I-864 sponsorship

[Erthwhile 0]

Hi there,

I've just married my wonderful wife. She's US citizen, but she's just graduated and she's moved to Italy to live with me.

As she's about to get her resident status here in Italy (italian green card), after 6 months of residency here in Italy we're thinking about filing for DCF in Italy.

Only one doubt dou. She has no income, and her family lives in Japan! So... can I sponsor myself or my family sponsor me? I mean, I have some assets and liquidity. if we open a joint bank account, would that suffice? How do I go about?

Please help!

thanks a lot folks!!

[MargotDarko 0]

Since you're her spouse, she can include your assets on the I-864. It doesn't even have to be joint, but if that's not too hard, that would possibly look better. If it's just the two of you and you have more than $53,000 USD in assets, it should be fine. The equity in a home can be used even before selling the home - you would just need a recent evaluation and proof of much of the mortgage you've already paid.

Your wife should be careful to maintain her US domicile and write US for domcile on the I-864. Ideally, she would have a US address she can continue to use - even a trustworthy friend if there's no family left in the US. Maintaining a valid driver's license, keeping US bank accounts open, and being registered vote are all good things to show US domicile.

EDIT - I forgot to say that your family (I am guessing they are Italian and living in Italy) would not be able to support you for immigration to the US unless they transfer money into your accounts.

Edited September 24, 2008 by MargotDarko

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Yeah you can self sponsor as the spouse, though your USC spouse still needs to be "primary sponsor" and fill in the I-864, it is just that both your assets can be declared on it as you are married. BUT the assets you sponsor with must be US based- so open that joint account in the USA, or plan a trip over there before you file and buy a home there (great euro-dollar exchange rate at the moment, so that is what we did and got a lovely home for a great price!).

[MargotDarko 0]

Yeah you can self sponsor as the spouse, though your USC spouse still needs to be "primary sponsor" and fill in the I-864, it is just that both your assets can be declared on it as you are married. BUT the assets you sponsor with must be US based- so open that joint account in the USA, or plan a trip over there before you file and buy a home there (great euro-dollar exchange rate at the moment, so that is what we did and got a lovely home for a great price!).

I don't know all the details about using assets. Why do you say they must be US-based? I don't think I've ever seen that in any instructions.

[trailmix 77]

Yeah you can self sponsor as the spouse, though your USC spouse still needs to be "primary sponsor" and fill in the I-864, it is just that both your assets can be declared on it as you are married. BUT the assets you sponsor with must be US based- so open that joint account in the USA, or plan a trip over there before you file and buy a home there (great euro-dollar exchange rate at the moment, so that is what we did and got a lovely home for a great price!).

I don't know all the details about using assets. Why do you say they must be US-based? I don't think I've ever seen that in any instructions.

You are correct Margot, the assets don't necessarily have to be U.S. based.

I think it's up to the CO - I read a posting a few months ago about a couple who has some deposits in Australia and they had to move them...the comment was 'how do we know those are real banks'.

In our case, funds in a Canadian bank were just fine.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

I always understood they needed to be US based- or income either US based or US taxed, ie continuing while in the USA- so the US government can go after it should it be needed, But you are right, it doesn't seem to say it anywhere!

[MargotDarko 0]

Yeah you can self sponsor as the spouse, though your USC spouse still needs to be "primary sponsor" and fill in the I-864, it is just that both your assets can be declared on it as you are married. BUT the assets you sponsor with must be US based- so open that joint account in the USA, or plan a trip over there before you file and buy a home there (great euro-dollar exchange rate at the moment, so that is what we did and got a lovely home for a great price!).

I don't know all the details about using assets. Why do you say they must be US-based? I don't think I've ever seen that in any instructions.

You are correct Margot, the assets don't necessarily have to be U.S. based.

I think it's up to the CO - I read a posting a few months ago about a couple who has some deposits in Australia and they had to move them...the comment was 'how do we know those are real banks'.

In our case, funds in a Canadian bank were just fine.

Yep, I remember that one too - I am quite sure it was just because they were going through London and the money was in Australia. So I would think anyone with assets in the country where they're doing DCF should be just fine.

[MargotDarko 0]

I always understood they needed to be US based- or income either US based or US taxed, ie continuing while in the USA- so the US government can go after it should it be needed, But you are right, it doesn't seem to say it anywhere!

You're right that income needs to be either US-based or have proof that it will continue at the same amount after moving. I'm glad there wasn't some rule that I hadn't known about with the assets - that would be such a pain for those using their foreign spouse's assets on the I-864. So at least that's one area where they're being something approaching reasonable.

[Erthwhile 0]

I always understood they needed to be US based- or income either US based or US taxed, ie continuing while in the USA- so the US government can go after it should it be needed, But you are right, it doesn't seem to say it anywhere!

You're right that income needs to be either US-based or have proof that it will continue at the same amount after moving. I'm glad there wasn't some rule that I hadn't known about with the assets - that would be such a pain for those using their foreign spouse's assets on the I-864. So at least that's one area where they're being something approaching reasonable.

sO... CAN i USE MY ASSETS (like house value, money into my bank account, etc)?

