No checks, out of country: how to pay?

[R & P 0]

Hi VisaJourney,

I'm putting together my I-130 package to petition for my Brazilian wife. One thing that seems to be a bit of a logistics problem for me is the payment. I'm currently living with my wife in Brazil, but plan to put together part of the package here, mail it to a reliable family member in the US and have them add the rest of the package, and then have them mail it to USCIS. I do online banking, so I don't have paper checks handy, and since I'm in Brazil I can't walk into a USPS and buy a money order. Some ideas I have are:

• Have the reliable family member use one of their checks to make the payment for me (simple, but payment not in my name)
  
• Have the reliable family member buy a USPS money order but use my name (simple, payment in my name)
  
• Sign-up for another bank online that can deliver paper checks to my US address, then have reliable family member send them to me to fill out and then send back to them to add to the package (big delay)
  

I don't know if I'm being paranoid, but I feel that it would be important that the payment comes from a source in my name. Do you think that's really an issue? Can you think of some other way I can get this payment in my name?

[payxibka 10,044]

Hi VisaJourney,

I'm putting together my I-130 package to petition for my Brazilian wife. One thing that seems to be a bit of a logistics problem for me is the payment. I'm currently living with my wife in Brazil, but plan to put together part of the package here, mail it to a reliable family member in the US and have them add the rest of the package, and then have them mail it to USCIS. I do online banking, so I don't have paper checks handy, and since I'm in Brazil I can't walk into a USPS and buy a money order. Some ideas I have are:

• Have the reliable family member use one of their checks to make the payment for me (simple, but payment not in my name)
  
• Have the reliable family member buy a USPS money order but use my name (simple, payment in my name)
  
• Sign-up for another bank online that can deliver paper checks to my US address, then have reliable family member send them to me to fill out and then send back to them to add to the package (big delay)
  

I don't know if I'm being paranoid, but I feel that it would be important that the payment comes from a source in my name. Do you think that's really an issue? Can you think of some other way I can get this payment in my name?

Have you considered filing the I-130 direct with the consulate in Brazil? If you are eligible it is a heckuva lot quicker.

[R & P 0]

Have you considered filing the I-130 direct with the consulate in Brazil? If you are eligible it is a heckuva lot quicker.

I'm not eligible, I've only been here a couple months on a tourist visa.

[Zai & Gary 6]

Honestly I doubt that they would take the time to compare the name on every check to the name on every form. They probably do not care who writes the check as long as it clears the bank. If it was me, I would ask the family in US to write the check. Just be sure they note it on the bottom of the check the name and petition. This is just my opinion.

[bobby_kvisa 7]

I vote for the Money Order - should be just fine.

You should check about the name thingie though - I have two Money Orders from my Bank of America account sitting in my drawer and neither of them have my name on them anywhere. They just say "Personal Money Order" on them and they are blank so I can fill them in when I am ready to make payment.

[Ladylethal 12]

Yep, send your family member the money to buy a money order. Simple and direct.