i-130 Filing Fee instructions... odd conundrum

[JVT 0]

Hi,

I (the U.S. citizen and petitioner) live in Canada with my Canadian spouse. I would like to file the i-130, however I was just reading the instructions for submitting the filing fee, and it said that the check or money order must be drawn from a bank or financial institution in the United States. How am I to obtain that if I am currently living outside of the U.S.? I can't just take a jaunt across the border to go buy a money order... any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you

[bigdog 377]

Send money to a friend to get a US Cashiers check.

[Darnell 8,479]

Juanting is fun.

Let's assume for the nonce, you can't.

Got a paypal account? Can get a money order/check made with them, drawn as USA funds, mailed to you via postal mail. Expect 2 weeks turn-around.

Good Luck !

[sheeshkabelle 153]

Canada Post will issue money orders in US funds.

My in laws send my kids birthday/Christmas money orders in US funds all the time.

[GitmeOuttaHere 0]

We are in the exact same boat as you, my spouse is the USC. Fortunately we live in a border city and almost weekly head over to the US. We just went over and she opened the US bank account and we got money orders. Any of the above ways of getting payment should also be acceptable.

Not sure if you are in the same situation as us, but the hard part for us is the AoS (It seems harder to do because my usc does not reside in the US and we have always been in Canada) All of our employment and taxes have been in Canada. My spouse filed her US taxes a few years back, but it seemed pointless since we never ended up owing any taxes to the US. Now we have had to file the last 3 years just so we can have it current for the I864. Never having W2's and 1040's make this difficult.

[hikergirl 277]

You can also open a US RBC bank account (which is based in the US) at any Canadian RBC branch as long as you have a Canadian account. They do the paperwork up here and fax your application down. I opened a Canadian account and did the paperwork for the US account at the same appointment and US account was opened the next day. You can transfer money back and forth between your Canadian and US accounts online without any hassle. I could have gotten checks for my US account but I haven't bothered yet.

Edited January 12, 2012 by hikergirl

[yousufwalton 0]

Can I use a US Postal Money order ????

[Darnell 8,479]

Can I use a US Postal Money order ????

YUP.

[JVT 0]

We are in the exact same boat as you, my spouse is the USC. Fortunately we live in a border city and almost weekly head over to the US. We just went over and she opened the US bank account and we got money orders. Any of the above ways of getting payment should also be acceptable.

Not sure if you are in the same situation as us, but the hard part for us is the AoS (It seems harder to do because my usc does not reside in the US and we have always been in Canada) All of our employment and taxes have been in Canada. My spouse filed her US taxes a few years back, but it seemed pointless since we never ended up owing any taxes to the US. Now we have had to file the last 3 years just so we can have it current for the I864. Never having W2's and 1040's make this difficult.

Yes, we are in a similar boat, however I have continued to file my U.S. taxes online since moving to Canada. I haven't recieved any tax returns, so that might be tricky for me. My Canadian spouse is the breadwinner, so I don't have to work, but it does make things more complicated, tax wise. How did you find out what you needed to do?

[JVT 0]

You can also open a US RBC bank account (which is based in the US) at any Canadian RBC branch as long as you have a Canadian account. They do the paperwork up here and fax your application down. I opened a Canadian account and did the paperwork for the US account at the same appointment and US account was opened the next day. You can transfer money back and forth between your Canadian and US accounts online without any hassle. I could have gotten checks for my US account but I haven't bothered yet.

That's super helpful, thank you. My spouse already has an account with the Canadian RBC Bank, so hopefully that will all go smoothly. From what I read, the instructions were not only requiring payment to be in U.S. funds, but also, the funds had to be drawn from a bank inside the U.S.A. This is where the complication lies for me... acquiring funds in U.S. currency is quite easy here in Canada, but having it drawn from a financial institution in the States is a whole other thing.

Thanks again

[BBCC 16]

Hi,

I (the U.S. citizen and petitioner) live in Canada with my Canadian spouse. I would like to file the i-130, however I was just reading the instructions for submitting the filing fee, and it said that the check or money order must be drawn from a bank or financial institution in the United States. How am I to obtain that if I am currently living outside of the U.S.? I can't just take a jaunt across the border to go buy a money order... any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you

Yes, that's what we did. I first sent a CanadaPost US$ money order which was promptly RFE'd back to me.

So, yes, we next took a cross-border shopping trip, got a US US$ Money Order drawn on a US bank, all nice and legal-like, and they accepted it. I think I saw somewhere that they'll also take a personal check drawn on a US bank but I never tried that. Could have though.

[yousufwalton 0]

YUP.

SO A US postal money order from a United states Post office from the United states in US dollars ( a us postal money order ) is acceptable?

[Onggoy Diyos 8]

Hi,

I (the U.S. citizen and petitioner) live in Canada with my Canadian spouse. I would like to file the i-130, however I was just reading the instructions for submitting the filing fee, and it said that the check or money order must be drawn from a bank or financial institution in the United States. How am I to obtain that if I am currently living outside of the U.S.? I can't just take a jaunt across the border to go buy a money order... any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you

Why don't you just give them cash???

Honestly, why do people here insist on making tiny things so complicated?

Edited January 13, 2012 by Onggoy Diyos

[MissDinaDee 8]

I have a US account at a US bank through the Royal Bank of Canada. This is not a US$ account but an account at a financial branch in the US. I went to my local branch to set up the account. It was relatively quick and painless to do so. I would highly recommend doing that. I received cheques and was able to send off my I-130 payment from there and just paid my I-864 Bill online painlessly. Its great!

Good luck to you!

[alebella 3]

I am residing out the U.S and I just had my mother get a money order