ian-mstm

Not really! Immigration is a 2-step process. First the I-130 petition is submitted by the USC. The petition establishes the relationship between a USC and a non-USC. Once the petition is approved, then the non-USC applies for the visa. So, in terms of getting your spouse to the US, it's the visa that's the big one... but you have to start the process on his behalf.


Not really, no! As civilservant indicates, an immigrant visa for a spouse is very straight forward.

Ian

WriterChick

Thank you Ian!!!

Although, with all of your awesome and helpful clarifications, I think you proved ME right... I really DON'T know anything!

Like, not even the proper terms!

So, just to be sure I'm clear... I am the Sponsor, and if we have another person (who is an American residing in the USA) assisting us with the financial requirements, that is the Joint Sponsor, and we are applying for an Immigrant Visa... and after we are approved (hopefully!) for the Immigrant Visa that I'm Sponsoring, and we enter the USA with the approved Immigrant Visa (unopened!), the Immigrant will get their Green Card (unconditional, as we have been married over two years), correct?

(It feels so funny calling my husband 'the Immigrant' as it has been ME who has been 'the Immigrant' for our entire marriage!)

And, the I-130 is going to establish we are really married, and the DS-260 is the application for the visa... and we need to address the funds, and this is done by my filling out the I-864, as the Sponsor, and if needed, the Joint Sponsor also filling out an I-864, correct? We should have three years tax returns if we use the Joint Sponsor, even though the form asks for one year, just in case, correct?

We can use $60,000 cash in our bank account rather than use a Joint Sponsor.

I need to submit proof I have paid my last three years tax returns, or proof I made too little to bother, or give them a valid reason it was not done, right? (I will be submitting them.)

The fact that I still have a mailing address in the USA, and that I still have my bank account in the USA, are both helpful for domicile, correct? As is the fact that we have just sold our home in the UK, correct?
I still get mail at my old address, but it is mostly just my USA bank account mail, which I'm sure would be useful, and the occasional university alumni information. Would those be useful?

What else would be useful for domicile requirements?

And we need the medical done for the Immigrant, but that is done after we have our case number, and we need a police report on the Immigrant - when do we need to do that part?

When we go to the interview, we pay the Green Card Production Fee of $165, and bring all of our documentation which must be originals, and photographic evidence, as well as copies of both, for them to keep...

Do we need an address in the USA?

I have a sort of... landing pad... for when we first get there... in my old apartment, with my cousin who took over the lease... but it is not where we are going to be living, and I know we would need to inform them of any and all address changes until my spouse is eligible and eventually approved for an American passport...

So, I guess that is for the first three years? After that, he can apply for citizenship, right?

So, should we give them THAT address, or should we say we do not have one yet, and inform them of our first permanent address after we find our own place?

THANK YOU... Thanks for helping me plan the rest of my life... I think it is so funny that one of you self identifies as not often civil, and the other as... a sanctimonious... Well, and then there you are... being awesome, helpful, clear, and really, really kind!

THANK YOU.

I will be sure to pay this help forward after I'm an experienced Sponsor to an Immigrant, for an Immigrant Visa for the USA!!!

ian-mstm

Correct. The joint sponsor doesn't need to be a US citizen... a US permanent resident (= has green card) will also do.


He (not you) is applying for an immigrant visa! I know it may seem like nitpicking, but in terms of understanding the process, the more precise you can be, the better! Immigration is a language unto itself... so practice makes perfect!


Correct... well, mostly! The visa will be put in his passport and, once he enters the US, the visa will be endorsed by the CBP officer at the port of entry (POE). In that moment, he will become a PR with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that implies. He will get a 10-year card - exactly right! From that point forward, you'll have no other immigration interaction until such time as he chooses to apply for naturalization.


Essentially correct. Your marriage certificate will establish that you are really married... but the I-130 makes the US government aware of that fact. You will need to enclose a copy of your marriage certificate with the I-130 petition.


