Updated November 12, 2026

Cost for a US visa application: USCIS filing fees, immigrant fees and ESTA

The cost for a US visa application depends on whether you travel under the Visa Waiver Program with ESTA through CBP, file a family or work petition with USCIS, or apply at a US embassy or consulate abroad. CBP collects an online ESTA fee from eligible Visa Waiver Program visitors, while USCIS charges separate petition, status-change, and Green Card Immigrant Fee amounts shown in the government fee schedule below, with lower rates on many forms when you file online instead of on paper. Every USCIS filing fee is final and nonrefundable, and submitting the wrong amount causes USCIS to reject your form.

Government fee schedule: ESTA, USCIS petitions and green card fees

Three government agencies handle US travel and immigration filings. Visa Waiver Program visitors apply to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Family sponsors, employers, and applicants inside the United States file petitions and status requests with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Applicants outside the United States apply for their visa stamp through the Department of State at a US embassy or consulate.

This schedule covers verified USCIS and CBP fees. If you are applying abroad for a nonimmigrant visa stamp (such as a B1/B2 visitor, F-1 student, or J-1 exchange visa) or paying National Visa Center processing charges, confirm current consular visa application fees, reciprocity fees, and student SEVIS fees on the Department of State's website before booking your interview.

Every CBP and USCIS fee verified in our sources appears in the table below. Filing online through a USCIS account costs fifty dollars less than mailing paper on many common forms, and you can verify individual form categories before mailing with the USCIS Fee Calculator, which displays Form G-1055 rules to prevent rejections for incorrect fees.

Fees from uscis.gov (Form G-1055) and help.cbp.gov, as of November 2026

Which path applies to you: ESTA, consular visa or USCIS petition

Confirm which agency handles your trip before submitting any payment. USCIS filing and biometric fees are final and nonrefundable regardless of the outcome, even if you withdraw your request.

Match your situation to one of these four government paths:

• Short visit under the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA). Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries who hold an e-Passport with an embedded electronic chip apply for ESTA through CBP rather than applying for a visa. CBP recommends applying when you start planning travel or before buying plane tickets. Approval generally lasts two years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first, for multiple entries. Expired authorizations cannot be extended, and submitting a new ESTA when more than 30 days remain on your old one cancels and replaces the prior approval.
• Temporary worker, student, or visitor applying abroad. Prospective employers must generally file a nonimmigrant petition with USCIS first for temporary workers, except for E-1, E-2, E-3, and TN classifications and certain F-1, M-1, and J-1 categories. Dependent spouses and children outside the United States apply directly at a US consulate unless exempt, while dependents inside the country file Form I-539.
• Family, adoption, or employment Green Card abroad. A US citizen or permanent resident starts by filing Form I-130 (or an employer or self-petitioner files Form I-140) with USCIS, while intercountry adoptions follow the Hague Process, Orphan Process, or Form I-130. When a beneficiary lives abroad, USCIS sends the approved petition to the National Visa Center, which forwards it to a US consulate when a visa number becomes available. After visa issuance, the immigrant pays the online USCIS Immigrant Fee.
• Adjusting or changing status inside the United States. Lawfully admitted applicants with an available visa number file Form I-485 to adjust to permanent residence inside the country. Nonimmigrants switching temporary categories (such as tourist to student) must file Form I-539 before their Form I-94 stay expires and wait for USCIS approval before starting the new activity. Visitors admitted under the Visa Waiver Program or in C, D, K, or S status cannot change status unless seeking T or U classification.

Worked cost comparisons: how online vs paper filing changes your total

Choosing online submission over paper mail reduces what you owe USCIS across multi-step family, adjustment of status, and employment cases. By our calculation from USCIS Form G-1055, filing both a parent's Form I-485 and a concurrent under-14 child's Form I-485 online reduces the family's combined USCIS adjustment total by one hundred dollars compared with mailing paper forms.

By our calculation from USCIS Form G-1055, small employers and self-petitioners pay 50 percent of the regular petitioner Asylum Program Fee on Form I-140, and naturalization applicants with documented household income at or below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines pay 50 percent of the general paper Form N-400 fee when filing by mail. Compare how the steps add up across four common paths using the rates in the fee table above:

Step-by-step USCIS fee breakdown by immigration path

How to pay US visa application and USCIS filing fees

USCIS payment formatting rules are strict. USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier's checks for paper mailings unless you qualify for an exemption and include Form G-1651. Cash is never accepted, even at a USCIS field office.

