Wow! How to pay USCIS fee in China?

[Lattimore 1]

Have just spent an entire afternoon trying to figure this out? I'm getting ready to send my I-129F petition package to America, and am essentially just lacking the USCIS fee. The USCIS page says that if you're in America you can pay by check or money order, but otherwise should contact your embassy for payment instructions. The Guangzhou/Beijing embassy websites says CITIC bank, but there's no other information. Went to CITIC bank, and they said i need a registration number ('CGI #'). Eventually found ustraveldocs.com, but it turns out the registration/payment information here is for the second part of the application (240 dollar embassy fee). Just called the Guangzhou embassy and the USCIS's guangzhou office, and neither of them know how to pay the fee.

So my question is, how do I pay this? Perhaps the USCIS site is wrong, and I can send a money order even though I'm outside the US?

Thanks for any and all help!

[disteph 9]

Do u have us bank account?

If yes,just sent them your personal check and they will take care from there

[Lattimore 1]

Thanks, but I don't have a checkbook with me here for my US account, so can't do this very easily. Would a Western Union money order work?

[jfgk1987 303]

Which bank do you have?

I know that with Chase you can call them directly and they can print a check (it takes the funds right out of your account) for you and mail it to wherever you specify.

[Pitaya 2,580]

Welcome to the forum.

The info that you were given from the Guangzhou consulate and CITIC bank does indeed relate to the visa application fee and the associated process at the consulate phase of your visa journey.

If I recall correctly, many VJ folks in the past have had the best results when the check or money order comes from a US-based bank or company. Do you have a relative, family member, or friend in the US to send your petition packet to? Have them enclose a check (in the USCIS described manner) with the petition packet and mail to the Texas LOCKBOX facility. YMMV

Good luck on your visa journey.

[Al422 221]

Can you get on the website or phone with your US bank and have them issue a bank check to Dept of Homeland Security and mail it to you?

Another thought: Do you have an American Express card? Call member services and see if they will issue a check and charge it to your AmEx account. You can pick that up at any AmEx office local to you.

[KayDeeCee 4,904]

If the money order pays in US funds, then you can use it.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf

Use the following guidelines when you prepare your check or money order for the Form I-129F filing fee:

1. The check or money order must be drawn on a bank or other financial institution located in the United States and must
be payable in U.S. currency; and

2. Make the check or money order payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

I know the instructions also say if you live outside the US to contact your nearest US consulate for instructions on payment, however they(Dept. of State) do not tend to be helpful at all about paying the USCIS for the I-129F petition. If you cannot provide a check or money order drawn on US funds, then ask a relative or friend to use a US check or money order to pay it for you.

[JE57 243]

We applied for our I-129F from Hong Kong. We faced the same problem. For me I decided the best way would be to delay the application and asked my US bank (BoA in this case) to send me a book of checks. It took extra week or so but all in all it was worth it for the piece of mind. However, I also found out that banks in Hong Kong could issue a US dollar check for a fee. As others have suggested I see if your US bank could send you a book of checks (cost me $9 USD). Or you could have a friend or relative send a check to you that you could send in. On the plus side we went from application on April 1 (from HONG KONG) to NOA1 on April 8th to NOA2 on April 21 so at current a delay of a week to get a check shouldn't be a deal breaker.

[Lattimore 1]

Thanks for everyone's replies! Sounds like the easiest thing to do would be to mail my package to my parents home (as was suggested above), and then have my parents insert the check. My only worry is that in this case the package would be sent from my parent's home, not from the China address listed in my I-129F, this isn't something to worry about, is it?

[Pitaya 2,580]

Thanks for everyone's replies! Sounds like the easiest thing to do would be to mail my package to my parents home (as was suggested above), and then have my parents insert the check. My only worry is that in this case the package would be sent from my parent's home, not from the China address listed in my I-129F, this isn't something to worry about, is it?

Non-issue.