virginiadare

Hi,

We are about to (finally) start the process of getting me (a UK citizen) over to the USA with my husband who is a USC. This is our dilemma...we are both resident in the UK...so I believe that we can now do DCF at the consulate in London.

We have been researching into the various forms that we need to complete and we are worried about the I-864. Both my husband and I work here in the UK so we can decalre that on our I-864....but I guess we have to provide evidence that we will still be recieving funds when we go to the USA and in essence we will not as we will have left our jobs here in the UK to look for new ones in the USA.

My husband is considering going back to the USA in August and getting a job and leaving me behind in the UK for a while. That way the I-864 should not be a problem as he can declare his US income...but can he do this if we file in London? Does he need to remain here in the UK during the whole process? And how do we make it clear on the I-864 that this is what is happening..i.e. when we file the i-130 he will be working in the UK but on any additional forms he will be in the USA.

When we file the I-130 should we put our UK address on there or put his mothers address in the USA???

Its very confusing and we can't work it out!
Please help!!!

lansbury

We were both living in the UK for 10 years when we filed, it is a lot quicker going direct to the London Embassy.

We had no income in the USA but if you have assets which are 5 times greater than the required income you can use these. The equity in our UK house more than covered the amount required.

If you do DCF with the London Embassy use your UK address

Noorah101

Actually, I think the amount is now 3 times the required amount, so might work out even better.

Rene

meauxna

There are two distinct parts to immigrating your foreign spouse to the US:
-the petition
-the visa application

The USC must be resident abroad a minimum of 6 months to qualify to file the petition overseas ("DCF") and should demonstrate that he is genuinely resident in the UK. London has been a bit inconsistant with this recently, so evidence of employment, residence and the correct visa stamp are helpful pieces to include with his petition. Using your UK address seems to help.
The petition and fee (and all relevant attachements) can be filed to London; if they will not take the case, they'll return it to him with instruction to file in the US and you won't be charged.

Start here: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new...iv/immrel.html and here: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

The petitioner does not have to stay in the UK once the petition is accepted. If he decides that it's best to move over to the US while you complete your visa application, it will not interfere.
There is a good FAQ on London's site about the I-864--just stick to that Immigrant Visa section and read everything they've got--you are but one of many. (recent feedback is that some of the fees etc are not up to date there, but it is a good starting point)

The I-864 will not be submitted until your visa interview, so you've got several months yet before you need to answer those questions. It really has nothing to do with filing and adjudication of the I-130.

Assets can be used in lieu of income--very important for those of relocating back to the US from abroad.

There are a couple of very recent threads on London DCF if you scroll back a page or two in the forum. Stick to online info from Feb 07 forward---procedures recently changed.

virginiadare

Thank-you everyone!

I've had a read through the links you suggested and took on board all the comments.

As I understand it, from the websites and your comments, we can go ahead and file the i-130 (with our UK address) in London. It seems, judging on current waiting times, that it'll take a few months to process by which time we will have sorted out all the necessary forms such as tax returns and police certificates. As for the affidavait of support. I own a house here in the UK...which in the blossoming property market has just been valued at just over two hundred thousand pounds...so we would be able to use that as an asset...as well as our jobs...and if my husband returns to the USA in august and gets a job we can use that also.

Thank-you so much for your help!

lansbury

That is better, and more reasonable. Most people moving over will have established themselves long before 3 years is up.

lansbury

To help get your paperwork together.

To use the house as an asset all you need is something from your building society which shows your mortgage balance, and something from an estate agent with a current valuation. That is all we did and the Embassy accept that without any problems at all. In fact they barley glanced at it.

It is worthwhile applying for any police certificates now they can take up to 40 days for UK ones and last a year, so do it asap.

meauxna

It sounds like you understand the process well.
Have a couple of run thrus on the I-864--it gets easier to understand as you have more context.

ditto ditto to lansbury's comments.. and rene's--the assets conversion is now 3X instead of 5, assets can be held anywhere, but if you are using real estate, remember that it's only the equity that counts. 200K value is fine, unless you owe 199K.
Value minus mortgage owed = equity. Divide by 3 for asset value.

See the USA forum here at BE for pros and cons of keeping your UK house & renting it out vs selling, and check with your tax professional to see if there is any benefit to selling (if that is the plan) before you become a Permanent Resident of the US (that happens when you enter the US with your Immigrant Visa).