Re: The marriage visa process
 

Yes, you need a financial sponsor no matter which visa you go for. For the K-1, look at form I-134 at www.uscis.gov. He does not have to be the sponsor, someone else can be.

Rene

Re: The marriage visa process
 

How long would he have to be working for before he could sponsor me? :confused:

Re: The marriage visa process
 

If he doesn't want to use a joint sponsor, he needs to be currently earning above the poverty guideline in the 125% column on the I-864P. There's not really a minimum amount of time he needs to be working, it somewhat depends on his past work history, how long he's been out of work, what his past tax returns look like for income, etc. The ConOff will decide.

Rene

Re: The marriage visa process
 

Thats not a good start then, he hasnt been employed for 5 years now so far, because he's been in prison, before that however he was a cat scan tech in a hospital. Before that he was in medical school.

He doesnt have any family, and as you can imagine after 10 years his friends have disappeard. I know no one but him over there. :o( Looks like we will need ALOT of help!

Thanks guys xx

Re: The marriage visa process
 

The joint sponsor does not have to be a family member. It can be any USC or US PR, age 18+, living in the USA, who earns enough to cover their own household size plus the immigrant.

Rene

Re: The marriage visa process
 

You must have a financial sponsor - there's no way around that. Financial sponsorship is the only way to demonstrate to the US government that a new immigrant won't become a public burden. If he can't afford it himself and there is no one else to sign an I-864 as a joint sponsor, then... quite simply, you will not get a visa. End of story.

Respectfully, I think you may have a difficult time demonstrating to the US government that you have a bona fide marriage. I don't think anyone here thinks that... but we are not the ones who will be judging your situation.

Ian

Re: The marriage visa process
 

By my calculations if he has 14 months left to serve, and you marry in October, you will be apart for 8 months after the wedding, regardless of where you live.

Re: The marriage visa process
 

Whilst I wish you luck, I think you are on a very difficult journey. Sponsorship is not a nice to have, it is essential to your future plans actually happening. If there are no friends or family able to assist then you will need to rely on him as the sponsor. Seeing as he has not been employed for half a decade then it is rather unlikely you will actually be able to satisfy the financial sponsorship side of the application.

You say he has been unemployed for 5 years because of prison and you say you have been over 5 times since he has been in prison. Is that once a year for a week or two? Where do you stay? What do you do when you are there? One would assume you spend minimal amounts of time in the clink with your fella, have you not made friends there? I don't understand the reference to friends leaving after 10 years, maybe I have missed something.

You say that you do not want to go home as you do not want to spend so long apart, yet the reality is that your not going to be moving in with him after you get married, there is still that little matter of him finishing his sentence. So reality of the situation is you have plenty of time to arrange this, and you could also use the time to increase your savings.

Good luck with what ever you choose to do.

Re: The marriage visa process
 

deleting post is not freedom of speech ...
I am fully entitled to give my opinion

Re: The marriage visa process
 

As you know there is no freedom of speech on BE ;) - The Immigration forum is no place for personal commentary.

Thanks :)

Re: The marriage visa process
 

Yet you said he was in the Army in an earlier post. Was that recent? Does he have ID from that or an income/pension anything you can both use.

Re: The marriage visa process
 

Sara

You are going to be hitting a great many hard spots over the next few years, both when trying to marry, getting a visa outside of the US or adjusting status within the US, whichever way you go. You cannot get the visa unless you have a financial sponsor and that is the same for adjustment of status within the US. Your spouse is required to complete the affidavit of support whether they qualify or not. The USCIS does not hold the fact that the USC spouse is a guest of the State for criminal actions. They are only concerned with your finanical support if you become insolvent.

I do know that if you were to go the Immediate Relative Visa route (get married in the US to your bf, have him file the I-130 for you, and you attend the I-130 interview at the US Consulate abroad) that London will allow you to sponsor yourself as a co-sponsor if you have 3 times the amount required for a family your size (you, spouse and dependents, if any). You said you would be bringing money to the US, perhaps that and any other assets you might have that are liquidable, i.e. car, home, etc. might equal the 3 x the poverty guidelines amount that you need to co-sponsor yourself. NOTE: You cannot do this for adjustment of status within the US.

I will caution you that if you have enough funds and can do this, do not come to the US and buy property and deplete your savings. Your spouse has a criminal record and although he has a good skill set for a career, finding work for himself with his record might not be as easy as he thinks. The drug charge, whether he was just with a friend with drugs or part of the circumstances, will come back to haunt as drugs and their useage as very much frowned on by hospitals.

Good luck with your endeavors.

Re: The marriage visa process
 

She wouldn't be sponsoring herself as a co-sponsor. Her USC husband would be using joint assets to qualify. Once married, her assets become his assets, and can be used on the I-864, if the assets equal 3x what is lacking in income.

Yes, they can still use assets on the I-864 when doing AOS in the USA. If she has that much in savings, she'll probably be OK getting a K-1 visa, and then they can continue to use those assets on the I-864 for the subsequent AOS. The assets do not all have to be in the USA, as long as it is a liquidable asset, and the funds can easily be transferred to the USA at the same value.

Rene

Re: The marriage visa process
 

I don't know if her assets become his assets or not. Some types of assets acquired prior to marriage do not. But it's not relevant either way. She can contribute her assets for his I-864 as a household member.

Regards, JEff