misfitfreak

I am a usc married to a ukc living in the uk. I have been here for almost two years and i am needing to apply for my ilr in september. The problem is that we want to move back to america so i can be with my family. I have read that we can apply for a I-130 while we are here and then once we get back to America my husband will get a green card. I have been doing research and it says the time frame is about 10 months for a approval. The problem is my visa has to be renewed in september and if this time line is correct i will be here after my visa expires. Also i am concerned because I dont have a job set up for me in the states as i have been here but i am confident that once i get back to the states i can find work straight away. Can someone please help as i really want to go back home and i dont want to spend time away from my husband to set things up before he comes back with me. Also when i do apply for my I-130 how long after that do i need to send in the affidavit for support and can i get my dad to sponsor us to come back to america. When i moved to the uk it seemed alot easier than this and i am freaked out because i dont want to be here anymore and have no idea the best way to start this process.


any help please...

Noorah101

You (the USC) can file an I-130 directly to London before you return to the USA. It will take about 8 - 10 months until your UKC spouse has his Immigrant Visa in hand. At that time, when he enters the USA using his Immigrant Visa, he will become a US Permanent Resident (PR) upon entry (in other words, he gets his green card at the POE).

I'm going to change your thread title, though...since he isn't "getting an I-130", he's getting an Immigrant Visa. The I-130 is just a petition to start the process.

Rene

Noorah101

Why do you need to renew your UK visa, if you're planning to return permanently to the USA? Either way, you have some options:

1. Don't file the I-130 until you renew your visa in Sept.
2. File the I-130 now, and go out of status in Sept and don't file a visa renewal.
3. File the I-130 now, and leave the UK before having to renew your visa in Sept.

You not having a job will not be an issue until your husband goes to his visa interview. At that time, he will need to submit an I-864 Affidavit of Support from you. If you, at that time, don't earn enough income or have enough in assets, then a Joint Sponsor can be used.

You only have 2 choices:

1. Remain in the UK with your husband until he gets his Immigrant Visa in hand, then come to the USA together; or

2. Come to the USA ahead of your husband to set things up ahead of time.

The I-864 is due at the time of your husband's interview. Yes, your dad can be a Joint Sponsor, if he qualifies financially. He won't be sponsoring you, since you're a USC, he'll be sponsoring your UKC husband.

Yes, it seems immigrating to the UK is easier. There is only one way to start the process, and that's by filing an I-130....either to USCIS in the USA, or to London (which it sounds like you qualify to do, since you've been in the UK for 2 years now).

Rene

Noorah101

Here are my layman's thoughts and ideas. Since you will have a Joint Sponsor, there's no urgent need for you to come to the USA for work purposes in order to sponsor your husband. Therefore, you have the luxury of waiting in the UK while the visa process is going on.

You are only authorized to stay there until September. Therefore, file the I-130 now, in February. Stay in the UK until just before your time there runs out (end of August, I guess?). At the end of August, come to the USA so you aren't out of status in the UK. Around October - December of 2012, your husband will join you in the USA, using his Immigrant Visa. That way, you're only apart for about 2 - 4 months.

If YOU want to leave the UK sooner (as it sounds like you do), then you guys will simply have a longer period of separation. There's nothing you can do about that. If he's eligible to travel on the VWP, he can come visit you in the USA while the visa process is going on. Probably will only have time for 1 visit, though, of up to 90 days.

Rene

avanutria

Regarding your permission to be in the UK, you have two options:

1) Leave the UK before your spousal visa expires and return to the US before your husband gets his visa. This will require a period of separation.

2) Apply for your ILR - this is not the same as renewing your visa.

An advantage of #2 is that if for any reason you decide that your move to the US is not working out, ILR permits you to return to the UK without getting a new spousal visa. I believe you can be out of the country for up to two years before the ILR will expire, though you'll want to double check that as it's been a few years now since I've had ILR.

Additionally, if you decide to stick it out another year before moving, perhaps in order to build up your savings in case you have difficulty finding a job, then once you a) have ILR and b) have been resident in the country for three years, you will be eligible for UK citizenship. Which will mean that for the rest of your life you will have the right to return to the UK or anywhere else in the EU without needing a visa. Considering how valuable this ability could be and how difficult it might be to regain, it may be worth seriously considering this option. However, since you say you don't want to be there anymore, it may not be the right one for you.

misfitfreak

ok so if i apply for the I-130 now and stay here till i need to go back can me and my husband move back to america with him entering on a vwp? I have just got off the phone with my dad and he says he will give me 5,000 to start our life over there. So we will have a place to go and a car as well. Also can i please get the link on where to apply for the I-130...


thank you

Noorah101

Your husband cannot "move" to the USA on the VWP, no. If you submit the I-130 now, you can stay in the UK with your husband until whenever you are legally allowed to be in the UK. Your husband can come to the USA for a VWP visit at any time during the Immigrant Visa process. But he will have to go back to the UK for his medical and visa interview before making the permanent move to the USA.

