American husband, Korean wife, foreign income

[Secretform 0]

Hi, everyone--my wife showed me this forum and said you might be able to help.

We've been married for almost two years (anniversary will be in May); I'm 34 and she's 31. She's a Korean citizen and I'm an American, so we will be applying for an I-130 first and then the IR-1. We plan on doing both of these at the American embassy in Seoul, because we've heard that it is faster than applying in America.

Here's the catch: for the past year I have been a professor of economics at a university in South Korea, so my income is all foreign earned; for the years before that I was a Ph.D. student, so I have no tax forms before 2010, which was the first year I ever filed my taxes. I filed a 1099 and a Form 2555 (foreign earned income), and have no W-2 since my wages are not from an American company.

Here are my questions:

1. Can we apply for the IR-1 before our anniversary in May? My wife said that she can only qualify for that visa after we've been together for two years.

2. Will I still qualify although my income for last year was earned abroad? I'm going to be working for a new American company starting in June (that's why we're moving), if that changes things.

3. We're in the process of buying a house (a co-op apartment, actually). If this will help, what documents should we provide at the embassy?

4. What other documents are good to provide, if any?

5. I'd like to avoid using a family member as a second guarantor; do you think this will be necessary in our case?

Thanks in advance if anyone is willing to reply--we're quite excited about starting this new chapter in our lives, but exhausted at all of the bureaucracy facing us.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

***** Moving from CR-1 to DCF forum as OP will be petitioning via the US embassy *****

1. Yes you can; as long as she enters the USA AFTER the 2nd wedding anniversary, she'll get the ten year greencard.

2. No, unless the same company will employ you in the USA also as an intra-company transfer. Are you saying you have a concrete job offer in the USA though? Some (very few) US embassies accept that for the affidavit of support. What you may need to do is go back to the USA alone after filing the I-130, and start work, then send your wife your paystubs and a letter from your employer stating this is a permanent, long-term job in time for her interview. Alternatively, get a co-sponsor (which is whjat most DCFers do), or sponsor via assets if you have property, savings etc.

3. This is excellent- it can go towards bonafides (you both being on the deeds), you re-establishing domicle in the USA and the affidavit of support. Provide the deeds with both your names on it, and the official contract stating how much the home is worth (equity, not how much you owe the bank!).

4. Have a look at the guides which state what is needed (birth certs, police certs etc). If you have kids, providing birthcerts stating both your names is good, and bills you pay together; also for you, evidence that you kept ties to the USA such as a valid driving license, showing you have furniture in storage, a US cellphone or similar.

5. Probably- see above.

[Secretform 0]

***** Moving from CR-1 to DCF forum as OP will be petitioning via the US embassy *****

1. Yes you can; as long as she enters the USA AFTER the 2nd wedding anniversary, she'll get the ten year greencard.

2. No, unless the same company will employ you in the USA also as an intra-company transfer. Are you saying you have a concrete job offer in the USA though? Some (very few) US embassies accept that for the affidavit of support. What you may need to do is go back to the USA alone after filing the I-130, and start work, then send your wife your paystubs and a letter from your employer stating this is a permanent, long-term job in time for her interview. Alternatively, get a co-sponsor (which is whjat most DCFers do), or sponsor via assets if you have property, savings etc.

3. This is excellent- it can go towards bonafides (you both being on the deeds), you re-establishing domicle in the USA and the affidavit of support. Provide the deeds with both your names on it, and the official contract stating how much the home is worth (equity, not how much you owe the bank!).

4. Have a look at the guides which state what is needed (birth certs, police certs etc). If you have kids, providing birthcerts stating both your names is good, and bills you pay together; also for you, evidence that you kept ties to the USA such as a valid driving license, showing you have furniture in storage, a US cellphone or similar.

5. Probably- see above.

Wow, thanks, that's all I need to know!

[richardkorea2010 15]

Hi, I am in the same boat. My wife is a US citizen. I am South African. We also need to file our I130 form, now,

Do we both need the G325A form to submit ?

We are both teaching English in Korea, and therefore, we have Alien Residency for Korea, (ID cards),

My wife hasn't worked in the US, as she came to Korea, after she finished university, and she has a tax certificate. Any help on the first steps for us, and what we can do?

