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Affadavit of Support - loophole?
Ok, I had a brainstorm this afternoon, and thought I would run this past you guys -
(I am UK citizen, my wife is US citizen, we have been marrried for 3 yrs living in UK for 2.5 yrs) I am hoping to apply via DCF at London soon. I was concerned at Affadavit of Support, as we need a joint sponsor, as we'll probably both be looking for jobs on arrival. Anyway - as I understand it we would need roughly $12k x 5 to meet 125% requirements ($60k) - £40 - 45k. We have around £20k equity in our home - which I read somewhere we could use if we have a mortgage statement and a valuation from an Estate Agent. My idea was this - I take out a personal loan (either secured or not) to pay off £20 - 25K of my mortgage (and if my lender wont accept this without a penalty I simply switch my mortgage to someone else) My mortgage statement would then show equity of £40 -45K. I understand that other debts are not taken into consideration, so technically I should be ok. I dont know whether secured loans would appear on the mortgage statement, but I am assuming they wouldn't. When we were ready to move we sell house, pay off mortgage and loan, and pocket the difference. I know this would cost the difference in interest from mortgage rate to a personal loan rate, but on £20k over less than a year this should be managable. I would welcome any views on this - it seems too easy!! Am I right to worry about the Affadavit of Support? Otherwise the process seems straightforward, but this worries me. My wife's family would support our application, but I'd rather try to do it on our own. The other option would be for my wife to have to move to US to find work, but I don't know whether this would prevent us from taking the DCF route, which I much prefer. |
Re: Affadavit of Support - loophole?
Not a bad idea on the surface, but be aware that the Consulate might ask to see your mortgage statements. Then, when they see the balance suddenly go down by 20K, they might ask you to explain where the money came from. The discretion is always there for them to reject your argument.
Good to see some creative thinking though! :) Anthony |
Re: Affadavit of Support - loophole?
Originally posted by John Murray Ok, I had a brainstorm this afternoon, and thought I would run this past you guys - (I am UK citizen, my wife is US citizen, we have been marrried for 3 yrs living in UK for 2.5 yrs) I am hoping to apply via DCF at London soon. I was concerned at Affadavit of Support, as we need a joint sponsor, as we'll probably both be looking for jobs on arrival. Anyway - as I understand it we would need roughly $12k x 5 to meet 125% requirements ($60k) - £40 - 45k. We have around £20k equity in our home - which I read somewhere we could use if we have a mortgage statement and a valuation from an Estate Agent. My idea was this - I take out a personal loan (either secured or not) to pay off £20 - 25K of my mortgage (and if my lender wont accept this without a penalty I simply switch my mortgage to someone else) My mortgage statement would then show equity of £40 -45K. I understand that other debts are not taken into consideration, so technically I should be ok. I dont know whether secured loans would appear on the mortgage statement, but I am assuming they wouldn't. When we were ready to move we sell house, pay off mortgage and loan, and pocket the difference. I know this would cost the difference in interest from mortgage rate to a personal loan rate, but on £20k over less than a year this should be managable. I would welcome any views on this - it seems too easy!! Am I right to worry about the Affadavit of Support? Otherwise the process seems straightforward, but this worries me. My wife's family would support our application, but I'd rather try to do it on our own. The other option would be for my wife to have to move to US to find work, but I don't know whether this would prevent us from taking the DCF route, which I much prefer. The reason I say this is because I have heard of people who had Dual Citizenship that literally flew to the UK, filed for their immediate relative and returned to the US after a few weeks. Even if they require her not to establish a permanent residence in the US she could look for a place to live and secure a job offer after filing in London which surely would strengthen your case? |
HI,
What you are thinking of sounds a bit complicated, to say the least but my concern here is the figures you're quoting - they're way off if the Affidavit of Support you're talking about is the I-864. Thought you should know the figure you're looking at - if you have no dependants - is $15,150 - and five times that is $75,750 in assets liquifiable in one year. The I-864 Affidavit requires you be 125% above the poverty line, as you know. Poverty line for a family of two is just over 12,000 - if you're looking at Government figures you have to factor in the extra 25% yourself. Poverty guidelines for 2003: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/03poverty.htm Info on assets: http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html#6 Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings :( On a personal note, aside from the issue of getting through DCF, those poverty levels are quite low. We just scrape over the barrier ourselves at the moment and only just manage. If you're attempting some sleight of hand to show you meet the requirements and don't really, you might want to consider the very real possibility that it will be a struggle for you to manage till you find work. The economy's not booming right now. Not wanting to sound like Mrs Doom - just wanted you to be aware of what you're getting into. All the very best - whatever you decide to do. Regards -=- Scarlett Regards -=- Scarlett |
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