Question about the Immigration Fee of $165..

[TOTOEMY 2]

ok so just wondering..I didnt complete a I485 for the perminate residence card just the I130 which is just the CR1 visa..so do I still need to pay the $165 fee and how long is the visa good for if my husband is approved inshallah..when I went to the uscis website it says this fee is for the processing of the perminate residence card..which we havent even started the application for..so just wondering if I have to pay or not..Thanks..

[Cathi 5,748]

yes you have to pay the fee as he will get a green card upon entering the US

[florida4life 29]

Whenever he gets his visa and before he leave the country you must pay the fee $165.00 for him to receive the green card. He will not get green card unless you pay the fee.

[TOTOEMY 2]

thank you for responding,,my main concern is if we are unable to pay the fee until he is here..would immigration stop him from entering the united states..

[Hypnos 6,576]

No.

[florida4life 29]

ok so just wondering..I didnt complete a I485 for the perminate residence card just the I130 which is just the CR1 visa..so do I still need to pay the $165 fee and how long is the visa good for if my husband is approved inshallah..when I went to the uscis website it says this fee is for the processing of the perminate residence card..which we havent even started the application for..so just wondering if I have to pay or not..Thanks..

The actual CR-1 visa you received is valid for 6 months. You can use it to enter the USA anytime during the next 6 months.

When you come to the USA, at the POE, the officer will "endorse" the visa (put a temporary I-551 (green card) stamp in your passport). That temporary stamp is valid for 1 year. That's just in case something goes wrong and you don't receive your plastic green card for a while, you have evidence of your PR status.

You should get the actual plastic green card in the mail a few weeks later. That card will be good for 2 years (your conditional status). Once you have the physical green card in hand, you no longer need rely on that stamp in your passport...the plastic green card replaces it.

[MIBEN 83]

Our experience was that he had to report to the Embassy with two copies of the completeted form and they made him sign it in front of the officer. I had already paid the fees during the NVC stage. I have read that some people are made to pay at the embassy before they proceed with the interview. Maybe someone who had a different process can chime in.

Good luck,

[Darnell 8,478]

the fee is paid after the interview, not before.

thank you for responding,,my main concern is if we are unable to pay the fee until he is here..would immigration stop him from entering the united states..

No.

You should get the actual plastic green card in the mail a few weeks later. That card will be good for 2 years (your conditional status). Once you have the physical green card in hand, you no longer need rely on that stamp in your passport...the plastic green card replaces it.

This bit changed after 1 FEB 2013. Must to pay the Immigrant Fee of 165 at the ELIS/USCIS webportal now, to receive a green card. Currently ELIS is logged, about 2 to 3 months to receive the card after payment or poe date (whichever is later)

It just does not show up after coming through a POE.

[TOTOEMY 2]

ok great yay ok i feel better now.. thank you all again for the responses

[Ismael&Blair 66]

Whenever he gets his visa and before he leave the country you must pay the fee $165.00 for him to receive the green card. He will not get green card unless you pay the fee.

Please make sure you double check at the consulate when he picks up his VISA after the approved interview. I just asked my husband to confirmed that he was told that the immigrant fee HAD TO BE PAID online BEFORE leaving the country. His approval was back in August 8, 2013. He arrived here September 10, 2013. So we waited the latest possible time to pay the $165 fee, just a few days before his flight departure. So he had a printed receipt of the payment to show at POE.

The consulate person who gave him the VISA and his passport back told him that the POE will check in the system to see if that fee is paid or not.

If we didn't have to, that would have been a better situation for us too. I know how a plane ticket and another fee adds up!

So good luck and keep us posted! Let's see what the other recent approved Moroccan folks were told and did too. I'm curious to know!

[Happytobe 164]

My husband was told to pay it before he leaves. So we got the payment set-up on the 4th. We are still waiting for it to be "completely" processed. We still don't know when he will be coming, but at least the fee is out-of-the-way now. I have seen other posts stating that they waited until after POE and it took a longer time to receive. I didn't want to take that chance.

[Happytobe 164]

Correction... They told him to pay within 15 days of receiving the visa.

[Darnell 8,478]

is ok, really, to not pay the fee prior to POE date.

WHY? The endorsement stamp put in the passport on POE day turns the VISA into a 1 year green card, a TEMP I-551 document.

CBP will let your foreign spouse through the POE, no worries about non-payment.

[TOTOEMY 2]

ok great sigh of relief and the uscis actually told me the same thing but told me to not delay the payment of the fee too long because that delays his perminate resident card..but that he would be allowed thru POE with no problems..thanks everyone again for the advice