Handyanders

Hello everybody,
My name is Andy and I have been flying back and forth from the UK to visit my American fiancé for the last 2.5 years. We are now wanting to marry and I hope that you guys may be able to assist with certain questions and answers over the next few threads. I apologise in advance if this is not the correct procedure as I have never ever written on a forum before.
I have read some other posts on here and it really seems to be the most informative site for receiving real answers and you guys all seem to better informed than most professionals I have tried to speak with.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Andy

scot47

Marrying a US Citizen seems to be one of the few "easy" ways into the USA. Read the information that is available here - especially posts and stickies from the Rev Pulaski.

Handyanders

Many thanks Scot47. Any help is really appreciated.

scot47

K1 : British Expat Wiki
READ IT. You may need some aspirin or other analgesic.

Handyanders

Again, thanks. I will certainly read through all of it. My problem is this....And I cant seem to get a definitive answer. My fiancé has been out of work due to health issues but is now currently looking for full time employment. She shares a house with her Mother who has no problem with helping sign an affidavit of support. My concern is that even though she earns more than over the threshold limit, does my fiancé ( Then wife ) still have to be earning as well and if so, how long does she need to be working before she can submit her earnings? do we need to wait a year so she can show a tax return? If I visit in March and Marry her like we want to, would her Mothers earnings be solely enough? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have already been offered work as soon as I move full time and in all honesty there would be no financial burden on her Mother ( My future Mother in law ). Any help on this matter would really be appreciated. We have no problem with proving a bonifide marriage and can back up my many visits and with proof etc. We are just unsure about this matter. Thanks in advance.

Rete

Hi and welcome to BE

I urge to your visit and become active in the US Marriage-based visa forum in the US Section. That's the correct place to ask these questions.

Just for the record, no your USC fiancé does not have to be working to financially sponsor you for either the Fiancee Visa and ultimately the application for adjustment of status to permanent resident.

Again, welcome to the BE and to the world of US immigration.

Rete

That is as long as you have a joint sponsor which would be your future mother-in-law.

Pulaski

Hi Andy, welcome to BE.
We're cheaper too! ..... Unless you have a criminal record, a drug habit, or have a travel record to "hot" parts of the world , you won't need paid-for advice.

scot47

So junkies with a history of felonious conduct and prior visits to Cuba and North Korea can have a hard time.

Handyanders

Haha! Many thanks guys and gals. I do apologise for posting questions here... Green as grass when it comes to forums etc.

Thank you for the advice. I was under the impression that my future Mother in law could not be my sole sponsor. That's what was worrying us. I shall post further in the US section. Mucho thanks :-)

Pulaski

That is correct, unless you were planning on marrying your mother-in-law.

Subject to financial constraints, your spouse can be your sole sponsor. If your spouse doesn't meet the financial constraints to be your sole sponsor then they will need a joint sponsor, but your spouse/fiancé(e) must always be your sponsor when applying for a spouse/fiancé(e) visa.

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE Andy. I am moving this thread over to the US Marriage Based Visas forum. Good luck.

Rete

Here is how financial sponsorship works for marriage based visas.

If the fiancée can't meet the financial criteria for the I-134 for the K-1 (i.e. no job, no savings) they still have to complete the I-134 and you get a joint sponsor to complete another I-134 for you. Both the fiancée's I-134 and the joint sponsor's I-134 are submitted at the same time.

Now after you get the K-1 and move to the US and get marriage, you have to apply to adjust status to a permanent resident. At this point the same things apply for the completion of a new set of financial affidavits and this is on form I-864. Only in this case, if you and your then wife are living with your mother-in-law, there is only one I-864 to be completed. Your wife is the main sponsor and her mother would be the household member who completes the rest of the affidavit.

In the odd case that you are in a position to get means tested financial benefits from the government or you divorce before certain conditions are met (won't muddy the waters with that just yet), the government will come after your wife first to reimbursement them the money that was given to you. If she can't reimburse them, they will then go after the mother-in-law.

scottyvisa

Hi Andy,

Welcome to BE! You're in safe hands here, lots of us have been through the K1 process recently and will be more than happy to answer any questions you have. The K1 wiki that Rete shared with you is an excellent starting point and something that helped me through every stage of the process.

ian-mstm

Sorry Rete, but I don't think that's correct. For the I-134, the USC fiancee does not need to complete an I-134. Only the financial sponsor completes the I-134... and in this case, it's the girl's mother. Once these two are married, the (then) USC spouse must complete an I-864 and the joint sponsor must also complete an I-864.

Ian