unable to pay AOS fee online, why?

[bellsbells 3]

Hello everyone. I have a couple questions I hope you can help me with! My husband and I (he's French, I'm American) were married in Paris in 1999 and have been living in Paris ever since. We have 2 children. We are relocating to NYC in September (must move in time for kids to start school) and I filed an I-130 in January. I was told the entire process takes 6-12 months. We recently received a DS-3032 form and an AOS Fee Bill invoice. I sent an email to the NVC with my address (I will be my own agent) so I assume I don't also need to send in the DS-3032, correct?

Second question: when I went to the website to pay the AOS fee (I do have a US bank account I was going to use), after entering our case number and invoice DS number, I got the message: "This case is in the process of termination. Fee payments and online forms can no longer be accepted. If you believe you have received this message in error, or to resume processing of the case, please contact the NVC immediately." I called the NVC and the agent actually told me that the invoice hadn't been issued yet. I explained that I had the invoice in front of me and it was dated February 27, 2012. I was told that I had to either wait to receive another invoice, or to send a money order for the fee. I have no way of obtaining a money order in US dollars from France, so this is not an option.

Help—has anyone experienced this? What I can't understand is why the error message says the case is in the process of termination! Is their system really buggy or something? I'm so worried that we won't have the visa in time to move to the US at the beginning of September and not being able to pay the AOS fee for who knows how long is only delaying things

[Saylin 1,605]

Hello everyone. I have a couple questions I hope you can help me with! My husband and I (he's French, I'm American) were married in Paris in 1999 and have been living in Paris ever since. We have 2 children. We are relocating to NYC in September (must move in time for kids to start school) and I filed an I-130 in January. I was told the entire process takes 6-12 months. We recently received a DS-3032 form and an AOS Fee Bill invoice. I sent an email to the NVC with my address (I will be my own agent) so I assume I don't also need to send in the DS-3032, correct?

Second question: when I went to the website to pay the AOS fee (I do have a US bank account I was going to use), after entering our case number and invoice DS number, I got the message: "This case is in the process of termination. Fee payments and online forms can no longer be accepted. If you believe you have received this message in error, or to resume processing of the case, please contact the NVC immediately." I called the NVC and the agent actually told me that the invoice hadn't been issued yet. I explained that I had the invoice in front of me and it was dated February 27, 2012. I was told that I had to either wait to receive another invoice, or to send a money order for the fee. I have no way of obtaining a money order in US dollars from France, so this is not an option.

Help—has anyone experienced this? What I can't understand is why the error message says the case is in the process of termination! Is their system really buggy or something? I'm so worried that we won't have the visa in time to move to the US at the beginning of September and not being able to pay the AOS fee for who knows how long is only delaying things

I'm betting that message is appearing because NVC is invoicing the IV bill. Don't worry about WHAT the message says (your case really isn't in the process of termination!) Just give it a day or two, and then you should be able to log in again. Once you can, I'm betting the IV bill will be invoiced and ready for you to pay

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

If you live in France, you don't do AoS.

[bellsbells 3]

Saylin, thanks for chiming in: I feel reassured to know that my case is probably not being "terminated"!

Brother Hesekiel: Really?! What can explain why I received a bill for the AoS fee, and why the agent on the phone, instead of telling me that, said they would re-issue the invoice? I certainly hope what you say is true, that would save us time and effort.

[Holliday 4]

If you live in France, you don't do AoS.

Umm... what? The OP is talking about the Affidavit of Support, rather than an Adjustment of Status. She absolutely needs to "do" the AoS if she wants the NVC to finish processing her case so her husband may be scheduled for an interview for a visa.

To the OP: follow Saylin's advice. It sounds like the NVC is experiencing some technical difficulties. There's probably not a lot you can do to speed things along, but it can't hurt to call the NVC often and ask them where your invoice is. In the meantime, make sure you have everything ready for submission once the invoice has been paid and accepted.

As for your question about the DS-3032... if I'm remembering things correctly, I don't think they would've sent you the AOS fee bill if they hadn't accepted your email saying you're going to be your own agent. However, it can't hurt to ask the NVC the same question when you're talking to them about your invoice just to be sure.

Good luck!

[bellsbells 3]

Thanks, Holliday! When I called the NVC they said the invoice would take 10-15 days to be issued (again). I called a second time that day hoping for some clearer information, but the 2nd person noted that I had already called and seemed unwilling to give me any further info.

Anyway, what's strange is that the DS-3032 and the AOS fee bill invoice we received were dated and sent the same day. Maybe the fact that the DS-3032 isn't yet registered is causing the problem paying the AOS fee? We sent the DS-3032 by email yesterday. Anyone know how long it takes to be registered on their side?

[Holliday 4]

Thanks, Holliday! When I called the NVC they said the invoice would take 10-15 days to be issued (again). I called a second time that day hoping for some clearer information, but the 2nd person noted that I had already called and seemed unwilling to give me any further info.

Anyway, what's strange is that the DS-3032 and the AOS fee bill invoice we received were dated and sent the same day. Maybe the fact that the DS-3032 isn't yet registered is causing the problem paying the AOS fee? We sent the DS-3032 by email yesterday. Anyone know how long it takes to be registered on their side?

