DerekB1972

Hi all,

My girlfriend is an American and I'm from the UK, we're currently looking at starting the visa process to get married next year however at the minute we're not sure on the best\easiest way forward, whether we'll get married in the UK or USA (USA is my preferred option as it would be easier for her parents), both options look straight forward to a degree however my question is around the "Proof of Financial Support", currently she is working in the USA and making more than the required amount, I'm also working in the UK and have equity in my property and vehicles however she was thinking of quitting her job early next year and visiting me on a tourist visa for several months, if she quits her job will it be an issue with the proof of financial support or will my finances cover things?

Ideally we'd want to choose the option which keeps us apart the least amount of time after the wedding which is where the USA based K1 visa seems to be better than the UK option (with CR1 wait).

Any help is greatly appreciated

Oh and in the mean time my work may be transferring me to Texas which would make the choice easier.

Thanks

Derek

DerekB1972

EDIT: after reading other posts it looks like a better option would be to marry in the USA while on a tourist visa (I hadn't realised we could do this), return home after wedding/honeymoon and go the CR1 route.. however there's still the question regarding finances if my partner then quits work to spend time with me in the UK on a tourist visa. Would my savings, salary & assets be taken into account to cover the Affidavit of Support requirements:

Taken from uscis.gov website:

civilservant

Savings and assets yes (as long as the assets can be liquidated within 1 year)

Salary no - unless you will actually be continuing in this position upon your move to the US (and you can prove so)

You need 3 x the missing salary of the spouse in savings/assets.

DerekB1972

Thank you, I'd be selling my house as part of the move so will have more than enough equity released with that sale, I'm also starting to prepare for the move so will probably have the required amount in savings after selling cars & motorbikes.

It would be better if we could be together for as much as the waiting period as possible so if she quit her job she could use the 6 month tourist visa to move in with me while we wait. Now I just need to see if I'm getting the transfer to Texas in the mean time as that will make things much easier (I think).

Regards

Derek

civilservant

Be careful about the terms you use. Your wife could not 'move in' with you using a 6 month tourist visa. She would be staying with you temporarily while conducting her stated purpose of tourism.

You are about to enter the world of immigration speak. It is very precise, and misspeaking at the wrong moment can land you in a whole heap of trouble!

DerekB1972

good point, thank you I'll remember that

Rete

What visa would your company be applying for your transfer to the US for continuation of your employment? It would be far easier for you to obtain a L-1 visa through your company and then once in the US apply for your adjustment of status after you are married.

Could you expand on what this transfer is.

DerekB1972

Hi,

The company I work for has recently started sponsoring visas for roles that can't fill, one of them is in Texas and I have the required knowledge & experience to do the role, it would be an L-1B if I'm successful.

The role is based on hybrid cloud architecture and migrations (Microsoft Azure) which I've been doing for a while now for current employer and my previous one, I should know in the next few weeks if the request will be processed, if it is this will be the route I use as it'll be much easier for us to be together if I'm there already,

Regards

Derek

DerekB1972

While I'm still awaiting the outcome of the company transfer one thing occurred to me that may help while waiting on the CR1 (making plans in case the transfer doesn't happen), once we're married and while my wife would be 'staying with me temporarily while conducting her stated purpose of tourism' am I also allowed to apply for a UK family visa for her as this would extend her visa for 2 years and 9 months (and also allow her to work if she wanted) or would this muddy the CR1 application?

Thanks for any advice

Derek

Rete

If your L-1 doesn't work out there are two scenarios open to you and your USC wife for obtaining your IR/CR-1 visa to the US:

1. You marry, she obtains a spousal visa to the UK which will enable her to directly petition for you at the London US Consulate; or

2. You marry, she visits you only under the VWP and she starts the process for your IR/CR visa by filing the I-130 in the US.

Option #1 would shave months off the wait time

Option #2 would mean your wait time will be increased by several months.

In other scenario, who is willing to be your secondary financial sponsor? She would be unable to qualify, although she will have to, unless she has the assets required. If married, your assets can be used.

DerekB1972

Thank you for the quick reply, I think option #1 is the route we'll use as that would allow me to work while waiting (I make more than my girlfriend and she'd like to see more of the UK so is happy to be over here for the duration of the application), we wouldn't file for CR1 until after our wedding so would do it over here and at the same time I can apply for the UK family visa for her too which extends her stay beyond the tourist limitation, this also allows both of our finances /assets to be used.

Work have also confirmed of this role doesn't work out for me they will help going forward with other USA vacancies so I'm guessing if I get my own visa/work permit it will help.

Thanks again

Derek

christmasoompa

Worth noting that you can't apply for a UK spousal visa from the UK if she's on a visitor visa (only those on 'proper' visas i.e. work visas can do so), she must apply from outside the UK. Also, if granted whilst she's in the UK, IIRC it becomes null and void, so visiting during the processing time is risky. Sounds like you'd earn enough to sponsor her for a UK spouse visa though so could be a good option, although a very expensive one for just a year or two! Any questions about the UK visa side of things, head to the section of the forum aimed at those application and you'll get great info - https://britishexpats.com/forum/citi...-visas-uk-196/

Good luck.

DerekB1972

Thanks for that information, I'd completely misread the apply from UK rules, that does cause a little bit of a problem around us being together while we wait on the CR1.

I've had a quick read on the forum link that you sent and the current UK visa times aren't great either, looks like we're going to have a few months apart no matter how we do things

christmasoompa

Unfortunately, that may be the case. Assume you're aware of the rather large cost of the UK visa process? Obviously up to you how you spend your money, but it would be a heck of a lot if you only wanted it until your US visa came through so just wanted to check! There may be other options instead of a spouse visa, if you post in the forum linked to above they should be able to help.

Good luck.

DerekB1972

Yes around £1538 for the visa and then another £1048 to extend, it's a lot but I'd end up spending that (at least) on flights to the USA while waiting.

I've posted on that forum too, thanks for the link