How to Pay USCIS Fees: Form G-1450 Card, G-1650 ACH, and the Payment Errors That Get Filings Rejected

USCIS stopped taking checks from most filers in October 2025, and a declined card or a wrong amount on one payment form now sends the whole paper filing back.

To pay USCIS fees on a paper filing, you put one of two forms on top of each application: Form G-1450 to charge a credit, debit or prepaid card issued by a U.S. bank, or Form G-1650 to debit a U.S. checking or savings account by ACH. Status as of November 1, 2026: in effect. USCIS has not accepted checks or money orders since October 28, 2025, unless the payer qualifies for and attaches a Form G-1651 exemption. If you file online, your USCIS account sends you to the Treasury's Pay.gov site and you need neither form.

A declined card, an online-fee amount on a paper filing, or one payment for two forms can each send an OPT, H-4 or change-of-status package back, and a rejected filing keeps no filing date.

Status line (as of 2026-11-01):

• In effect: electronic-only payment for paper filings since 2025-10-28, which USCIS ties to Executive Order 14247, with the G-1651 exemption as the only route to a check.
• In effect: fee amounts from Form G-1055, edition 10/26/26.
• Grace period ends: filing addresses for the I-765, I-539, I-131 and other forms changed on 2026-10-07; a package sent to an old address must be postmarked on or before Monday, 2026-11-09.
• In effect, but no form designated: the mandatory e-filing interim final rule (effective 2026-08-11). USCIS must post at least 60 days' notice before it requires e-filing for any form, so paper filing remains available.

How to pay USCIS fees in 2026: the short answer

If you mail a USCIS form, put a signed Form G-1450 (card from a U.S. bank) or Form G-1650 (U.S. bank account) on top of each application, authorizing that form's exact paper fee from the current G-1055. USCIS charges it only if it accepts the filing, and a declined payment gets the filing rejected. Online filers pay on Pay.gov.

Your payment options, as of 2026-11

Sources: USCIS Filing Fees page and Form G-1651 page, read 2026-11-01. Amounts for your form are on the G-1055 fee schedule.

Does USCIS still accept checks or money orders?

No, not for most filers. USCIS's Filing Fees page says it "no longer accepts payments made by personal or business check, money order, or cashier's check." A paper payment works only when the payer attaches a signed Form G-1651 and meets one of its conditions.

USCIS's Form G-1651 page gives the reason: "On March 25, 2025, Executive Order 14247, Modernizing Payments To and From America's Bank Account, was signed," requiring electronic payment of federal fees except as the order allows. The G-1651 (edition 06/03/25) certifies that electronic payment is not possible and that at least one condition applies:

• no access to banking services or electronic payment systems;
• "electronic disbursement would cause you undue hardship," as discussed in 31 CFR Part 208;
• a national security or law enforcement reason; or
• another circumstance the Treasury Secretary has set.

The G-1651 must travel with the application ("You cannot submit Form G-1651 separately"), one per payer, with a separate paper payment for each application, and USCIS rejects an unsigned one.

Misconception: "Make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security," as older school handouts still say. Correction (as of 2026-11-01): that applies only to a payer filing a G-1651, which is a signed certification, not a convenience option. If you think you fit a condition, ask a licensed immigration attorney before relying on it.

When you need neither form: filing online

If you file online, USCIS says "the system will automatically direct you to the secure Department of the Treasury site, pay.gov," and Forms G-1450 and G-1650 do not apply. Online filing is also $50 cheaper for the I-765 and I-539.

According to USCIS's forms available to file online page (updated 2026-10-07), the I-765 can be filled out online for OPT and STEM OPT, categories (c)(3)(A), (B) and (C), and the I-539 can be filed online. The H-4 EAD, (c)(26), is paper only, so an H-4 spouse applying for an EAD always needs a payment form. Our step-by-step I-765 OPT walkthrough covers the online route.

You also attach no payment form when your category's fee is $0. G-1055 lists a $0 I-765 fee, for example, for certain applicants with a fee-paid I-485 filed from 2007-07-30 to 2024-03-31.

Fees to write on the payment form (as of 2026-11, G-1055 edition 10/26/26)

Category exceptions exist; the I-765 fee is $260, for example, with a fee-paid I-485 filed on or after 2024-04-01. See our I-765 filing fee by category guide, and the USCIS fee schedule breakdown for H-1B and green card costs.

One fee that is not a USCIS payment: the SEVIS I-901 fee goes to SEVP through its own portal, so G-1450 and G-1650 do not apply to it.

How to fill out Form G-1450 for a card payment

Form G-1450 authorizes DHS to charge a card through the Treasury's Pay.gov Trusted Collection Service. It is one page, and every field matters.

