 20, verify that your packet is compliant with the language now restored. If you advised a client during that period, consider whether the correction affects fee calculations, asylum processing, or employment authorization validity windows.
Way forward
- Obtain a copy of the correction. Download the full text of FR Doc. 2026-14698 from federalregister.gov.
- Cross-reference the two rules. Identify which regulatory text was removed and restored by comparing the April 29, 2026 IFR against the July 21, 2026 correction.
- Update your file notes. For any pending cases filed under the April rule, flag the restoration date and verify compliance with the corrected language.
- Call USCIS Policy & Strategy for clarification. Office of Policy and Strategy, 240-721-3000 can explain which provisions were affected and whether any retroactive adjustments apply to fees already paid.
Disclaimer
This article is not legal advice. Fola Form is a software company, not a law firm, and cannot offer legal counsel on the application of these rules to your specific case. Consult a licensed immigration attorney before taking action based on this summary. Federal Register policy can change without notice, and this article is current as of the publication date above. Verify all regulatory text against the primary source documents linked here.