If you are researching how to pay the National Visa Center (NVC) fees, CONGRATULATIONS! That means your petition has been approved, and you are continuing your U.S. immigration process.
To begin, the most common way to get to this point is through an approved family petition. For example, an approved family member could be your U.S. citizen child over the age of 21, your U.S. citizen, or permanent resident spouse who files an approved I-130 petition on your behalf.
When the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves an I-130 petition, USCIS sends the approval to the National Visa Center (NVC), and the NVC generates the immigrant visa. As long as the priority date on the I-130 petition is current, you can submit your visa application on the NVC website.
Here are the steps you need to take to pay your NVC fees:
1. Get Your Case Number and Invoice ID
The NVC should have sent you a notice about your visa called “Notice of Immigrant Visa Creation.” This notice contains an NVC Case Number and an Invoice ID Number.
Note: The NVC case number will contain the initials of the city where you will do your Consular Processing. For example:
⦁ BGT: Bogota, Colombia
⦁ CDJ: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
⦁ GTM: Guatemala City, Guatemala
⦁ GYQ: Guayaquil, Ecuador
⦁ SNS: San Salvador, El Salvador
2. Go to the Necessary Website to Make Payments
Once you have your case number and invoice ID, go to the following website: https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx and click on the box that says, “I have read the terms of the Privacy Act Notice.”
3. Enter your Case Data where Instructed
Once you have checked the box that says, “I have read the terms of the Privacy Act Notice,” enter your NVC Case Number in the box that says “Case Number.”
Then enter your Invoice ID Number in the box that says “Enter the Invoice ID Number that the National Visa Center sent you.”
4. Establish that You Are the Applicant
Once you have entered your NVC Case Number and Invoice ID Number, select the “I am the APPLICANT” option from the drop down menu.
5. Fill In the Security Code
Once you have entered your NVC Case Number, your Invoice ID Number, and select “I am the “APPLICANT,” enter the security letters and numbers you see on the screen to establish that you are a real person and not a bot.
In this example, they would be “DA6DN” but everyone has a different configuration.
Once you have entered that information, click the button, “Continue.”
6. Go to the Summary Information Screen
Once you have pressed “Continue,” the following screen will appear:
At this point, you are ready to make payments. Be sure to have your payment method available. If you leave the page open for more than a few minutes without activity, the page automatically reverts to the home page, and you will have to enter all your information again.
7. Enter your Payment Information
To make the first payment, click on the link that says, “Pay Now” under the section labeled Affidavit of Support Fee.
8. Select which payment you are going to make
You cannot make both payments at the same time. You must make two transactions. It is recommended to do them in order. First, select the Petitioner:
9. Pay Selected Fees
Once you have selected “Petitioner,” select the button that says, “Pay Selected Fees,” and the following screen will appear:
Enter your payment information, and press the button that says, “Make Payment.”
10. Making the Payment for your NVC Fee
Once you have entered your payment details for the Petitioner, follow the same steps to process the payment for the Principal Applicant:
Once you have made the payments, review your case in a week to confirm that your payments have been processed. Once the payments have been processed, you can begin to complete the DS-260 and submit your documents in support of your application.
Getting all of the documents, fees, and information you need during the immigration process is never easy. At Zambrano & Ruiz, we are here to help. You are entitled to live out your American Dream. Call us today to get a consultation of your case: (770) 769-5820.
