After Receiving the DV visa but before entering the US:
Diversity visa holders who seek permanent residence in the United States need to pay a fee to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The immigrant fee allows USCIS to recover the cost of issuing a permanent resident card (Green Card).
Diversity visa holders should be aware that they will have to pay this fee (currently standing at $165 fee for each Diversity Visa issued) only after they receive their immigrant visa but before they enter the US for the first time with the DV visa.
In order to simplify the payment process of the immigrant fee, the payment is paid online through the USCIS website. The $165 fee can be paid online usually about 7 business days (sometimes even more) after the Diversity visa was issued. This is the time that takes the US Embassy in order to update the new visas in to the USCIS system, and this updating time can differ and vary depending on the US Embassy that issued the visa. The Embassy should provide you with specific information on how to submit payment when you receive your visa package.
DV holders who try and pay the $165 fee before the new information regarding their visas is updated in the system may encounter an alarming notification that states “The A-Number or DOS Case ID you entered is incorrect. Please enter the A-Number and DOS Case ID listed on the USCIS immigrant fee handout you received from the US Embassy or Consulate”. If such notification is received, do not be alarmed, for this is a notification that usually means that your information has not yet been updated by the embassy, in to the USCIS system. Therefore simply wait until the 7 business days are up.
Most DV holders do not encounter this notification for they arrange their first admission in to the US on a much later date (sometimes even months) after their DV is issued. Hence the information would already be updated in to the USCIS system once they log in to pay the $165 fee. This is usually the case, but what happens if you are seeking admission immediately after receiving the Diversity visa but you cannot pay the $165 fee, for it has not yet been updated by the US Embassy in to the USCIS system?
What if you cannot pay my USCIS Immigrant Fee before seeking admission into the United States?
As explained in the beginning of this article, USCIS uses this fee to issue the green card. Once you receive your immigrant visa package from a US Embassy, it is highly recommended that you pay the fee before you seek admission into the United States. Paying the fees prior to seeking admission to the United States will help ensure that you receive your Green Card without delay. However, if you are unable to pay the fee before your being entering the US, you must pay this fee after you arrive. If there is no record of payment following your admission to the United States, USCIS will send a Request for Payment, which will include instructions on paying your fee.
Please note that you will not receive your green card until you have paid the USCIS Immigrant Fee.
What happens if I fail or forget to pay the fee after you are admitted into the US?
USCIS will issue your green card ONLY after you have paid the Immigrant Fee. Once the fee is paid, USCIS will process your Green Card, but if the fees are paid after admission into the US, then except for a delay in the issuance of your green card. After arriving in the United States, you will receive a passport stamp on the Diversity visa which will validate your permanent resident status for one year. Once this stamp expires, you will need to possess a Green Card as evidence of your lawful permanent resident status.
Process for Paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee
In order to avoid any unnecessary mishaps that can lead to a delay in the completion of the immigration process, it is recommended that you do pay the USCIS immigration fee before requesting admission into the US.
You can pay the fees easily by simply going online to the USCIS webpage: https://www.uscis.gov/uscis-elis/e-filing-using-uscis-elis/paying-uscis-immigrant-fee-uscis-elis/uscis-immigrant-fee and follow the instructions. You will be asked for your Alien Registration Number and the DOS Case ID number, these numbers will be provided on the sheet that was included in the visa package that you received form the US Embassy.
All said and explained in this article does not constitute a legal opinion and does not replace legal advice. Responsibility for using the wordings and opinions conveyed in this article relies solely and entirely on the reader.
This article was written by Dotan Cohen Law Offices, working in the field of immigration law in the United States, Canada, Australia and England.