[trailmix 77]

I always understood they needed to be US based- or income either US based or US taxed, ie continuing while in the USA- so the US government can go after it should it be needed, But you are right, it doesn't seem to say it anywhere!

You're right that income needs to be either US-based or have proof that it will continue at the same amount after moving. I'm glad there wasn't some rule that I hadn't known about with the assets - that would be such a pain for those using their foreign spouse's assets on the I-864. So at least that's one area where they're being something approaching reasonable.

sO... CAN i USE MY ASSETS (like house value, money into my bank account, etc)?

Where is your house, where is the money in your bank account? As Margot said, they seem to be accepting of money in an account in the country where you DCF. Also, as you can see above, we are all just surmising about your situation as you haven't provided much detail.

If your money is in Italy and your house is in Italy, they may well accept them. To double check you may want to contact the embassy directly, you never know, sometimes different embassies have different rules.

Also, if you are going to use your house you will need documents to prove you own it, mortgage documents if you have them etc. Check out the I-864 instructions for details on that.

Edited September 26, 2008 by trailmix

[MargotDarko 0]

I always understood they needed to be US based- or income either US based or US taxed, ie continuing while in the USA- so the US government can go after it should it be needed, But you are right, it doesn't seem to say it anywhere!

You're right that income needs to be either US-based or have proof that it will continue at the same amount after moving. I'm glad there wasn't some rule that I hadn't known about with the assets - that would be such a pain for those using their foreign spouse's assets on the I-864. So at least that's one area where they're being something approaching reasonable.

sO... CAN i USE MY ASSETS (like house value, money into my bank account, etc)?

If your house and other assets are in Italy and you have proof of the equity in your home, you should have no problems including them on your wife's I-864 as part of her household assets.

[Erthwhile 0]

But what are the advantages of filing throug Direct Consular Filing?

Will the waiting times shorter? And will I directly get a green card? Will I have to move to the US within a certain timframe?

thanks!

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Yes wait times is shorter- usually you get your visa in a few weeks rather than 8+ months.

You will get an immigration visa, which leads to a green card once you move to the US.

Once the visa is issued, you have 6 months to enter the US.

Edited September 27, 2008 by Penguin_ie

[MargotDarko 0]

But what are the advantages of filing throug Direct Consular Filing?

Will the waiting times shorter? And will I directly get a green card? Will I have to move to the US within a certain timframe?

thanks!

DCF is by far the very best way to go. The waiting times are months shorter - sometimes a spousal immigrant visa through a US service center can take a year or even more. And in some countries, DCF is as short as a month. The average DCF from what I've read is more like two to five months, which is still vastly better than a year.

No matter how you obtain the visa, you have to enter the US and activate the visa within six months of receiving it. Once you enter, you will be a US permanent resident and receive the green card in the mail within about six to eight weeks. If you still need to finish up anything in Italy, you could enter the US to activate the visa and then return to Italy for a little while before permanently settling in the US - I wouldn't do that unless you have a US address you can use, such one of your spouse's friends or family members.

As long as you use the visa within six months and settle permanently within six months after activating the visa, you shouldn't have any trouble hanging on to your green card. When you have your green card, you should not risk being out of the US for more than around five months at a time. Anything six months or more can look strange upon returning and also really stretches out time frame for applying for citizenship.

Hope that helps!

[Erthwhile 0]

But what are the advantages of filing throug Direct Consular Filing?

Will the waiting times shorter? And will I directly get a green card? Will I have to move to the US within a certain timframe?

thanks!

DCF is by far the very best way to go. The waiting times are months shorter - sometimes a spousal immigrant visa through a US service center can take a year or even more. And in some countries, DCF is as short as a month. The average DCF from what I've read is more like two to five months, which is still vastly better than a year.

No matter how you obtain the visa, you have to enter the US and activate the visa within six months of receiving it. Once you enter, you will be a US permanent resident and receive the green card in the mail within about six to eight weeks. If you still need to finish up anything in Italy, you could enter the US to activate the visa and then return to Italy for a little while before permanently settling in the US - I wouldn't do that unless you have a US address you can use, such one of your spouse's friends or family members.

As long as you use the visa within six months and settle permanently within six months after activating the visa, you shouldn't have any trouble hanging on to your green card. When you have your green card, you should not risk being out of the US for more than around five months at a time. Anything six months or more can look strange upon returning and also really stretches out time frame for applying for citizenship.

Hope that helps!

hi there!

this was very useful!!

A couple of questions if I can...

After I receive my visa, should I move to the US with my wife or can I activate it on my own?

My situation is as follow...

We got married last month, and to file for DCF in Italy you (the petitioner) have to be residing in italy for at least 6 months. Next September my wife will likely start a Master at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy that will last until sep. 2010. But in the meantime (july-august 2010) i will start my MBA in the USA, so i will have to move there before she can move with me... Also, she cannot clearly move to the USA during her master to "activate" my visa... what do you suggest then?

thanks!!