List of total fees from beginning to end

[Laleh 2]

Hi,

I'm trying to make a list of the upcoming payments that will need to be made (so I can warn my mom, as I don't have an American bank account and she has to pay - we will pay her back later). I'm a US citizen applying for my husband; we have sent the I-130 and received the NOA1.

I'm finding conflicting information on different sites. Some sites say there's a bill for $88 and $230; others say $120 and $325. Are these different fees? Or is it just that the fees went up and the sites that say $88 and $230 are out of date?

Is there somewhere that just has a list of all the fees, from beginning to end? So far we've paid $420 with the I-130.

Thanks!

[dwheels76 5,468]

$88 and $230 went up to $120 and $325 in 2013.

The only fee after all this is the $165 for the green card you can pay online after you pick up the Visa either before you come to US or after.

That's it.

[lost_at_sea 995]

You've also got the cost of medical/vaccinations, which vary from country to country - budget around $200.

So, 420 + 325 + 120 + 165 + ~200 = $1230. Remember to also allow some money for any costs in making copies of paperwork, getting passport photos, travel for medical and interview appointments. Medical can be paid in local currency, generally speaking, so you won't need a US card for that.

Edited May 23, 2016 by lost_at_sea

[JFH 12,190]

You may also incur some translation costs. I have just had my police clearance certificate translated and it cost almost $50. Also it cost almost $70 to get my UK police certificate.

[Laleh 2]

$88 and $230 went up to $120 and $325 in 2013.

The only fee after all this is the $165 for the green card you can pay online after you pick up the Visa either before you come to US or after.

That's it.

Thanks so much! Great to know.

[Laleh 2]

You've also got the cost of medical/vaccinations, which vary from country to country - budget around $200.

So, 420 + 325 + 120 + 165 + ~200 = $1230. Remember to also allow some money for any costs in making copies of paperwork, getting passport photos, travel for medical and interview appointments. Medical can be paid in local currency, generally speaking, so you won't need a US card for that.

You may also incur some translation costs. I have just had my police clearance certificate translated and it cost almost $50. Also it cost almost $70 to get my UK police certificate.

Right. At least those costs I can pay myself though instead of bothering my mom! We also have a lot of translations to be done. And possibly a lot of police certificates! Those might be the subject of another post later on. My husband has lived in a lot of places. We're looking at up to 5 countries here, and they'll probably have to be translated too!

[galephys 12]

I did DCF, paid $420 for I-130, $325 for DS-260, $180 for medical (budget for 200, depends on vaccinations). A fee of $120 for financial documents to be reviewed overseas was waived for some reason... the lady upfront who took our originals told us to go celebrate on it afterwards:))

Also there is $165 for a green card production.

Overall

Then budget for traveling to the consulate and translations. Note that you can translate majority of things for I-130 yourself or with help of a friend who speaks both languages: I translated everything myself, then asked a Russian-speaking friend to look over it and sign an affidavit that translation is correct to the best of his knowledge and that they are fluent in both English and Russian. A friend went to a notary public and notarized their signature on the affidavit. Notary services are usually free at a bank if you are a member. Look for notaries in the libraries, too, or at the post office. Check with the consulate where your spouse will have the interview, they may not require translation if documents are in the language of that country: the only thing we had to translate for Moscow was the police certificate. We also had it translated professionally, paid about $20 for it. I don't think it mattered though.

My rough estimate at the beginning of the process was $1500. So far we got about $1100, not including transportation (if you count my 2 transatlantic flights, that's another $1200, but our case is different).

[NikLR 13,227]

Medical in Canada was $300. Really it depends on where you are, but you can contact the panel physicians in your country to find out.

Travel for my medical and interview, and finally moving were the most expensive parts. The actual fee payments were piddly compared to those.

[JFH 12,190]

Not all embassies accept translations done by the beneficiary or petitioner.

Medical in London must be the most expensive. It's close to $400 excluding shots.

[galephys 12]

Not all embassies accept translations done by the beneficiary or petitioner.

Medical in London must be the most expensive. It's close to $400 excluding shots.

I didn't exactly do translations myself, I asked a bilingual friend to translate for us, but to save them trouble I made a draft translation which my friend checked, corrected to thei liking and signed. So as far as the consulate is concerned, a third person translated it.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

this all depends on approval at the first visit

some of us have gone thru many applications and even the cost of appeal

if your visa is denied remember you have to see your mate within the 2 years of each interview so add the cost of travel to spouse country

i spent a total of just over $35000 / mine being the worst case senerio

not normal but some spend more on an attorney in both countrries

Edited May 24, 2016 by Adil & Jeanne

[NikLR 13,227]

this all depends on approval at the first visit

some of us have gone thru many applications and even the cost of appeal

if your visa is denied remember you have to see your mate within the 2 years of each interview so add the cost of travel to spouse country

i spent a total of just over $35000 / mine being the worst case senerio

not normal but some spend more on an attorney in both countrries

Why do you think you need to see your spouse every 2 years? I mean I hope you see them more often than that but its not a requirement of a spousal visa.

[JFH 12,190]

Why do you think you need to see your spouse every 2 years? I mean I hope you see them more often than that but its not a requirement of a spousal visa.

I was going to ask the same. Whilst, in an ideal world, we would all visit our spouses as often as possible, I'm not aware of a 2-year rule for IR-1/CR-1.