Fee After Arrival

[LightSear 8]

So my wife and I have immigrated to the States.  We filed directly with the Guangzhou Consulate to immigrate.  We have been waiting for our green card in the mail, and we just got a notice from the Vermont USCIS that we need to pay a $220 fee to process our application.  I thought that if you file direct with a consulate, all of the fees and processing are done before you arrive and you just simple get your green card and start living.  We have currently paid the petition fee of $535 and the immigration visa application fee of $325.  When we immigrated, my wife asked the officer if we are supposed to pay him, but he said we do not owe immigration anything.  Is this fee legitimate?  Or is it a mistake?  If its a mistake, what should we do?  Who should we call?

[payxibka 10,047]

1 minute ago, LightSear said:

So my wife and I have immigrated to the States.  We filed directly with the Guangzhou Consulate to immigrate.  We have been waiting for our green card in the mail, and we just got a notice from the Vermont USCIS that we need to pay a $220 fee to process our application.  I thought that if you file direct with a consulate, all of the fees and processing are done before you arrive and you just simple get your green card and start living.  We have currently paid the petition fee of $535 and the immigration visa application fee of $325.  When we immigrated, my wife asked the officer if we are supposed to pay him, but he said we do not owe immigration anything.  Is this fee legitimate?  Or is it a mistake?  If its a mistake, what should we do?  Who should we call?

Nope.  That fee is legit.  No fee paid, no green card will be printed.   You should have received instructions in the packet that contained the passport 

[JeanneAdil 6,583]

we all pay the green card fee usually before we fly in

[mtempelaar 190]

Totally legit.

 

More info:

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee

 

CR-1 fees (excluding medical):

USCIS Filing Fee – $535 - This is the fee required to get the ball rolling with your petition. It goes along with the Form I-130 in the initial filing of the CR1/IR1 visa petition.

National Visa Center (NVC) Immigrant Fee – $445   This consists of a combination of 2 fees – Affidavit of Support fee of $120, and the DS-260 visa application fee of $325.

USCIS Immigrant Fee – $220 The immigrant fee is paid via the USCIS Electronic Immigration System and is required for the green card.

 

Edited July 19, 2019 by mtempelaar

[LightSear 8]

Thanks for all of your responses!  My wife and I were told a lot of bad information from our immigration officer.

 

A couple of other questions:

If we pay the fee today, how long will it take before her green card arrives?

Are there any other surprises we may need to be prepared for?

We have been assuming that she cannot work until she receives her green card, but the immigration officer told us we can use the visa in place of the green card...  Is this true?  Can my wife work now or does she need her green card?

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

6 minutes ago, LightSear said:

We have been assuming that she cannot work until she receives her green card, but the immigration officer told us we can use the visa in place of the green card...  Is this true?  Can my wife work now or does she need her green card?

She absolutely can work. In her visa, it should say "upon endorsement, serves as I-551 for one year" . I-551 is the official name of the green card. She is a lawful permanent resident. The "endorsement" is the CBP signature/stamp on her passport. She is good to work. If the employer needs her to fill out an I-9 and proof, that's what she gives them. 

[JeanneAdil 6,583]

1 hour ago, LightSear said:

Thanks for all of your responses!  My wife and I were told a lot of bad information from our immigration officer.

 

A couple of other questions:

If we pay the fee today, how long will it take before her green card arrives?

Are there any other surprises we may need to be prepared for?

We have been assuming that she cannot work until she receives her green card, but the immigration officer told us we can use the visa in place of the green card...  Is this true?  Can my wife work now or does she need her green card?

when you filed the ds 260 ,  did you checkmark the spot for USCIS to process the Social security card?

if not,  you will need to head to nearest SS office to apply for this

[LightSear 8]

We checked the box for USCIS to process the card.  Thanks.

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

1 minute ago, LightSear said:

We checked the box for USCIS to process the card.  Thanks.

She should receive her Social Security card soon......

She can pay the immigrant fee at the link below.  As was stated above, her actual green card will not be created until the fee is paid.  

https://my.uscis.gov/uscis-immigrant-fee/start-payment

[LightSear 8]

Receipt for paying USCIS says it should arrive in 120 days.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 7/19/2019 at 2:15 PM, LightSear said:

Receipt for paying USCIS says it should arrive in 120 days.

More like 3 weeks

[Lil bear 4,261]

On 7/19/2019 at 2:15 PM, LightSear said:

Receipt for paying USCIS says it should arrive in 120 days.

Over 120 days is considered outside normal processing. Some get the card in a few weeks .. others .. like me .. months !!!