Really Needing Help!

[Kellie2012 0]

Hello,

I really am starting from the beginning so any information that can be sent my way I would REALLY appreciate.

My husband is from Tennssee. We have been married since Jan 2010. He moved to UK July 2010 on a Spouse Visa and it runs out in Oct 2012. We have made the decision to move to US asap and need to get the ball rolling.

I have the I-130 application ready to print off but these are my questions:

* Do we need to fill out a seperate one for my 9yr old daughter (my husband's step-daughter)?

* What are the current processing times we are looking at, and is it quicker if we submit it to the Embassy in London?

* Are there any other forms that we need to fill out?

* Does my husband have to move to the US before me to find work? I've been told this and as he will be submitting the application in the UK would that confuse anything?

Many many thanks in advance.

[Ryan H 3,818]

I have the I-130 application ready to print off but these are my questions:

To get the technical issues out of the way, the I-130 is a petition form, not an application.

Answers in bold:

* Do we need to fill out a seperate one for my 9yr old daughter (my husband's step-daughter)?

Yes

* What are the current processing times we are looking at, and is it quicker if we submit it to the Embassy in London?

Your husband should submit at the USCIS field office in London if they will allow it. Submitting to the field office will allow you to skip the NVC step. There have been reports from other VJ members having their petitions approved by USCIS quickly if the US citizen spouse lives abroad. However, there is still the NVC steps, so while the petition may be approved quickly if sent to the lockbox, current wait times at the NVC are a month from the time USCIS approves the petition to the time the NVC issues a case number.

* Are there any other forms that we need to fill out?

G-325A for you and your husband

* Does my husband have to move to the US before me to find work?

No, however, he will need a joint sponsor when the Affidavit of Support paperwork is submitted unless you have assets that are sufficient enough to meet the poverty guidelines.

[bvpshenvalley2 1]

* ***

Edited May 28, 2012 by bvpshenvalley2

[Kellie2012 0]

So somebody willing to sponsor us in the US? Where can I find information about the poverty guidelines?

My husband has the chance of a job with his brother in the US and can move as early as August when our tenancy is up on this house we currently live in. If he were to move and stay with his brother until I get there and earn fairly decent money (I think around $24,000) would that bypass the sponsorship part and maybe speed things up a bit as the application would be submitted from the States?

Many thanks for all the help!

[Ryan H 3,818]

So somebody willing to sponsor us in the US? Where can I find information about the poverty guidelines?

In order to qualify for sponsorship, income, assets, or a combination of income and assets must be greater than or equal to 125% of the poverty guideline for household size. The figures can be viewed here: I-864P - 2012 HHS Poverty Guidelines

My husband has the chance of a job with his brother in the US and can move as early as August when our tenancy is up on this house we currently live in. If he were to move and stay with his brother until I get there and earn fairly decent money (I think around $24,000) would that bypass the sponsorship part and maybe speed things up a bit as the application would be submitted from the States?

There is no bypassing the sponsorship requirement, a petitioner must meet the financial requirement, either on their own or with a joint sponsor or the beneficiary will not be issued a visa. Submitting a petition in the States with a stateside address for the petitioner would not speed anything up. It would go into the standard queue where the posted time by USCIS from submission to adjudication decision is 5 months (your actual time could be longer or shorter depending on the service center and current workload). Then you may have to wait up to another month or slightly longer before the NVC assigns a case number to the file.

[Kellie2012 0]

Thank-you

I decided to contact a lawyer for help as it was all getting very confusing and I do not want any mistakes made and also want to get over there as soon as possible to start a new life and get my daughter into school.

[Mozeze 2]

Thank-you

I decided to contact a lawyer for help as it was all getting very confusing and I do not want any mistakes made and also want to get over there as soon as possible to start a new life and get my daughter into school.

I would advise you be careful with the help from the lawyers, they mean well, but some of them may not be up to date with the current immigration practices and most will not give your case the kind of attention and speed you would give if you were to handle it yourself. Some of the things you will learn from Visa Journey you may never get to learn from lawyers. One of such things we have found out is this: beginning from Augustus 2011, when the US citizen lives abroad with the spouse and the I-130 Petition is sent to USCIS it usually takes less than a month to scale through USCIS. This has already been pointed out to you by someone else.

Again from this forum, we have learnt short cuts such as the type of documentation for the NVC stage and to get the papers ready even before approval is secured from USCIS. If you study this site some more, you will learn loads of things that will surely help you. I can recall reading of the sad stories by VJers of how some immigration lawyers messed up their cases for them before they found VJ and the wealth of information it has and they wished they had known of this site before they started the process.

Except you have a potential red flag, you may not need to consult a lawyer: if you have the time, study, study and study this site again and again and I bet you you guys will have a smooth ride all the way. Use the search tool (at the top right corner of this screen for any issue) and you will get more specific answers to whatever questions you have.

The choice is yours. Good luck to you guys on your journey.