Need Advice please!! Pay online or via mail

[johneve671 0]

Hello all. Good afternoon. Sorry this is so long. I am trying to decide on whether to pay AOS and IV fees online or via regular mail. Unfortunately, I had already hired a lawyer before I found this site, so I’m stuck with him. Based on this website, and following the NVC shortcut steps, I found out that my AOS and IV fee bills were generated and mailed to my lawyer on Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008. I managed to get my NVC# and my IIN on Thursday (Nov 6) evening. I spoke to my lawyer and informed him I wanted to pay the fees online instead of my mail. He seemed agitated that I would ‘go over his head’ and speak to NVC and propose an online payment option. He mentioned that he has a policy of using money orders/cashiers check for payment to maintain a paper trail and proof of payment both of which he recommends having at the interview. Per the NVC it would take 2-4 AFTER receiving payment by mail for me to receive payment receipt and next packet. If payment is online, it would take 3-5 business days for the same. He mentioned that if I choose to pay online, he could not guarantee he could fix any mistakes made by following such a path. Does anyone have any recent experience on how long it takes to receive payment receipt and packet from NVC if paid by mail? If I choose to pay online, I was told by NVC to pay the $70 first, log out of the website, log back in and then pay the $400 fee. Is that correct? I am having a hard time understanding why I would not choose to pay online. Help please?

AOS/IV fees bill generated and mailed to lawyer, 11/5/2008

[*Snowdrop* 603]

We paid online and it worked perfectly for us.

You have the option of priniting a receipt from the website if you later need proof of payment at the interview stage - although as you won't get to the interview stage without payment at the NVC I don't know why you would need the the proof.

Once paid it takes a couple of days at most to go to the PAID status on the website - once that has happened you can print your cover letter from the website - then print out your forms from the NVC website and send in yourself by post. You have no need at all to wait for packages to come through the mail.

We did the whole NVC process without waiting for anything through the post.

It's up to you whether you want to continue at this stage via the website yourself or whether you want to do things as your lawyer directs. It has been quicker for many people not to wait for the packages through the post.

[bleecker 0]

We paid online and it worked perfectly for us.

You have the option of priniting a receipt from the website if you later need proof of payment at the interview stage - although as you won't get to the interview stage without payment at the NVC I don't know why you would need the the proof.

Once paid it takes a couple of days at most to go to the PAID status on the website - once that has happened you can print your cover letter from the website - then print out your forms from the NVC website and send in yourself by post. You have no need at all to wait for packages to come through the mail.

We did the whole NVC process without waiting for anything through the post.

It's up to you whether you want to continue at this stage via the website yourself or whether you want to do things as your lawyer directs. It has been quicker for many people not to wait for the packages through the post.

Are you the one who will complete the AOS package and DS230 forms and submit them directly to the NVC or are you relying on him to type the forms forms for you? because if you pay online, you will be able to print the barcode sheet and send the required forms and supporting documents to the NVC. Using an intermediary will only slow the process. Good luck

[brnidokiegurl 0]

i pd late one nite online and it was approved by the next morning...it is very fast and easy. I only pd one at a time but just a few days apart, then print the receipt and cover page and your set..if i can manage anyone can

[Salaciouslady 0]

Pay online and print the receipt there goes your paper trail

your paying him to work not him you!

[johneve671 0]

thanks to all for all your replies. i am convinced that paying online is the way to go.

bleeker: the lawyer is the one who will fill out the ds-230. in fact, it is filled out but there are a few errors. he sent it to me as a .pdf file to email to my wife and have her sign it, but i am unable to fill out the form, save the info and email it to her. maybe she has a program that allows you save the completed form in .pdf format.

i see a few people mention that they paid online with no issues. that's great! i was told by NVC to pay AOS first. can i pay the AOS and the IV fees on the same day? (before the AOS shows as PAID) or should i wait a few days until the AOS shows as PAID before paying the IV fee?

