(a) General. Fees must be submitted with any USCIS request in the amount and subject to the conditions provided in this part and remitted in the manner prescribed in the relevant form instructions, on the USCIS website, or in a Federal Register document. The fees established in this part are associated with the benefit, the adjudication, or the type of request and not solely determined by the form number listed in § 106.2.

(b) Remittance source and method. Fees must be remitted from a bank or other institution located in the United States and payable in U.S. currency. The fee must be paid using the method that USCIS prescribes for the request, office, filing method, or filing location. USCIS will provide at least a 30-day public notice before amending the payment method required for a fee.

(c) Dishonored payments. If a remittance in payment of a fee or any other matter is not honored by the bank or financial institution on which it is drawn:

(1) The provisions of 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7)(ii) apply, no receipt will be issued, and if a receipt was issued, it is void and the benefit request loses its receipt date; and

(2) If the benefit request was approved, the approval may be revoked upon notice, rescinded, or canceled subject to statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to the immigration benefit request. If the approved benefit request requires multiple fees, this paragraph (c) would apply if any fee submitted is not honored, including a fee to request premium processing under § 106.4. Other fees that were paid for a benefit request that is revoked upon notice under this paragraph (c) will be retained and not refunded. A revocation of an approval because the fee submitted is not honored may be appealed in accordance with 8 CFR 103.3, the applicable form instructions, and other statutes or regulations that may apply.

(d) Expired payments. DHS is not responsible for financial instruments that expire before they are deposited. USCIS may reject any filing for which required payment cannot be processed due to expiration of the financial instrument.

(e) Credit and debit card disputes. Fees paid to USCIS using a credit or debit card are not subject to dispute, chargeback, forced refund, or return to the cardholder for any reason except at the discretion of USCIS.

(f) Definitions. For the purposes of this part, the term:

(1) Small employer means a firm or individual that has 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in the United States, including any affiliates and subsidiaries.

(2) Nonprofit means not-for-profit primary or secondary educational institutions, or institutions of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 1001(a); organizations organized as tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, section 501(c)(3), 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3); or governmental research organizations as defined under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C).

(3) Means tested benefit means, as determined by USCIS, a public benefit where the agency granting the benefit considers income and resources. Means-tested benefits may be federally, state, or locally funded. In general, for a benefit that was granted based on income, USCIS considers it a means-tested benefit.

(4) Federal Poverty Guidelines means the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).

(g) Online filing discount. Unless otherwise provided in this part, the fee for forms filed online with USCIS, using the electronic system prescribed by USCIS, will be an amount that is $50 lower than the fee prescribed in § 106.2.

[89 FR 6386, Jan. 31, 2024, as amended at 89 FR 20104, Mar. 21, 2024]