Correct.


Correct. If you have a joint sponsor, both of you complete an I-864; if you don't, then just you.


Mostly! If you have a joint sponsor, your finances become largely irrelevant so you don't actually need to provide tax returns for immigration purposes. However, you do need to comply with IRS regulations which state that all USC's must file an annual tax return. In that respect, it's often just easier for the USC sponsor to file 3 years' worth of tax returns. The joint sponsor needs 3 years' worth also.

Now, to be precise, the forms require only one years' worth... but the Consular Officer (ConOff or CO) can request 3 years if he wants, so best to be prepared anyway.


Correct.


Yes... but if you did file, you do need to provide them!


Correct on both counts. Intent to domicile is as much about starting things up in the US as it is about wrapping things up in the UK. So don't overlook US job searches, US real estate agent quotes, quotes from shipping companies, etc.


Useful, but likely not to the extent of the other stuff.


Correct again for both. You can get the police report at any time, it's valid for 1 year from the date of issue. You must have it before he goes to the medical, as he needs to take it with him.


Forms must be originals and must have original signatures; other docs and evidence can be copies.


No... not until you actually get to the US, because USCIS will need to mail your husband's actual green card to him - so, at that point in time, you'll need a stable mailing address, although it need not be a permanent address.


He will file an AR-11; you will file an I-865.


He will be eligible to naturalize after 3 years as a PR. He can apply 90 days prior to that.


Umm... you haven't been hanging around here long enough. I'm usually very frank when people post... you likely just haven't witnessed it yet! Give it some time! You'll find that I have very little (read = none) tolerance for stupidity!


This is what we've all done - and it's really all we ask in return! Some of us are getting a bit long in the tooth!

Ian

WriterChick

Thank you Mr Nice Guy!!!

This is all so awesome and helpful!!!

I've printed it now.

We are going to begin the process... Thanks again!

XOXOXXOXO

JAJ

It would be recommended to get British citizenship, by naturalisation, before you leave the United Kingdom.

WriterChick

Thanks. I am. We are doing it.
That was why I asked if they needed MY passport for THIS (Sponsoring my hubby's USA app) process at any stage - the UK needs my USA passport for the actual British passport application - there is no checking service for that part. I can use the checking service for the application to become a citizen, but not for the actual passport application.
We are doing both apps at the same time, because life is just, over all, way too easy for us... (NOT!)

JAJ

Except that you don't need to send away your U.S. passport to get a British passport. The Passport Office say they need it, but really they don't. It says in small print that they will accept a copy. A copy of the ID page of a foreign passport is usually acceptable, based on accounts on this forum. An original of a foreign passport should normally only ever be requested (as part of the British passport application process) if there was some serious doubt about the person's identity.

And the important aspect of becoming British is the naturalisation certificate. The passport is just a travel document.

WriterChick

Really?!?!?!

That would be awesome news for me, because I need my passport for work!!!

Got a link please?!

JAJ

This is for passport applications made from outside the U.K. See small print at the end of the page.
https://www.gov.uk/government/upload..._Gp1_11.13.PDF

It's not clear if the same policy applies for passport applications made from inside the United Kingdom. But what's the worst thing that can happen if you don't send them your U.S. passport?

By the way, once you become a British citizen your existing immigration status becomes null and void, and while it may be practically possible to travel on a U.S. passport with your existing ILR stamp, technically you shouldn't do this.

Even if you do choose to send away your U.S. passport for a few weeks, it should not affect the sponsorship process for a U.S. visa. You do have other evidence of your U.S. citizenship, presumably, either your birth certificate (if U.S. born) or citizenship certificate (if not)?

WriterChick

I would be applying for the UK passport from within the UK.
Based on experiences of many others, when dealing with the UKBA, if you do not send them what they require, and if it is not in perfect order, they will often simply reject the application and KEEP the fees you have paid to them for the application.
Therefore, I would not take the risk of not sending them everything they require.
I'd simply assume they applied the same policies to UK passport applications.
Just to be on the safe side... So, I will just send them my American passport. My employer will just have to deal with it.

