Jump to content
Laleh

Not in the US and no US bank account - how do I pay?

By Laleh in USCIS Service Centers

 Share

15 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Laleh Contributor

Laleh   2

Posted
Filed: Other Country: Tajikistan
 Timeline
Posted

Hi,

I'm preparing the I-130 for my Tajik husband. We live and work in Czech Republic and I only have a Czech bank account, since my American one was closed years ago.

On the instructions for the form, it says: "The check or money order must be drawn on a bank or other financial institution located in the United States and must be payable in U.S. currency."

Obviously, I can't do this. Is there some kind of American financial institution that is international, that would be recognized and that I could try to find here?

Thanks and have a nice weekend!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Boiler Grand Master

Boiler   45,525

Posted
Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
 Timeline
Posted

Could your Joint Sponsor help you with a cheque, you could repay him?


Or her.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laleh Contributor

Laleh   2

Posted
Filed: Other Country: Tajikistan
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted

It's possible. I'd really like to take care of everything myself at this stage if at all possible, but if it's not, I can ask one of my parents. Would it be a problem that the check would not arrive at the same time as our application (since they're being sent from different places)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Boiler Grand Master

Boiler   45,525

Posted
Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
 Timeline
Posted

Not even sure it is possible to send the cheque in separately, asking for trouble if it is.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dwheels76 Grand Master

dwheels76   5,468

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Nigeria
 Timeline
Posted

It's possible. I'd really like to take care of everything myself at this stage if at all possible, but if it's not, I can ask one of my parents. Would it be a problem that the check would not arrive at the same time as our application (since they're being sent from different places)?

Nope that is not possible. No check in your I-130 Petition package it would be rejected and returned to you.

Send your package to your parent and they can send the whole thing in.

Case Complete to Interview spreadsheet

From now on your VJ Member name will be verified. If the name you put on form to be added to spreadsheet comes up not found, you will not be added to the spreadsheet. If you don't have a timeline you will not be added to the spreadsheet.

Please Please put your VJ member name only. Not nicknames or real names whatever your VJ name is. It's below your profile picture!!

 

Come join the current Interview thread: 

DQ-to-Interview-2023-all-countries

Case Complete to Interview Spreadsheet
Case Complete to Interview Form

 

 

 

ROC I-751
5/21/2018: Filed i751 ROC
6/12/2018: NOA1 Date
3/5/2019: Biometrics Appt
12/28/2019: 18 month Extension has expired
1/9/2020: InfoPass Appt to get stamp in Passport
2/27/2020: Combo Interview (ROC and Citizenship)
3/31/2020: submitted service request for being pass normal processing time
4/7/2020: Card being produced
4/8/2020: Approved
4/10/2020: Card mailed
4/15/2020: 10 year green card received
 
 
N-400
5/21/2019: Filed Online
5/21/2019: NOA1 Date
6/13/2019: Biometrics Appt
2/27/2020: Citizenship Interview
4/7/2020: In queue for Oath Ceremony to be scheduled
6/19/2020: Notice Oath Ceremony scheduled
7/8/2020: Oath Ceremony (Houston)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laleh Contributor

Laleh   2

Posted
Filed: Other Country: Tajikistan
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted

Hmm, that doesn't seem fair. There must be a lot of people in the same situation as me (living overseas), and what if they don't have anyone in the US who can pay for them? Seems they should recognize some international financial institutions.

But if this is the only option, I guess my mom wouldn't mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mallafri76 Experienced

mallafri76   1,012

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Sweden
 Timeline
Posted

Check must be drawn in the US and enclosed in the envelope with the I-130 package.

