# International Money Order or Bankers Draft - How to pay the US Embassy in London!



## Beau2016 (Sep 17, 2020)

Hi, In need of some help.

My wife and son had their L2 visa appointments on Friday last week and all seemed good. Today we received an email that we need to pay a VISA reciprocity fee of $210. However, in what seems like a completely antiqued approach the embassy will not take payment via any modern methods. Seems we have to obtain a physical bankers draft in US dollars and then post it to the embassy. Here is the detailed guidance:

_'Thank you for submitting your application for a nonimmigrant visa. 

There is a reciprocity fee of $210 ( 2 x $105) to pay for your visa. Please provide an International Money Order or Banker’s draft in dollars made payable to U.S. Embassy, London. 

Please go to Official U.S. Department of State Visa Appointment Service | United Kingdom | English and sign into your account to download the courier-in receipt. Place the payment and covering letter in the envelope and take it to the courier depot. 

If you are unable to obtain either of the above, you may schedule an appointment and pay the fee to the Embassy cashier. Appointment requests can be made by emailing [email protected].'_

I have called my bank, HSBC and also the post office, neither of which were able to to help me make the requested method of payment. I will be out of the UK from tomorrow and my wife is not able to make another journey to London to make the payment with the cashier. All the while the embassy is sitting on their application.

Surely I am not the first person to encounter this issue and despite being quite experienced in international payments I am completely stumped with how to resolve this. Any suggestions please?

Cheers


----------



## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

Start with re-reading what they said...

_If you are unable to obtain either of the above, you may schedule an appointment and pay the fee to the Embassy cashier. _

From the embassy website...

_Fees may be paid in cash – sterling or dollar equivalent, or by Credit Card – Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover or American Express. The Embassy does not accept any other credit or debit cards, or personal checks. _









Nonimmigrant Visas: Fees


Nonimmigrant visa applicants are required to pay an MRV fee unless exempt from the fee requirement. The MRV application fee is non-refundable and




uk.usembassy.gov





If you are still uncertain on how to proceed... contact them and seek advice. From the embassy and consulates page...

Phone: [44] (0)20-7499-9000


----------



## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Think an appointment might be somewhat difficult:

_and my wife is not able to make another journey to London to make the payment with the cashier. _

What a ridiculous situation.....


----------



## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

Yeah... a ridiculous situation... In Australia, the US consulates allow you to pay certain fees at the local post office.


----------



## Beau2016 (Sep 17, 2020)

Moulard said:


> Start with re-reading what they said...
> 
> _If you are unable to obtain either of the above, you may schedule an appointment and pay the fee to the Embassy cashier. _
> 
> ...


As I mentioned in my original post my wife is not able to return to the US embassy in London and I am outside the U.K. and US on business. Therefore the appointment is not possible and travelling from the other end of the country to make a debit card payment is absurd.

You have sent me a link to the visa processing fee, that has already been paid on application via an online portal. This is an additional reciprocity fee payable after approval only on certain visa classes and for some reason only via the methods mentioned above.

I checked with another online group and seems this is a very common issue. Here is what I discovered and how I finally resolved it:

- Barclays is the only U.K. bank still offering these but you have to have an account with them, no joy with HSBC, Lloyds or Santander (I did not have any relative with a Barclays account to ask to get the draft for me)

- Post office can’t help as only do portal orders in GBP, I asked embassy if they would take GBP plus a fee they said no

- Finally I’ve had to ask a friend in the USA to internationally ship to the U.K. a domestic bankers draft at a total cost of over $90 in shipping and fees

I did speak to the embassy who basically said tough luck, and by the way appointments are only between 8am and 9am so would require an overnight in London

Truly an a ridiculous system they have, carrier pigeon would have been less hassle!


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The US Embassies and Consulates have always been a bit "behind the times" when it comes to accepting payment for their various "services." It may have something to do with the state of banking in the US. But I suspect the various embassies are kind of left to "roll their own" on how they'll accept payment. In any event, the policies vary greatly from one embassy to the next and are often not set up with any mind to "customer service."

Glad you found a solution in the end, even if a somewhat expensive option.


----------



## gabrieledamone (5 mo ago)

I am in the same situation! Such a strange process. I am struggling to understand who should I address the banker’s draft to? Is it to “U.S. Embassy London” or to “United States Disbursing Officer”? Thank you so much!


----------



## Frustrated Expat (1 mo ago)

Exact same situation here. We've been exiled in the UK for 3 months (having lived in the US for 5 years). There was "an issue" with our visa which required "additional information" which has apparently taken 3 months to process. Now my wife cannot get her visa until this $105 fee is paid, but no way to pay it. Thanks to the very helpful person who suggested contacting the embassy "we will process your request in 3-5 working days" and given it took us 3 months to get our Visa Interview appointment, I don't hold out much hope. They may as well have asked for a cheque written on a unicorn's arse!


----------



## Lammy74 (1 mo ago)

Frustrated Expat said:


> Exact same situation here. We've been exiled in the UK for 3 months (having lived in the US for 5 years). There was "an issue" with our visa which required "additional information" which has apparently taken 3 months to process. Now my wife cannot get her visa until this $105 fee is paid, but no way to pay it. Thanks to the very helpful person who suggested contacting the embassy "we will process your request in 3-5 working days" and given it took us 3 months to get our Visa Interview appointment, I don't hold out much hope. They may as well have asked for a cheque written on a unicorn's arse!


 We're exactly the same. It's crazy. Lived there for 5 years, approved for change of status by USCIS. Came back to get the visas stamped and at the interview needed "additional processing as it wasn't straightforward." Even though USCIS had approved it, and apparently have the final say, they still had to investigate..... My wife got the request for the fee yesterday. It seems they make it so hard. I have a money order coming from the US and have requested an appointment so we'll see what happens first. Hopefully they then won't take ages to process it.


----------



## brunamarchesip (18 d ago)

Hi guys, Same situation at the moment having to pay for a reciprocity fee. Anyone has any solution on how to pay the fee because I cannot find instructions anywhere.


----------

