New to this end of the Journey

[Heather Mcnally 0]

Hi everyone,

I am an American citizen, I moved to the UK in 2006 to marry my now husband and went through THAT end of the same journey over the next two years. I now hold Indefinite Leave to Remain and hope to naturalize and get my British passport asap.

However, my husband and I have just bought property back in the US and hope in a couple years to move back there once the loan is paid off.

My parents have offered to sponsor him ) for the financial guarantee I understand? How sticky is this process? My dad is retired military and they do alright but certainly NOT wealthy!!!

I believe we can file the form I 130 directly to the London Embassy and then it takes up to 12 weeks for it to go to the "next step" where the real immigration bits take place right?

Because we have done the other end of things, we have copies of passports, birth certificates, divorce decrees... etc on hand but what other documentation might we need?

The form I130 costs $420 and thats fine, but what other costs will we see for the other parts of the process? I know when we got my Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK it ended up costing nearly £2000!! so we want to be prepared.

The last part we are unclear on... I know after its all said and done... He has 6 months to land in the US, right? but what happens then? Because of the iffy timing and not knowing when it will be complete, there is a possibility that we may have unfinished business here in the UK to take care of. How long will He need to stay in the US before being able to travel back to the UK for a few months if neccessary?

Thanks in advance for any info you can help with... and i hope to get to know a few of you better!

Heather

[LauraDP 10]

I am still relatively new to this myself so Other more experienced VJers will be able to answer your questions in more detail.

It is worth looking at the London Embassy website in conjunction with reading the various guides on here. I have not quite figured out how to search for threads on specific topics on here but I know it is possible to do so. You are in the right place because the expertise on this forum is immense and everyone is beyond helpful.

With regard to the co-sponsorship, it is based on minimum poverty levels so your Dad's income would have to show he was capable of supporting his own household and yours at the required level.

Other costs involved are the medical (which is really quite pricey), a police certificate and some fees at the end of the process.

The visa will last for 6 months after the medical rather than the issuance of the visa so that is something to keep in mind. I believe once you are in the US your husband will have the status of a legal permanent resident so will be free to travel.

Those are very basic answers to your questions and I am sure others will correct me if I have gotten something wrong (I am still at the I130 stage) and provide more detail.

Best wishes

Laura

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

The last part we are unclear on... I know after its all said and done... He has 6 months to land in the US, right? but what happens then? Because of the iffy timing and not knowing when it will be complete, there is a possibility that we may have unfinished business here in the UK to take care of. How long will He need to stay in the US before being able to travel back to the UK for a few months if neccessary?

Thanks in advance for any info you can help with... and i hope to get to know a few of you better!

Heather

Holly explained London in detail about 15 minutes before you posted in this thread http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/394356-advice-needed-about-my-situation/page__view__findpost__p__5756618

He has 6 months from the date of his medical to enter the US. He will get an I-551 stamp in his passport upon entry, which shows he is a permanent resident until he gets the greencard in the mail. He may leave at anytime to tend to business's in the UK. He needs to watch how long he stays out of the US so he doesnt lose his PR status. A couple of months is not a problem. That's a different topic.

With regard to the co-sponsorship, it is based on minimum poverty levels so your Dad's income would have to show he was capable of supporting his own household and yours at the required level.

The sponsor must make 125% of the poverty level for their household +. the immigrant husband. The US citizen spouse of the immigrant or any USC children she has aren't in the household count. For many cases, that's just one person added to the sponsors household. I remember you have three or four non USC children so your sponsor is covering most of the family but it's a tiny bit misleading to say both households are counted.

[LauraDP 10]

Thanks for the correction, Nich-Nick. Of course, I am aware that it is only the immigrants in the household who are being sponsored but I did not make that clear in my reply so thank you for clarifying that for the OP and apologies for any confusion caused.

Best wishes

Laura

[GlobeHopperMama 95]

You can find the current poverty guidelines here:

http://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

Your joint sponsor has to meet the guideline for his/her household plus the intending immigrant, at the level specified in the document linked there.

Other documents, as previously mentioned, the London Embassy website has a lot of good info, plus this thread, which also details fees:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/371376-london-uk-dcf-2012/