Bringing my husband from overseas - Newbie

[JennyLee 0]

Hello, this is my first time posting so sorry if long post!

I married my Egyptian husband this year in Greece (back in February). I am an American citizen. Since the economy was getting bad over there, I finally

moved back here to USA and my husband went back to Egypt because he has a business there too. I have contacted immigration lawyers over here and they

tell me I must file an I-130 first. Is this the easiest and fastest way to bring my husband? I am very much confused by the whole

process and I was told it takes about a year. I would like to see my husband before that because it seems so long! I was told I need a lot of evidence

to show a bonafide marriage. In Greece we really didn't share joint accounts (he was working and not me). What else besides pictures can I show?

Is this the fastest route to bring him? I was told the K-3 is not used very much. Is hiring a lawyer for the whole procedure the best

route to take?

Thanks for any help!

Jenny

[Tim/Mav 305]

The very first question ANY member would ask is: Do you as the Petitioner meet the the Income Requirements ?

Just to help us understand.

[Oksana & Max 94]

It will take about a year, there is no way to do it faster. We are all here in the same boat.

Yes you do need a lot of evidence especially for country like Egypt. Pictures, with friends, with famalies. Chat logs, phone call logs, emails, snail, etc... You may want to plan and visit him at least several times, while waiting for all process...

Lawyer is not really needed, as they don't guarantee approval neither they can speed up the process. If you don't have any complications, then it is straight forward and you can do it on your own.

Good luck

[JennyLee 0]

Thanks for the replies! When we were in Greece I took a lot of videos but was told videos aren't used after I got here (sigh). If I visited him would this count as evidence to show for the I-130? If I start the I-130 now, and take a trip later - how can I include that in the evidence of a bona fide marriage? As for the income that is a bit tricky. Currently he is has a business and I'm not employed. The lawyer I was speaking to told me that assets would be counted then such a house or savings account. He was also saying sometimes his assets could be counted too. Is this true? I would like to find work after I begin settling down here, but I know they want past employment and I was in Greece and not working. i really can't find a joint sponsor either. Thanks again for any advice.

[Tim/Mav 305]

Thanks for your honesty. You will have to show Support before even worrying about all this other Legal Jargin.

[JennyLee 0]

Thanks for your advice! Much appreciated!

[TimeTravel 78]

Thanks for the replies! When we were in Greece I took a lot of videos but was told videos aren't used after I got here (sigh). If I visited him would this count as evidence to show for the I-130? If I start the I-130 now, and take a trip later - how can I include that in the evidence of a bona fide marriage? As for the income that is a bit tricky. Currently he is has a business and I'm not employed. The lawyer I was speaking to told me that assets would be counted then such a house or savings account. He was also saying sometimes his assets could be counted too. Is this true? I would like to find work after I begin settling down here, but I know they want past employment and I was in Greece and not working. i really can't find a joint sponsor either. Thanks again for any advice.

For I-130 application, you may provide up to 8 images ( That is what I did for my case ).

Do you have joint account? or any property together? anything that may have you both names?

Regarding employment part, I think, your case may require joint sponsor. In our case, my USC is a house wife and lives here with me, and my father is law is a co-sponsor for our case.

[JennyLee 0]

Thanks for the reply! I am about to buy a house here and we wanted to put it under both our names. Would this help? He owns property in his

country. I really don't know what to do about the income requirements since I was living in Greece and unemployed at the time. I can't find

a joint sponsor right now. All of his family lives overseas and my family can't at the moment. Any advice again?

[Done--Really 331]

No job, no joint sponsor means your ONLY option is to have enough assets...better start adding them up

[JennyLee 0]

Thanks!.....

[himher 634]

Several couplse on the board have filed on assets only. We did. You will need to look at the poverty guidelines for your household size and show a minimum of 3X cash-equivalent value in assets.

With this in mind I would not advise buying a house. I would advise demonstrating that you have the cash to buy one.

They like it if the assets are moved to the US, so cashing in and moving into a joint account or the USC account in the US is a very good sign of intent to establish domicile.

Before I filed I made sure that everything we have was transferred into cash or easily convertable assets like mutual funds in the US and stapled it to the I864. That was all they wanted to see.

If you use HIS assets the requirement is raised from 3X to 5X (I think). I am not sure because everything of ours is joint so they applied the 3X requirement (sponsor of spouse or child) to us.

Good luck

[Ryan H 3,812]

I must file an I-130 first. Is this the easiest and fastest way to bring my husband?

That's the only way. You file the I-130, USCIS approves it, your husband then applies for a visa. A rough estimate is 7-10 months from filing to interview date.

What else besides pictures can I show?

Oksana and Max gave you some examples.

Is this the fastest route to bring him? I was told the K-3 is not used very much. Is hiring a lawyer for the whole procedure the best

route to take?

See what I said above, this process is many things, fast is not one of them. Forget about the K3, USCIS ties those two petitions together and usually approves them at the same time then sends them off to the NVC. If the NVC receives the two petitions at the same time (majority of the time) or if the NVC receives the I-130 first, the I-129F for the K3 is administratively closed by the NVC. If the NVC receives the the I-129F first, then the K3 process goes forward (this doesn't happen very often but there have been some recent instances). Whether or not you hire a lawyer is up to you; if there are no issues in either of your backgrounds that could potentially cause complications in this process, then all a lawyer will really do for you is fill out all the forms, you still have to gather all the evidence.

[JennyLee 0]

Thanks for all the replies....it helps me more understand the whole process. It was really confusing at first but after I started reading more I understand.

Thanks all again for your advice!

[JennyLee 0]

Also, I wanted to say that I was thinking of buying the house in cash. But from what I understand it's more important to show the ability that you have the

cash then to actually go ahead and purchase. Interesting!