U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to Allow Credit Card Payments

Have you wished you could pay the filing fee by credit card when filing your immigration forms?  It appears U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is listening.

In February, USCIS announced that it will now accept credit card payments for filing most of its forms.  If you file an application, petition, or request with a USCIS Lockbox facility, you may pay your filing fee and biometric services fee, if applicable, with a credit card at no additional cost.

The new payment option is available for the 41 fee-based forms processed at USCIS Lockbox facilities.  Some of the more common forms that are filed at a USCIS Lockbox facility are:

• I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)
• I-130/A, Petition for Alien Relative
• I-131, Application for Travel Document
• I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker
• I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
• I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
• I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application of Petition
• I-90, Application to Replace a Permanent Resident Card*
• N-400, Application for Naturalization*

*Applicants for naturalization and those renewing or replacing their Green Cards have already been able to use a credit card when they file online at uscis.gov.  USCIS has been accepting credit card payments for naturalization forms filed at Lockbox facilities since 2015.

To pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover, applicants will need to use Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transaction (PDF, 260 KB).  Form G-1450 may only be used with a form being submitted to a USCIS Lockbox.  Do not submit this form to a USCIS Field Office because they will not accept it.

USCIS will enter credit card data into the Pay.gov system, operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  If USCIS accepts your filing, they will:

• Charge your credit card for the proper amount
• Destroy your Form G-1450 to protect your credit card information (or destroy it even if they reject your filing and do not process your payment)

You will see a charge from USCIS on your credit card statement.

For further information, contact the Immigration Team at Orr & Reno.

About the Author: Robin Vermette

Print this entry