USCIS Fees: Credit Card VS Personal Check VS Cashier's Check VS Money Order

[OldUser 4,891]

I would like to discuss pros and cons of all payment methods one can use to pay USCIS fees.

 

Here's my view and understanding so far.

 

Credit Card

Pros:

- Can earn miles / points / cashback

- Can spread the payments (think of 0% APR intro + 10% effective cashback in the first year etc)

- You know when USCIS charges it

Cons:

- Requires a credit history and card

- Payment can be easily denied due to suspicious charge (yes, USCIS fees can be viewed as suspicious by bank IT systems) or hitting the limit. USCIS won't retry charging it.

 

Personal Check

Pros:

- Money stays in your account for longer. Can earn some interest on it

- You know exactly when it was cashed

- Sometimes USCIS write / stamp case number as they endorse the check. You may learn case number before you receive text message / mail / update. More relevant for forms like I-485 which can only be filed on paper as of today.

Cons:

- Requires checking account

- Requires discipline from person paying, e.g. maintaining the right balance to cover all payments and USCIS fees.

- Requires knowledge how to use it 😃

- Doesn't earn rewards

 

Cashier's Check

Pros:

- The fees are going to be covered for sure, since the amount is already withdrawn from bank account

Cons:

- Can be difficult or impossible to cancel, recover funds if lost or other reason

- Sometimes costs money (depending on bank and bank account)

- Not possible to know when cashed (correct if I'm wrong)

- Doesn't earn rewards

 

Money Order

Pros:

- Can be purchased at USPS and other places. Doesn't require bank account.

- Guarantees funds to cover fees

 

Cons:

- Costs money

- Depending on issuer, may be able to track / cancel etc but not always

- Doesn't earn rewards

 

 

Questions for you:

1. Did I miss any payment methods?

2. Did I miss any pros or cons for any payment method?

3. What other payment methods you wish USCIS accepted? (crypto, financing, Zelle, Venmo, Paypal, wire, etc etc)

4. What's your preferred payment method and why?

4a. If you prefer credit cards, is it because of rewards or is it because you can pay over time? Or is it because you never wrote a check?

4b. If you prefer personal check, is it because you don't have credit card? Or is it because you're worried payment may get denied? Or is it because you used to write checks? Or is it because you want to have money in account for longer?

4d. If you you prefer cashier's check, is it because you're worried your balance may not cover the fees? Any other reason?

4e. If you prefer money order, is it because you don't have a checking account? Is it because you're worried your balance may not covet the fees? Any other reason?

 

Please do not walk by this thread, I'd love to see a good discussion 😊

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29 by OldUser

[Crazy Cat 39,328]

4.  I prefer a personal check because, it can be easily tracked, easily stopped if needed, and USCIS will resubmit once if declined for insufficient funds.  USCIS does not resubmit card charges if declined.

Edited January 29 by Crazy Cat

[OldUser 4,891]

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

4.  I prefer a personal check because, it can be easily tracked, easily stopped if needed, and USCIS will resubmit once if declined for insufficient funds.  USCIS does not resubmit card charges if declined.

That's also my preference. Didn't know they retry on personal checks. How soon after the first attempt they try again?

[Crazy Cat 39,328]

9 minutes ago, OldUser said:

That's also my preference. Didn't know they retry on personal checks. How soon after the first attempt they try again?

USCIS says they will resubmit once for a check, but they say they will not resubmit for a CC charge.  Not sure how soon they retry.

[TBoneTX 43,157]

4b.  I sent checks -- control, power, and there's something satisfying about enclosing a check and sealing the envelope shut, even for regular household bills.

[GEOntificator 271]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

I would like to discuss pros and cons of all payment methods one can use to pay USCIS fees.

 

Here's my view and understanding so far.

 

Credit Card

Pros:

- Can earn miles / points / cashback

- Can spread the payments (think of 0% APR intro + 10% effective cashback in the first year etc)

- You know when USCIS charges it

Cons:

- Requires a credit history and card

- Payment can be easily denied due to suspicious charge (yes, USCIS fees can be viewed as suspicious by bank IT systems) or hitting the limit. USCIS won't retry charging it.

 

Personal Check

Pros:

- Money stays in your account for longer. Can earn some interest on it

- You know exactly when it was cashed

- Sometimes USCIS write / stamp case number as they endorse the check. You may learn case number before you receive text message / mail / update. More relevant for forms like I-485 which can only be filed on paper as of today.

Cons:

- Requires checking account

- Requires discipline from person paying, e.g. maintaining the right balance to cover all payments and USCIS fees.

- Requires knowledge how to use it 😃

- Doesn't earn rewards

 

Cashier's Check

Pros:

- The fees are going to be covered for sure, since the amount is already withdrawn from bank account

Cons:

- Can be difficult or impossible to cancel, recover funds if lost or other reason

- Sometimes costs money (depending on bank and bank account)

- Not possible to know when cashed (correct if I'm wrong)

- Doesn't earn rewards

 

Money Order

Pros:

- Can be purchased at USPS and other places. Doesn't require bank account.