Met online October 2010


Engaged December 31st 2011


heart.gifMarried May 14th 2013 heart.gif



USCIS Stage


September 8th 2014 - Filed I-130 with Nebraska Service Center


September 16th 2014 - NOA1 received


March 2nd 2015 - NOA2 received :dancing:



NVC Stage


March 28th 2015 - Choice of agent complete & AOS fee paid


April 17th 2015 - IV fee paid


May 1st 2015 - Sent in IV application


May 12th 2015 - Sent in AOS and IV documents


May 18th 2015 - Scan Date


June 18th 2015 - Checklist received


June 22nd 2015 - Checklist response sent to NVC


June 25th 2015 - Put for Supervisor Review


Sept 15th 2015 - Request help from Texas US Senator Cornyn and his team


Sept 23rd 2015 - Our case is moved from supervisor review to NVC's team for dealing with Senator requests


Nov 4th 2015 - CASE COMPLETE!!!! :dancing:



Embassy Stage


Dec 16th 2015 - Medical exam


Dec 21st 2015 - Interview


Dec 21st 2015 - 221(g) issued at interview for updated forms


Jan 13th 2016 - Mailed our reply to the 221(g) to the US Embassy, received and CEAC updated the next morning


Jan 20th 2016 - Embassy require more in-depth info on asset for i-864


Feb 1st 2016 - Sent more in-depth info on assets as requested. Received the next morning


Feb 16th 2016 - Visa has been issued :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:



In the US


April 5th 2016 - POE Newark. No questions asked.


April 14th 2016 - SSN received


May 10th 2016 - First day at my new job :dancing:


May 27th 2016 - Green Card received


June 7th 2016 - Got my Texas driver's license

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Boiler Grand Master

Boiler   45,525

Posted
Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
 Timeline
Posted

Hmm, that doesn't seem fair. There must be a lot of people in the same situation as me (living overseas), and what if they don't have anyone in the US who can pay for them? Seems they should recognize some international financial institutions.

But if this is the only option, I guess my mom wouldn't mind.

Mos US Banks, certainly all the larger ones operate internationally.

Many non US Banks have US operations.

You have to show a US domicile anyway and a bank account is something most people have.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laleh Contributor

Laleh   2

Posted
Filed: Other Country: Tajikistan
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted

We have Citibank here in Czech Republic, which is an American bank, but I'm not sure a money order from them would be accepted if it was taken from a Czech branch. I'm not even sure I could go in and get a money order from them when I don't have an account with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ryan H Grand Master

Ryan H   3,812

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: China
 Timeline
Posted

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to USCIS Service Centers forum; topic is about paying USCIS fees which is applicable to multiple processes.

Our journey:

Spoiler

September 2007: Met online via social networking site (MySpace); began exchanging messages.
March 26, 2009: We become a couple!
September 10, 2009: Arrived for first meeting in-person!
June 17, 2010: Arrived for second in-person meeting and start of travel together to other areas of China!
June 21, 2010: Engaged!!!
September 1, 2010: Switched course from K1 to CR-1
December 8, 2010: Wedding date set; it will be on February 18, 2011!
February 9, 2011: Depart for China
February 11, 2011: Registered for marriage in Wuhan, officially married!!!
February 18, 2011: Wedding ceremony in Shiyan!!!
April 22, 2011: Mailed I-130 to Chicago
April 28, 2011: Received NOA1 via text/email, file routed to CSC (priority date April 25th)
April 29, 2011: Updated
May 3, 2011: Received NOA1 hardcopy in mail
July 26, 2011: Received NOA2 via text/email!!!
July 30, 2011: Received NOA2 hardcopy in mail
August 8, 2011: NVC received file
September 1, 2011: NVC case number assigned
September 2, 2011: AOS invoice received, OPTIN email for EP sent
September 7, 2011: Paid AOS bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 9, 2011)
September 8, 2011: OPTIN email accepted, GZO number assigned
September 10, 2011: Emailed AOS package
September 12, 2011: IV bill invoiced
September 13, 2011: Paid IV bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 14, 2011)
September 14, 2011: Emailed IV package
October 3, 2011: Emailed checklist response (checklist generated due to typo on Form DS-230)
October 6, 2011: Case complete at NVC
November 10, 2011: Interview - APPROVED!!!
December 7, 2011: POE - Sea-Tac Airport

