A big change is coming
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is saying goodbye to checks and money orders. Starting in late October 2025, the agency will no longer accept these traditional forms of payment. Payments will need to be electronic.
This is one of the biggest transformations to USCIS’s payment system in years. While most government agencies still accept checks, USCIS is forging ahead with new rules under Executive Order 14247, Modernising Payments to and From a U.S. Bank Account. The goal is to make payments faster, more secure, and less prone to fraud.
Why USCIS is making the change
USCIS accepts more than 90% of its payments in the form of check and money orders, as per USCIS. They are time-consuming to process, result in delays, and come with a theft or lost payment risk.
“We owe it to the American public to be as efficient and secure as we can be,” USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser said. “The United States is owed better, and we will provide it.”
By switching to electronic payment, the agency wants to make it quicker and give applicants greater peace of mind.
The deadline date you need to remember
USCIS will continue to accept checks and money orders until October 28, 2025. But starting on October 29, 2025, those will no longer be accepted.
From that date on, applicants will need to pay their fees in one of two ways:
ACH Transaction (electronic bank transfer): This entails filling out Form G-1650.
Credit Card Payment: This entails filling out Form G-1450.
USCIS also indicated that if there aren’t enough funds in the account, or a card gets declined, the agency might reject the petition or application entirely. So applicants will need to check their accounts twice before they can make a payment.
What this means for applicants
The change will impact millions of people applying for immigration benefits, including green cards, citizenship, and work permits. It will be difficult for anyone who does not have a U.S. credit card or bank account.
It also means that applicants will now be directly giving sensitive financial data to USCIS, which has alarmed some attorneys and immigration advocates.
Ryan Wilck, a lawyer and partner at the law firm Reddy & Neumann, said on LinkedIn that while the change may seem like an effort to modernise, it would also create more barriers. He warned that USCIS would be able to use technical issues with payment forms as a reason to deny cases.
The bigger picture
USCIS’s move is just the latest in a government-wide push to modernise payment systems. Although the Social Security Administration has backed off on some of its proposals to eliminate paper checks, USCIS is drawing the line.
For petitioners, this equates to adapting to a completely electronic payment universe. No mailing in checks, no money orders from the neighbourhood post office. Rather, it is all online or via credit card.
What you should do now
In the event that you will be filing any petitions with USCIS within the next year, it’s best to get ready ahead of time:
- Make sure you have a U.S. bank account or credit card ready.
- Be aware of how to complete the G-1650 and G-1450 forms.
- Have more funds in your account to avoid rejections.
- Look for official updates from USCIS when the cutoff date is approaching.
Final thoughts
The end of checks and money orders at USCIS might sound like the end of an era, but the change is being made to make things quicker and safer. Still, for millions of applicants, the shift will require getting used to new rules and being extra careful with payments
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The bottom line? Circle October 29, 2025, on your calendar. As of that date, checks and money orders will be history at USCIS.
