( printed page 24739) AGENCY: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. SUMMARY: DHS proposes to increase the fee for adjudicating Form I-246, Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal, from $155 to $755. The rule proposes to adjust the Form I-246 fee to recover costs, which has not been adjusted since 1989. DHS also proposes to make technical edits to the stay of deportation and removal fee regulation. DATES: Electronic comments must be submitted on or before July 6, 2026. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the entirety of this proposed rule, identified by Docket No. ICEB-2020-0005, through the following method: Federal eRulemaking Portal:https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the website instructions to submit comments. Comments submitted in a manner other than the one listed above, including emails or letters sent to DHS officials, will not be considered comments on the proposed rule, and may not receive a response from DHS. Please note that DHS cannot accept any comments that are mailed, hand delivered, or couriered. In addition, DHS cannot accept mailed comments contained on any form of digital media storage devices, such as CDs/DVDs and USB drives. If you cannot submit your material using https://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions. Footnotes 1. However, the INA provides alternative methods for a petitioner to contest a removal order, including a petition for review filed in the court of appeals. See, e.g., INA 242(a)(2)(D). Back to Citation 2. Under the Homeland Security Act, references to the “Attorney General” in the INA also encompass the Secretary, either solely or additionally, with respect to the statutory authorities vested in the Secretary in the Homeland Security Act or subsequent legislation. See 6 U.S.C. 557. Back to Citation 3. See also DHS Delegation of Authority to the Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (DHS Do. No. 7030.2 (a)(w)). Back to Citation 4. 8 U.S.C. 1356(m) authorizes the Secretary to set and collect fees at a level that would ensure recovery of the full costs of providing such services, including the costs of providing similar services without charge to asylum applicants and certain other immigrants. Back to Citation 7. By policy, OMB Circular A-25 shall be applied by agencies in their assessment of user charges under Title V of the Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 (31 U.S.C. 9701), however, OMB Circular A-25 merely provides guidance to agencies regarding their assessment of user charges under other statutes, such as here, where ICE is assessing a fee authorized under 8 U.S.C. 1356(m). Back to Citation 8. Pursuant to different authorities, stays of removal may also be granted in certain circumstances by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and the federal courts. Back to Citation 9. But see Hechavarria v. Sessions, 891 F.3d 49, 55-56 (2d Cir. 2018) (holding sec. 1231 does not govern when the appellate court stays removal); Leslie v. Att'y Gen., 672 F.3d 265, 270 (3d Cir. 2012) (same). Back to Citation 12. In the spring of 2025, ICE confirmed with ERO leadership that the conclusions of the survey remain representative of current Form I-246 adjudication activities. Back to Citation 15. DHS conducted a fee analysis in 2025, based on a labor survey conducted in the Spring of 2020, which showed that the current Form I-246 fee does not cover the cost of adjudicating the form. According to DHS's 2025 fee analysis, DHS determined that approximately $755 to cover the costs of adjudicating each stay request, which is subject to increase due to economic factors in the future. The fee analysis has been posted for review in the rulemaking docket for this rule at www.regulations.gov. Back to Citation 16. OMB Circular A-4, Regulatory Analysis (2003). Back to Citation 17. The estimate of fee payments does not include Form I-246 filings that have had their fees waived. Thus, there were likely more filings than payments for each of the years accounted for in this estimate. DHS cannot estimate the number of fee waivers that will be received because ICE has very little data on fee waivers approved in the past. Back to Citation 19. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), available at https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0?years_option=all_years. The last full calendar year of data available at the time of this analysis was 2024. DHS calculated the inflation adjustment by comparing the average CPI-U in 1989 (123.967), the year when the fee was set to $155, with the average CPI-U for 2024 (313.689). This resulted in an inflation adjustment factor of 1.530, and then multiplied the inflation adjustment factor by the current fee of $155 to calculate the inflation increment of $237.15, resulting in a total inflation adjusted fee of $395 (rounded up from $392). Back to Citation 20. For a breakdown of the work hours, see Table 1 of the Fee Analysis, available on the docket for this rulemaking. Back to Citation 21. See Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Historical Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, all items, by month,” https://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/supplemental-files/historical-cpi-u-202412.pdf (last visited September 9, 2025). Calculation of inflation: (1) Calculate the average monthly CPI-U for the reference year (1995) and the current year (2024); (2) Subtract reference year CPI-U from current year CPI-U; (3) Divide the difference of the reference year CPI-U and current year CPI-U by the reference year CPI-U; (4) Multiply by 100 = [(Average monthly CPI-U for 2024 − Average monthly CPI-U for 1995) ÷ (Average monthly CPI-U for 1995)] × 100 = [(313.689 − 152.383) ÷ 152.383] = (161.306/152.383) = 1.059 × 100 = 105.86% = 106 percent (rounded). Calculation of inflation-adjusted value: $100 million in 1995 dollars × 2.06 = $206 million in 2024 dollars. Back to Citation 22. DHS, Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act, Directive 023-01, Revision 01 (Oct. 31, 2014). Back to Citation 23. DHS, Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01, Revision 01 (Nov. 6, 2014). Back to Citation 24. Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01 at V.B(2)(a) through (c) and Appendix A at A-1-A-2. Back to Citation