davejenk477

Hi,

I have recently got married to a US citizen in the UK. She moved over to the UK on a fiance visa, and is now in the UK on a UK spousal visa.

We are considering moving to the USA in approximately 1.5 - 2 years, and have been advised that the visa process can be very long and drawn out, so I am doing some preliminary research into what we will need to do when we decide to apply.

So far it seems very confusing, so i am just after a bit of advice. Firstly, what are the correct forms to file if applying from the UK, and where do we file them to?

Secondly, what requirements are there for getting th visa? For the UK visa there were various financial requirements and proof of accommodation etc, I assume there are similar requirements for a US visa.

The problem I can see is that although we both work in the UK, we probably wont have jobs as soon as we arrive in the US (although i dont envisage having a problem finding a job within 2-3 months). Do you need proof of a regular income in the USA, as both of our UK jobs will end when we leave for the USA.

Also, we wont have a home over there, although we would rent an apartment as soon as we arrived, and could stay with my wifes dad for a week or 2 while we found somewhere.

I suppose my question is, is it acceptable to state on a visa application that you are temporarily living with a spouses parents, and also can the parent of the US spouse act as co-sponsor if we dont have enough money?

Thanks for any help you can give us!

ian-mstm

In a nutshell, your USC wife must file form I-130. If eligible, she can file directly to London for processing. If she's not eligible, she'll need to send the form to the US for processing. To be eligible, she must be living in the UK for a minimum of 6 months in some sort of non-temporary status (such as a visitor). Time-wise, there's not much difference... about 8-10 months from the time she files until you get your visa. Along with the I-130, there are various supporting documents that will be required. The forms, their instructions, and the fees can be found under "Forms" at www.uscis.gov.


As the USC spouse, your wife will be your sponsor. She'll need to file an I-864 along with copies of her tax returns. Again, all the info is at the USCIS web site. It's also in our Wiki - in the blue bar at the top of every page. You want the info for the CR-1 visa.


If your income will not continue once you move to the US and if your wife does not have enough in assets (see form I-864P), then you'll need a joint sponsor - any USC or PR, living in the US, over age 18... anyone at all.


Home ownership or, indeed, where you live/stay doesn't matter.


Not "co-sponsor"... "joint sponsor" - but, yes. It's not only acceptable, it's quite commonplace.

Ian

davejenk477

Thanks a lot Ian, really useful info!

Noorah101

If your wife is still living in the UK at the time you go for your visa interview, you'll also need to bring evidence of her "intent to domicile in the USA". This is also covered in the "CR-1 DCF" Wiki Guide. Basically she'll have to show evidence of cutting the ties to the UK and establishing ties in the USA.

Rene

Squirrel

Just something to think about, but having gone to the trouble of getting her UK Spousal visa, your wife might want to wait and apply for UK citizenship before you move to the US. Dual citizenship is handy to have. You, in turn, can then make it your goal to obtain US citizenship. After which you'd be free to move to whichever country without any immigration hurdles ever again. I don't think immigration is going to get easier in the future.