U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is transitioning away from checks and money orders to electronic payments. Starting Oct. 28, the only accepted methods will be debit or credit cards.
The move aims to modernize how money is paid to the U.S. immigration agency, reducing processing time, fraud risk, lost payments, and theft compared to traditional checks/money orders.
USCIS will accept only ACH debit transactions using Form G-1650 or credit card payments using Form G-1450, said Greenberg Traurig attorney Jennifer Hermansky, who is EB-5 Committee Chair for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
“Lawyers will need to complete the additional form and attach it to any new I526 or I526E Petition,” she said.
How will this change impact EB-5 investors?
U.S. immigration attorney Renata Duarte of R Duarte Law said this update directly impacts EB-5 application payments.
“This rule has direct consequences because the filing fees involved are significant (I-526E, I-485, I-829, etc.), she said. “Any failed payment, whether through insufficient funds or declined transactions, will lead to a rejection of the entire filing, potentially causing serious setbacks in priority dates and immigration planning. To avoid this risk, it is critical that all payments be properly authorized, backed by sufficient funds, and made through one of the new USCIS-approved methods.”
How will the debit and credit card payments work?
USCIS states that ACH debit payments must originate from a U.S. bank account.
“So, payments from overseas bank accounts cannot be used to pay the USCIS filing fee,” Hermansky said. “USCIS warns that applicants or lawyers using a business account may need to contact their bank to permit the Department of Homeland Security to debit funds by ACH from the account.”
She also cautions that ACH transaction daily limits can vary by bank.
“Depending on the number of filings handled by the law firm in any given day, the firm may need to discuss with their bank the number and type of payments to be expected going forward to limit rejection of cases by USCIS for non-payment.”
Credit card payments are still permitted for fee payments; however, they cannot be used to pay for Form I-956 or Form I-956F applications submitted by Regional Centers seeking USCIS designation or approval for their EB-5 projects. This restriction is due to the high filing fees imposed by USCIS for these applications.
“Everyone must adapt to the new system,” said Duarte. “The key best practice is ensuring that whichever account or card is used for payment is reliable, fully funded, and not subject to international processing issues that could cause a denial. Clients should discuss with their attorneys which option, ACH debit or credit card, is best suited for their circumstances.”
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