How do I pay USCIS filing fees by check?

When you file a petition or application with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it is important to include the filing fees with an acceptable form of payment. If you submit a case to USCIS without payment or with an incorrect form of payment, your case will be rejected and returned. Also, if your check is returned for insufficient funds, USCIS will reject your case. We discuss payment by check below.

How to Pay USCIS Filing Fees with a Check

You may pay fees with bank drafts, cashier’s checks, certified checks, personal checks, and money orders that are drawn from US financial institutions and payable in US funds. If you are paying your fees by check, please be aware of the following:

• Authorization for an Electronic Funds Transfer: By submitting your check, you authorize us to convert your check into an electronic fund transfer. USCIS will use the account information from your check to make an electronic fund transfer from your checking account for the amount of the check. If the transfer cannot occur for technical reasons, you authorize USCIS to process the copy of your original check through normal paper check procedures.
• Insufficient Funds: The electronic fund transfer from your account can occur faster than normal processing for a paper check. If your check or other financial instrument is returned as unpayable, USCIS will resubmit the payment one time. If it is returned as unpayable a second time, USCIS will reject your filing.
• If your check is not dated within the previous 365 days, USCIS will reject the filing.

How to write a check to USCIS for filing fees

Personal checks must be pre-printed with your name and your bank’s name. Your address and phone number must be pre-printed, typed, or written in ink. The following is an example of a properly executed check:

1. Write the date you are completing the check. Use the U.S. style of month/day/year. (Example: Jan. 4, 2017, or 1/4/17, but not 4/1/17 or 4 JAN 2017.)
2. On the “Pay to the Order of” line, write “U.S. Department of Homeland Security” (not “USDHS” or “DHS”).
3. Use numerals to show the exact dollar amount of the fee for the service you are requesting. In the example, the amount is “$725.00.”
4. Spell out the exact dollar amount of the fee and write the “cents” portion of the amount as a fraction over 100. In this example, the amount is “Seven hundred twenty-five and 00/100.”
5. Write a brief description of the purpose of your payment. In this example, it is the “N-400 application and biometric services fee.” Include the applicant’s name on the memo line if it is not on the check itself (for example, if you are paying the fee for your child).
6. Sign the check in ink using your legal name.
7. If your check is not dated within the previous 365 days, USCIS will reject the filing.

Pay Each Filing Fee Separately

USCIS is transitioning to electronically processing immigration benefit requests, which requires us to use multiple systems to process an application or petition. Because of this, you must pay each filing fee separately for any form you submit. USCIS may reject your entire package if you submit a single, combined payment for multiple forms.