swifty473

Hi All,

First post, so be gentle with me!

If i could ask some of the members for advice please, please stick with it!

I'm married to a US citizen and my children although born in UK have dual nationality. We all currently live in UK and have done for the past 4 years.

We would like to move to the US, previously I/my wife had filed for a visa and all seemed to be going swimmingly, had the medical etc, was there for my interview and then it fell apart.

My wife who has been in the UK for the past 4 years has no proof of filing taxes, she has not worked, I solely have supported the family, whilst she has raised the children.

My job is actually in Afghanistan and I would continue to work there should we be granted a visa.

The problem seems to be that they require evidence to show that my wife can support me and the family should we move to the US, thing is, i'll continue to work, she would continue to raise the children.

My main question really is, should i use her parents as a sponsor? they have jobs and proof of filing taxes in the US, they are currently in the US.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

We are going to start the petition process again and obviously do not want to waste the money that we did the first time around…

Sorry if its long winded.

Thanks in advance

rpjs

If you've got income from a source that will continue after you immigrate, in this case your employment in Afghanistan, then you may be able to be your own joint sponsor. You file an I-864A form along with your wife's I-864, plus evidence your employment will continue. We were able to do this as I willbe transferring from the UK to the US office of the same employer and the Embassy accepted this.

However, if you do get your visa and emigrate, if you're going to be spending a long time outside the US - I think it may be as little as six months of the year - then you may have trouble retaining your permanent resident status. If you're working for the US government in Afghanistan then you may get a concession but you'd need to look into this carefully. Hopefully more knowledgably people than me on this forum might have more insight.

AmerLisa

Your wife can file taxes in the UK.

http://london.usembassy.gov/irs/

And unless you have a whole bunch of money to sponsor yourselves, yes the in-laws would be the best idea.

Just out of curiosity..... How will your wife provide medical insurance for her and the kids while you work in Afghanistan?

ian-mstm

Well, once you get the visa and enter the US for the first time, you'll immediately become a US permanent resident (PR)... emphasis on the words "permanent" and "resident". Unless you're actually working for a US employer in Afghanistan, it'll be hard for you to demonstrate that you haven't abandoned your status as a PR almost the moment you have it!

Your wife and children, as US citizens, can simply move to the US now if they want to... and you can continue to work in Afghanistan and visit them in the US when you're able. I'm not sure how that would be different from what you're proposing here. Once your assignment in Afghanistan is over, it might be more practical for your wife to then sponsor you for an immigrant visa.

Doing it your way, seems like an awful waste of time, money, and effort... unless there's something else that you haven't shared.

Ian

Noorah101

Can a mod please move this to the US Marriage-Based visa forum? Thanks.

swifty, it actually sounds as though you are not ready to immigrate to the USA right now, if your plan is to continue working for long periods of time in Afghanistan. Are you in the military?

Personally I'd wait until your duty/job is finished in Afghanistan, and THEN start the process for your immigration to the USA. Your wife and kids, all being US Citizens, can go live there whenever they want...you'll come visit during your time off from work, until your job in Afghanistan is finished.

Rene

meauxna

I think we need more information about the job situation (because it is not necessarily a no-go) and about the previous filing.. when was it and why didn't you solve the problem at the time?
Depending on how long ago it was, the old application may be able to be revived.

swifty473

Thanks for all the responses.

I currently work as a contractor out in Afghanistan, I understand the bit people have mentioned about the wife and kids going to the US and me visiting when i'm on leave etc.. but wanna get the ball rolling with getting property and presumed i would need a visa to get on the property market. Plus if i was to lose my job at any point then if i don't have a visa, i'm only entitled to visit my family on a 3 month tourist visa and which point i would then have to return to the UK. Also if i have a visa it allows me to look for work in the US. I would continue working in Afghanistan as a stop gap until i found settled work in the US.

The previous application was over a year ago and at the time i received a email from the consulate in London stating that my visa application was now out of time and that i would need to reapply.
The problem at the time was the fact that my wife had not been filing taxes( because she was living in the UK), i was trying to resolve the problem at the time and my passport was at the Embassy, but i had to get my passport back to go back to work! so the application was void.

What i don't wanna do is start all over again, spend the money again, with out getting good advice and if possible take a different route.

Noorah101

There is no different route for you to immigrate to the USA. Since your wife is living in the UK, she can file the I-130 directly to London, and the whole immigrant visa process takes approximately 5 months. She will still need to overcome the affidavit of support and intent to domicile issues. You will need to be in the UK to obtain your police report, get your medical done, and attend the visa interview. You need to enter the USA using that visa within 6 months of issue. After that, you'll need to make sure you maintain your ties to the USA, if you'll be outside the USA for extended periods working. The best thing to do is to apply for a re-entry permit immediately after arriving in the USA on your Immigrant Visa. You'll need to stay in the USA until your biometrics are done (will take a few weeks to get the appointment letter in the mail). If you have a stable mailing address, your wife can send the actual re-entry permit to you in Afghanistan...but knowing how the mail delivery can be in that part of the world, I highly suggest staying in the USA until your re-entry permit arrives, and take it with you. The re-entry permit allows you to be outside the USA for up to 2 years continuously. It helps with your intent not to abandon your PR status. It does not resolve the issue completely, but it is an important step in trying to maintain PR status while outside the USA.

Rene