It's been a long time since I had to deal with NVC, but back in 2009, they used to say "10-15 days" for EVERYTHING you could ask them. It usually meant 2 or 3 days. And we ("we" being myself/my husband and others on VJ who were at the same part of the process around the same time) used to call them daily for updates. So unless something has drastically changed, I'd say you may as well call them every day or two to ask for an update in case something has changed since the last time you called.

I just went back through my old files, and I realized I was incorrect in the part of my earlier post where I said "I don't think they would've sent you the AOS fee bill if they hadn't accepted your email saying you're going to be your own agent." My AOS fee bill and DS-3032 were both sent to me on the same day within hours of each other. And after a bit more checking, I realized that it is normal/expected for the AOS bill and DS-3032 to be generated at the same time. I should've checked that before I replied earlier, and I apologize for giving you bad information there.

I really hope that someone else will come along who has gone through all of this more recently than I have, and that they can give you definite advice, rather than all of my outdated "I think" stuff. Sorry I actually haven't been helpful at all!

If you haven't browsed through the NVC forum here, I'd recommend doing that. It should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect and when to expect it.

Sorry again for probably confusing/misleading you. I really do wish you the best of luck with everything!

[bellsbells 3]

OK, I see—thanks for taking the time to look into this for me! I'm glad to hear the 10-15 days thing doesn't really mean it will take that long. I'm seriously scared that September will roll around with school starting in the US and we won't be able to leave because my husband's still waiting for his visa!

[Saylin 1,605]

Current wait times for the DS-3032 to be accepted are around a week.

If you go to the March NVC thread: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/354975-nvc-filers-march-2012/ you'll find the two first posts very helpful (I wrote them ). But lately, in March, it's been taking over a week for the DS-3032 acceptance, compared to just a few days it used to take in February. I'm hoping they pick up as there are a few March filers still waiting, like you, for their DS-3032 to be accepted.

And I assure you, as long as you have all packages PERFECT, and have no problems at the interview, then you WILL be here for September. If you're on top of things at NVC, then you can done with them in a month or two. And for the wait time from case complete at NVC to the actual interview date is 2 months for France (there was a recent member in the NVC thread in which I'm taking this time frame). So, if you can finish by the end of March or sometime in April for NVC, you'll have your interview in the summer, around June. If approved at the interview, you'll have about 3 months before September hits when school starts.

[bellsbells 3]

Thanks Saylin. And wow, it looks like even best case scenario is getting the visa at the last minute before we move... looks like I'm going to be stressing out for the next 5 months nonstop. But anyway, I really appreciate all of your helpful info on the forum!

P.S. Just wondering—when you say it takes about a week for the DS-3032 to be accepted, does this include email submissions? I used the template I found on the Wiki here to send by email yesterday.

[Saylin 1,605]

Thanks Saylin. And wow, it looks like even best case scenario is getting the visa at the last minute before we move... looks like I'm going to be stressing out for the next 5 months nonstop. But anyway, I really appreciate all of your helpful info on the forum!

P.S. Just wondering—when you say it takes about a week for the DS-3032 to be accepted, does this include email submissions? I used the template I found on the Wiki here to send by email yesterday.

Well, it won't be LAST MINUTE to move. You should have about 2 months before school starts. But if you have a full-time job and house to worry about, then yeah, I guess it might be stressful. I had no job and lived with my dad, so as soon as I got my visa, I moved a few days later. The only thing I had to stress about was driving for 27 hours and having enough money to pay for the rental car, gas, hotels, and food

And for the time frame, it's for email submissions. I don't know of anyone who MAILED the DS-3032 in recently as the email submission is easier, completely free, and faster. I'd expect that'd add another week or so for snail mailing it in.

[bellsbells 3]

Saylin, oh I think I misunderstood when you said we'd have 3 months after the interview, I was assuming it took 3 months after the interview for the visa to go through. But you seem to be suggesting that we can be approved right at the time of the interview and be eligible to enter the US right away?

Thank you!

BTW kudos to you for making it through a 27-hour drive!!

[Saylin 1,605]

Saylin, oh I think I misunderstood when you said we'd have 3 months after the interview, I was assuming it took 3 months after the interview for the visa to go through. But you seem to be suggesting that we can be approved right at the time of the interview and be eligible to enter the US right away?

Thank you!

BTW kudos to you for making it through a 27-hour drive!!

Yes, I meant you had 3 months from your interview until September to move, not that it takes 3 months afterwards. Most people receive their visa within a week or so after the interview date (as long as it was approved of course). And then most visas are valid for 6 months, so you'll have until the end of the year to use your visa. So, yes, when you do get your visa after the interview, you can enter the US as soon as you want. I entered 6 days after mine. It would have been sooner, but I had reserved a rental car for a specific date, and didn't really have a choice.

And thanks. It was a LONG drive, especially by myself, but it was worth it Plus, I LOVE driving and road trips, so I had a blast

[bellsbells 3]

Awesome, just what I wanted to hear. So now if the NVC would just accept my AOS payment things could get moving....

Congrats on your visa BTW!

[Saylin 1,605]

Awesome, just what I wanted to hear. So now if the NVC would just accept my AOS payment things could get moving....

Congrats on your visa BTW!

Yup, as soon as bills are invoiced/paid/accepted, things go relatively fast at NVC (if you have the AOS and IV packages ready to go).

And thanks. Almost a year I've been in the US now