Possible bounced check and change of mailing address

[KTG 0]

Hello,

I am a new member here although I have been reading lots on this board over the last few months. Firstly, many thanks to all the members who put in so much time and effort to explain the entire process. It made things a lot less daunting for my husband and I when we were preparing our CR1 forms.

My husband (USC) mailed our I-130 petition to the Texas Service Centre on July 16th. USPS confirmed that the documents were delivered on July 19th. However, just after we mailed the petition, my husband got an offer for one of his houses and the sale of that house is due to be completed August 2nd. Here's the problem. The check which accompanied the I-130 petition will be drawn from an account which is tied to the mortgage of that house so once the sale is completed, the account is automatically closed. My concern is that the check won't be cashed by the USCIS before the account is closed. My husband rang the bank to try to get them to keep the account open for a bit longer or to transfer the check to another account but they said they couldn't do either. He also called the USCIS and they said they couldn't do anything without a receipt number which we obviously don't have since we haven't even gotten our NOA1.

The way I see it, we have two options. Wait and see if the check is cashed before the account is closed. If it is not, then the check will bounce and so we put in a new petition (by which time we would unfortunately be subject to the new fee scheme). Alternatively, we could put in another petition now but what would happen if the check does clear before the account closes? Then we would have two petitions with TSC. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

I also have a second question regarding the address to which the NVC will mail documents to you. My husband is planning to visit me in December 2007/Jan 2008 and stay with me until we get the visa. However, if he is here, he won't be able to receive mail back home from the NVC. Does anyone know if you can make a request with the NVC for documents to be mailed to an address out of the US? We don't want to redirect all his mail because that would mean everything, including junk mail, will get redirected which would cost a lot.

Would appreciate any advice.

[William33 110]

Hello,

I am a new member here although I have been reading lots on this board over the last few months. Firstly, many thanks to all the members who put in so much time and effort to explain the entire process. It made things a lot less daunting for my husband and I when we were preparing our CR1 forms.

My husband (USC) mailed our I-130 petition to the Texas Service Centre on July 16th. USPS confirmed that the documents were delivered on July 19th. However, just after we mailed the petition, my husband got an offer for one of his houses and the sale of that house is due to be completed August 2nd. Here's the problem. The check which accompanied the I-130 petition will be drawn from an account which is tied to the mortgage of that house so once the sale is completed, the account is automatically closed. My concern is that the check won't be cashed by the USCIS before the account is closed. My husband rang the bank to try to get them to keep the account open for a bit longer or to transfer the check to another account but they said they couldn't do either. He also called the USCIS and they said they couldn't do anything without a receipt number which we obviously don't have since we haven't even gotten our NOA1.

The way I see it, we have two options. Wait and see if the check is cashed before the account is closed. If it is not, then the check will bounce and so we put in a new petition (by which time we would unfortunately be subject to the new fee scheme). Alternatively, we could put in another petition now but what would happen if the check does clear before the account closes? Then we would have two petitions with TSC. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

A unique problem indeed. Stall as long as possible, so that USCIS has the chance to cash the check.

Otherwise, they will return your petition for insufficient payment. You will need to re-submit the same petition with another payment. If that happens, well, that is the cost of the error in using a marginal or "limited life" bank account.

I also have a second question regarding the address to which the NVC will mail documents to you. My husband is planning to visit me in December 2007/Jan 2008 and stay with me until we get the visa. However, if he is here, he won't be able to receive mail back home from the NVC. Does anyone know if you can make a request with the NVC for documents to be mailed to an address out of the US? We don't want to redirect all his mail because that would mean everything, including junk mail, will get redirected which would cost a lot.

Would appreciate any advice.

Typical “mail” correspondence from NVC is not relevant to Consular Section action. You will not need it, as the relevant Embassy/Consulate will already have a copy.

[KTG 0]

Hello,

I am a new member here although I have been reading lots on this board over the last few months. Firstly, many thanks to all the members who put in so much time and effort to explain the entire process. It made things a lot less daunting for my husband and I when we were preparing our CR1 forms.

