Updated November 4, 2026

USCIS Immigrant Fee: how much it is, when to pay and what happens if you don't

The USCIS Immigrant Fee is $235 per person, according to the USCIS Fee Schedule, Form G-1055 (edition 10/26/26). USCIS uses this online payment to process your immigrant visa packet and produce your physical Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) after you are admitted to the United States.

USCIS strongly encourages you to pay the fee after you pick up your immigrant visa from the Department of State and before you depart for the US, because you will not receive your Green Card until the fee is paid.

What is the USCIS Immigrant Fee and how much does it cost?

If you are immigrating to the United States as a lawful permanent resident on an immigrant visa issued abroad, you must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online unless you fit an exempt category. USCIS uses this payment to process your immigrant visa packet and produce and mail your physical Green Card.

The USCIS Immigrant Fee is $235 per person. That rate took effect on April 1, 2024, when the USCIS final fee rule increased the fee by $15 (7%) from the previous $220 rate. Older pages online sometimes still quote $220, so make sure you budget $235 for each immigrating family member.

This fee is separate from the immigrant visa application fees you already paid to the Department of State during consular processing. If you are tracking the earlier stages of a marriage visa before your passport is returned, see our guide to CR-1 visa processing time.

Who must pay the fee and who is exempt?

Anyone immigrating to the United States as a lawful permanent resident must pay the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online unless they qualify for an exemption. On the USCIS fee schedule and the USCIS Immigrant Fee page, exempt categories list a $0 fee, and you do not need to file Form I-912 (Request for Fee Waiver) or make a formal request to qualify for a fee exemption.

USCIS lists these groups as exempt from paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee:

• Children who enter the United States under the orphan or Hague adoption programs ($0)
• Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, including translators or interpreters and nationals employed by or on behalf of the US government or the International Security Assistance Force, along with their derivative spouses and children ($0)
• Other Afghan nationals through September 30, 2024 ($0 under the temporary fee exemption schedule)
• Returning lawful permanent residents entering on SB-1 visas ($0)
• K nonimmigrants, such as fiancé(e) visa holders ($0)

Why K visa holders and adjustment of status applicants don't pay this fee

K nonimmigrants are listed at $0 on the USCIS Immigrant Fee schedule because they enter the United States on a nonimmigrant visa first and apply to adjust status inside the US later. If you are still waiting on a fiancé(e) petition or consular interview, check our K-1 visa processing time guide.

People already inside the United States who apply for their Green Card using Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) pay the Form I-485 filing fee instead ($1,440 for standard paper filing or $950 for certain applicants under age 14 filing concurrently with a parent). The $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee is for people immigrating with an immigrant visa packet issued by a US embassy or consulate abroad.

When should you pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?

USCIS strongly encourages you to pay the fee after you pick up your immigrant visa from the Department of State and before you depart for the United States. Wait until your visa is actually issued and in your hands. If you are still waiting for the embassy to print your visa foil, check our CEAC status meanings guide to see when your case moves to Issued.

You can also pay the fee after you arrive in the United States. If you enter the country before paying, USCIS will send you a notice requesting payment with instructions. However, waiting delays your card: USCIS will not produce or mail your Green Card until you have paid the USCIS Immigrant Fee.

If you cannot pay the fee yourself, someone else can pay it for you. USCIS allows a family member, friend, employer, attorney or accredited representative to make the online payment on your behalf. All they need is your Alien Number (A-Number) and your Department of State (DOS) Case ID.

How to find and format your A-Number and DOS Case ID

To pay the fee online, you must enter your A-Number and your DOS Case ID. When the US embassy or consulate gives you your visa package, you can find both numbers in three places: at the top of the Immigrant Data Summary sheet stapled to the front of your sealed immigrant visa packet, in the top right corner of the USCIS Immigrant Fee handout given to you at the interview, or printed directly on the immigrant visa stamp (also called a visa foil) inside your passport.

USCIS recommends making a copy of your USCIS Immigrant Fee handout or writing down your A-Number and DOS Case ID and keeping them in a safe place before you travel. If you did not receive an Immigrant Data Summary or a fee handout with your visa packet, USCIS advises contacting the US embassy or consulate that issued your visa to request a copy.

If you are reading the numbers off the visa stamp in your passport, the labels and formatting rules are strict. Entering the raw characters without adjusting them is a common reason the payment page rejects an entry. Here is a worked example of how to convert the numbers from a passport visa foil into the exact format the USCIS payment portal requires:

How to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online step by step

You must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online. It cannot be paid by mail or cash at an office. USCIS states the payment site works on mobile and desktop browsers, and recommends downloading the latest version of Google Chrome if you run into browser compatibility issues.

