United States | Reminder: USCIS only accepting electronic payments for paper-filed forms, latest fee schedule published with new additions

Effective Oct. 28, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services now requires electronic payments for all paper-filed immigration forms. Paper checks and money orders will no longer be accepted.

Key Points:

• USCIS launched its new electronic bank payment option for immigration fees on Aug. 29, 2025, and announced that paper checks and money orders would be accepted until Oct. 28, 2025.
• Applicants must now use Form G-1450 to authorize credit card payments or Form G-1650 to initiate ACH debit transactions from a U.S. bank account.
• A limited list of exemptions and request for an exemption via Form G-1651 can be found here.
• USCIS will continue to accept online payments for forms filed online and encourages the use of the pay.gov platform. The agency “encourages benefit requestors and their accredited representatives to use their USCIS account to file online through the guided process or the electronic PDF intake process, if either of these filing options is available for their form type. Benefit requestors and accredited representatives filing online have access to helpful instructions and tips on completing their forms.”
• On Oct. 28, 2025, a new edition of Form G-1055, Fee Schedule was published with updates including but not limited to the addition of:
• • Form G-1651, Exemption for Paper Fee Payment, for an exemption from the requirement to use an electronic payment method
  • The presidential proclamation on Restriction of Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, H-1B petitions

Additional Information: According to USCIS, “Over 90% of our payments come from checks and money orders, causing processing delays and increasing the risk of fraud and lost payments.” The shift to electronic payments is intended to streamline operations, improve security and reduce administrative burdens for both applicants and USCIS staff. This change aligns with Executive Order 14247, which mandates government-wide modernization of payment systems.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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