London DCF questions

[JennG17 0]

Hi all,

I'm a US citizen living and working in London (for almost 3 years) and my boyfriend is British. We want to move back to the US early 2011 and are in the early days of exploring our options. DCF seems like the fastest and easiest option for us so are likely to go ahead with this route.

I have a couple 'newbie' questions that I'm hoping you experienced folk can help me out with

- Do you need to be married for a specific amount of time before applying? We'd probably do the 2 pretty back to back...

- Do I need to fill out an affadavit for support on my partner's behalf? As a petitioner living and working in the UK, I obviously couldn't be the 'supporter' as I do not have a residence and job in the US yet. I would not feel comfortable asking my parents or siblings to do fill out the affadavit as it seems like a big commitment. What have you all done in this instance?

- Would it be an option to move back to the US first, get a job, a place to live and then fill our the affadavit?

- Also, have many of you used a lawyer for this process? We're considering it, but only if there are real benefits as it seems pretty straightforward...

Many thanks all for your help, advice or stories!

Jenn

[Lisa and Ian 7]

Hi all,

I'm a US citizen living and working in London (for almost 3 years) and my boyfriend is British. We want to move back to the US early 2011 and are in the early days of exploring our options. DCF seems like the fastest and easiest option for us so are likely to go ahead with this route.

I have a couple 'newbie' questions that I'm hoping you experienced folk can help me out with

- Do you need to be married for a specific amount of time before applying? We'd probably do the 2 pretty back to back...

- Do I need to fill out an affadavit for support on my partner's behalf? As a petitioner living and working in the UK, I obviously couldn't be the 'supporter' as I do not have a residence and job in the US yet. I would not feel comfortable asking my parents or siblings to do fill out the affadavit as it seems like a big commitment. What have you all done in this instance?

- Would it be an option to move back to the US first, get a job, a place to live and then fill our the affadavit?

- Also, have many of you used a lawyer for this process? We're considering it, but only if there are real benefits as it seems pretty straightforward...

Many thanks all for your help, advice or stories!

Jenn

This might help while you're waiting for a more detailed response: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=dcf ("Guides" section at the top of the page).

We did a different filing (K1), but the guides were quite helpful to us. Good luck!

[JennG17 0]

Hi all,

I'm a US citizen living and working in London (for almost 3 years) and my boyfriend is British. We want to move back to the US early 2011 and are in the early days of exploring our options. DCF seems like the fastest and easiest option for us so are likely to go ahead with this route.

I have a couple 'newbie' questions that I'm hoping you experienced folk can help me out with

- Do you need to be married for a specific amount of time before applying? We'd probably do the 2 pretty back to back...

- Do I need to fill out an affadavit for support on my partner's behalf? As a petitioner living and working in the UK, I obviously couldn't be the 'supporter' as I do not have a residence and job in the US yet. I would not feel comfortable asking my parents or siblings to do fill out the affadavit as it seems like a big commitment. What have you all done in this instance?

- Would it be an option to move back to the US first, get a job, a place to live and then fill our the affadavit?

- Also, have many of you used a lawyer for this process? We're considering it, but only if there are real benefits as it seems pretty straightforward...

Many thanks all for your help, advice or stories!

Jenn

This might help while you're waiting for a more detailed response: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=dcf ("Guides" section at the top of the page).

We did a different filing (K1), but the guides were quite helpful to us. Good luck!

Thanks Lisa - I read the guides as well. Very helpful indeed, but don't seem to answer my specific questions unfortunately which is why I'm hoping some of the guru's on this forum could shed some light. Thanks so much!

Jenn

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

We filed in Dublin, not London, but most of your questions are quite general...

- No, you can apply the day you get married, as long as you lived legally in the foreign country for 6 months and you have the marriage cert.

- Yes, you will need to fill out the I-864 affidavit of support. Many DCFers have the same problem as you, and there is basically 2.5 ways around it: a) get a co-sponsor- family or friend in the USA. B) file on assets- this is what we did. If you have savings, shares, property etc you can use that to support the immigrant. You will need 3x the annual 125% of poverty guidelines. c) I call this 0.5 because it is difficult- you as the USC can move back to the USA as soon as the I-130 is filed, which is usually about 2-3 months before the interview where your husband will have to submit the I-864. So you could move and look for a job, and send him a few paystubs to show you now have a US based job to support him. Problem with that is in the current economy, finding a job may be difficult!

- This is an option. You can either do as I suggest above, or you can move by yourself, find a job, then file the normal visa route (via USCIS in the USA), but in that case the visa will take 6-8 months. He cannot move with you in either of those cases, though he can visit on the VWP.

- This is a website for people who do their visa filing DIY, so few people here have used a lawyer. As long as you can fill out detailed forms and there are no huge red flags (criminal record, previous overstay etc) there is no real need for a lawyer, and they can slow down the paperwork.

[nc73 0]

I'd suggest you use your parents or siblings as the cosponsor. They are not held liable if you need public assistance or anything. It's just for paperwork. It would be a lot less hassle for you.

We filed in Dublin, not London, but most of your questions are quite general...

- No, you can apply the day you get married, as long as you lived legally in the foreign country for 6 months and you have the marriage cert.

- Yes, you will need to fill out the I-864 affidavit of support. Many DCFers have the same problem as you, and there is basically 2.5 ways around it: a) get a co-sponsor- family or friend in the USA. B) file on assets- this is what we did. If you have savings, shares, property etc you can use that to support the immigrant. You will need 3x the annual 125% of poverty guidelines. c) I call this 0.5 because it is difficult- you as the USC can move back to the USA as soon as the I-130 is filed, which is usually about 2-3 months before the interview where your husband will have to submit the I-864. So you could move and look for a job, and send him a few paystubs to show you now have a US based job to support him. Problem with that is in the current economy, finding a job may be difficult!

- This is an option. You can either do as I suggest above, or you can move by yourself, find a job, then file the normal visa route (via USCIS in the USA), but in that case the visa will take 6-8 months. He cannot move with you in either of those cases, though he can visit on the VWP.

- This is a website for people who do their visa filing DIY, so few people here have used a lawyer. As long as you can fill out detailed forms and there are no huge red flags (criminal record, previous overstay etc) there is no real need for a lawyer, and they can slow down the paperwork.

[redglasses 1]

- Do you need to be married for a specific amount of time before applying? We'd probably do the 2 pretty back to back...

There is no required amount of time you have to be married. However, the embassy is likely to ask you to provide proof of your relationship.

- Do I need to fill out an affadavit for support on my partner's behalf? As a petitioner living and working in the UK, I obviously couldn't be the 'supporter' as I do not have a residence and job in the US yet. I would not feel comfortable asking my parents or siblings to do fill out the affadavit as it seems like a big commitment. What have you all done in this instance?

You, as the petitioner, have to fill out I-864 even if your current income is from a non-US source and won't be continuous in the US. Having a joint sponsor is an easy way to solve the financial requirement for the immigrant visa, but you can also use your assets to meet the requirement.

- Would it be an option to move back to the US first, get a job, a place to live and then fill our the affadavit?

Yes, many USCs go back to the US first, get a job and file K-3 or CR1/IR1. The risk of doing this is that you never know when you get a job and can file the immigrant visa petition with USCIS. Some people went for this option that I personally know waited about 1.5 years until they finally got together in the US.

- Also, have many of you used a lawyer for this process? We're considering it, but only if there are real benefits as it seems pretty straightforward...

I went for the DCF process in Japan and did everything by myself referring to the embassy website and information posted on this site. The process would be easier if you hire a good immigration attorney.