Follow these nine steps from the USCIS Immigrant Fee Payment Guide:

• Step 1: Go to the USCIS Immigrant Fee page on uscis.gov.
• Step 2: Enter your A-Number and DOS Case ID in the spaces provided.
• Step 3: Select Add.
• Step 4: Add family members who will live with you in the United States (optional). If you are paying for family members who will reside with you, you may pay all fees in 1 transaction. Enter each family member's A-Number and DOS Case ID and select Add after each one. Each payment you add will appear in the Immigrant Payee Table, where you can also select Remove if you need to take an entry out. At the $235 per-person rate on Form G-1055, paying for 2 family members in 1 transaction totals $470 ($235 x 2), 3 family members totals $705 ($235 x 3), and 4 family members totals $940 ($235 x 4). Check the Immigrant Payee Table, then select Continue.
• Step 5: Review the payee table, then provide and confirm your email address and mailing address so USCIS can send your confirmation and contact you about your payment if needed. If you do not have or do not want to provide an email address or mailing address, you can select the checkbox next to I do not have an email address or I do not want to provide a mailing address. Select Proceed to Payment.
• Step 6: Select a payment method on Pay.gov. The portal automatically redirects you to Pay.gov, managed by the US Department of the Treasury. Choose credit card, debit card, prepaid card, or US checking or savings account (ACH), then select Continue.
• Step 7: Enter your payment details. For a debit, credit or prepaid card, select the account holder's country and enter the billing address, name, card type, expiration date and card number. For a US bank account (ACH), enter the account holder's name, account type (checking or savings), and the US bank routing number and account number.
• Step 8: Review your payment, check the box to authorize the charge or agree to the Pay.gov disclosure statement, and select Submit.
• Step 9: Save your confirmation. Print or save the Confirmation page, and keep the confirmation email from ELISdonotreply@uscis.dhs.gov (subject line: Pay.gov Payment Confirmation: Immigrant Visa). That email contains your receipt number starting with the letters IOE.

Payment rules for prepaid cards, credit cards and US bank accounts

Before you submit your payment on Pay.gov, check these USCIS payment rules so your transaction is not declined:

• Prepaid debit card rule: You can use a prepaid debit card (such as a Visa gift card bought in a store), but you may use only 1 card for the transaction. That single card must have enough money on it to cover you and every family member you added. For example, at the $235 fee on Form G-1055, if you are paying for 4 family members in 1 transaction, that single prepaid card must have at least $940 available when you pay.
• Accepted card networks and limits: USCIS accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. The Department of the Treasury sets a daily credit card transaction limit of $24,999.99 per card per day. If a card is declined, USCIS will not try to process it a second time.
• US bank account (ACH) rules: ACH payments must come from a US bank in US funds. You cannot use a foreign bank for an ACH withdrawal. If an ACH transaction is declined for insufficient funds, USCIS will resubmit it 1 time.
• No refunds or chargebacks: USCIS filing fees are final and nonrefundable, regardless of any action USCIS takes on your request. Under the 2024 fee rule, fees paid by credit card are not subject to dispute, chargeback or forced refund. If you accidentally paid twice or believe you paid in error, do not dispute the charge with your bank. Instead, submit the USCIS online help form.

What happens if you don't pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?

Not paying the fee before you fly does not stop you from entering the United States, and failure to pay does not affect your legal status as a lawful permanent resident.

However, two practical problems happen if you do not pay:

• You will not get your physical Green Card. USCIS will not produce or mail your Permanent Resident Card until the $235 fee is paid.
• Your proof of permanent resident status expires after 1 year. When you arrive at a US port of entry with your immigrant visa packet, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer places a temporary Form I-551 stamp in your passport. That stamp serves as your evidence of lawful permanent resident status, but it is valid for only 1 year from the date of your admission.

Receiving your Green Card, updating your address and tracking your IOE receipt

After you are admitted to the United States, USCIS verifies that your USCIS Immigrant Fee has been paid and mails your Green Card to the most recent US mailing address on file. That address is either the one you gave to the Department of State at your visa interview or the updated address you gave to the CBP officer when you arrived.

If the US address where you will live changes before you fly or right when you land, tell the CBP officer at the port of entry so your card goes to the right home. You can also update your address online with USCIS after taking the identity verification quiz and creating your USCIS online account. If you need help with identity verification, technical issues with your USCIS online account, or a forgotten user ID or password reset, you can submit the USCIS online help form, or call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) if you are inside the United States. To see what else happens at the airport window, read our guide on arriving in the US and what the CBP officer checks at entry.

If USCIS issues your Green Card, but you never receive it because it was returned as undeliverable to USCIS, or if the card was issued with incorrect information because of a Department of Homeland Security error, Form G-1055 lists a $0 filing fee for Form I-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card). For standard replacements where those exemptions do not apply, Form I-90 costs $415 when filed online or $465 when filed on paper.

Use this checklist, built from USCIS guidance, to take your case from visa pickup to card delivery:

• Before your flight: Copy your A-Number and DOS Case ID from your Immigrant Data Summary or handout onto a separate sheet so you still have them after handing your sealed visa packet to CBP.
• Before your flight: Pay $235 per immigrating person online at uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees/uscis-immigrant-fee and save the confirmation email from ELISdonotreply@uscis.dhs.gov with your IOE receipt number.
• At the US port of entry: Hand your sealed immigrant visa packet to the CBP officer, confirm the exact US mailing address where your Green Card should be sent, and check that your passport receives its temporary I-551 admission stamp.
• After arrival: Put your IOE receipt number into the USCIS Case Status Online tool to track card production and mailing.
• If you move after entering the US: Update your address immediately in your USCIS online account (after completing the identity verification quiz) and also update your address with the US Postal Service (USPS) online or at your local post office. Filing Form AR-11 (Alien's Change of Address Card) has a $0 fee.
• If 90 days pass with no Green Card: Count 90 days from the date you paid the fee or the date you entered the United States, whichever is later. If your card has not arrived after 90 days, submit the USCIS online help form or use the USCIS e-Request tool to ask for assistance.

Visaful is an AI mock interview app for US visa interviews: an AI officer asks your visa's questions out loud and shows what to fix.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or any government agency.