How to pay your USCIS fees

The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) is the government office in charge of managing immigration forms and applications. Learn what they are and how to pay the USCIS fees with these payment methods.

Accessing a better quality of life in the United States is not impossible, especially for immigrants. However, this is not easy, migrating requires courage and a lot of sacrifices to face the challenges that it implies, one of them is to obtain legal immigration status.

If you or one of your relatives is in this condition, consider that achieving legal status requires an investment of time and money for forms and fees before the USCIS.

The USCIS is the federal agency in charge of legal immigration procedures to the United States. The migration processes that this entity is in charge of are the following:

• Application for citizenship
• Immigration of family members
• Work permits for people from other countries
• Verification for companies on the authorization to work of workers
• Administration of humanitarian programs for displaced people
• Adoption processes from other countries
• Teaching and training on issues related to the United States for migrant applicants

Types of payment to USCIS

Each procedure implies a fee and precise form, for all cases, there are different methods of payment before the USCIS. Before applying, the authority recommends following these three tips:

1. Maintain a good balance in your personal finances and capital to cover the fees
2. Confirm the current costs of each procedure
3. Consult any doubts with the USCIS or with a lawyer specializing in immigration

These are the four methods of payment with the USCIS. Check which is more convenient for you:

Check

By paying by check to the USCIS, you are authorizing the money to be taken from your bank account automatically. So before delivering it, make sure you have a sufficient balance in the period between the delivery of the check and the collection. Otherwise, after two payment rejections, the federal agency will deny the request.

Payment by check is only possible when processing your form by mail and must be made payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The date of issue must not exceed the previous 365 and must be written in month/day/year format. Take note that the check must be from a US bank, otherwise, it will be rejected.

Debit or credit card

You can use this payment method with USCIS whether you file your paperwork in person or online. If you carry it out in person, it will be necessary to complete an additional form: the G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. Authorized cards are Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

Remember that each payment must be made with an individual form even if it is made by more than one member of your family, a form should not be submitted for the total sum of the procedures. Additionally, you should consider that as with check payments, it is essential to verify that the accounts have enough balance or available credit to cover the payment.

Payment in installments

If you do not have the needed capital to pay your USCIS fees in a single installment or if you require support during the process, you can turn to Alvva. We offer an alternative to pay your installments in monthly installments or every two weeks. To access this option, you do not need to have a credit history, nor does it have penalties for early payment.

These are some benefits of requesting the help of Alvva:

• They grant exact amounts to pay the fees
• This financing helps you build a credit history
• The check is delivered in compliance with the USCIS specifications

Fee Waiver

A final alternative to paying USCIS fees is to apply for a waiver. In some cases, the total exemption of the amount can be given and in others, it will be reflected as a discount. In order to qualify, you must meet other requirements. Consult the USCIS webpage and understand what those are.

Do not wait to apply for a process due to lack of money and make sure you meet all the requirements before doing it. Remember that even if your application is rejected, you must pay the USCIS fees and they are non-refundable. Do not hesitate to access external financing alternatives, in addition to helping you present your application, it will also have financial benefits, such as credit history, so use this resource appropriately.

At Alvva we support you so that your process is a complete success.