Use this five-point checklist so USCIS accepts your payment on the first submission:

• Pay online only through Pay.gov. When you submit an eligible form in your USCIS online account, the portal directs you to the Department of the Treasury's Pay.gov service to pay by card or US bank withdrawal. You cannot go directly to Pay.gov on your own to pay a USCIS fee.
• Use Form G-1450 or Form G-1650 for mail filings. Place a signed Form G-1450 (for Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or prepaid cards on those networks, never gift cards) or Form G-1650 (for US bank ACH withdrawals) on top of your packet. Cards and bank accounts must come from a US financial institution in US funds, as foreign bank cards and foreign accounts are rejected.
• Never mix payment methods in one envelope. Do not combine Form G-1450 and Form G-1650 in one package, and check both the personal-or-business box and the checking-or-savings box on Form G-1650. If you want to pay some forms by card and others by ACH, mail them in two separate envelopes.
• Include a separate payment form for every application. Mailing three forms together requires three separate Forms G-1450 or three separate Forms G-1650. A single combined payment forces USCIS to reject the entire bundle if one form lacks a signature or runs on a separate IT system (such as Form I-129 filed with Form I-539). Always pay Form I-907 Premium Processing and Public Law 119-21 fees separately from base fees.
• Prevent declined charges and bank debit blocks. USCIS immediately rejects any filing with a declined card without retrying, and resubmits a failed ACH withdrawal once only for insufficient funds. Anyone with a US card or bank account may pay for you by signing Form G-1450 or Form G-1650. If your US bank uses an ACH debit block, give your bank the USCIS Lockbox Agency Location Code (such as 7001010330 for Phoenix, 7001010331 for Dallas, 7001010335 for Chicago, or 7001010390 for Elgin) before mailing.

How and when to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee

The USCIS Immigrant Fee is separate from the consular fees collected by the Department of State at US embassies and consulates. USCIS uses it to process, file, and maintain your immigrant visa packet and produce your Permanent Resident Card (Green Card). USCIS strongly encourages paying online after you pick up your immigrant visa and before you depart for the United States, though you can also pay after arrival when USCIS mails a payment notice.

A relative, friend, employer, attorney, or accredited representative can pay on your behalf, and you can pay for accompanying family members in a single online transaction by card, one prepaid debit card carrying enough funds for everyone, or a US checking account. You will need your Alien Number (the letter A followed by 8 or 9 digits) and Department of State Case ID (3 letters and 9 or 10 digits, or for Diversity Visa immigrants, 4 numbers, 2 letters, and 5 numbers). Five groups are exempt: children entering under orphan or Hague adoption programs, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, other qualifying Afghan nationals through September 30, 2024, returning lawful permanent residents (SB-1s), and K nonimmigrants.

Unpaid status does not block your admission as a permanent resident, and the temporary I-551 stamp CBP places in your passport proves status for 1 year. However, USCIS will not mail your Green Card until the fee is paid. If your card has not arrived within 90 days of paying or entering the United States, submit an inquiry through USCIS's online help tool.

Employer surcharges, court-paused fees, waivers and scam warnings

Several work petitions carry non-waivable statutory fees on top of base rates. Blanket L filings (Form I-129S) and visa-exempt L-1 petitions require the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee shown in the fee table above. Employers with 50 or more US staff, where over 50 percent hold H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B status, also owe the Public Law 114-113 fee through September 30, 2027. Separately, USCIS notes on Form G-1055 that a federal district court in State of California v. Mullin vacated guidance imposing an extra payment requirement on certain H-1B petitions. The First Circuit denied a stay request, so DHS is complying with the court order and is not collecting that fee.

Distinguish carefully between exemptions and waivers. Fee-exempt categories list zero directly in Form G-1055, including VAWA self-petitioners, T and U nonimmigrants, Special Immigrant Juveniles on Form I-485, and qualifying military members. Those filers do not need Form I-912. Applicants without banking access or facing undue hardship under 31 C.F.R. Part 208 may request a paper check exemption using Form G-1651. Any check or money order submitted with Form G-1651 must come from a US bank in US funds, be payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and be dated within 365 days.

Watch out for third-party fee markups and payment chargebacks. All USCIS forms are free to download, USCIS online payments run solely through Pay.gov, and ESTA belongs only on CBP's site. If USCIS approves your benefit and your payment later fails or you dispute the bank charge, USCIS can issue a Notice of Intent to Revoke and cancel your approval.

Practice example

Who paid for your visa application and how are you funding the rest of your trip or stay in the United States?

Explain clearly in one or two sentences who paid the application or petition fees and who is covering your travel, tuition, or living costs, making sure every fact matches your DS-160, Form I-130, Form I-129, or Form I-539. If you paid the fee yourself and are self-funding your visit, state your occupation, your annual or monthly income, and your exact travel dates. If a family member, employer, or US sponsor paid on your behalf, which USCIS allows through Form G-1450, Form G-1650, or the online Immigrant Fee portal, name your relationship to that person, their job, and why they are covering the expense. Keep your fee receipt, recent bank or salary records, and your sponsor's financial documents organized in your folder so you can hand over the right page if the officer asks.

The officer is checking that you have real, sufficient funds to cover your stay without unauthorized work, and that your spoken explanation matches the payer and sponsor information on your forms.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.