USCIS Shift to Electronic Payments

I’ve seen qualified clients lose precious time on their case, not because they lacked the right credentials, but because of administrative issues like payment getting lost in the mail.

Recently, USCIS quietly announced one of those changes.

For decades, most filing fees have been paid by paper check or money order. 

It’s old-fashioned, it causes delays, and sometimes payments even get lost.

Now USCIS is shifting to electronic payments. 

Starting immediately, applicants can pay fees directly from a U.S. bank account (ACH debit) using a new form or from a credit or debit card, using an existing form. 

And by October 2025, paper checks and money orders will no longer be accepted.

On its face, this might seem like a welcome modernization. Faster, safer, fewer lost checks.

But for some clients, it could raise new questions:

- What if you don’t have a U.S. bank account?

- What if the payment bounces — does your whole case get rejected?

- How do you know you’re using the right form?

This is the part of immigration law that rarely makes headlines. 

Yet for families and employers, a rejected filing because of a payment error can mean months of delay.

To me, this is the essence of immigration practice: paying attention to the details that can change everything for a client’s future.

Because in this field, a case doesn’t only fall apart because someone isn’t qualified. 

It often falls apart because a box wasn’t checked, a deadline was missed, or, now, because a payment method wasn’t accepted.

It’s not glamorous work. 

But it’s the kind of vigilance and attention to detail that keeps cases moving forward.

Have you ever experienced a big outcome hinging on a small detail?