Hi,

I'm the OP here and just wanted to update everything and ask some new questions. Things have changed substantially since I posted this thread. My fiance and I were married at the beginning of November. He returned to the UK to work at his job for a few more months and save as much money as he can. He's planning to move back next spring (around April or May perhaps).

Turns out that I'm going on 5 weeks pregnant now. The baby will be due next summer, so the biggest concern we have now is how soon can my husband be authorized to work when he comes back in the spring?

So the issue of the K1 and the Spousal Visa thing isn't really an issue anymore. Thanks if anyone reads this and replies. I posted another thread about this a few weeks ago but I couldn't find it to go back and read the replies.

TIA!

Continued from thread http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...76#post8135876

Hi andiclare,

Since you are now married, you will need to go through the Immigrant Visa process instead of the K-1 process.

The Immigrant Visa process takes about 8 - 10 months to complete, so I don't think he'll be moving to the USA by Spring 2010 (I'd say more like Summer 2010).

If you have not done the research yet on the Immigrant Visa, we have a wiki entry here on it. You will begin the process by filing an I-130 in the USA, including any backup needed. After I-130 approval, the case moves to NVC (where you will be required to submit an I-864 affidavit of support, among other things, so make sure you financially qualify to be his sponsor, or make sure you have a joint sponsor). Eventually he'll get his police report and medical done and attend the visa interview.

When he arrives in the USA using his CR-1 Immigrant Visa, he becomes a US Permanent Resident right away, and is work authorized from Day 1. (CR-1 is the category of visa he'll get, since your marriage will be less than 2 years old at the time.)

If you have any questions about the Immigrant Visa process, please post them here. I closed your other two threads so all your information can stay in one place.

You can go to www.uscis.gov, Forms, to view the I-130, G-325A, and I-864 (and I-864P which gives you the income amount you need to qualify).

Rene

Congratulations on the wedding and the pregnancy.

Your husband cannot come to live in the US with you until he has been through the CR-1 interview at the US Consulate in London and has an approved Immediate Relative Visa in his passport. He will probably NOT receive that visa before the birth of the baby. Timeline is 8 to 10 months for completion.

Others will give you the details on the processing of the visa.

Please note, it is ILLEGAL for your husband to enter the US without the proper visa and stay to adjust status.

Also note that once he has the approved visa in his passport and enters the US with it, he is authorized to work from day one.

Thank you for the info and for sorting out my crazy multi-thread issues.

We're going to look into all this...I called the USCIS today and they're going to have someone call me back to go over the I 130 and the other forms we'll need. I don't know if it'll work, with him only coming over when the baby is already born. There's a chance I might extend my stay in England instead until he's approved. I guess that's my other question...If I went up to England and had the baby, could we still have the Immigration Visa process be in the works and as soon as it's approved, we both come back here?

Thanks again.

I would NOT count on USCIS to give you good information on filling out the I-130, or in fact any of the immigration process. If you really need one-on-one help with the forms and process, go see an Immigration Attorney. USCIS can (and often does) give wrong information, and then you'll be in real trouble if things go wrong.

Your husband can still come visit you on the VWP (assuming he never overstayed any visit), while the visa process is ongoing. He should make sure he has ties to show to the UK (i.e., job, residence) to show at the POE in case he is asked.

Yes, that's a possibility, but make sure you have the I-864 affidavit of support covered. If you stay in the UK that long, my guess is that you won't be working, and won't have an income to qualify you for the I-864. Make sure you either have enough in assets to qualify (his assets in the UK can be included now that you're married), or you have a joint sponsor.

Also, if you have the baby in the UK, make sure you get the baby a US Passport before returning to the USA. You might also want to get proof of the baby's UK citizenship while you're still in the UK as well.

Rene

Rene, that link is to this thread, not a different one.

This is your only realistic way for you to be together for the duration of the pregnancy and birth. The bonus is you get to have your baby born for free (regardless of any complications that crop up) on the glorious and much maligned NHS.

Take note of Rene's comments on the baby's registration of birth and [b]requirement[/] under US law of US Citizens entering on a US passport.

Once you file all the needed paperwork, you can obtain the correct visa and move to the UK. Make sure someone mans your US mailbox for communications from USCIS.

