JHolden47

Hi I only just discovered this forum I have been doing my own research but would be great to get other users experiences. My wife is a USC, (duel UK/US nationality moved to UK as a child) so she does not have a credit history etc. We will be moving to Maine/New Hampshire area, she has family there. The date for the move is set for next summer, we can’t wait! I have a few questions below I hope that you can help me with, I understand everyone’s situation is different but just to know I am on the right lines would be nice!

Green Card
M green card is processing with the NVC I sent an I130 in Nov 12 followed by a I485 and a temporary work visa in June 13 (the temporary work visa is the insurance policy which should allow me to work in the event that my green card has not arrived by moving time) could anyone tell me how long it normally takes between sending the I485 and getting an interview?

Credit Rating
We spent 2 weeks in the US this summer where my wife opened a bank account and applied for a secure credit card. The card will be used while we are in the UK in order to build a history. We would like to buy a house, could anyone tell me roughly how long it takes to build up a credit history? Once I can get a SSN I will also apply for a secure credit card also to help speed up the process.

Jobs
We plan to start applying for jobs a couple months before we move out, I am a civil/environmental engineer and my wife is a legal/finance administrator. I have already started to talk to companies to get an understanding of the job situation in my sector but I would be interested to hear hints or tips that people may have? or websites to use

Living costs
We will be travelling back out to the US in Feb for a week when we would like to take our driving tests, and line up any other tasks before the move. Could someone give me an idea on the following costs?

1.Health insurance costs for 2 healthy 30 year olds? (assuming that jobs come with insurance). I am budgeting $600/month, does that sound ok?

2.Car insurance (2002 GMC Yukon worth $4000) I am budgeting $150/month, does that sound ok?

3.Buildings/contents insurance (3-4 bed house) I am budgeting $85/month, does that sound ok?

4.Food costs Ok I know string lengths here but is $300 a month food budget reasonable, huge or what?


Thankyou for all your help

thinbrit

Some employers pay 100% of the cost, thats not common though.
$600 sounds more than enough. If you both have insurance through work its typically much less expensive to each have your own insurance, rather than have a spouse insured on the other spouses policy.


Sounds right.




That depends on the value of the insured. May be enough, maybe not. Also if you want to add riders for jewelry or expensive electronics etc.



If you live frugally it sounds OK. Add in toiletries and household products and it all adds up. My wife can spend $600 at Costco, outside the regular weekly shopping. You might compare your regular shopping list against Walmart.com for an idea on how things stack up.

JHolden47

thinbrit thanks for your help, walmart.com is a great idea, hadn't thaught of that

Noorah101

This sounds wrong. Where are you (the UKC) now? You say your wife is a USC and has been living in the UK most of her life, so I assumed you are both currently in the UK. Plus you mention moving to the USA next summer, which also indicates you're currently in the UK. If you are currently in the UK, you are not doing an adjustment of status process, so you should not have filed an I-485. You also won't be getting any kind of temporary work visa from what you filed.

The process you are doing is an Immigrant Visa process. The I-130 is the petition to establish the relationship between you and your USC spouse. After that, depending on where the I-130 was filed (to the lockbox in Chicago or directly to London), the case will progress through NVC (or not) and then ultimately you'll have an Immigrant Visa interview in London.

Your "green card" will not arrive before moving time, but you will have an Immigrant Visa interview about 8 - 10 months after filing the I-130.

Again, the I-485 that you sent in June (along with what I assume is an I-765 for EAD) does NOT apply to you. You have no basis for filing the I-485 since you're not inside the USA.

If you filed an I-130 in November 2012, it seems to me you should have heard something about that by now...such as an I-130 approval, and then a notice from NVC to submit more documents, etc. You should actually be almost done with the Immigrant Visa process by now. In fact, you said your case is currently at NVC, so you should be done there soon, and within the next couple of months you'll have your Immigrant Visa interview.

You're going to be traveling in February 2014? I assume by that time you'll have your Immigrant Visa in hand, and that is when you'll be making your move to the USA, not visiting for a week. The Immigrant Visa will be valid for only 6 months from the date of your medical exam, so Feb 2014 sounds way too late. You probably will immigrate before then.

I think you need to sort out your visa misunderstandings first.

Rene

JHolden47

Hi Rene thanks for your reply. yes I am in the UK now I have received the I-130 approval, we then did an I684, which we sent, I was then asked for an I230, and a I765, apologes I didn't mean to say I485

Noorah101

OK, good.

I believe you mean I-864, Affidavit of Support?

I believe you mean DS-230?

I do NOT believe you were asked for an I-765. I-765 is an application for Employment Authorization Document, and is not part of the Immigrant Visa process.

Otherwise, it sounds as though your Immigrant Visa process is going as normal. If you continue at this pace, you will need to immigrate earlier than Summer 2014.

Rene

JHolden47

Hi yes correct to all the above I was typing quickly as I panicked I had done something wrong!! all ok then! I was not asked for a 765 but I included one anyway just in case (someone told me it could take years for the visa to come through). Ok if we need to go earlier then we will do. I think the NVC are running a bit slow at the moment though I phoned them a week ago and they still had not processed the documents!


thanks for your help

Hotscot

Has your wife been submitting tax returns? You'll need to attend to that.

Try Indeed.com for jobs, very easy to use. Please note though that the job market is tough.

JHolden47

Hi yes the tax return issue is being addressed, also, ok will try that

Pulaski

My experience was that until I actually had my "feet on the ground" it was impossible to turn any "interest" into interviews. You can research ahead on-line, but don't expect much concrete interest until you arrive, though even a visit might be enough for interviews, IME, as a week long trip to New York (12 years ago) quickly led to five interviews and three job offers for me.

Noorah101

Even if it did take years for the visa to come through, the I-765 for an EAD still does not apply to someone getting an Immigrant Visa. I hope you didn't pay a fee along with the I-765.

Rene

JHolden47

Rene no I didn't pay a fee, according to the instructions I was exempt

JHolden47

Pulaski, that's kinda what I am thinking but I will put in as much work job hunting from the UK as I can

Noorah101

Just curious, what instructions were you reading? None of the instructions for the Immigrant Visa process call for an I-765 at all.

Rene

JHolden47

The payment instructions were part of the PDF download pack, I read about it on another forum. Someone scared me and told me that it could take 11 years for my green card to come through!....this other forum said that you could move to the US while the visa was processing and work on a I-765.

It was only a backup, from what you are saying everything is actually processing ahead of my schedule!