The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an important policy change to modernize how it collects USCIS fee payments. According to the USCIS news release, beginning on October 28, 2025, the agency will introduce a new electronic payment form—Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Debit—to streamline the submission of certain fees, including the USCIS immigrant fee payment.
Form G-1650 will allow applicants and authorized representatives to make secure ACH (Automated Clearing House) debit payments directly from a U.S. bank account. USCIS had already allowed filing fees to be paid by credit card using Form G-1450. With this latest change, USCIS has effectively eliminated the use of paper checks and money orders.
The shift toward electronic USCIS fee payments supports federal goals for improving digital payment accessibility and modernizing public-facing financial systems used across immigration services. But there are other implications for immigration attorneys and their clients.
Summary of the policy change
USCIS will implement Form G-1650 to authorize ACH debit payments directly from U.S.-based checking or savings accounts. This electronic payment form is available on the USCIS website. It will replace or supplement existing payment methods, such as paper checks and money orders, for specific fee types.
Key details:
Form name: G‑1650, Authorization for ACH Transactions, required for initiating ACH debit payments directly from a U.S. bank account.
Effective date and timeline: ACH debit payments using Form G‑1650 are available now. USCIS will continue accepting paper checks and money orders, in addition to Form G‑1450 credit card payments, until October 28, 2025. After that date, USCIS will accept only electronic payments—ACH via Form G‑1650 or credit card via Form G‑1450.
Accepted payment methods after cutoff:
ACH debit using Form G‑1650
Credit card payments using Form G‑1450
Use case: These changes apply to USCIS fee payments, including the USCIS immigrant fee payment submitted via the Immigrant Fee Payment System (IFPS) or other filing channels
Implications for law firms
Applicants and their legal representatives will be responsible for submitting Form G-1650 when using ACH as a payment method. Law firms may need to revise billing workflows to support the collection of bank account details and ensure secure handling of client financial information.
Educational outreach to clients may also be necessary to explain how to authorize ACH payments properly and what information is required. Secure digital solutions that integrate with USCIS—and support ACH, credit card, and installment billing—can assist law firms in implementing this change.
In addition to ACH, applicants may continue using USCIS credit card payment options by submitting Form G-1450, which authorizes card charges for various immigration form filings.
Use of Form G-1650 and affected fees
Form G-1650 authorizes USCIS to withdraw filing fees directly from a U.S. bank account, and all payments must be made in U.S. currency from a domestic financial institution. USCIS will reject submissions that:
Do not include the proper fee
Originate from a foreign bank account
Attempt to use ACH, credit, or debit payments tied to a non-U.S. bank
To avoid rejection, requestors must complete the form accurately, specifying whether the account is business or personal, checking or savings, and providing the correct routing and account numbers along with the exact payment amount. Errors such as splitting a payment between ACH and credit card authorizations or entering incomplete account information commonly result in denials and can significantly delay case processing.
Internal financial process updates for law firms
To support clients under the new process, immigration law firms may need to adjust billing and reconciliation workflows to account for the new USCIS electronic payment form. This may include procedures for collecting and securely storing client bank account information, tracking payment statuses, and ensuring compliance with federal authorization guidelines.
Firms that already accept ACH debit payments from clients can align these internal processes with Form G-1650’s structure. For firms just starting with ACH debit payments, resources like ACH for law firms and a customizable ACH authorization form template can support this operational shift. Another key consideration for immigration practices is deciding whose bank account USCIS filing fees will be deducted from under the new rule. Form G-1650 authorizes an ACH debit from a designated U.S. bank account, which could be the client’s personal account or the firm’s trust account.
Many firms prefer to have USCIS draw directly from the client’s account to reduce reconciliation work and avoid tying up firm funds. However, others may opt to process payments through the firm’s trust account to maintain greater control and ensure filings are not delayed by insufficient client funds.
Each approach has operational and ethical implications, and firms should establish a clear policy, update retainer agreements if needed, and communicate this decision to clients well in advance of the transition.
Security and compliance considerations
USCIS will follow federal security standards for the authorization, processing, and transmitting ACH debit payments under Form G-1650. These standards are designed to protect sensitive financial information and prevent unauthorized transactions during USCIS fee payments.
Immigration law firms that collect, store, or transmit client payment information should also ensure compliance with applicable data security frameworks. This includes PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), which governs how firms handle credit card data, and protocols for managing ACH-related data, such as NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) guidelines.
To reduce risk, firms should evaluate whether their systems and vendors support:
End-to-end encryption of stored and transmitted financial data
Role-based access controls to restrict sensitive information to authorized users
Audit trails and logs for all payment-related activity
Secure, cloud-based platforms that support both billing and document sharing in one environment
Using integrated solutions that include these features can help ensure that payment collection, especially for USCIS electronic payment forms, is both compliant and secure. This is particularly important when managing recurring payments, payment plans, or direct ACH debit authorizations from clients.
Case and payment tracking with 8am™ DocketWise
To help manage this transition, immigration law firms can use legal tech solutions that consolidate billing, form preparation, and status tracking. 8am DocketWise provides several features relevant to these updates:
USCIS case tracking: The platform automatically pulls updates from USCIS based on receipt numbers and priority dates, eliminating manual lookups.
Client invoicing: DocketWise integrates with 8am LawPay to support both USCIS credit card payments and ACH transactions, offering secure and trackable billing.
Payment plans: Firms can implement flexible immigration lawyer payment plan options for clients, helping improve payment collection across stages of representation.
Client portal: Clients can securely upload documents, complete forms, and view updates from any device. This reduces the need for phone-based updates and supports non-English-speaking clients via multilingual forms.
Multilingual Smart Forms: The intake process is streamlined using one shared questionnaire that auto-populates all required immigration forms. This helps reduce filing errors and supports clients in completing forms in their native language.
E-filing support: Some forms can now be submitted directly through DocketWise, in alignment with USCIS’s broader digital modernization initiative.
These features align with evolving USCIS expectations for digital efficiency and can assist law firms in preparing for ongoing changes. Additional tools and workflows are outlined in this DocketWise guide to immigration technology.
To see how DocketWise can help you process payments and navigate these changes, schedule a demo today.
About the author
M.E. Hammond