Please also answer this question:

Did you 'inherit' US Citizenship from a parent, or are you a USC in your own right (e.g. you were born in the US). This may have a bearing on the baby's status at birth.

Sorry, here's the correct link:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=609829

Rene

Hi Rene,

Can his overseas income be counted towards the AOS if the couple are resident there? Also, the OP would only have to be resident in the UK for six months to file DCF - which might be faster.

It wouldn't be faster than filing NOW in the USA.

No, the income used on the Affidavit of Support must be US-based, or continue from the same source once inside the USA (such as retirement income).

BritishGuy is right. Waiting 6 months to file DCF won't be faster than filing the I-130 in the USA now.

Filing in the USA from start to finish is about 8 - 10 months.
DCF, the USC must be in the UK at least 6 months in order to file, plus the 3 or 4 months it takes to process still equals 9 or 10 months. And with DCF, the USC must have some sort of permanent status in the UK for 6 months (i.e., not be there as a visitor).

Rene

Okay - from the financial and process time aspects, there's no advantage really for the OP to live in the UK. However, I know I wouldn't want to be on my own without my husband during pregnancy, delivery, and sleepless nights! If I had a really good support system here and needed to stay to work, I guess I'd consider it, but otherwise I'd want to be with my husband. My tuppence.

I agree, it's a good idea for her to be in the UK with her hubby while expecting. She should file the I-130 before leaving the USA, and make sure someone is checking her mailbox in the USA to let her know if something comes from USCIS. She'll also need to line up a joint sponsor for the I-864.

Rene

sb,

Let's think about this for a moment - the affidavit of support is to show that the sponsor can support the immigrant after the immigrant has moved to the USA. How can the sponsor's previous income earned overseas support the immigrant once the sponsor has moved to the USA and is no longer earning that income?

Answer: Only the part of the past overseas income that was saved, and is now an asset, can be used to support the immigrant.

Regards, JEff

Someone asked this:

I'm born and raised in Texas and New Mexico, never even been outside of the US yet.

About the topic yall were discussing, up above. The more we research this the more it looks like I won't be spending more time in the UK than the Visa Waiver will allow me. We'll probably max out that limit (90 days I think?) and then I'll come back. I'll tell you where we're at right now: (Bear with me, some of this is just me thinking/talking out loud so I can get it all straight.)

First of, yall really weren't kidding about the uselessness of the USCIS call center. I've had a couple of good people, but they're outweighed by the ones who give me a different story every time I call. Then there's the guy yesterday who hung up on me(!!). So, we finished the 325 biographical forms, the I-130...We have the $355 fee and I have my photos, my husband needs to go get his sometime this week and mail them to me. So now we're down to the AOS and that's what was tripping us up.

I was told by the USCIS person that I had to make 125% of the poverty line for my household size. The person on the phone told me that if I live alone (as I do), my household size is one. I really wish I had carefully read the actual instructions on the form first. Apparently the person you're sponsoring counts as a person in your household, which makes sense. So I qualify for a one-person household and I'm a few hundred dollars short of qualifying for a two-person household. My husband has a job, and we have a small savings which we're adding to, but apparently that will only count if that income will continue once he's here. Obviously he won't be working his old UK job here in the States lol.

Soooo....long story short, I have a cousin I'm very closed to who makes about 60k a year and would qualify. She offered to be a co-sponsor or joint sponsor. So, I have to send her a I-864 to fill out and she'll need to furnish a proof that she's s resident (birth certificate?) plus tax returns, W2, pay stubs, etc. as per the 864 instructions.

My question is, if she's doing this, I will also need to go ahead and fill out the I-864 and furnish the same documentation as she is, even though they'll be mostly looking at her income to make the determination, right?

Then I submit both her I864 and mine together with the I-130 and all the other things?

Sorry for all the questions, I just have one more: the part where we have to show our relationship, we're going to include our marriage certificate and the certificate from the Church and then my mom, brother and my cousin (who was maid of honor) are going to write affadavits to support our marriage. Also, since they do ask for proof of children to support your being married, should I go ahead and turn in a copy of my Report of Pregnancy? (Had to get that for my insurance.)

Thanks so much in advance!