Paying for DS-160 and Interview

[Shi-Long Lang 2]

Hello everyone. I have a question about the fee for the DS-160 and the interview. I am thinking these might be the same thing. We were told to fill out a DS-160 form before the interview. After we submitted the form, we received an email with a confirmation and a link explaining how to pay for the DS-160 to be processed. The processing fee was $265. I paid the fee online at ustraveldocs.com (the site that was linked in the email) and printed the receipt. However, when my fiancee went to the embassy for her interview, she was told that they wouldn't accept the receipt, and charged her $265... saying this was the cost of the interview. Is this correct? Does the DS-160 and the interview cost $265 each? Or did was just get double charged? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Edited February 21, 2016 by Penguin_ie

[nat-no 2]

Hello everyone. I have a question about the fee for the DS-160 and the interview. I am thinking these might be the same thing. We were told to fill out a DS-160 form before the interview. After we submitted the form, we received an email with a confirmation and a link explaining how to pay for the DS-160 to be processed. The processing fee was $265. I paid the fee online at ustraveldocs.com (the site that was linked in the email) and printed the receipt. However, when my fiancee went to the embassy for her interview, she was told that they wouldn't accept the receipt, and charged her $265... saying this was the cost of the interview. Is this correct? Does the DS-160 and the interview cost $265 each? Or did was just get double charged? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

You do not pay for the Ds-160 but the visa is $265. And you can not pay for it online. Did you look up how you must pay for it. Where you must pay for it? Cause it can't be paid online. That's why she was made to pay for it. I'd suggest you find our where that money went

Edited February 21, 2016 by Penguin_ie

[Shi-Long Lang 2]

You do not pay for the Ds-160 but the visa is $265. And you can not pay for it online. Did you look up how you must pay for it. Where you must pay for it? Cause it can't be paid online. That's why she was made to pay for it. I'd suggest you find our where that money went

Thanks for the reply, Nat-no! Here's a snippet of what I received in an email after filling out the DS-160 with my fiancee.

Congratulations,

you have electronically submitted your DS­160 visa application form to the U.S. Embassy in Panama. This is only the

first step in the visa application process. Instructions for payment and appointment scheduling are available at

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/pa or via our call center at 836­6171 or

832­1902. It is strongly recommended that you bring to your interview documents that show your ties to Panama.

Please visit http://panama.usembassy.gov/interview.html for detailed information on what to bring.

And after poking around on the link they provided, I found this page that explains how to pay the fee. http://www.ustraveldocs.com/pa/pa-niv-paymentinfo.asp

I noticed that it was option K (fiancee visa) which was $265, and chose to pay by credit card. I kept the receipt and gave my fiancee a copy, but they wouldn't accept it at the embassy. I found that a bit misleading, especially since the 2nd link in the email message says to bring the receipt for the visa payment to the interview.

I've sent an email to support@ustraveldocs.com requesting the $265 back, I am hoping they will return my money.

Edited February 21, 2016 by Penguin_ie

[Georgia16 2,858]

You do not pay for the Ds-160 but the visa is $265. And you can not pay for it online. Did you look up how you must pay for it. Where you must pay for it? Cause it can't be paid online. That's why she was made to pay for it. I'd suggest you find our where that money went

Please be careful when giving this advise because it is different from country to country.

Some have to pay online before the interview and others have to pay when they get there.

OP fill out you timeline so people can see where you are from.

[GeorgeandGeorgia 14]

Please be careful when giving this advise because it is different from country to country.

Some have to pay online before the interview and others have to pay when they get there.

OP fill out you timeline so people can see where you are from.

I agree! It's different procedures from country to country. In Bahrain, US EMBASSY informed me that I have to pay the visa fee to Citibank and informed them once paid so they can schedule my interview.

[Shi-Long Lang 2]

Thanks for the responses! I am a little angry about this. They don't want to give me back the money I paid at the website. They are claiming it is non-refundable. I am trying to fight it out. I told them that I have been mislead. The embassy gave me a link to their website, and told me to look there for information on how to pay. I paid via the link on the website, and was told AFTERWARDS that they would not accept payment via the website. So I had to pay TWICE for one interview. I don't see how that's fair. I'm tempted to go to my credit card company and attempt to dispute the charge.

As for my timeline, I will do so. I am from the USA and she is from Panama. Thanks again!

[TBoneTX 45,329]

Thread is moved from K-1 Process forum to the Embassy/Consulate forum -- topic involves that phase.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

***** Posts edited to remove full name. Op may also want to change his username for that- for your own privacy and safety, please never post full names, postal or email addresses, case or phone numbers online *****

[Shi-Long Lang 2]

Thanks for looking out for me, Penguin_ie! I didn't know I had posted my full name. If you are talking about Shi-Long Lang... that isn't my name. It's actually a name of a somewhat obscure character in a somewhat obscure game: http://aceattorney.wikia.com/wiki/Shi-Long_Lang. My avatar is from the character as well. I couldn't think of a good name to use on the forums, so that is what I picked.

As for the double payment, the last I heard they are still claiming it is non-refundable. I understand that would typically be the case, but it seems a bit unfair to me to tell me that I can pay online, then tell me after I have already paid that they don't accept online payments. In order for my fiancee to go to her appointment, she had to pay a second time at the embassy I believe they need to update that message they send out once you complete the DS-160... it tells you to follow the link to find out how to pay for the interview, and the link says you can pay online. If they are sending this out with every completed DS-160, it will cause a lot of confusion!

[Shi-Long Lang 2]

If anyone is interested in what happened, the short version is... I won.

The long version... I contacted a congressman about the double payment, and they requested that I send any documentation I had. I sent every single document... my receipts, the letter telling me that I CAN pay online along with the date/time stamp... and the letter I received AFTERWARDS telling me that I CAN'T pay online with the date/time stamp. They investigated, and today I received a latter from both the congressman and the embassy saying that I will receive my money back for one of the payments.

However, the embassy's letter claimed that my fiancee did not provide proof that I had already paid online when she arrived at the embassy. I wrote back to the congressman thanking him for helping me in my situation... but also to set the record straight. I told him that the embassy's letter was incorrect. She brought printouts of my online receipt and a printout of the document saying that I can pay online... but the embassy refused the documents, saying that they do not accept online payments.

They should have just given me the money back from the beginning.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Shi-Long Lang