1. Download a fresh Form G-1450 from uscis.gov/g-1450. The current edition is 02/06/26; USCIS also accepts prior editions.
2. Enter the applicant's full legal name as it appears on the application. That is you, even if someone else owns the card.
3. Enter the cardholder's name as printed on the card, the billing address, phone and email.
4. Tick the card type, then add the number, expiration date (mm/yyyy) and CVV.
5. Write the exact paper fee for that one form as the "Authorized Payment Amount". The form says "You must submit all fees in the exact amounts."
6. Sign as the cardholder; DHS "cannot process credit card payments without an authorized signature."
7. Place the G-1450 "ON TOP" of the application it pays for, as the form prints it.
8. Call your card issuer before mailing so a large government charge is not blocked as fraud, and confirm your available credit.

How to fill out Form G-1650 for an ACH payment

Form G-1650 authorizes USCIS to debit a U.S. checking or savings account through Pay.gov. The G-1650 instructions name five items it must include, all in steps 3 to 5 below.

1. Download Form G-1650, edition 06/03/25, from uscis.gov/g-1650.
2. Enter the applicant's full legal name.
3. Tick Business or Personal Account, and enter the account holder's name as it appears on the account (plus the business name for a business account).
4. Tick Checking or Savings, then enter the 9-digit routing number (bottom left of a check), the account number and the bank name.
5. Write the exact fee. The G-1650 page warns, "Do not leave it blank. We will not fill this in." Confirm the balance covers it.
6. Sign as the account holder, and place the G-1650 "ON TOP" of the application it pays for.
7. Contact your bank about any ACH debit block before mailing, and give it the USCIS Agency Location Codes (ALC+2). The form prints the four lockbox codes, 7001010330 (Phoenix), 7001010331 (Dallas), 7001010335 (Chicago) and 7001010390 (Elgin), and the instructions list more.

Do you need a separate payment form for each application?

Yes. USCIS's Filing Fees page says to "Complete a separate payment form for each benefit request you submit." Its tips for filing forms by mail add that you "may pay all applicable fees for each benefit request with the same Form G-1450 or Form G-1650 unless otherwise indicated on the Fee Schedule." So one payment form can cover one request's fees, not two requests.

Four related rules from those pages:

• Do not combine payments. "If both forms are paid with 1 combined payment, we may need to reject both forms."
• Do not mix methods. "If your package contains both types of payment it may have to be rejected."
• You may split one fee across several cards (one G-1450 per card) or accounts (one G-1650 per account), adding up to the full fee, but not across a card and an account.
• Premium processing is its own payment. If an I-907 travels with your I-765 or I-539, the I-907 instructions still ask for a separate payment for the premium fee and for the related application.

Worked example: an H-4 spouse mailing an I-539 and an I-765 together

You mail an H-4 extension (I-539) with a (c)(26) EAD application (I-765) on 2026-11-05. Both go on paper.

Three ways this goes wrong: one G-1450 for $990 covering both; a G-1450 for one form and a G-1650 for the other in the same envelope; or $420 for the I-539 because that figure came from the online fee column. After 2026-11-09 the old addresses also stop working; our I-539 filing address guide has the current rules.

What happens if your card is declined or your ACH debit fails?

USCIS rejects the filing and does not try the card again. The G-1450 instructions say: "DHS will reject your application, petition, or request for lack of payment if your credit card is declined. DHS will not attempt to process your credit card payment a second time."

ACH is slightly more forgiving. For insufficient funds, USCIS says "we will resubmit the payment to the institution 1 time," and if it comes back unpaid again USCIS may reject or deny the filing. Any other decline, such as a debit block or a wrong routing number, is not retried.

The cost is time. Under 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7)(ii), "A benefit request which is rejected will not retain a filing date." Your deadline keeps running while the rejection notice travels back to you.

Worked timeline: a declined card on an OPT application

The dates are illustrative. Under PA-2026-15 (in effect since 2026-10-23), a day-counted paper deadline that ends on a weekend or holiday rolls to the next business day; online filings never roll. The refiled case then waits in line: on 2026-11-01, USCIS's processing times tool showed 80% of F-1 student (c)(3) I-765s completed within 5 months (check the live tool).

If a rejection lands near a deadline, talk to your DSO the same day about whether you need a new recommendation; our guide to refiling a rejected OPT I-765 covers both clocks. If a rejected I-539 extension could leave you past your I-94 end date with nothing pending, take that to a licensed immigration attorney.

Can an international student without a US bank account pay by card?

For a paper filing, only with a card or account at a U.S. bank. USCIS says "We cannot accept a credit or debit card issued by a foreign bank," that it "can only withdraw funds from U.S. banking institutions," and that "We do not support payment by gift cards."

What works and what does not:

• Your own U.S. card or account: a credit, debit or prepaid card issued by a U.S. bank on the Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover networks, or a U.S. checking or savings account.
• Someone else's. USCIS says "Anyone holding a bank account or a credit card may pay for your benefit request." That person completes and signs the payment form as payer; your name goes in the applicant block.
• Not a parent's card from a bank back home, and not a transfer from a foreign account.

