USCIS Immigrant Fee
You may have read about the USCIS Immigrant Fee that is being introduced for all immigrant visa applicants issued a visa on or after February 1, 2013. What may not have been made clear is how this fee will affect immigrant visa applicants who applied for a visa before February 1, but whose immigrant visa was refused or not processed to conclusion until after that date.
New Immigrant Visa Fees
Effective February 1, 2013, all individuals issued immigrant visas overseas must pay a $165.00 USCIS Immigrant Fee before traveling to the United States. Only prospective adoptive parents whose child(ren) is/are entering the United States under either the Orphan or Hague Process, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants who were employed by the U.S. government, returning residents, and those issued K visas are exempt from the new fee. The fee must be paid after the immigrant visa has been issued but before the applicant travels to the United States on the visa.
Filing an I-130 Petition after August 15, 2011
Beginning August 15, 2011, petitioners residing overseas who wish to file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, may do so as follows:
If the petitioner resides in a country in which USCIS has a public counter presence, the Form I-130 may be filed directly with the USCIS field office (see instructions below) or through the USCIS Chicago Lockbox
at one of the below addresses.
Filing in the United Kingdom:
Effective August 15, 2011, petitioners residing in the United Kingdom may choose to file the Form I-130 either through the Chicago lockbox or at the USCIS field office at the Embassy. For further information, please see the USCIS London I-130 page.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Please check out the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website at www.uscis.gov. The site provides extensive information on filing immigrant, nonimmigrant and fiance(e) visa petitions, naturalization, permanent residence and green cards, working in the United States, adoption, refugees and assylum and lots more!
Checking the Status of a Petition filed with USCIS in the United States
It is possible to check on line the status of a nonimmigrant, immigrant or fiance visa petition filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the United States. Please follow this link for further information. Read more