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

You both need to fill out the forms, yes.

With "tax cert" do you mean she filed US taxes? If not, she will need to back-file. What are you going to do for financial sponsorship?

You can save some time later by getting your police cert from SA, Korea, and anywhere else you lived for a while. You will also need your vaccination record from childhood, if any.

[richardkorea2010 15]

Thank you!

Because we are both teaching in Korea, we both have criminal(police certificates) from both Korea and South Africa.

We planned on making a short vacation trip to America this summer, but we are both working legally in Korea, and still plan to do for a while. Could I apply for a normal tourist visa? and just go to the US for my vacation, and file these papers when we get back to Korea, and plan to immigrate next year? Would the US embassy grant me a tourist visa as the spouse of a US citizen?

[richardkorea2010 15]

also: my wife(US citizen) is working as an english teacher, so she is paying taxes in Korea. Could we just keep that, and file it when she gets back to America?

We did think of the financial joint sponsor,

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

You have a reasonable chance of a tourist visa with both of you having jobs to get back to in Korea, but it is never a sure thing.

As a US citizen, your wife is required to file taxes with the IRS every year. You will not be granted a spousal visa without that having been done. She doesn't have to PAY any taxes, most likely, if she pays Korean tax, but she will have to file.

[richardkorea2010 15]

Thank you!

Yep, I did contact the embassy, and they said, I could apply for my tourist visa, because for my upcoming trip, my intention is just to visit the US, as I am very happy here in Korea,

I think having jobs, I could just get proof of employment from my university, and take that with me, because we both have jobs here,

Thank you so much! Regarding the tax, could you tell, what is a good way to file taxes? what places is a good place to use to file it ?

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

My husband uses TurboTax- if your case is easy, you should be able to file online, though I am not sure you can back-file for previous years that way.

[MrsNelson 10]

Hi I am going through this process myself. My Husband is a New Zealand citizen and I am an American. We are teaching in South Korea and our day to file the petition is May the 10th.

I forgot to file my taxes (even though I was overseas) last year and so I am sending off the back-file taxes with this year's taxes in the mail this week. It's true we do have to file even though we don't owe anything.

My parents are going to co-sponsor my husband.

Good luck everyone, and we'll let everyone know how it goes when we petition.

Now I emailed the Embassy in Seoul and they said all we had to bring to file the petition was:

The completed I-130

A completed 325 form for both of us

Passport-style photos for both of us

Our wedding certificate

birth certificates for my husband's children

any termination of prior marriages

the $420 fee

proof of my US citizenship

my husband's birth certificate.

I was surprised that we don't have to bring the affidavit of supports yet. That just seems weird to me.

[Póg mo 1,749]

Hi I am going through this process myself. My Husband is a New Zealand citizen and I am an American. We are teaching in South Korea and our day to file the petition is May the 10th.

I forgot to file my taxes (even though I was overseas) last year and so I am sending off the back-file taxes with this year's taxes in the mail this week. It's true we do have to file even though we don't owe anything.

My parents are going to co-sponsor my husband.

Good luck everyone, and we'll let everyone know how it goes when we petition.

Now I emailed the Embassy in Seoul and they said all we had to bring to file the petition was:

The completed I-130

A completed 325 form for both of us

Passport-style photos for both of us

Our wedding certificate

birth certificates for my husband's children

any termination of prior marriages

the $420 fee

proof of my US citizenship

my husband's birth certificate.

I was surprised that we don't have to bring the affidavit of supports yet. That just seems weird to me.

The affidavit of support is required in the next step i.e. 1-864. The embassy won't take original documents at the i-130 stage so you'll need photo copies of everything listed above, including every page of your husbands passport and the main pages of your own.

[MrsNelson 10]

Thanks so much for the tip.

We are also including a letter from our employer (stating we're married, work for them and share housing), 2 letters from friends of ours saying we're a legitimate couple, and a list of 32 people that can be contacted to vouch for us. I'm scared to death of this appointment. I love my husband so much, and I hope we have enough to prove we're a "real" couple. I am so thankful for this forum!