My husband (USC) mailed our I-130 petition to the Texas Service Centre on July 16th. USPS confirmed that the documents were delivered on July 19th. However, just after we mailed the petition, my husband got an offer for one of his houses and the sale of that house is due to be completed August 2nd. Here's the problem. The check which accompanied the I-130 petition will be drawn from an account which is tied to the mortgage of that house so once the sale is completed, the account is automatically closed. My concern is that the check won't be cashed by the USCIS before the account is closed. My husband rang the bank to try to get them to keep the account open for a bit longer or to transfer the check to another account but they said they couldn't do either. He also called the USCIS and they said they couldn't do anything without a receipt number which we obviously don't have since we haven't even gotten our NOA1.

The way I see it, we have two options. Wait and see if the check is cashed before the account is closed. If it is not, then the check will bounce and so we put in a new petition (by which time we would unfortunately be subject to the new fee scheme). Alternatively, we could put in another petition now but what would happen if the check does clear before the account closes? Then we would have two petitions with TSC. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

A unique problem indeed. Stall as long as possible, so that USCIS has the chance to cash the check.

Otherwise, they will return your petition for insufficient payment. You will need to re-submit the same petition with another payment. If that happens, well, that is the cost of the error in using a marginal or "limited life" bank account.

I also have a second question regarding the address to which the NVC will mail documents to you. My husband is planning to visit me in December 2007/Jan 2008 and stay with me until we get the visa. However, if he is here, he won't be able to receive mail back home from the NVC. Does anyone know if you can make a request with the NVC for documents to be mailed to an address out of the US? We don't want to redirect all his mail because that would mean everything, including junk mail, will get redirected which would cost a lot.

Would appreciate any advice.

Typical “mail” correspondence from NVC is not relevant to Consular Section action. You will not need it, as the relevant Embassy/Consulate will already have a copy.

Thanks for your reply, william33. I'm a bit confused about the mail bit, though. Won't my husband be receiving certain forms from the NVC (eg IV bill and DS-230)? I appreciate that once the NVC phase is complete the consulate here will receive a copy of the relevant documents but I am concerned about mail which we will be receiving in the US during the NVC phase. Thanks!

[pushbrk 12,184]

Hello,

I am a new member here although I have been reading lots on this board over the last few months. Firstly, many thanks to all the members who put in so much time and effort to explain the entire process. It made things a lot less daunting for my husband and I when we were preparing our CR1 forms.

My husband (USC) mailed our I-130 petition to the Texas Service Centre on July 16th. USPS confirmed that the documents were delivered on July 19th. However, just after we mailed the petition, my husband got an offer for one of his houses and the sale of that house is due to be completed August 2nd. Here's the problem. The check which accompanied the I-130 petition will be drawn from an account which is tied to the mortgage of that house so once the sale is completed, the account is automatically closed. My concern is that the check won't be cashed by the USCIS before the account is closed. My husband rang the bank to try to get them to keep the account open for a bit longer or to transfer the check to another account but they said they couldn't do either. He also called the USCIS and they said they couldn't do anything without a receipt number which we obviously don't have since we haven't even gotten our NOA1.

The way I see it, we have two options. Wait and see if the check is cashed before the account is closed. If it is not, then the check will bounce and so we put in a new petition (by which time we would unfortunately be subject to the new fee scheme). Alternatively, we could put in another petition now but what would happen if the check does clear before the account closes? Then we would have two petitions with TSC. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

A unique problem indeed. Stall as long as possible, so that USCIS has the chance to cash the check.

Otherwise, they will return your petition for insufficient payment. You will need to re-submit the same petition with another payment. If that happens, well, that is the cost of the error in using a marginal or "limited life" bank account.

I also have a second question regarding the address to which the NVC will mail documents to you. My husband is planning to visit me in December 2007/Jan 2008 and stay with me until we get the visa. However, if he is here, he won't be able to receive mail back home from the NVC. Does anyone know if you can make a request with the NVC for documents to be mailed to an address out of the US? We don't want to redirect all his mail because that would mean everything, including junk mail, will get redirected which would cost a lot.

Would appreciate any advice.

