Who should pay the fees?

[RS_0812 12]

You are starting a new and hopefully lifelong partnership, relationship BOTH should help as much as possible. Unless one of you wants to be financially responsible and taking care of the other, but that could set a bad tone for the future - to each their own right. Honestly, to me this is an odd/interesting/weird question if you can not figure it out between yourselves. Good luck!! -R

[Austramerican 83]

We're getting married, so it's not his and her money anyway its our money. How is this even a question lol

Although since I'm here paying bills and he's living with his parents and working he can save up a whole lot more money than I can. But of course I'm going to be paying rent for him while his status is adjusting so it all balances out. And even if it didn't balance out evenly love doesn't keep score, we each do what we need to in support and love of the other

[islandgal 74]

It doesn't matter who pays what. If you’re filing a petition for your fiancé, you should be able to pay for all the filing fee expenses.  It doesn’t matter that I’m a female petitioner.  When he gets here and we get married, what’s mine will be his and what’s his will be mine.  If your fiancé is in a position to help you pay, then so be it, but this shouldn’t even be a major topic of discussion at this point.  I love my fiancé and will do whatever is necessary to get him here with me, that includes paying ALL the application/visa/medical fees. When he gets here he probably won’t be working right away, so I’m quite okay with absorbing whatever additional expense occurs as a result of him being here.  I know he appreciates and recognizes the expenses and when he starts working (however long that will take) he’ll pitch in as necessary, similar to how any working class family does it.   Also at some point you’ll have to sign an affidavit of support to indicate your commitment and ability to support your fiancé/fiancée financially when he/she gets to the USA.  This affidavit is legally binding for a number of years. 

[Fight for Love 98]

i paid the petition fee and will pay for his flight, adjust of status, and even the expense for the wedding i will end up paying for it i'm pretty sure..my fiance income if u converted it in dollar will be useless even he work his butt off (ten jobs)lol so i understand his situation. but his paying for the wedding ring, visa fee and his medical. i mean by doing good things for my love one will be a good karma for me (i assumed..lol)

I believe both should pay. In my case, my fiance (the petitioner), paid to submit the 'first form'. However, I have paid small amounts of money out, and will pay for my medical, police check, etc. Of course, if I needed help with payment, he'd cover the cost.

canada is totally different compare to other country esp third world country because their currency is way below.

My fiance is paying for mine. It's because of him that I'm moving halfway across the world anyway.

ehhehe smart answer..lol

[Fight for Love 98]

Think of it this way...Africa is an extremely poor country, 99% of people there are trying to figure out where they are going to get money to put food into their mouths or the mouths of their children...why put the financial burden on your man who lives there? Don't you think he's got enough to worry about? You, on the other hand, I am sure...do not struggle in that way at all. Think of it that way. Perhaps that will give you a clearer perspective. Have you visited Ghana yet? I would think if you have, you wouldn't have even brought this topic up. You'll be OK, I just hope what I said shed some light for you.

i agree with u..we are in the same situation it just happen our fiance lives in a poor country.

[HuffyTheSlayer 22]

Question: Who do you think should be responsible for paying all the fees for the immigration process? We all know that they can be expensive and add up. But I know that many of our spouses/fiances come from poor countries. Is it fair for the spouse that comes from a more well to do area pay or how would you do it?

It really depends on the couples situation and where they are from. In a situation where the the beneficiary does not earn much in their home country I would think it would be fair for the US Citizen who (most likely) has more income to pay the necessary fees, especially the ones needing to be sent by the USC. It would be nice if the beneficiary could save either all or some of their money for their fees for medicals and interview, travel to the embassy, etc. But in a lot of instances, I imagine the beneficiary is probably living some what comfortably, but probably lives paycheck to paycheck and there is not really any leftover money for the fees.

If the beneficiary is working and in a more developed country and can afford to pay the fees for their end of things (medical, visa, etc). Then I don't see why they wouldn't go ahead and do that. But again, that is a personal decision for the couple to make together.

My husband and I never really discussed who would pay for what. He paid the application fee, I paid my medical and visa fees. I think we never discussed it because we knew we both had the money to pay for each of these parts without having to complicate things by doing money transfers. When it came to AOS we used money leftover from what we had earmarked for wedding expenses and money from his paycheck. Really from the time I got over on my K1 visa and transferred "my money" over (we opened a joint account together with me as the primary account holder) we didn't really have "my money" and "his money". It became our money. We've been the same way ever since. It's what works for us.

[keyshawn18 52]

In a marraige everything is shared so why cant the bills be shared too.Both the beneficiary and the petitioner have bills so they should both be responsible for some aspects of the fees.

[Dana-Mića 51]

I've always been thought that my money is his money and his money is my money, in the end we are both working for the same household and family. So when it came to paying I paid for everything including his ticket because at that point my dollars were way more than his dinars. Now that he is here I am not working because I am pregnant and he pays for everything including my student loans. We only have one bank account and it will always be like that and we share all the money be that we are both working or not.

[islandgal 74]

In a marraige everything is shared so why cant the bills be shared too.Both the beneficiary and the petitioner have bills so they should both be responsible for some aspects of the fees.

True... If the beneficiary has the means

[HuffyTheSlayer 22]

I've always been thought that my money is his money and his money is my money, in the end we are both working for the same household and family. So when it came to paying I paid for everything including his ticket because at that point my dollars were way more than his dinars. Now that he is here I am not working because I am pregnant and he pays for everything including my student loans. We only have one bank account and it will always be like that and we share all the money be that we are both working or not.

[OurHappyEnding 3]

It depends on each couples circumstances, but it would be reasonable to split the costs or for the USC to pay the initial petition fee and the Beneficiary to pay the actual visa fee (both about the same amount) and share the rest of the cost. Of course this also depend on whether you both work and make an income.

[Olomi_811 130]

PACE YOURSELF... Only you know what your purse looks like and what responsibilities you have. Always make sure home is cared for first. If your man loves you he will understand. I have seen some people slow down their process, because they were not aware of all the fees it involves. Money is an area of contention for most couples even those of the same backgrounds. If all your fiancé can afford is sustaining himself and not creating undo strain on you then appreciate that. If your love was from a country whose socio-economic standing compared with that of the US maybe you could expect more from him financially, but he's not. You'll figure out a way and discover there are things you can live without to get what you ultimately want.

And to ROB...you can't even list a country, but state 50 50. What "man" would demand that?

[zapatosfeos 17]

Everyone will put their opinion and/or experience but thats as far as it goes, because this is obviously something that can only be decided by the couple once they speak about it. And finances SHOULD be spoken about, it is not a taboo subject. It is very important for the success of the relationship. In my case I had planned on footing the bill to most of the immigration process, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I (the petioner) will not be putting a penny up until POE, at that point it will be my turn to be head of household until he can get his GC/work permit....but once he does recieve that, i will be more than happy to give that title right back to him, lol

[Sveta & Ron 23]

i can not beleive this topic was brought up i would be so ashamed to ask sveta to work her tail off to pay a dime as it was told she is moving from other side world and leaving everything behind maybe i was brought up in old school where the man is the provider

[zapatosfeos 17]

i can not beleive this topic was brought up i would be so ashamed to ask sveta to work her tail off to pay a dime as it was told she is moving from other side world and leaving everything behind maybe i was brought up in old school where the man is the provider

But in her case, as is in mine the woman is the USC. So, just saying, thats why it is a case by case situation.

**Although I dont disagree with you, the man is the provider