[bleecker 0]

thanks to all for all your replies. i am convinced that paying online is the way to go.

bleeker: the lawyer is the one who will fill out the ds-230. in fact, it is filled out but there are a few errors. he sent it to me as a .pdf file to email to my wife and have her sign it, but i am unable to fill out the form, save the info and email it to her. maybe she has a program that allows you save the completed form in .pdf format.

i see a few people mention that they paid online with no issues. that's great! i was told by NVC to pay AOS first. can i pay the AOS and the IV fees on the same day? (before the AOS shows as PAID) or should i wait a few days until the AOS shows as PAID before paying the IV fee?

1> you cannot save information typed into the DS230 form. your wife has to fill it out and print it (Same thing for DS3032 Choice of Agent). Go over all the information to be filled on the ds230 with your spouse, after that she can fill it out and print it to avoid any typos.

2>if the system allows you to pay, that means it's possible to do it. Each fee paid will allow you to print a barcode sheet that must accompany the package you will send.

In my case i paid the AOS first. I could not put a checkmark next to the IV bill section. so i wasn't allowed to pay it, i think because my Choice of agent wasn't accepted yet. In my case, I paid the AOS, sent the package. few days later I paid the IV bill and sent the corresponding package.

To be sure if you can send the whole package together (AOS and DS230), I would double check with the NVC. I am sure a lot of people here have sent the two packages together.

[sasha414 0]

my husband also used a lawyer , but we still paid online and it really speed things up.

[johneve671 0]

thanks again for the response.

bleeker & sasha414:

in my case if i go online i have both the AOS and IV ready for payment at the same time. so they were generated at the same time. the NVC said that the 3032 was not required because my lawyer is listed as the agent. as far as payment, i suppose i can pay the AOS fee today/tomorrow although i dont think anything will be processed until monday, speak with NVC monday morning, and ask if i can then submit payment for IV fee. i was just hoping that i could submit payment for both on the same day since they are both showing ready for payment online.

[johneve671 0]

thanks everyone for the response. i did finally pay via online option. lawyer wasn't happy, but oh well. unfortunately, it took 4 weeks to receive the signed ds-230 from my wife. package is being sent to the NVC today. now it's wait time for the interview.

[cantwait2long 0]

thanks everyone for the response. i did finally pay via online option. lawyer wasn't happy, but oh well. unfortunately, it took 4 weeks to receive the signed ds-230 from my wife. package is being sent to the NVC today. now it's wait time for the interview.

Good Luck.

I am in the same situation like you.

Could you tell me weather your wife had to send email to NVC for choice of Agent.

Please share your experience.

Thanks.

[bleecker 0]

thanks everyone for the response. i did finally pay via online option. lawyer wasn't happy, but oh well. unfortunately, it took 4 weeks to receive the signed ds-230 from my wife. package is being sent to the NVC today. now it's wait time for the interview.

Check with NVC by this coming Thursday to know if there is any RFE so u can respond to it quickly, if everything is ok your case will be complete and hopefully you will get your interview scheduled before the 15th of December. Best of luck

[bleecker 0]

thanks everyone for the response. i did finally pay via online option. lawyer wasn't happy, but oh well. unfortunately, it took 4 weeks to receive the signed ds-230 from my wife. package is being sent to the NVC today. now it's wait time for the interview.

Good Luck.

I am in the same situation like you.

Could you tell me weather your wife had to send email to NVC for choice of Agent.

Please share your experience.

Thanks.

Do both email and mail. the mail might be quicker if you have the signed Choice of agent form. I did both, I sent email before mail, and I felt the mail was processed before email. Good luck

[Ling Ling 22]

1> you cannot save information typed into the DS230 form. your wife has to fill it out and print it (Same thing for DS3032 Choice of Agent). Go over all the information to be filled on the ds230 with your spouse, after that she can fill it out and print it to avoid any typos.

If you have a full version of Adobe Acrobat, or if the DS230 form being filled out is designed to save, then you CAN save the information in the file,

send it to your spouse, and then have them print and sign it (it saves the time it would take for you to mail a completed form to them and/or have them send in a form with errors that you might have caught).

bleecker,

I know you're eager to help, but please be careful that your information is as accurate as possible. These are peoples lives and happiness.

The last thing we want to do is slow down someone's process with incorrect information.

Some of the wise old folks on this site have slapped my hand a few times. There's no room for error in family based immigration.