What does the I-765 work permit cost by category?

One form, many prices

The I-765 is not a single-price form, and that is the reason searchers keep looking for the fee by category. The regulation opens with $520. Then paragraph (a)(44)(i) lowers it to $260 for an applicant who filed an I-485 with a fee after April 1, 2024 and whose I-485 is still pending, and notes that the online filing discount does not apply to that $260. Paragraph (ii) lists who pays nothing for an initial permit, and paragraph (iv) does the same for renewals and replacements. The schedule, Appendix C of Form G-1055 edition 10/26/26, restates all of this row by row and attaches the filing method.

The pending-I-485 rule has a date line

Two dates decide the I-485 branch. If the I-485 was filed on or after July 30, 2007 and before April 1, 2024, and the I-485 fee was paid, the EAD is $0 for initial, renewal and replacement requests while the I-485 is pending. If the I-485 was filed with a fee on or after April 1, 2024, the EAD costs $260. Someone who filed an I-485 in 2023 and one who filed in May 2024 are therefore in different rows, even though the forms look the same.

The no-fee list in the regulation

For an initial permit, 106.2(a)(44)(ii) names the following: certain pre-2024 I-485 filers; dependents of certain government and international organization or NATO personnel; N-8 and N-9 nonimmigrants; persons granted asylee status; citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau; persons granted withholding of removal; asylum applicants and their derivatives; Taiwanese dependents of certain TECRO employees; and current or former armed forces service members. Replacement due to USCIS error is also free. The renewal list is shorter. Do not read the list as a promise that a permit will be issued; it is a statement about the fee only.

Where the two sources part ways

The regulation and the schedule do not print the same set of numbers. The eCFR text lists asylum applicants among those who pay no initial fee and prints no Public Law 119-21 amounts at all. The schedule, by contrast, lists initial permits for asylum applicants not under the special ABC procedures as $0 plus a separate $570 fee, and prints separate fees of $570 for several initial categories, $280 for renewals in the TPS, parolee and TPS applicant categories, and $275 for asylum applicant renewals. The schedule states these fees are not waivable and must be paid by separate payment. On this page the added amounts are labelled as schedule figures, because the rule text does not carry them.

Online versus paper

The general row shows $520 on paper and $470 online, a $50 difference. The pending-I-485 row prints $260 for both methods, matching the note in the regulation that the discount does not apply. The DACA row prints $520 on paper and $470 online, and the regulation says a fee waiver is available for the I-765 except for persons filing under category (c)(33).

Initial versus renewal exemptions

The regulation keeps separate no-fee lists for an initial permit and for a renewal or replacement. The renewal list in 8 CFR 106.2(a)(44)(iv) covers current adjustment or registry applicants who filed between July 30, 2007 and April 1, 2024 and paid the I-485 fee, dependents of certain foreign government, international organization or NATO personnel, citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau, persons granted withholding of removal, and current or former armed forces service members. Asylum applicants appear in the initial list but not in the renewal list of the regulation, and the schedule's renewal row for asylum applicants prints the $520 base plus a separate $275 fee.

Worked example

A spouse of a worker files an I-485 in July 2025 and pays the fee. A year later, the spouse needs a work permit while the I-485 is pending. The row to read is the pending-I-485 row with the post-April 2024 date, $260 under both sources. Compare that with a person renewing an EAD as a TPS beneficiary: $520 on paper or $470 online as the filing fee, plus a separate $280 payment printed in the schedule. The checker above prints each row exactly as the source does and shows the added fee on its own line.

Sources

• eCFR, 8 CFR § 106.2 USCIS fees (title 8, issue date October 14, 2026; eCFR up to date as of October 29, 2026). Read November 2, 2026.
• eCFR, 8 CFR § 106.3 Fee waivers and exemptions (title 8, issue date October 14, 2026; eCFR up to date as of October 29, 2026). Read November 2, 2026.
• eCFR, 8 CFR § 106.1 Definitions and online discount (title 8, issue date October 14, 2026; eCFR up to date as of October 29, 2026). Read November 2, 2026.
• USCIS Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, edition 10/26/26, and the G-1055 PDF. Read November 2, 2026.

Editions read: eCFR title 8 as of the October 14, 2026 issue date, and Form G-1055 edition 10/26/26. Both were read on November 2, 2026. Fees in this area changed repeatedly in 2024, 2025 and 2026; where the two sources differ, this page says so and does not choose between them. If you need to rely on an amount, confirm it with the official USCIS fee calculator on the day you file, and talk to an immigration attorney or accredited representative about your own case.