September 17, 2013: Mailed I-751 to CSC

September 23, 2013: Received NOA1 in mail (receipt date September 19th)

October 16, 2013: Biometrics Appointment

January 28, 2014: Production of new Green Card ordered

February 3, 2014: New Green Card received; done with USCIS until fall of 2023*

December 18, 2023:  Filed I-90 to renew Green Card

December 21, 2023:  Production of new Green Card ordered - will be seeing USCIS again every 10 years for renewal

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tidanukaji Rookie

tidanukaji   0

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Japan
 Timeline
Posted

We used an international money order payable in US currency to the Department of Homeland Security. We got it from Japan Postal, attached it to our I-130, send it to Chicago, and it was accepted/approved. As far as I know, many couples residing in Japan have done this and they had no problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laleh Contributor

Laleh   2

Posted
Filed: Other Country: Tajikistan
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted

We used an international money order payable in US currency to the Department of Homeland Security. We got it from Japan Postal, attached it to our I-130, send it to Chicago, and it was accepted/approved. As far as I know, many couples residing in Japan have done this and they had no problems.

Thanks Tidanukaji!

I think I might call the USCIS number to ask if it's possible, just to make sure. If I get ahold of someone I'll post what they say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laleh Contributor

Laleh   2

Posted
Filed: Other Country: Tajikistan
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted

All right, so I called USCIS today. They said I could take a bank international money order, or foreign draft, if it's a financial institution based in the US.

I thought I'd use Citibank, but it seems they've closed all their offices here. There's GE Moneybank, but I'm not sure if the Czech branches are still considered American banks.

Does anyone know if they would accept a money order from Western Union? I should have asked them that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Thesmiths2016 Community Regular

Thesmiths2016   117

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: New Zealand
 Timeline
Posted

My husband and I are living in Australia, and we had to send ours to his mum in the US to get her to put the check in the envelope and send it to the lockbox for us. Western union here don't do foreign currency money orders, and we weren't able to use a linked bank.

Got married: 26th Sep 2013 

I-130 Petition Process:

Sent petition to USCIS Chicago lockbox (via in-laws to put check in US$): 11 Mar, 2016

NOA1: 24 Mar, 2016 (email notification 30 Mar. Hardcopy 11 Apr)

Service Centre: NEBRASKA

NOA2: 3rd Aug 2016

Petition sent to NVC: 18th Aug 2016

NVC Stage

Case number assigned: 8th Sep 2016

Paid AOS Fee: 9th Sep 2016

Paid IV Fee: 14th Sep 2016

DS-260 submitted: 25th Jan 2017

AOS & IV Package sent: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite requested: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite approved (consulate only): 1st Feb 2017

Scan Date: 31st Jan 2017

Case Complete: 14th April 2017 (10 weeks 4 days)

Full expedite approved (bypass NVC to send file to embassy), however too late as I already had case complete 17th Apr 2017

Case arrived at Embassy: 21st April 2017

P4 letter received: 26th April 2017 (expedite at embassy stage so this came from the consulate, not NVC)

Medical date: 26th April 2017

Interview date: 4th May 2017 APPROVED!!

Visa received: 8th May 2017 

POE (entered the USA): 15th May 2017 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
Caykay1 Collaborator

Caykay1   71

Posted
Filed: K-3 Visa Country: Ghana
 Timeline
Posted

We have Citibank here in Czech Republic, which is an American bank, but I'm not sure a money order from them would be accepted if it was taken from a Czech branch. I'm not even sure I could go in and get a money order from them when I don't have an account with them.

I believe you're asking too much. I will do whatever it takes to get my application receive and correctly. If you have to send to your parents and they send everything for you, I will say do it without wasting more time. You can let them buy you money order and send it to you and you can send everything yourself
Link to comment
Share on other sites
 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...