The US Department of State is responsible for granting immigrant visas to the applicants abroad through overseas US Consulates and Embassies. After the approval of the applications and after the immigrant visa interviews, visa applicants will receive their stamped passports in a package that also includes documents related to their immigrant visa applications. These foreign nationals who receive their passports with immigrant visas can travel to the United States as immigrants with these packages. After they reach the US ports of entry, immigration officers will interview them and grant them entry into the country if they are admissible into the country. After getting into the United States, these immigrants can obtain Green Cards.
Recently, USCIS introduced the USCIS immigrant fee and all the immigrants who receive their immigrant visa packages must pay the required immigrant fee of US$165 online. Only after they pay this fee, they will be issued Green Cards and they need to pay this fee prior to leaving their home countries. Fee payment must be made through USCIS ELIS. Applicants who receive their immigrant visa packages alone must create USCIS ELIS accounts and pay this fee online. Nevertheless, parents of minor children and guardians of disabled individuals can create ELIS accounts on behalf of their children and the disabled individuals and pay this fee.
To complete the electronic payment request, applicants must enter the Case ID numbers allocated to them by the US Department of State and their Alien Registration numbers. Immigrant fee must be paid online through a credit or a debit card. After the immigrants enter into the country, USCIS will mail their Green Cards to the address that they provided during the interviews, after verifying payment of the immigrant fee. Green Cards will be issued to them only after they pay the required $165 USCIS immigrant fee. Lawful permanent resident status of the immigrants may not be at risk if they fail to pay this fee but they will not receive their Green Cards until they pay the immigrant fee. Hence, it is mandatory to pay the required immigrant fees soon after you receive your immigrant visa package, by creating a USCIS ELIS account, to get your Green Card.