Since President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan was signed into law in early March, the Internal Revenue Service has worked tirelessly to send out a hundred twenty-seven million coronavirus relief checks that could potentially be a lifesaver for many financially struggling Americans.

Despite that success, know that there are millions of Americans who are still sitting empty-handed, wondering daily if their stimulus check will ever arrive.

If you’re one of those unlucky individuals, take note that fewer Americans will receive checks this time around, so make sure to confirm if you even qualify. Individuals who earn as much as $75,000 in adjusted gross income (AGI), or couples making $150,000—in addition to their children or adult dependents—qualify for the full $1,400 per individual. 

Moreover, single parents with at least one dependent who earn $112,500 or less also get the full amount. Families in which some members have different citizenship and immigration classifications are eligible for a payment, if at least one person has a Social Security number.

The payments, however, phase out much more quickly than in previous rounds—an individual with an income of $80,000, or a couple with $160,000, will not be receiving any check.

If you see that you’re indeed eligible for the stimulus money, there are several reasons why you are still waiting. In no particular order, here are the top five.

1. Your bank account information or address has changed

If you have signed on with a new bank or moved since your last filed tax return, your stimulus check could have been sent to your old account or address. The IRS has no way of knowing the account or address has been changed, so you should update that information as soon as possible. Keep in mind that the bank that the payment was sent to must return the funds to the agency if the account holder is no longer a customer.

2. You’re not part of the current batch

The IRS sends out millions of direct payments in “batches,” and there is a chance that your name hasn’t been included in those. On March 24, the second batch of payments began showing up in bank accounts, including nearly fifteen million paper checks totaling $34 billion and five million debit cards totaling $11 billion. Similar to the previous payments, direct deposit recipients would be the first to get the money, followed by those receiving physical checks, which can potentially take weeks to arrive by traditional mail, and EIP cards, a prepaid debit card that one must activate online before using.

3. You haven’t filed taxes

The IRS won’t be sending you a stimulus check if you don’t file taxes, are not a Social Security, VA, or Railroad Retirement benefit recipient, or did not take the time last year to sign up by using the non-filers tool. Keep in mind that you still have time to file your taxes for 2020, as the deadline has been extended to May 17.

4. You get Social Security benefits

Roughly thirty million Americans who receive Social Security are still waiting for a stimulus check because the Social Security Administration (SSA) didn’t turn over the necessary payment information to the IRS in a timely fashion. It appears, however, that the SSA has rectified the situation by confirming that it has sent off the information to the IRS that will help clear the way for senior citizens to receive the $1,400 payments.

5. The post office is in the process of delivering the check or debit card

The IRS has confirmed that for this particular batch of Economic Impact Payments, what’s noticeably different is that it includes a large number of paper checks and prepaid debit cards—which could potentially take weeks to be delivered to mailboxes. Be aware that there have been reports that in the previous rounds of stimulus payments, some people mistook their mailed payments for junk mail and threw them out with the trash. To help prepare Americans waiting for that physical check, the IRS has released new images of what they should be on the lookout for in the mail this time—and it will prominently show the seal of the U.S. Treasury on the envelope.  

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.