Fees for K3

[Ready2Kl 1]

Hello All,

I filed a I-130 petition and then filed a K3 petition this week. I did not enclose any fees as the uscis website mentions that no fees is required if there is I-130 pending? Am I wrong? Or do I have to pay any fees to apply for K3 using I-129F?

[hindocha 0]

For K3 its $499 (which you pay when you file I130 - K3 is included in that and then once you enter USA on K visa you pay $305 for EAD

Nothing else until you decide to do a Adjustment of Status

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...000b92ca60aRCRD

[imaisha 0]

There is a fee for the I-130- $355. There is not a fee for the I-129f when there is an I-130 pending.

Edited September 22, 2009 by imaisha

[hindocha 0]

You have various different fees if you go via the I130 route - Adiffcate of Support = $70 and theres another fee cant remember though.

look at www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/lingChe_NVC_ShortCut

[imaisha 0]

For K3 its $499 (which you pay when you file I130 - K3 is included in that and then once you enter USA on K visa you pay $305 for EAD

Nothing else until you decide to do a Adjustment of Status

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...000b92ca60aRCRD

Where did you get $499?

The fee for the petition is $355, due at the time of filing. That does not include the visa fee.

The visa fee is $131, due at, or just before the interview.

[hindocha 0]

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...000b92ca60aRCRD

Look at I129f - $455.00

Sorry not $499 it's $450

[imaisha 0]

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...000b92ca60aRCRD

Look at I129f - $455.00

First of all, $455 is not $499.

Second of all, there is no fee for filing the I-129f when pursuing the K-3. The applicant pays only the fee for the I-130.

Edited September 22, 2009 by imaisha

[hindocha 0]

Well obviously $455 is not $499 there's a $49 difference.

I did acknowledge my mistake

[imaisha 0]

Well obviously $455 is not $499 there's a $49 difference.

I did acknowledge my mistake

No. It's zero.

"For K-3 status based on an immigrant petition (Form I-130) filed by the same U.S. citizen husband or wife.

No Fee"

From:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...000b92ca60aRCRD

[pushbrk 12,569]

Well obviously $455 is not $499 there's a $49 difference.

I did acknowledge my mistake

The fee for an I-129F filed for a spouse with an I-130 pending is zero. There are plenty of people who actually know the answers, so there's no need to guess or accidently mislead somebody.

With all the discussion here about it, I'm surprised the OP filed the I-129F at all. K3 is a virtually obsolete visa and filing the I-129F for spouse is more likely to delay their reunion with their spouse than speed it up. It's sure to add expense, paperwork and an additional immigration process to go through.

[Ready2Kl 1]

Well obviously $455 is not $499 there's a $49 difference.

I did acknowledge my mistake

The fee for an I-129F filed for a spouse with an I-130 pending is zero. There are plenty of people who actually know the answers, so there's no need to guess or accidently mislead somebody.

With all the discussion here about it, I'm surprised the OP filed the I-129F at all. K3 is a virtually obsolete visa and filing the I-129F for spouse is more likely to delay their reunion with their spouse than speed it up. It's sure to add expense, paperwork and an additional immigration process to go through.

Hello ,

thanks everyone for responding.

Since the I-129F costs $0 why not just file for it. I mean from what I understand if I-130 gets approved first they will ignore I-129F anyways..correct? So why not just apply for I-129F in addition to I-130. Atleast to me it looks like I-129F is a backup and if I-130 gets processed first its great . Otherwise we atleast know we have another option in form of I-129F. Please advice.

[New Beginnings 32]

Yeah, it doesn't cost anything extra now to file the 129F. However, it will cost extra in the long run.

For example... the two petitions will most likely be approved at the same time. The K3 will be sent to the consulate for interview while the I-130 will be sent to the NVC. The K3 interview will be scheduled probably a few weeks before the I130 leaves the NVC. That means the K3 interview will be about a month to a month and a half before the CR/IR-1 interview.

If you follow both, meaning you still make the required payments to the NVC you will have paid an additional $470 for the I130 before it's sent to the embassy. During the K3 interview you will be required to pay approximately $113 for an interview fee. If you receive the K3 visa you will then need to pay an additional $1010 during the AOS process one your SO is here. If you don't receive the K3 visa or are in AP until the CR/IR-1 interview, at the time you interview the K3 will be cancelled. If you then receive the CR/IR-1 visa you will have wasted the ~$100 interview fee for the K3 interview.

You will not be saving a lot of time here which is what the K3 was meant to do. It is obsolete at this point and much more costly.

[imaisha 0]

Since the I-129F costs $0 why not just file for it. I mean from what I understand if I-130 gets approved first they will ignore I-129F anyways..correct? So why not just apply for I-129F in addition to I-130. Atleast to me it looks like I-129F is a backup and if I-130 gets processed first its great . Otherwise we atleast know we have another option in form of I-129F. Please advice.

When you file an I-129f your I-130 is pulled out of the I-130 line and goes to the back of the I-129f line. You're basically giving up a place closer to the head of the class and being put behind hundreds or thousands of other petitions. And almost always the petitioner ends up following only the I-130, so it was all just a waste of time.

My filing was especially regrettable as all standalone I-130 petitions then were being transferred to CSC whereas I-130+I-129f filers were kept at VSC which was much much slower. I lost at least a month because of that.

Edited September 23, 2009 by imaisha