So How Much Did Immigration Cost You?

[Found Frolicking 1]

Wondering if people might like to share a break down of the total immigration cost they suffered ! From filing the I-130 to fees in the middle, to medical, to travel expenses? Particularly curious to know what economical hotel/motel rates are? Great that our interview will probably be in summer, so rates will be at their highest. Yippee !

[Cathi 5,757]

Yeah my husband's interview was in July, my plane fare was double what it usually was

[Carie_Azan 35]

thousands, upon thousands....ughhhh

[Lou29 5]

I'm too scared to add it up! Pretty sure we could have saved a deposit for a house with the amount it cost though!

[pocheros 101]

I think I spent somewhere around 2K, including airfare, train tickets, hotel and misc. travel expenses, filing fees, photos, photocopies of things, translations, medical exam, and taxis to and from the medical. That's not counting the AOS fee (since I'm a k1) or the second medical exam (since mine expired). I also could have got a cheaper hotel/motel.

Here's a list of expenses I could think of (some may/may not apply to IR1/CR1s)

-mailing things throughout the process (if you don't use DHL for certain things)

-if you don't already have one, the fee for obtaining a passport

-passport photos required throughout process

-filing fee for petition- I-129F or I-130

-fees for translation of any documents

-police certificates

-medical exam

-travel expenses to/from Montreal or Vancouver

-hotel and food expenses for when you're in Montreal/Vancouver

-travel expenses to/from anywhere else you need to go- the medical exam, police station, etc. if you do not drive

-fee for the interview

-moving expenses, any fees related to POE

-unpaid time off work

-photocopies, printers, ink, binder clips or ACCO fasteners

And if you're a K1 then there's the AOS fee.

Edited February 19, 2013 by pocheros

[Cathi 5,757]

I think I spent somewhere around 2K, including airfare, train tickets, hotel and misc. travel expenses, filing fees, photos, photocopies of things, translations, medical exam, and taxis to and from the medical. That's not counting the AOS fee (since I'm a k1) or the second medical exam (since mine expired). I also could have got a cheaper hotel/motel.

Here's a list of expenses I could think of (some may/may not apply to IR1/CR1s)

-mailing things throughout the process (if you don't use DHL for certain things)

-if you don't already have one, the fee for obtaining a passport

-passport photos required throughout process

-filing fee for petition- I-129F or I-130

-fees for translation of any documents

-police certificates

-medical exam

-travel expenses to/from Montreal or Vancouver

-hotel and food expenses for when you're in Montreal/Vancouver

-travel expenses to/from anywhere else you need to go- the medical exam, police station, etc. if you do not drive

-fee for the interview

-moving expenses, any fees related to POE

-unpaid time off work

-photocopies, printers, ink, binder clips or ACCO fasteners

And if you're a K1 then there's the AOS fee.

that's nothing. I traveled back and forth to Jordan 5 times, the lowest airfare was $1200, I spent 7k on airfare me alone, another 1k on my husband's one way ticket here. Add up the I130, visa app, affidavit of support - fee another $700. Staying in hotels, fees for the marriage, medical, police certificated from 3 countries, money for copies, translations, the list goes on and on. We spent well over 12k on the process, and we still need to remove conditions. This process is not cheap, but it's worth it!

Edited February 19, 2013 by mimolicious

[EmilyS 11]

we spent a lot....we hired an attorney that milked us, paid him thousands of dollars to file our papers, we paid the NVC fees ourselves which wasn't included in the money we paid the attorney, we have to pay for medical, plane fare to montreal for my interview, plane fare to US once I get my visa oh and the new visa fee of course, so all in all 6+K

Edited February 19, 2013 by EmilyS

[Found Frolicking 1]

we spent a lot....we hired an attorney that milked us, paid him thousands of dollars to file our papers, we paid the NVC fees ourselves which wasn't included in the money we paid the attorney, we have to pay for medical, plane fare to montreal for my interview, plane fare to US once I get my visa oh and the new visa fee of course, so all in all 6+K

What were the fees for NVC, if you don't mind my asking? Since that's the next stage for us, it would be nice to know what to expect.

[Ms Hogan 295]

What were the fees for NVC, if you don't mind my asking? Since that's the next stage for us, it would be nice to know what to expect.

Are you looking specifically for fees in Canada? I see we have people from around the world responding but if you're looking for info specific to Canada and the interview in Montreal then maybe some other Canucks will speak up. Here's what I have that I can think of:

I-130 = $1260 ($420 x 3 for us)

Courier to send the package = $40ish

Passport photos for I-130, Interview, new passports and Medical = $100 (approx total for the 3 of us)

NVC Fees = $690 ($230 x 3 for us)

New passports for the kids so they don't expire too soon after moving $134

Medicals $600 ($300 for me + $150 for each child)

Train tickets to Montreal $350

Hotel in Montreal $300

And then the fee for the green cards. I think it is $165 for each of us? So $495 but don't quote me on that since I'm not sure of the amount.

So for us our grand total for our CR1/2s is $3969 if I'm remembering everything accurately.

I hope this helps.

[EmilyS 11]

What were the fees for NVC, if you don't mind my asking? Since that's the next stage for us, it would be nice to know what to expect.

AOS fee $88

IV fee $230 (AOS and IV are the NVC fees)

New immigrant visa fee $169 (this you pay once you have the visa in hand, and before you POE)

Medical $300 (this is for ppl in Ontario)

[The Mean Lady 604]

I-130 $420

IV: $230

AoS: $88

Long Form BC: $25

Police Clearance: $25

Damn Passport Photos: 2 for $12 (x2) (Though next time I'm scanning them and printing again myself at walmart)

Fedex Fees for I-130 Packet: Roughly $22 (Canada to US then US to US)

Gas to Toronto and Back: Estimated at $80 (if gas stops rising)

Toronto Medical: $300

Gas to Montreal and Back: Estimated at $225 (if gas stops rising)

Hotel in Montreal: Estimated at $125

Meals in Montreal: Estimated at $50

New Immigrant Visa Fee: $165

Final Trip Gas Back to States: Estimated at $115 (if gas stops rising)

I think I've covered everything for me.