- Guarantees funds to cover fees

 

Cons:

- Costs money

- Depending on issuer, may be able to track / cancel etc but not always

- Doesn't earn rewards

 

 

Questions for you:

1. Did I miss any payment methods?

2. Did I miss any pros or cons for any payment method?

3. What other payment methods you wish USCIS accepted? (crypto, financing, Zelle, Venmo, Paypal, wire, etc etc)

4. What's your preferred payment method and why?

4a. If you prefer credit cards, is it because of rewards or is it because you can pay over time? Or is it because you never wrote a check?

4b. If you prefer personal check, is it because you don't have credit card? Or is it because you're worried payment may get denied? Or is it because you used to write checks? Or is it because you want to have money in account for longer?

4d. If you you prefer cashier's check, is it because you're worried your balance may not cover the fees? Any other reason?

4e. If you prefer money order, is it because you don't have a checking account? Is it because you're worried your balance may not covet the fees? Any other reason?

 

Please do not walk by this thread, I'd love to see a good discussion 😊

 

 

 

 

 

Great info here!

 

I read a lot about payment methods, declined CCs and such stories everywhere including VJ and Reddit. I found out that Amex cards are rather safe options. I used it a week ago and it went through no problem. This may be helpful to some.

[OldUser 4,891]

7 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

Great info here!

 

I read a lot about payment methods, declined CCs and such stories everywhere including VJ and Reddit. I found out that Amex cards are rather safe options. I used it a week ago and it went through no problem. This may be helpful to some.

Glad to hear Amex works, though I had some legitimate transactions declined (flagged as fraudulent) on one of their top charge cards available to general public. I didn't risk it for paying USCIS fees.

[TBoneTX 43,157]

Several of the payment options run the risk of being rejected, so maybe it's a matter of preference regarding which to use.

[GEOntificator 271]

4 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Glad to hear Amex works, though I had some legitimate transactions declined (flagged as fraudulent) on one of their top charge cards available to general public. I didn't risk it for paying USCIS fees.

If you are referring to the platinum card they are a little strange/weird. Especially if you are a new user. Since it is a charge card without a credit limit the algorithm learns your spend habits early in card ownership. Once it is established usually there are no issues. Of course there is always a risk that CC will be declined at any given time.. 

Edited January 30 by kvito28

[OldUser 4,891]

30 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

If you are referring to the platinum card they are a little strange/weird. Especially if you are a new user. Since it is a charge card without a credit limit the algorithm learns your spend habits early in card ownership. Once it is established usually there are no issues. Of course there is always a risk that CC will be declined at any given time.. 

Had it for about 6 years and use regularly. Just had few very unexpected declines for fairly small amounts over the years.

[OldUser 4,891]

35 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Several of the payment options run the risk of being rejected, so maybe it's a matter of preference regarding which to use.

Can a correctly signed personal check be rejected? With amount in thr bank? Or cashiers check? Would be interested to see the data points. Of course, excluding incorrect fees. I feel like CC is the only payment where it can fail even if you do everything right.

[GEOntificator 271]

2 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Had it for about 6 years and use regularly. Just had few very unexpected declines for fairly small amounts over the years.

That is kind of odd but happens. I had some declined transactions early on but nothing in recent years.

[TBoneTX 43,157]

2 hours ago, OldUser said:

Can a correctly signed personal check be rejected? With amount in thr bank?

Perhaps, if it's made out to "USCIS" instead of "Dept. of Homeland Security" or whatever is instructed.

[TBoneTX 43,157]

2 hours ago, kvito28 said:

If you are referring to the platinum card they are a little strange/weird. Especially if you are a new user. Since it is a charge card without a credit limit the algorithm learns your spend habits early in card ownership. Once it is established usually there are no issues. Of course there is always a risk that CC will be declined at any given time.. 

True, and not only platinum cards.  I had one airline-miles credit card and one gasoline credit card that had extremely strong anti-fraud algorithms attached (I learned the hard way).  I had to call to get these loosened, and it took a lot of convincing, including my having to speak with supervisors.  There's a balance between safety and being able to use one's cards, and I can see both sides of the issue.

[Loren Y 2,732]

I used credit card for the whole process, and never had an issue with rejection. Granted I'm running a card with no set credit limit, and have the security options set pretty high. I will get a text message on anything over 5000, and it gives me the chance to approve it before it gets denied. If you have a lower limit, or a new card, as long as you let the credit card know, about when it will be charged, they can put an exception in the credit monitoring for your card for a 30 day window or so, that will allow either a specific amount ( you know what the charge is going to be), or the source of the charge ( The US government for USCIS, you can even tell them USCIS), and you should have no issues. I like the points and miles I earned thru the whole process.

 

I will say only one time the card failed me. I had been in Rio ( Brazil) for like a week already, and was hitting the card hard all week. Funny thing is I took an uber to a restaurant from my hotel, and not the ride charge ( about 5 US dollars) caused the issue, but the Tip I gave the Uber driver in the app, somehow didn't get approved. it was about 2 USD, and it froze my Uber account and I had to get creative to get back to the hotel. I added my other card to my uber account to clear the tip, then was able to continue on. Next day I called the card and asked what happened, and for some reason the low charge got flagged by the security algorithm, and didn't get approved. Rep said it's the small charges that can cause issues, because it looks like someone is testing the card before a big purchase. Funny thing, I bought a car one time on the card, and did get a call from the security fraud department while in the dealership. It was a 22,000 dollar charge, so I guess a call was expected, but they let it ride.

Edited January 30 by Loren Y