Can You Still Use a Money Order for USCIS?

You can still pay USCIS with a money order, but only if you file Form G-1651 (Exemption for Paper Fee Payment) with your application and qualify for the exemption. As of October 28, 2025, USCIS requires electronic payment for paper-filed forms, and a money order arriving without a G-1651 will cause the agency to reject the entire package.¹

Who Can Still Pay by Money Order

USCIS created Form G-1651 for applicants who cannot pay electronically. If you file a properly completed G-1651 with your application and qualify, USCIS will accept payment by money order, personal or business check, bank draft, or cashier’s check.² Without that form in the package, the money order is treated as an unacceptable payment method and the whole submission comes back to you.

If you’re not sure you qualify, the safer route is paying by card using Form G-1450 or by bank withdrawal using Form G-1650. Both are accepted for paper filings without any exemption request.³

Getting the Fee Amount Exactly Right

USCIS filing fees adjust annually under federal law, and the amount on your money order must match the current fee to the penny.⁴ Overpay or underpay by any amount and USCIS rejects the entire submission.

Verify the fee two ways before you buy the money order. Check the instructions for the specific form you’re filing, then run the numbers through the USCIS Fee Calculator at uscis.gov/feecalculator, which pulls from the current schedule and handles multi-form packages.⁵ Do this the day you purchase the money order.

If you’re filing more than one form in the same package, each form needs its own money order for its own exact fee. Combining fees into one payment is one of the most common reasons packages get rejected. Some forms also carry an additional fee on top of the base filing fee; those additional fees cannot be waived and must be paid with a separate payment from the filing fee.⁴

The practical reason for keeping payments separate: if one form in a bundled package has a defect like a missing signature, USCIS has to reject every form sharing that single payment. Separate money orders let the agency accept the clean forms and return only the one with the problem.¹

Filling Out the Money Order

A money order accepted under a G-1651 exemption has to meet four conditions. It must be drawn on a U.S. financial institution, payable in U.S. funds, made payable to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” and dated within the previous 365 days.¹ A money order from a foreign bank will be rejected even if it’s denominated in U.S. dollars.⁶

Payee Line

Write “U.S. Department of Homeland Security” on the “Pay to the Order of” line. Spell it out in full. Do not write “USDHS,” “DHS,” or any other abbreviation. This is the single most common mistake on USCIS money orders, and abbreviated payee names are rejected without exception.¹

Dollar Amount

Enter the exact fee in both the numerical box and the written-out line. If the fee is $760, that’s “760.00” in the number field and “Seven hundred sixty and 00/100” on the written line.

Memo and Purchaser Lines

Put your full legal name and address on the “From” or “Purchaser” line. On the memo line, write the applicant’s full name, the form number you’re filing (for example, “I-485 application”), and your Alien Registration Number if you have one. If you’re paying for someone else’s application, put that person’s name on the memo line so USCIS can match the payment to the right file. Not every applicant has an A-Number; leave it off if you haven’t been assigned one.

Mailing the Package

Include your completed Form G-1651 in the package. Without it, USCIS treats the money order as an unacceptable payment method and rejects the filing.²

Keep the detachable receipt or stub you get when you buy the money order. Do not mail it with your application. It’s your proof of purchase and the only way to trace the money order if something goes wrong. USCIS does not cash payments until your application clears initial intake and is formally accepted into the system, so an uncashed money order isn’t a sign of a problem in itself.

Buy the money order close to when you’re ready to mail, and send the package promptly. Certified mail or a trackable delivery service gives you proof the agency received it.

What Happens if the Payment Is Rejected

USCIS rejects any submission that doesn’t include a valid payment of the correct amount.⁶ When that happens, the entire package comes back with the uncashed money order. You don’t get a receipt number, and no processing clock starts. Your case doesn’t exist in USCIS’s system until you resubmit a corrected package with a fresh payment.

For filings tied to a visa expiration or an aging-out deadline, a rejected payment can cost more than the price of a new money order. Every day the package sits unaccepted is a day your case isn’t moving.

If the Money Order Goes Missing

If USCIS never acknowledges your application and you suspect the package was lost, the receipt stub is what lets you check whether the money order has been cashed. The U.S. Postal Service offers a status-check tool at usps.com for postal money orders.⁷ Western Union processes refund requests within five business days if the money order hasn’t been cashed, and deducts a non-refundable processing fee from the refund.⁸

If a money order goes uncashed for one to three years, some issuers (though not USPS for domestic orders) begin deducting service charges from the face value. Another reason to buy close to the mailing date and send the package right away.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1651, Exemption for Paper Fee Payment
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 – Fee Schedule
5
USCIS. Calculate Your Fees
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part B Chapter 3 – Fees
7
USPS. Money Orders
8
Western Union. Money Order Request Form