meauxna

The I-864 is due at the interview.

Jaxbar

I am in Pensacola, let me know if there is any information I can offer. Have been here three years.

Getting a job is not easy, I know as my job is to help others to find work. Decent paying jobs are rare but the service industries and tourism has jobs though at the moment everyone is reducing hours.

Good luck.

chrisncarla

Hi

Ours took 5 Months from start to finish see signature

colinda

Took me 11 months....but there were a few things to take care of.....should have been maybe 9/10 months

Noorah101

Right. Seems to me you will probably need a joint sponsor, unless your wife goes to the USA ahead of you and finds work earning the right annual amount.

Rene

Wilto

Righteo it looks like I'm going to need a joint financial sponsor as I don't have a huge amount in assets.

The most likely candidate to sponsor me will be my father in law. Slight hitch there too.

My wife and her parents came to the UK 4 years ago, her parents are moving back in the next few months. They have not worked in the US for 4 years so have no W2 or tax returns of any kind as they haven't needed to.

So where does that leave me? There are other relatives there with enough money to joint sponsor me but obviously I'd prefer it to be someone close.

The only time I need to make the state aware of my joint financial sponsor is on the I 864 affidavit correct, and I will have to fill out 2 of those, one for my wife as she is sponsoring me and one for the person who is financially sponsoring me, so I will have to ask for two 864 forms correct?

fatbrit

As US citizens, they should have filed tax returns. On the sponsorship front, they can possibly substitute capital for income.

Wilto

Just spoken to my father in law and he says he hasn't made enough to file a US tax return.

He has filed UK tax but not American.

fatbrit

It'd be a very small income if he didn't have to file. Are you sure he didn't mean that he didn't have to pay any additional on his US tax? The first $80k or so earned abroad is "free". However, he still needs to file.

Wilto

He earned something to the tune of $30K here in the UK, not a glamourous job!

Hmm he said he didn't need to becuase of the low income. Sooooo hmmm we hit a little glitch there.

My FIL has a wealthy sister, could I put her down as a joint financial spnosor, she has all tax returns and W2s and all the rest, even though I probably wouldn't live with her, I would live with my wife's parents to start before we get a house.

meauxna

Direct your FIL to the IRS section of the US Embassy/London website.

US citizens must report their worldwide income (BG36's tax wiki here would help your FIL).
You do not need to live with your Joint Sponsor.

Wilto

Ok thanks for clearing that up.
Will point my FIL in the right direction or he may get a nasty suprise on his return to the US of A.
Well I think I have most bases covered now.
Thanks to all of your guys help!

Just Jenney

Luckily for US citizens living abroad, having to FILE tax returns doesn't necessarily mean one must PAY taxes.

He'll want to look up IRS Form 2555 for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion: http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2555/index.html

According to the IRS website, people who earned equal to or less than $87,600 in 2008 are excluded from paying federal income tax, provided they file Form 2555 with their tax returns. See the above link for more information.

~ Jenney

ian-mstm

FYI... they can not be joint sponsors *until* they are living in the US, so that'll mean delaying the application at least until then.

Ian

Wilto

Well it looks like my FIL's wealthy sister will have to joint sponsor me.
Ian you say my FIL cannot be a joint sponsor until living in the usa, does the same go for my wife?