If you are immigrating to the United States, and you will be admitted as a lawful permanent resident, you must pay a $165 USCIS Immigrant Fee. You must pay this fee online using the USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS). We strongly encourage you to pay this fee after you receive your immigrant visa packet from the U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad (including Canada and Mexico) and before you depart for the United States. Paying before you depart for the United States will ensure that you receive your Permanent Resident Card (commonly referred to as a Green Card) without delay. However, you can also pay the USCIS Immigrant fee after you immigrate to the U.S. Your Green Card will be sent to you after the fee is paid.

To pay the $165 fee in USCIS ELIS, you will need an online account. Once you have created your account, you can pay the fee by logging into USCIS ELIS and selecting USCIS Immigrant Fee from the drop-down menu. You will need your Alien Number (A-Number) and DOS Case ID to pay the fee.

Please make sure you correctly enter your A-Number and DOS Case ID when paying your USCIS Immigrant Fee. Errors with either number will significantly delay your Green Card.

You can find your A-Number and DOS Case ID on your immigrant data summary, USCIS Immigrant Fee handout, or immigrant visa stamp. Your A-Number is the letter “A” followed by eight or nine numbers (such as A012345678). Your DOS Case ID is three letters followed by nine or 10 numbers (for example, XYZ0123456789). If you are a Diversity Visa immigrant, your DOS Case ID will have four numbers followed by two letters and five more numbers (0000AB01234).

Immigrant Data Summary
During your U.S. embassy or consulate appointment, you should have received an immigrant data summary stapled to the front of your immigrant visa package. You can find your A-Number and DOS Case ID at the top of the immigrant data summary.

 

USCIS Immigrant Fee Handout
At the time of your interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate, the DOS interviewing officer should have given you a USCIS Immigrant Fee handout. This document provides instructions on how to pay the $165 immigrant fee and included your A-Number and DOS Case ID. Your A-Number and DOS Case ID are located in the top right corner, as shown below. Please make a copy of your USCIS Immigrant Fee handout or write down your A-Number and DOS Case ID and store it in a safe place.

If you did not receive an immigrant data summary or a USCIS Immigrant Fee handout with your visa packet, please contact the U.S. embassy or consulate that issued your visa to request a copy.

 

Visa Stamp
You can also find your A-Number and DOS Case ID on the visa stamp (also called a visa foil) in your passport.Your A-Number is identified as the Registration Number on your visa stamp. If your A-Number is fewer than nine digits, insert a zero after the “A” and before the first digit to create a nine-digit number. For example, “A12345678” would become “A012345678.”.
 

Your DOS Case ID is identified as the IV Case Number on your visa stamp. However, please note the IV Case Number has two additional numbers at the end, such as 01 or 02. When entering the IV Case Number as the DOS Case ID into USCIS ELIS, do not include the last two numbers. For example, if your IV Case Number is “ABC1234567801,” you would enter your DOS Case ID as “ABC12345678” (do not include the “01”).

 

Making an Appointment With Your Local USCIS Office
If you are still unable to find your A-Number, you can make an appointment to visit your local USCIS office. An immigration services officer can provide you with your A-Number. You can schedule this appointment by using our INFOPASS online scheduler.