IR1 Newbie here - not filed yet and have lots of questions!

[viol8torUK 0]

Hi all - first post so be nice to me!!

- and I apologise in advance if some of these questions have been answered elsewhere on this site... just point me to them and I'll be happy!

So... here is the situation.....

I am a UK citizen, residing in the UK. My wife is a US citizen by birth and has been residing in the UK on a spouse visa since March 2008 (prior to this she lived and worked in the US). It is a 2 year visa and expires in March 2010. We have known each other since approximately December 2002 and were married in January 2008 in the UK. We have no children (yet)

We are hoping to both move to the US early next year, after our 2year wedding anniversary and before her 2year UK visa expires. We will be applying for my IR1 visa through the US Embassy in London, UK in the next couple of weeks.

My wife is currently working part-time in the UK, and would give up that job to move back to the US. I work full-time in the UK and have been told by my employer that they will continue to employ me when I move to the US (I work as an IT support specialist and our company does have US customers, but no US office currently). My wife 'should' be able to get a job back at her old company in the US.

When we move to the US, we are likely to be staying with friends for the first few weeks until we can find our own house (we are hoping to buy rather than rent if possible). My wifes parents are going to start the house-hunting process, and may even purchase somewhere for us prior to us moving if they find a good deal, but we can't assume to have our own address by the time we move there.

I have lots of questions regarding all of this, but I guess my primary concerns at the moment are regarding the Affidavit of support.

My wife has only been working part-time in the UK so her income would be well under what is required for the poverty guidelines. She also currently has no US address, and won't have one until we both move there. We also won't know what our address in the US will be until almost at the point of moving. She has filed her US taxes this year, and will file again at the beginning of 2010 (even though she has no US income to file). My salary in the US should satisfy the poverty guidelines (I'll be earning around $50k gross), and my employer is happy to confirm my employment and salary in writing for the visa process. My wifes (US) parents will also provide an affidavit if necessary. Can we use her parents US address on our visa application or does it have to be our own address where we will be residing?

In various places I have seen different answers regarding the '2years of marriage' ruling regarding IR1/CR1 status.... in some places it says that it is based on the date you get your passport stamped at the port of entry, on others it says that it is taken from the day of the visa interview. This is something I'm very interested in as our 2year anniversary will likely be during the visa process, and we will definitely not be moving to the US until approximately 6weeks after our 2year anniversary.

I also have questions relating to paying taxes in the US when employed by a UK company and being paid directly from the company's London office, but I'm not sure whether this forum has any experience regarding this, and also whether this will have any impact on the visa application process.

I'm sure I will have many more questions as this process gets underway, but I want to get as much information in advance as possible so that I am prepared for any problems that may arise during this process!

Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to give.

Tony

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

- For your US address, just use either the friend you'll be staying at (if you know yet who that is), or your wife's parents, then change it when you get your own place.

- Your income should be fine, as you will continue in your company and not start a new job in the USA. If her parents don't mind co-sponsering, maybe have them fill out all the docs just in case, but don't submit them unless the embassy gives you trouble about your income.

- You will get the IR-1 if you enter the USA after your second anniversary. If that anniversary is between the visa interview and your move, point this out to the border officer at PoE so they don't overlook it.

- Not sure about paying taxes, but it won't have an impact on the visa process as the tax thing happens after you enter the USA.

[viol8torUK 0]

Thanks for all your help people.... I-130 will be submitted tomorrow.... in my opinion the easiest step of the process after looking ahead at the rest of the forms!

Thanks again

Tony

[L179 1]

agree with penguin...best of luck to you viol8torUk

[GabiandVi 34]

- For your US address, just use either the friend you'll be staying at (if you know yet who that is), or your wife's parents, then change it when you get your own place.

- Your income should be fine, as you will continue in your company and not start a new job in the USA. If her parents don't mind co-sponsering, maybe have them fill out all the docs just in case, but don't submit them unless the embassy gives you trouble about your income.

- You will get the IR-1 if you enter the USA after your second anniversary. If that anniversary is between the visa interview and your move, point this out to the border officer at PoE so they don't overlook it.

- Not sure about paying taxes, but it won't have an impact on the visa process as the tax thing happens after you enter the USA.

Agree. The only thing I would add is that if you have enough savings to be thinking of purchasing a house right away, you might have enough in assets to meet the financial requirements without having a co-sponsor. I don't think your wife's income in the UK will be at all helpful. However, a letter from your current employer stating that you will continue employment with them might.

Good luck. It should go smoothly according to your history.

[viol8torUK 0]

Unfortunately no savings as yet - busy clearing UK debts before we move. As I will have no US credit history, and she may not have a job by the time we move out there, her parents will be co-signing our mortgage agreement.... we do hope to have enough for a deposit by the time we move ... approx 3-5% is the minimum from what I can work out.... plus my wife does have a very good credit rating in the US, although I'm not sure how being out of the country for 2 years will affect it !

Her parents have agreed to co-sponsor our visa application if necessary, so I will have that paperwork available in case, but I'm hoping my guaranteed US salary from my current employer should cover any problems there.

Time will tell!!!

Thanks again

Tony