Typical “mail” correspondence from NVC is not relevant to Consular Section action. You will not need it, as the relevant Embassy/Consulate will already have a copy.

Thanks for your reply, william33. I'm a bit confused about the mail bit, though. Won't my husband be receiving certain forms from the NVC (eg IV bill and DS-230)? I appreciate that once the NVC phase is complete the consulate here will receive a copy of the relevant documents but I am concerned about mail which we will be receiving in the US during the NVC phase. Thanks!

The USC receives no mail from the NVC during the K3 visa process. They do for the CR1 process. It's too bad you weren't up to date on the current petition mailing procedures. You could have sent the petition directly to CSC, where it will end up anyway. They your check would probably have been cashed a week or so sooner. You could also have sent the I-130 and I-129F together. We've been discussing that issue here since the policy change about a month or so.

If you end up having to file again. That's what you do. I wouldn't worry about the change in fees. The combination of I-130 and I-129F petition fees goes up only $5. because I-129F for K3 has no fee begninning July 30.

[KTG 0]

The USC receives no mail from the NVC during the K3 visa process. They do for the CR1 process. It's too bad you weren't up to date on the current petition mailing procedures. You could have sent the petition directly to CSC, where it will end up anyway. They your check would probably have been cashed a week or so sooner. You could also have sent the I-130 and I-129F together. We've been discussing that issue here since the policy change about a month or so.

If you end up having to file again. That's what you do. I wouldn't worry about the change in fees. The combination of I-130 and I-129F petition fees goes up only $5. because I-129F for K3 has no fee begninning July 30.

Actually, I am filing for CR1, not K3. I originally posted this is the CR1 forum but for some reason my post was moved almost immediately to this forum. I'm not sure why and I don't know how to move it back! Sorry for the confusion.

[pushbrk 12,184]

The USC receives no mail from the NVC during the K3 visa process. They do for the CR1 process. It's too bad you weren't up to date on the current petition mailing procedures. You could have sent the petition directly to CSC, where it will end up anyway. They your check would probably have been cashed a week or so sooner. You could also have sent the I-130 and I-129F together. We've been discussing that issue here since the policy change about a month or so.

If you end up having to file again. That's what you do. I wouldn't worry about the change in fees. The combination of I-130 and I-129F petition fees goes up only $5. because I-129F for K3 has no fee begninning July 30.

Actually, I am filing for CR1, not K3. I originally posted this is the CR1 forum but for some reason my post was moved almost immediately to this forum. I'm not sure why and I don't know how to move it back! Sorry for the confusion.

Hmm, I could have sworn I saw K3 on your profile too. Did you just change it?

Your husband only gets forms from NVC in the mail if he is the agent of choice. Otherwise, they are mailed to you abroad. This will delay your process compared to effectively using James' shortcuts for NVC. You could still use them but wouldn't save as much mailing time.

[Mononoke28 134]

If the USCIS can't cash the check, they will return your petition and you will have to send it again with a new check. The bad thing is, you will have to pay the new fee.

As for the correspondence from the NVC, all you have to do is as soon as they say the DS-3032 has been generated, you send them an e-mail telling them that you (the beneficary) want to be the choice of agent. That way they will send all paperwork to you, no the USC.

I recommend you start doing some more research on how the process works at the USCIS and especially at the NVC so you're ready for eveything that may be coming your way.

Diana

[KTG 0]

I had forgotten about the agent of choice form. So what we could do is to list my best friend who lives in NY as my agent of choice to ensure that she gets all NVC mail. As far as I am aware, the IV bill is the only document which we will not be able to generate ourselves (per James shortcuts). Is this correct? That would mean that I would have to get my friend to courier the IV bill to me but that's ok.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the check will clear in time. I gave the wrong date by the way, completion is 10th August, not 2nd. So we have about 22 days for the check to clear (petition was delivered on 19th), hope that's enough time otherwise we'll just have to put in a new petition.

Pushbrk, no, I did not change my profile. You will see from my first post that I mentioned CR1 forms in my message.

Thanks for all your help!

[L_n_O 3]

good luck!