Who should pay the fees?

[keyshawn18 52]

My dear sister, Africa is beautiful and it's honestly a very rich country...If you are a part of the Government eating the money. Otherwise there is poverty everywhere. It's truly a third-world country with good proud poor people (we don't know poverty the way they do. I'm saying this to say He may very well be able to pay for his birth certificate, police report even his physical but the mound of the cost will be paid by you. Our government wants the money before they do anything else..like open links so that you can move forward in your paperwork process. You don't want to waste time worrying yourself and not being with your husband. So let him pay for what ever he can pay for and you go ahead and get the rest.. you feel me. I can only tell you what I know... It will all come back to you end the end....when he's here, home and inside your embrace.

I am hoping that you are not from Africa .If you are American then its excuseable to say that Africais a country.If you are from Africa then it is INEXCUSEABLE.Otherwise I agree with most of what you said.

[Obc333 24]

Does it really matter who pays the bill? I mean this is supposed to be a joint venture.

I do agree that every situation is different and only you know what amount of money is in your pocket. I think going into the whole process it is to be discussed thoroughly and I don't think it matters what country your partner is from but talking about the financial aspect of the process is just as important as everything else. I don't think as partners we should just say you have more money than I or you are in a better country than I am. The responsibility lies on both parties and depending on your individual situation you should decide who pays and who doesn't. For my husband and myself we both paid in that because we have a joint account that we both deposited money into we just paid the fees from it and I lived in Jamaica at the time so the different countries didn't count. We just knew that we wanted to be together and the money wasn't important.

[scott76 22]

You're getting married. Finances are part of a marriage. You should be talking to your future spouse and making a plan how to pay this together rather than asking a bunch of strangers on an internet site.

[J and S 38]

Awkward question.

In a marriage things are shared. Why is this even an issue for people?

[Arif Ali 4]

in my case my fiance paid the fees for the petition in the us and i paid for the medical and visa fee in my country

[newlyweds2010 208]

I believe it depends on the circumstances, and I wouldn't make it a matter of pride, stinginess or principle. At the time we filed I (the beneficiary) had more money, and paid for half of the filing fees plus all of the consular fees, the medical exam and the travel expenses related to my visit to the consulate. Later on, at the time of AOSing, since we were married and in a community property state, we used OUR money (mainly received as wedding gifts from friends and relatives). Now at the ROC stage, we both work, I still make more money than my wife, but it will not be an issue of who pays: the check will come from our joint account, and the most important thing is that we pay and complete this part of the journey as well.

[Jamaican Luv 13]

well I know myself, I am paying for alot of it, but he is paying for his police cert. and medical. BUT if he was to need money for that, he knows that I will be there for him to pay. The only reason why I am paying is because I want my husband here with me. We also put our money together like alot of others on here. You should talk about it with him and see what his thoughts are about it.

[GnBnL 50]

I think it should be discussed and paid by both of you if possible. I think if the petitioner makes a lot of money and the bene does not, then petitioner should pay, but if you can swing it the other way and it makes sense, fine. I think it should be a joint effort either way. I paid for everything myself personally, and would have appreciated if my husband would have put more effort in as I did the entire application myself too. There is something to be said for the USC making a lot of effort in my opinion. Would have felt morally better if he did it all, but in reality, it would have taken forever if he had to do it himself.

[Laure&Colin 268]

Does it really matter who pays the bill? I mean this is supposed to be a joint venture.

Couldn't agree more.

I (beneficiary) paid everything that was to be paid in France (medical, courier fee for the interview, plane tickets, etc...), but anyway, the money came from our joint account. Same for what my husband paid (petition, AOS and visa fees), it was paid from an account that will be made a joint one as soon as I arrive. We're not counting who does what.

[sabi 148]

Well in my case I would never allow my fiance to pay for everything even though he wanted to (his the petitioner). What we agreed eventually was that he would pay the fee for I129F and all the expenses with posting it to USCIS etc, I would pay all the visa and medical fees here in Ireland. Then I pay for the ticket to Miami once I get my visa and we will go to see his family and he will pay for our tickets from Miami to NM where he lives. Then he wants to cover GC fees etc but I am sure I will be forcing him to let me pay half. That way it's fair. We both want to be together so we both have to split the cost!

[Pinoylover 6]

I too agree that the petitioner should pay. Because if they can't afford to pay the fee then they can't afford to support you when you get there, Right? Unless you both have money!

Edited April 11, 2012 by Pinoylover

[Peter_Pan 661]

they can't afford to support you when you get there

I hate that part, I am used to having my own money, job and independence. Being sent back to high school stage will take its toll on me.

[tmma 467]

Every couple is different.

I do think though, that if you cannot afford to sponsor someone ( or pay their costs if they need you to) -you cannot afford this process at all. the bills don't end with the plane ticket here.

Mark paid all his own costs.

It was his immigration and there is no way he'd let or want me pay for it even if I'd wanted to....which I didn't. He's quite capable of doing that.

Circumstances vary greatly, though, depending on the country of the beneficiary, their income or whatever.

[nurse1967 287]

I think the foreign spouse should pay some amount even if it is small and basically token. I didn't take on someone to raise. I was looking for a PARTNER and therefore this was a joint effort. Luckily this was not an issue for my husband and I. I paid many things (more than him because I make way more money)and he on the other hand paid for some things such as copying documents, and the fees needed at the interview etc. Once he was here I was the sole supporter for over 8 months due to an error that was made on his green card. I don't think just because he came halfway across the world to be with me that it entitles him to a free ride. This is a joint effort and we shared the expenses to the best of our abilities. That being said, now that he is here for almost 3 years and working (although still not earning a fraction of what I do) we pool all of our money and pay the bills as needed.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Betsy El Sum

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Now that you're getting married, perhaps think of it as 'we' pay it. 'We' will benefit from this application and so on.

I believe technically speaking my then fiancé wrote the check for the K1 application. After that we pooled money and continued from there for medical fees, travel etc... Once we married and AOS started, everything has been 'our money' since then. We consider the fees a necessary evil to get to the end of the process which allowede us to be together. I cannot imagine either of us saying 'you have to pay'..for x.