Documents and Fees for 12 year old beneficiary

[USA Olive 0]

We filed for the IR-1/CR-1 Visa. Our petition was approved, Yay! We just paid our Visa application fees and we are about to submit our DS-230 and our Affidavit of support.

For every part of our process is it necessary to pay separate fees and submit separate copies of every document for my husband as well as my 12 year old minor stepson who will also be immigrating with us? Do I need to fill out separate DS-230 forms and submit separate Affidavit of support forms for the both of them?

Thanks for your input!

Edited July 19, 2012 by USA Olive

[aaron2020 11,651]

We filed for the IR-1/CR-1 Visa. Our petition was approved, Yay! We just paid our Visa application fees and we are about to submit our DS-230 and our Affidavit of support.

For every part of our process is it necessary to pay separate fees and submit separate copies of every document for my husband as well as my 12 year old minor stepson who will also be immigrating with us? Do I need to fill out separate DS-230 forms and submit separate Affidavit of support forms for the both of them?

Thanks for your input!

You need to file a separate I-130 for your stepson. Derivative beneficiaries are not allowed when a US citizen files for a spouse. The I-130 you filed is only for your husband. It does not include your stepson, so he cannot apply for immigration visa (DS-230). You need to file an I-130 for your stepson first.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Bringing Family Members of US Citizens to America; topic is more relevant to petitioning stepson.

**Organizer hat off**

who will also be immigrating with us?

Just to get the semantics out of the way, "immigrating with us" is not a correct statement, you as a US Citizen would not be immigrating, only your husband and stepson are.

Do I need to fill out separate DS-230 forms and submit separate Affidavit of support forms for the both of them?

As aaron2020 already said, if you have not filed an I-130 for your stepson, you will need to do so now (and pay the appropriate fee). In order for your husband and stepson to immigrate together, you will need to stall your husbands case at the NVC until your stepson's file arrives there. This can be done by not paying bills or not submitting paperwork until the time is appropriate. The NVC considers a case active for one year from the date of last contact with the petitioner, beneficiary, or designated agent. To answer your question, separate DS-230 forms for your husband and stepson will need to be completed and separate fees will need to be paid. Separate Affidavit of Support forms will need to be completed for both as well; however, the fee only needs to be paid once.

[USA Olive 0]

Thank you so much for the responses Ryan and Aaron! I should have been clearer in my original post but that's what happens when I post things in the middle of the night! I realize I'm not immigrating, just my husband and stepson are! lol

I did file I-130 petitions for both my husband and stepson and received approval letters for both of them. We paid the separate Visa Application fee bills for both of them and we are submitting our DS-230 now.

We also paid the Affidavit of Support fee bill but that is where I got confused. The receipt and cover page for the AOS fee bill we paid has only my stepson's name and case number on it which made me think I needed to pay a separate AOS fee for my husband as well. If we only need to pay the fee once, why aren't both their names on the receipt and cover page?

If we only pay the fee once, why would I need to submit a separate I-864 for my stepson?

Thanks for your input, I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes and delay things further!

[aaron2020 11,651]

Thank you so much for the responses Ryan and Aaron! I should have been clearer in my original post but that's what happens when I post things in the middle of the night! I realize I'm not immigrating, just my husband and stepson are! lol

I did file I-130 petitions for both my husband and stepson and received approval letters for both of them. We paid the separate Visa Application fee bills for both of them and we are submitting our DS-230 now.

We also paid the Affidavit of Support fee bill but that is where I got confused. The receipt and cover page for the AOS fee bill we paid has only my stepson's name and case number on it which made me think I needed to pay a separate AOS fee for my husband as well. If we only need to pay the fee once, why aren't both their names on the receipt and cover page?

If we only pay the fee once, why would I need to submit a separate I-864 for my stepson?

Thanks for your input, I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes and delay things further!

This is one of those confusing situations where the NVC can do a better job.

There will be one AOS fee that will cover both cases. The I-864s will have essentially the same sponsor's information with different beneficiary's information. The NVC will review the I-864 for completeness. The NVC will not charge you twice for doing the work once. So, when multiple cases are coming through at once, the NVC will only charge one fee for the I-864s in multiple cases where the sponsor is the same.

The NVC is just lazy IMHO in not listing both. It could be a software issue.

I think this is the only time that a fee is paid only once for multiple cases.

Send in the I-864s for both in the same envelope. That will solve your problem.

Everything else is separate. Separate I-864s, separate DS-230s, etc.

If they are given separate interview times, contact the US Embassy to request they be interviewed at the same time.

Edited July 19, 2012 by aaron2020

[USA Olive 0]

Thank you so much Aaron, very much appreciated!

[USA Olive 0]

I have another question about the DS-230. I noticed on the links I was reading that it says to send only part 1 of this form and not part 2. Someone mentioned that we will be filling out part two of the DS-230 at the interview. Is that correct?

[Ryan H 3,812]

I have another question about the DS-230. I noticed on the links I was reading that it says to send only part 1 of this form and not part 2. Someone mentioned that we will be filling out part two of the DS-230 at the interview. Is that correct?

Incorrect, both parts of the DS-230 are filled out and submitted; however, part II of the DS-230 is not signed when it is submitted to the NVC.