The applications for the USA, the ones that I have printed out, only ask for a COPY of the passport page, not the entire passport.

So, I think I will be able to do both at the same time.

Thank you for your help!!!

We are going to begin filling out the first form for the USA, the I-130, this weekend.

It is all a bit daunting, but not nearly as complex, confusing, and expensive as the USA to UK process that we have already successfully navigated.

Wish me luck!

Thanks again. XOXOXOX

ian-mstm

This would be a mistake. You should never willingly give your US passport to a foreign government agency - regardless of how benign the request is. The passport is the property of the US government! Photocopy it, and send the photocopy.

Ian

WriterChick

I agree. You are correct. But, that is NOT how it works in the eyes of the UK government.

I believe can't apply for the British passport from within the UK without sending them the American passport. You usually have to send your passport in for everything here, as a non-EU and non-UK national.

You can use a checking service, and pay extra, for the citizenship application, and keep your passport - but you must THEN send them your passport for the actual British passport application.

They require us to give up our passports for their applications all of the time here... And you must do it, or they will not give you whatever it is you are applying for.

And they will keep your application fee.

In the UK, as an immigrant, you must also send in your actual passport to them in order to obtain a driving licence!

We also had to send my actual passport to the UKBA for the Fiancé visa, and then again six months later for the Spouse visa, and then (unless you pay a boatload more money for an IN PERSON appointment for the ILR visa, an appointment which is VERY hard to get, which we DID do) you have to send it to them AGAIN for that visa, which is two years later. (Newer Spouses applying as spouses of British citizens will have an additional visa, two years after ILR, and they will have to send the UKBA their passport for an additional unknown period of time! So, they need it 4 times now! In a 5 and a half year period!)

And, they really do not give you any timeline for the length of time that will take to approve ANY of those visas, so some Non-EU Spouses of UK Citizens have had to live without their passports for up to 11 months, for straightforward applications, while they slowly cleared their backlog of pre-existing straightforward applications. Most had to wait between 4 and 6 months.

And... In the UK, as an expat/immigrant you cannot sign up for a new GP without it (if you do not have a British accent, they ask for it right away), or move flats without it, or change jobs without it, or make most changes to your bank account without it, or change currency without it, and of course, you cannot travel outside the country without it.

Non-EU Spouses of UK Citizens living in the UK and dealing with the UKBA, OFTEN have to hand over their passports to the UK government, for an unknown, extended period of time.

That's just 'The Done Thing' here!

jaffy23

UKBA were tough for my wife's HSMP, FLR and ILR, and I regret that we didn't file for her UK citizenship before we left for NY. If we ever move back it's going to be a long, expensive mess!

The only way around sending your passport to Lunar House is to pay huge wads of cash for the premium (in person) service. My wife refused to be without her US passport for 6-9 months at a time so it was our only option. We must have spent a few thousand pounds on those extra fees.

My experience with the US Embassy in London, and the whole of USCIS has been overwhelmingly positive. The lady at the NYC Biometrics Office gave me a "Learn About the US" pack to help me study for citizenship and suggested I do it. I was only there for fingerprints to remove GC conditions.. Nice people.

WriterChick

Jaffy thank you for replying. I do feel as I have been through quite a bit here with the visa process, so I am relieved to hear from someone who is able to compare them both, and reports that our next process, for the USA, should be much easier than what we've been through in the UK!

JAJ

Except that the Passport Service is a different government agency to the U.K. Borders Agency (UKBA). And UKBA does have a legitimate reason to need to see a foreign passport, the Passport Service does not.

Based on posts on this forum (and the small print of the application form), the Passport Service does NOT normally require foreign passports when an application is made from overseas. Not sure if this is the same when made from the U.K. but it's the same government agency that deals with both.