Your dad simply giving you $5,000 is not going to be enough. Take a look at www.uscis.gov, and look at the I-864 and I-864P forms. On the I-864P, look at the 125% column for your household size. If you don't earn that much per year, then your dad can be a Joint Sponsor. That means he will fill out a separate I-864, if he earns that 125% figure for HIS household size plus the immigrant. He will send over his own I-864 plus 3 years of tax returns, plus proof of current income, and your husband will take all that to his visa interview.

Take a look at the US Embassy in London's website on where to send in the I-130 if you file directly to London. Or, perhaps it's in our Wiki Guide to "DCF Filing in London". Here's the link to that Wiki Guide: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/DCF_I-130_Filed_In_London

Rene

misfitfreak

ok so can we both just stay here until he gets his visa in hand.... i think that might be easier except i wont have a job yet in the usa but i can ask my dad to sponsor my husband... my dad doesn't work but he is loaded and has savings..also i was looking at the I-130 form and it says i have to pay with a credit card and not a debit card but all i have is my uk bank card...

Noorah101

Yes, you can stay in the UK while the visa process is going on. When it comes to September, I don't know what your situation will be in the UK (regarding ILR or your visa or whatever), though.

So your dad has zero income? No retirement or social security income? If that's the case, he will need to use assets to qualify to Joint Sponsor. The best asset is cash in the bank, and you say he's loaded and has savings.

If it's just him at home (no spouse or children at home), then his household size will be 2 (himself plus your husband). If you look at the I-864P here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf it shows him needing an income of at least $18,387. Since he has no income, assets can be used. A joint sponsor's assets must equal 5x what was needed in income. Therefore, your dad will need at least $91,935 in his savings account to qualify. When you say he's "loaded", I sure hope it means he has that much in savings.

Other types of assets CAN be used, such as property, but lately the ConOffs are very picky (because they know the economy isn't good and the housing market is bad), so they sometimes don't accept a home or property as a good asset. Especially when it's the home you guys will be going to live in once in the USA.

Rene

misfitfreak

my father has a wife and he has plenty in savings to show he can support himself and his wife and my husband..also my father does have income from stocks and bonds and also i think he does get social security as well. I would rather get my husband over to the us on my own though. I was wondering though how can i show i can support him if i live in the uk with him. I am sure this can be a issue for many people. I read somewhere that intent to domicile can also be used..Can anyone clarify that for me please

Noorah101

OK, so having a wife makes his household 3 people. That means he needs to have at least $23,162 in income. He needs to calculate his current income including stocks and bonds dividends and social security.

If that amount doesn't come to $23,162 per year, he can make up the difference in cash savings in the bank, at 5x the amount he's lacking in income.

For example, if his income from stocks & bond dividends plus social security only comes to $20,000 a year, he is lacking $3,162. $3,162 x 5 = $15,810. He would need to have $15,810 in cash savings in the bank in this scenario.

You keep mentioning vague terms like "loaded" and "plenty", but the I-864 is VERY SPECIFIC about the amount of money he needs in income and/or savings.

Rene

misfitfreak

sorry my father has a very large savings account and as far as i know there is over a million in it but the problem might be getting him to send his personal information to us so i want to try to do this myself... what are my options in proving i can support us in america when i live in the uk??

thank you so much for all your help

avanutria

I assume "here" means the UK.

Yes, but only if you apply for and receive ILR before your spousal visa runs out.

avanutria

You need to research the financial requirements described in the instructions for the I-864 document, and you will have to either have a job in the US which pays the minimum income level for your household size or have savings worth three times that minimum income level. (Look at Noorah's post for some example numbers, though those numbers are your your father's household and not yours.) Your husband's savings can be counted in these figures, but your UK jobs cannot be counted if those jobs will not be continuing after you move.

If you cannot meet either the savings or income requirements, you will need a joint sponsor. If you want your father to be your joint sponsor, he will have to provide you with some of his personal financial information.

avanutria

Intent to domicile is separate from the financial side. Intent to domicile is a requirement for you to prove that you are taking the move seriously by establishing or re-establishing your ties in the US - applying for jobs, getting an apartment, getting moving estimates, health insurance quotes, etc. Some people can look for schools for their kids, or get shipping quotes for their pets. Some can get a letter from their boss saying the boss is aware of the intent to move - that's one of the ones I used, but it only works if you have a very good relationship with your workplace.