USCIS ELIS Fees for minor child immigrating to the US

[Cristina84 0]

Hello,

I am a naturalized US citizen petitioning for my daughter. She received her visa last week, and will be traveling to the USA next month. She will become a citizen automatically upon entering the US because she qualifies for citizenship under the child citizenship act of 2000 (CCA).

Do i still have to pay the $165 USCIS ELIS fee before she enters the US?

Can we choose NOT to pay this fee and just apply directly for her passport as soon as she arrives and has been issued her SSN.? I don't see why a green card is necessary if she automatically gains US Citizenship upon entering the country.

Thank you!

[apple21 953]

Yes, you must pay the $165 immigrant fee.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello,

I am a naturalized US citizen petitioning for my daughter. She received her visa last week, and will be traveling to the USA next month. She will become a citizen automatically upon entering the US because she qualifies for citizenship under the child citizenship act of 2000 (CCA).

Do i still have to pay the $165 USCIS ELIS fee before she enters the US?

Can we choose NOT to pay this fee and just apply directly for her passport as soon as she arrives and has been issued her SSN.? I don't see why a green card is necessary if she automatically gains US Citizenship upon entering the country.

Thank you!

It's necessary because one of the conditions for the CCA is that the child was admitted as a Legal Permanent Resident. How are you planning to prove that if she doesn't have a green card? The green card is the proof that she as admitted as a LPR, so you need it.

[OKflyboy 35]

She has to have her green card to apply for the passport. No way around it.

So yes, you have to pay the fee.

[Cristina84 0]

OK, so I called USCIS and they told me that it IS NOT necessary to pay the fee in our case. She can enter the country with her visa. The fee is to cover the cost of a green card. On her visa, it clearly states that her Honduran Passport, with the US visa and the I-551 stamp that she will get at the POE function as a green card for the first 360 days that she is in the US.

Once she is here, with her Honduran passport (which will have the stamp in it saying she was admitted as a legal permenant resident) and other supporting documents we can apply for her US passport. Once that arrives (in 6-8 weeks) she will have proof of citizenship. Therefore she doesn't really NEED a green card as long as we get her passport in the first year she is in the country (and before the I-551 stamp in per passport expires).

This process has been SO expensive, if we can avoid the $165 fee, and bypass getting a green card (which we don't really need in her case) then that's what we'll do.

Thanks for the input everyone!

[OKflyboy 35]

OK, so I called USCIS and they told me that it IS NOT necessary to pay the fee in our case. She can enter the country with her visa. The fee is to cover the cost of a green card. On her visa, it clearly states that her Honduran Passport, with the US visa and the I-551 stamp that she will get at the POE function as a green card for the first 360 days that she is in the US.

Once she is here, with her Honduran passport (which will have the stamp in it saying she was admitted as a legal permenant resident) and other supporting documents we can apply for her US passport. Once that arrives (in 6-8 weeks) she will have proof of citizenship. Therefore she doesn't really NEED a green card as long as we get her passport in the first year she is in the country (and before the I-551 stamp in per passport expires).

This process has been SO expensive, if we can avoid the $165 fee, and bypass getting a green card (which we don't really need in her case) then that's what we'll do.

Thanks for the input everyone!

I thought about the stamp, but I didn't realize they would stamp the passport without the fee paid first.

Well, that's good.

[Infoneeded 32]

Hello,

I am a naturalized US citizen petitioning for my daughter. She received her visa last week, and will be traveling to the USA next month. She will become a citizen automatically upon entering the US because she qualifies for citizenship under the child citizenship act of 2000 (CCA).

Do i still have to pay the $165 USCIS ELIS fee before she enters the US?

Can we choose NOT to pay this fee and just apply directly for her passport as soon as she arrives and has been issued her SSN.? I don't see why a green card is necessary if she automatically gains US Citizenship upon entering the country.

Thank you!

hi!

just want to know when you file ofr her AOS, you fill up i864w? did you insert tax transcript?