Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, is the one-page USCIS form you complete and place on top of a paper filing mailed to a USCIS Lockbox when you want to pay the fees by credit, debit, or prepaid card. To fill it out correctly, you enter the applicant’s name, choose the card brand, write in the card number, expiration date, and CVV, add the cardholder’s name and billing address exactly as the bank has them, write the exact authorized dollar amount, and sign in ink. The card must be issued by a U.S. bank, and if the charge is declined USCIS will not try again — the whole package comes back.
Before You Pick Up a Pen
Have these ready:
- A U.S.-issued Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card (credit, debit, or prepaid). Cards issued by foreign banks will not process, even when the network is one USCIS otherwise accepts.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
- The exact fee for your specific form, plus any biometric services fee. The amount you authorize must match what USCIS expects for the filing.
- The billing address your card issuer has on file. A mismatch can cause the transaction to be declined.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1450 Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
- Enough available credit or balance to cover the full amount in one charge. USCIS will not attempt the card a second time.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1450 Instructions
The applicant does not have to be the person paying. USCIS refers to “third-party payors,” and the form collects the cardholder’s name and billing information separately from the applicant’s identity.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Mandate Electronic Payments for Applications An attorney, employer, or relative can complete the card fields with their own information, but that same person must sign.
Download the current edition (02/06/26) from uscis.gov/g-1450. You can type into the PDF fields and print, or print first and complete by hand.
Filling Out the Applicant and Card Fields
Start with the full name of the petitioner, applicant, or requestor — the person whose immigration case this payment is for. This is the case owner, not the person paying.
Select the card type: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover. Enter the full card number and the expiration date exactly as they appear on the card. Add the CVV security code (three digits on the back of most cards, four digits on the front for American Express).
Enter the cardholder’s name exactly as it is printed on the card. A mismatch between this name and what the bank has on file can cause the transaction to fail.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1450 Authorization for Credit Card Transactions Leaving out the cardholder’s first or last name is itself listed by USCIS as a rejection reason.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Fees
Filling Out the Billing Address and Amount
Write the cardholder’s billing address: street number and name, apartment or suite if any, city, state, and ZIP code. Use the address the card issuer has on file. Add a daytime phone number where the cardholder can be reached if intake staff hit a payment problem.
In the authorized payment amount field, enter the exact dollar figure required for the filing. If the form has a $640 filing fee and an $85 biometric services fee, write $725.00. Authorizing the wrong amount, even by a few dollars, can get the entire package rejected.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail
One G-1450 covers a single benefit request. You can combine the filing fee and any biometric services fee for that one application on the same form.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail If you are mailing more than one application in the same envelope, prepare a separate G-1450 for each one with its own authorized amount. Combining fees for different benefit requests on a single form is a rejection trigger.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Fees
Signing the Form
The cardholder signs the form in ink. USCIS requires each G-1450 to be “properly signed” and will not process the payment without a signature.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1450 Instructions If someone other than the applicant is paying, that person signs, not the applicant.
Where the Form Goes in Your Package
Place the completed G-1450 on top of the entire filing package, ahead of the application form and supporting documents. Lockbox intake processes payment first before touching the rest of the case.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1450 Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
Mail to the Lockbox address that corresponds to your specific form and your state of residence. USCIS operates Lockbox facilities in Phoenix, the Chicago area, Dallas, and other locations, and the correct address depends on what you are filing. Check the Direct Filing Addresses page for your form on the USCIS website.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Lockbox Filing Locations Chart for Certain Non-Family Based Forms USPS addresses differ from courier addresses (FedEx, UPS, DHL) at the same Lockbox, so use the one that matches your shipping method. A trackable shipping method gives you proof of delivery if a dispute comes up later.
Reasons a G-1450 Payment Gets Rejected
When USCIS cannot process the payment, the whole filing package is returned. The agency does not attempt the card a second time,3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1450 Instructions and a rejected package means losing the original filing date.
USCIS policy lists these rejection causes for a G-1450:5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Fees
- Combining multiple benefit requests on one form.
- Splitting one filing fee between a G-1450 and a G-1650 ACH form.
- Leaving out the cardholder’s first or last name.
- An invalid or missing card number.
- A missing expiration date.
- Authorizing the wrong amount. Your total across the G-1450 forms in the envelope must cover the full required fees.
The other common cause of rejection is a declined card: insufficient funds, an expired card, a fraud hold from your bank, or a foreign-issued card. Before mailing a large authorization, call your bank so the upcoming government charge is not flagged as suspicious.
When G-1450 Is Not the Right Choice
You do not use Form G-1450 for filings submitted through your online USCIS account. Online filings take credit card payment directly through Pay.gov during submission.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail It is also not the payment method for filings made in person at a local USCIS field office, which follow separate procedures.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions