How to pay I-140 and I-907 fees from the UK?

[igoyougoduke 1,656]

can you not buy money order at western union locations ?

[Lemonslice 4,838]

Plastiq might work, you could reach out to them if asking your lawyer does not go well.

 

https://www.plastiq.com/pay/

[appleblossom 2,484]

12 hours ago, manyfudge said:

Here is another post office on military base near Oxford.

 

https://rafcroughtonfss.com/post-office/

I'd be gobsmacked if the OP was allowed in. A friend of mine is at Bassingbourn Barracks and if I go to see her she has to put me on the visitor list, give them my car reg, I have to take photo ID and then get a photo taken and a pass given to me that I have to wear at all times. I couldn't just wander in to go to a post office!

 

I think the OP's best option is the lawyers, there's no reason they can't pay it for her and include it in their fees (I'm also EB1A and our lawyers did). The only other option I found when I looked in to it was if somebody had a bank account with a bank that offers a US dollar account as well - my business bank account is with Starling and they have a US bank account which I could have set up and used if I was really desperate. Thankfully our lawyers just sorted it for us.

[elleoh 1]

Thanks for all the responses!

 

Updating for anyone who reads this thread with the same issue: military base post offices can't sell money orders to civilians, UK banks can't sell drafts drawn on US banks, all US banks with UK arms have to be registered as UK financial bodies, Western Union doesn't sell money orders in the UK, Plastiq is a bridging facility for existing US cards, Starling's new policy only allows established LTD companies to open US accounts, and as I mentioned, I don't have a lawyer who can organise payment, as I'm only paying for an hourly review of my application, rather than being a full client, which precludes them from holding money for me.

 

I'll likely send an international bank draft in dollars, as it seems like a few people in Germany and Australia have been successful with that method, and will update here either way.

[elleoh 1]

One last update on this! I later found another forum where several people had had international bank drafts returned, so ended up flying to the US for a night and buying money orders.

 

For anyone thinking of doing the same, I recommend buying them from 7-11. I tried several USPS offices first, but none would sell them to me without a social security number, despite the USPS website saying you can buy them by showing a non-US passport instead. I also tried to buy via Moneygrams, but the closest eight(!) locations listed on their website as offering money orders actually did not once I got there. In addition, I discovered I couldn't buy money orders from Western Union because trying to purchase over $2000, even across multiple locations, triggers a system request for two types of ID, and as a UK citizen without a driving licence, I only had one. In the end, I tried 7-11 and they sold them to me in multiples of $500 without even asking for ID - all very straightforward, and they are Western Union money orders.

 

Something else to be wary of is that money orders can't be bought with credit cards, and for some reason, both of my debit cards kept being flagged as credit cards by the USPS payment system (before they realised I didn't have a social security number), blocking the transaction. The staff thought it was probably just because they were foreign, despite one card being my Wise international account. So, I ended up having to figure out a way to withdraw several thousand dollars in cash that day, which is a long story. It was lucky I did though, as the 7-11 I ended up buying them from only accepted cash purchases of money orders.

 

Basically, it was a lot of stress, but worth it to know I have the correct payment.

[appleblossom 2,484]

Congrats on sorting it. What a palaver! Hope you got a money order for the next lot of fees too to save having to fly back again. 😆

 

Good luck with it, hope you get a positive result. I'm EB1A too, had medicals today and just waiting for interview now before hopefully moving in July (applied in Feb). It's all been super quick and gone very smoothly, hope you have the same experience.