Those foreign-bank limits come from USCIS's mail-filing pages; if you plan to file online with a foreign card, check the payment options your account shows before you count on it. And whoever pays should never dispute or stop the charge: if a payment is unfunded or reversed after approval, USCIS says it "may revoke, rescind, or cancel the approval with notice."

Payment errors that get filings rejected (as of 2026-11)

Before you mail: edition, address, payment

Run these checks the day you ship.

1. Check the edition on the form's uscis.gov page. As of 2026-10-30, USCIS accepts the 08/21/25 I-765 and the 08/28/24 I-539 (not the 09/15/26 editions), and from 2026-11-09 only the 09/09/26 I-129. See our I-765 edition date and filing address guide.
2. Check the address in the form's "Where to File" section. Locations changed 2026-10-07; old addresses work only if postmarked on or before 2026-11-09 (USCIS filing locations update).
3. Check the fee in the paper column of G-1055, edition 10/26/26.
4. Complete one signed G-1450 or G-1650 per form, with the exact amount, on top of that form.
5. Call your bank or card issuer about fraud blocks, debit blocks and limits.
6. Copy everything and use a trackable delivery service.

Common mistakes

• Writing the online fee on a paper filing. The I-765 is $470 online but $520 on paper; the I-539 is $420 versus $470.
• Leaving the amount blank. The G-1650 page says USCIS will not fill it in, and a G-1450 is charged only up to the amount you authorize.
• One payment form for the whole envelope, including an I-907 mailed with an I-765. Each request needs its own.
• Reusing the old payment form on a refiled package. A corrected filing needs a new, current G-1450 or G-1650.
• Disputing the charge later. An unfunded or reversed payment can cost you the approval.

Frequently asked questions

Does USCIS still accept checks?

Not for most filers. Since October 28, 2025, USCIS takes fees for paper filings only by card with Form G-1450 or by ACH bank debit with Form G-1650, and that is still in effect as of November 1, 2026. A check, money order, bank draft or cashier's check is accepted only with a signed Form G-1651 exemption from a payer who meets one of its listed conditions; otherwise the filing is rejected.

How do I fill out Form G-1650 for an ACH payment?

Download the current G-1650 (edition 06/03/25) from uscis.gov, enter the applicant's legal name, tick personal or business and checking or savings, add the account holder's name, the 9-digit routing number, the account number and the bank name, write the exact fee as the authorized amount (USCIS will not fill in a blank), and have the account holder sign. Place it on top of that application. If your account blocks ACH debits, give your bank the USCIS Agency Location Codes printed on the form before you mail.

Can an international student without a US bank account pay by card?

For a paper filing, only with a credit, debit or prepaid card issued by a U.S. bank. USCIS does not accept foreign-bank cards, foreign-bank ACH or gift cards. A friend, relative or sponsor with a card or account at a U.S. bank can pay for you by completing and signing the G-1450 or G-1650 as the payer, with your name in the applicant block. These rules are in effect as of November 1, 2026.

Do I need a separate payment form for each application?

Yes. USCIS tells mail filers to complete a separate payment form for each benefit request, so an I-539 and an I-765 in one envelope need two payment forms, each for that form's exact fee. One form may cover all the fees of a single request unless the fee schedule says otherwise. Use one payment method for the whole package, because USCIS says a package containing both a G-1450 and a G-1650 may be rejected.

What happens if my card is declined?

USCIS rejects the filing for lack of payment and does not try the card a second time. A rejected filing keeps no filing date under 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7)(ii), so you must send a corrected package with a new payment form while your deadlines keep running. For ACH, USCIS resubmits the debit once, and only when it was returned for insufficient funds.

Sources

• USCIS, Filing Fees
• USCIS, Form G-1450 and G-1450 instructions (edition 02/06/26)
• USCIS, Form G-1650 and G-1650 instructions (edition 06/03/25)
• USCIS, Form G-1651 (edition 06/03/25)
• USCIS, Fee Schedule G-1055 (edition 10/26/26)
• USCIS, Tips for Filing Forms by Mail
• USCIS, Form I-907 instructions
• USCIS, Filing locations and online filing options updates
• USCIS, Forms available to file online
• USCIS, Mandatory electronic filing alert
• USCIS, Case processing times (read 2026-11-01)
• 8 CFR 103.2, via Cornell LII

How we checked this: we read the USCIS G-1450, G-1650 and G-1651 pages, the G-1450 and G-1650 forms and instructions, the I-907 instructions, the Filing Fees page, the mail-filing tips, the G-1055 fee schedule and 8 CFR 103.2 on 2026-11-01, and checked every date and fee against our November 2026 facts brief.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own notices, I-20 and I-94 govern, and your DSO (for OPT and SEVIS questions) or a licensed immigration attorney (for petitions, extensions and status) should confirm anything that affects your case.

Getting the paperwork right is half the job; the other half is finding an employer that sponsors. If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and want help running a focused search, talk to F1Jobs.