It's roughly the cost of the avg tax return (not including the I-130 fee because I didn't pay that myself)

AOS fee $88

IV fee $230 (AOS and IV are the NVC fees)

New immigrant visa fee $169 (this you pay once you have the visa in hand, and before you POE)

Medical $300 (this is for ppl in Ontario)

New immigrant visa fees are $165 and do NOT have to be paid before you POE.

[Found Frolicking 1]

AOS fee $88

IV fee $230 (AOS and IV are the NVC fees)

New immigrant visa fee $169 (this you pay once you have the visa in hand, and before you POE)

Medical $300 (this is for ppl in Ontario)

Great, thanks ! That gives me a good idea.

[Found Frolicking 1]

I-130 $420

IV: $230

AoS: $88

Long Form BC: $25

Police Clearance: $25

Damn Passport Photos: 2 for $12 (x2) (Though next time I'm scanning them and printing again myself at walmart)

Fedex Fees for I-130 Packet: Roughly $22 (Canada to US then US to US)

Gas to Toronto and Back: Estimated at $80 (if gas stops rising)

Toronto Medical: $300

Gas to Montreal and Back: Estimated at $225 (if gas stops rising)

Hotel in Montreal: Estimated at $125

Meals in Montreal: Estimated at $50

New Immigrant Visa Fee: $165

Final Trip Gas Back to States: Estimated at $115 (if gas stops rising)

I think I've covered everything for me.

It's roughly the cost of the avg tax return (not including the I-130 fee because I didn't pay that myself)

New immigrant visa fees are $165 and do NOT have to be paid before you POE.

I'm interested to know how much gas is in Montreal... Last hummer my husband and I decided to take a road trip to Vancouver, and we went quite over our gas budget we'd worked out, since we hadn't realized how expensive gas is there!!!

At least you paid less for the absurd passport photos, too... we paid $47 for two sets at Black's, I believe :/.

I do feel a little better knowing the I-130 is the most you pay out in one shot, though. And I don't mean in surrounding expenses, or else the trip to Montreal will definitely take the cake!!!

[The Mean Lady 604]

I'm interested to know how much gas is in Montreal... Last hummer my husband and I decided to take a road trip to Vancouver, and we went quite over our gas budget we'd worked out, since we hadn't realized how expensive gas is there!!!

At least you paid less for the absurd passport photos, too... we paid $47 for two sets at Black's, I believe :/.

I do feel a little better knowing the I-130 is the most you pay out in one shot, though. And I don't mean in surrounding expenses, or else the trip to Montreal will definitely take the cake!!!

We had ours done at shoppers.

12 bucks is expensive since I'm used to prices in US.

http://www.montrealgasprices.com/

[afoyoswa 178]

Well, it's hard to say! (And if this is aimed only at members dealing with Canada, please excuse me! I saw others posting here who aren't, so I figured I would chime in.)

If we're talking about direct, strictly required immigration costs, my rough estimate is that it has cost a little over $2,000 so far, from 1-129F to K-1 to application for AOS. I'm ONLY including application/petition fees, certified copies of documents, required medical exams/x-rays, and mailing documents. [Detailed breakdown-- I-129F: $340; K-1: $250; Medical exam: ~$300; Mailing/documents/photos: ~$150 (not including what he spent); AOS: $1,070]

But then, he needed to travel here from his country after his successful interview ($1,265), and we decided that since Nairobi is known to be a difficult embassy, it would make both of us feel better about the interview if I flew there to be with him for it ($1,560), which then led to family gifts (~$400), a hotel stay (~$700), several encounters with thieves/crooked cops ($500+), and who the heck knows where the rest of the $4,000 or so that trip cost went. Totally worth it because I genuinely believe that the approval may not have happened and certainly would not have been as painless a process as it ended up being without my going there, not to mention that I got to meet/spend time with his relatives including his 90+-year-old ailing grandmother.

And of course, before we started the immigration process, I took 3 previous trips there, each of which required a ~$2,000 flight + gifts as well. Not to mention probably close to $1,000 over 2 years for talking on the phone, sending stuff to him, etc.

And then since his arrival, we hosted a wedding completely on our own ($= ~2 Nairobi trips) which involved flying 2 of his family members over to attend ($= ~ 1 Nairobi trip), registered him for 2 college classes at full out-of-state tuition ($ = half a Nairobi trip), and probably a lot of other things that I've forgotten.

I never thought this was going to be easy or cheap. It helped immensely that as soon as we decided to proceed with this process, I drastically cut back my spending and looked for ways to put aside extra money (including an extra part-time job that I've now had for the past 9 months), which ended up offsetting about half of what it has cost us. We're also both very frugal people with similar attitudes/goals regarding money, so now that he's here and we're settling into life together, we are on track to recover from the financial hit reasonably soon, especially once he's allowed to start working.

But for anyone considering starting the immigration process for someone: DEFINITELY expect that there will be costs you never anticipated and that it will be very, very stressful if you don't have something of a financial cushion in place when you start out. I'm so glad that living as frugally as I did before I started out on this journey enabled me to put enough aside that I didn't end up having to make hard choices like whether to eat/pay rent OR be able to have his mom at our wedding, go to meet his elderly grandmother, etc.