Embassy of the United States

New fee

Effective February 1, 2013, all individuals issued
immigrant visas overseas must pay a $165.00 USCIS Immigrant
Fee before traveling to the United States.  Only prospective
adoptive parents whose child(ren) is/are entering the United
States under either the Orphan or Hague Process, Iraqi and
Afghan special immigrants who were employed by the U.S.
government, returning residents, and those issued K visas are
exempt from the new fee.  The below USCIS website has more
details on the new fee, including contact information for
USCIS, if there are further questions: www.USCIS.gov/immigrantfee

Questions and Answers

When must I pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?

You must pay the fee prior to departing for the United States.
USCIS will not issue your green card until USCIS receives
payment.  However, even if you have not paid the fee, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection officers will admit you, as long
as you are otherwise eligible to enter.

What if I was issued an immigrant visa before February 1,
2013?  Do I have to pay the fee?

No.  Only applicants issued visas on or after February 1, 2013
will pay the new fee.  The U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) officers at the airport or land border will review
immigration records to determine when your immigrant visa was
issued.  If the visa was issued on or after February 1, 2013
but the fee was not paid, the Immigrant Visa package will be
collected at the point of entry, but USCIS will not issue a
green card until the $165.00 fee is paid.

Who has to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee?

All applicants issued immigrant visas (including Diversity
Visas), except children adopted under the Orphan (IR-3/IR-4)
or Hague Processes (IH-3/IH-4), Iraqi and Afghan special
immigrants who were employed by the U.S. Government, returning
residents (SB-1s), and K visas, will pay the new fee.

How do I pay the new fee?

You will pay the fee by going to www.USCIS.gov/ImmigrantFee,
clicking on the link to the USCIS intake page on Pay.gov,
answering the questions on the USCIS intake page, and
providing your checking account, debit, or credit card
information.  Because checking payments must be drawn on a
U.S. bank, someone else may pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee on
your behalf.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Information on the Legal Rights Available to Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence in the United States and Facts about Immigrating on a Marriage-Based Visa is now available on our website. 

Please click here for more information.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

Welcome to the Immigrant Visa Unit of the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. We provide visa services to Argentines or people living in Argentina who are beneficiaries of immigration petitions based on family relationship, employment or winners of the diversity annual visa lottery and would like to immigrate to the United States.  Please click tabs for additional information.  If you are interested in learning about immigrating to the United States or the process, please check for detailed information at www.travel.state.gov or www.uscis.gov. 

In addition, we provide assistance to Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) of the United States who have lost their LPR cards (also known as “green cards”) while in Argentina.  We can provide a transportation letter/ boarding foil to return to the United States.  To learn more about the transportation letter/ boarding foil process, please click here for further information.

If you have already filed an immigrant case with USCIS:
You can inquire about the status of your case directly at www.uscis.gov
If your case is approved and current for processing, you will receive notification from the National Visa Center about the documents required for visa application and about the interview scheduled at the U.S. Embassy Buenos Aires.  Please read below for further information:

What to bring to the immigrant visa application interview (PDF 503KB) 

What to expect at the immigrant visa application interview  

If  you wish to initate a visa case for your fiancee, to get married in the U.S. , and reside in the U.S., please read about the fiancee visa. 
   
If you are a petitioner living abroad and wish to file the I-130 petition for an immigrant please click here and if you are living in the US, please visit the USCIS web site.

If you have questions that have not been answered from above, please feel free to contact us at Buenosaires-IV@state.gov However, due to the high volume of emails received daily, we are limited to answering ONLY those emails containing inquiries which are not addressed in our website.