Application fee by USPS Money Order?

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brb2

Registered Users (C)
I bought a money order from the US postal office for $400. I however noticed later that the guide for naturalization says:

"You must send the fee with your application. Pay the fee with a check or money order drawn on a U.S. bank payable to the Department of Homeland Security."

My question is, is the US postal office money order in the same category as a money order "drawn on a US Bank"? Anyone here has used a US Post office money order in their application?

thanks.
 
The silence probably means that not one currently in the forum has experience on this. I sent a personal check, as I think most do. On the other hand I don't see why a postal money order wouldn't be as good as a bank one, probably better. However, the instructions, as you point, mention U.S. Bank specifically.

I hope someone with experience on this can contribute to your thread.
 
Thanks for your feeback Huracan.
I am more than likely to just cash the USPS money order and buy a bank based money order. Reason being that USCIS will probably want to deposit it in their bankaccount and any US bank check can be cleared through the federal bank clearing system and I don't think the USPS is part of it. If I do hear of people having used a USPS money order then of course I will use it otherwise I will follow the instructions to the letter as I usually do.


Huracan said:
The silence probably means that not one currently in the forum has experience on this. I sent a personal check, as I think most do. On the other hand I don't see why a postal money order wouldn't be as good as a bank one, probably better. However, the instructions, as you point, mention U.S. Bank specifically.

I hope someone with experience on this can contribute to your thread.
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Post office money order is through Federal Reserve Bank, the safest US bank there is. So no problem. It's actually better than personal checks. Some service centers do not process you applications until your personal check clears, which could take over a week. No such problem with money order.
 
I don't doubt the safety of the instrument. I just checked the MO, and no where on the money order is the word Federal or Bank. In fact I think one can't even deposit it at the bank for collection because it does not go through the bank clearance system. I am thus keen to know if anyone has used a USPS money order.

I agree using personal checks delays things as Johnny Cash said.
equate said:
Post office money order is through Federal Reserve Bank, the safest US bank there is. So no problem. It's actually better than personal checks. Some service centers do not process you applications until your personal check clears, which could take over a week. No such problem with money order.
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Here is what I see on USCIS site:

Fees are accepted in the form of money order, personal check or cashiers check only. Checks should be made payable to Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

I hope there should not be a problem.

I myself recently submitted N400 with cashiers check with a hope that there should not be any issue .... :)

Thanks
 
brb2 said:
I don't doubt the safety of the instrument. I just checked the MO, and no where on the money order is the word Federal or Bank. In fact I think one can't even deposit it at the bank for collection because it does not go through the bank clearance system. I am thus keen to know if anyone has used a USPS money order.

I agree using personal checks delays things as Johnny Cash said.
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Don't you think that a money order issued by a federal agency not going through a federal bank is an oddity? Dept of State accept PO moner order for passport processing. Shouldn't that be conclusive?

If you have any lingering doubt, here is a help:
http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/503.htm#wp1150680

All money orders are forwarded through the Federal Reserve Banking System, to which commercial banks have access.
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All U.S. money orders, including military, may be cashed at any U.S. post office or bank. Subject to funds availability, money orders may be cashed by rural carriers.
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thanks for the link. It does show that the federal reserve can clear a MO. What made me think twice was statement "MO...issued by a US Bank".


equate said:
Don't you think that a money order issued by a federal agency not going through a federal bank is an oddity? Dept of State accept PO moner order for passport processing. Shouldn't that be conclusive?

If you have any lingering doubt, here is a help:
http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/503.htm#wp1150680
Click to expand...
 
brb2 said:
thanks for the link. It does show that the federal reserve can clear a MO. What made me think twice was statement "MO...issued by a US Bank".
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Just means it has to be a US based financial institution. Credit Unions? Investment firms? They are not exactly banks either :)
 
brb2 said:
My question is, is the US postal office money order in the same category as a money order "drawn on a US Bank"? Anyone here has used a US Post office money order in their application? thanks.
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ANY kind of Money Order purchased on US soil is more than okay to use towards processing fees for immigration benefit. Money Order purchased at US Post offices has more regard than any other Money Orders. But that doesn't mean other money orders would have less value.

The only drawback of using Money Order with USCIS is that it's hard to track whether it's cashed out or not. I mean, you can track it down, but it would cost few more bucks and 60 days at least to track down, which is not the case with personal checks.
 
thanks for your response.
Actually I did read one of the sticky notes regarding your listing of documents for application. I did note the pros and cons of using personal checks and I thought I would go with your suggestion of having a MO that will allow for immediate processing even though I might not get the tracking of it until I receive a NOA from USCIS.
JohnnyCash said:
ANY kind of Money Order purchased on US soil is more than okay to use towards processing fees for immigration benefit. Money Order purchased at US Post offices has more regard than any other Money Orders. But that doesn't mean other money orders would have less value.

The only drawback of using Money Order with USCIS is that it's hard to track whether it's cashed out or not. I mean, you can track it down, but it would cost few more bucks and 60 days at least to track down, which is not the case with personal checks.
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Actually, there are pros and cons of both these methods of payment towards processing fees.

Using Money Order to pay processing fees:

Advantage: USCIS will post the payment/processing fees right away without any waiting. That means, a quick acceptance and initial processing on the application.

Disadvantage: It's time and money consuming to track down whether it is cashed out or not, especially Postal Money Order. It takes up to 60 days and few more bucks in order to have proof of cashing it out which one would need if they would wish to contact USCIS regarding their case. That means, one will not have any proof of paying the processing fees to USCIS in the meantime if the application gets lost/misplaced with USCIS, which could be the possibility. However, if USCIS sends you a receipt then one doesn't need to worry about tracking it down.


Using Personal Check to pay processing fees:

Advantage: It's easily traceable, One can check with their bank if it's cashed out or not. Plus, the cancelled check would be the proof right in hand to prove that processing fees was paid to USCIS if application is ever happened to be lost/misplaced.

Disadvantage: USCIS waits for it to be cleared for few days. That means, a little delay in processing.

Having said that, it's a matter of personal choice. If I were to choose, I would prefer personal check to pay the processing fees.
 
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I am not sure how hard it is to track the status of post office money order, but for moneygram money order, it is as simple as personal checks. They update the status daily and you can access the automated message readily over the phone. Probably more expensive than post office money order though.
 
Is it written on the moneygram money order that it is "drawn on xx bank" or payable by "xx bank"?
Can you see the image of the "cancelled" check with the LIN number etc?
thanks.

equate said:
I am not sure how hard it is to track the status of post office money order, but for moneygram money order, it is as simple as personal checks. They update the status daily and you can access the automated message readily over the phone. Probably more expensive than post office money order though.
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brb2 said:
Is it written on the moneygram money order that it is "drawn on xx bank" or payable by "xx bank"?
Can you see the image of the "cancelled" check with the LIN number etc?
thanks.
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Unfortunately, I'll have to buy one to inspect it, and I forsee no such occassion in near future. :eek:

Moneygram has an automated system that let you check the status through money order number, purely for your info, which is sufficient for most people. If you want the actual copy of cashed moneygram money order, you'll have to fill up a form, pay the fee, and wait a month or so just as you would for the post office money order.
 
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