Fiance Visa Questions

[Sally Elle 0]

Hello,

I haven't been here for a while. I have been in a long distance relationship for over 4 years now and my boyfriend and I have talked about being together countless time, but since I am still in the middle of trying to get into grad school this has been delaying us filing to be together. He is 24 (England) and I am 23 (US). We would like to get married and live in the US. I have some questions though as I want to know if it's better to wait until I finish school and get a decent job or if I should start filing now.

I'm currently living with my parents (to save money while in school). I know you have to make certain amount of money otherwise you'll need a sponsor. Are they looking at gross or net income?

Since I'm currently living with my parents (4 of us total), will the family size be considered 4 or 1, even if I'm supporting myself? The only thing is I don't have to pay is rent. I am saying this because last year I made less than 20K. My income is enough for a family size of 1 (myself) but lower for family size of 4.

If I need a sponsor, would my father be alright?

ALSO...timing is very important. I absolutely don't know WHEN I will be getting to a grad problem, which would take 2-4 years to finish. 1 additional year for work, and then roughly another year for the petition and everything to be finished. Just seems like too many years. Should we just file now then?

When the application gets approved, would my boyfriend/husband (since we'll be married) need to stay in the same state that I filed the paper in for X amount of years to gain residency? What if I get into grad school that requires me to move out of state, which is a high possibility?

Any advice and answers are very much appreciated. We really want to be together as soon as possible but just don't know what is the best route.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

It is always at least a household size of 2, yourself and your foreign fiance(e). You need enough for a household size of 2. If not, then you need a co-sponsor. You father would fill out his own separate I-134 and provide all the same supporting evidence as you do plus proof of being a USC or LPR.

Once he arrives on the K-1 and you marry, he will need to file for AOS. You can live anywhere in the US, but make sure to inform the USCIS if you have a change of address. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=2e5174ab3d2fa210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

[Sally Elle 0]

It is always at least a household size of 2, yourself and your foreign fiance(e). You need enough for a household size of 2. If not, then you need a co-sponsor. You father would fill out his own separate I-134 and provide all the same supporting evidence as you do plus proof of being a USC or LPR.

Once he arrives on the K-1 and you marry, he will need to file for AOS. You can live anywhere in the US, but make sure to inform the USCIS if you have a change of address.

Thank you for your response.

Other questions... Say we finally get married, and I get into grad school which would require my full focus and leaves me unemployed. I can live off student loans and some on my savings, but how will this effect the income requirement? If my future husband works, will that be enough. Would he need to make around 20K a year too?..or is this where my father comes in to file for co-sponsorship even if I think we can take care of ourselves?

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Thank you for your response.

Other questions... Say we finally get married, and I get into grad school which would require my full focus and leaves me unemployed. I can live off student loans and some on my savings, but how will this effect the income requirement? If my future husband works, will that be enough. Would he need to make around 20K a year too?..or is this where my father comes in to file for co-sponsorship even if I think we can take care of ourselves?

When he files for AOS, you need to provide another affidavit of support, the I-864. He cannot work until after he has filed for AOS and applied for an EAD. It takes 2-3 months after filing to receive the EAD. He will not have income to count on the I-864. It will be the same as the I-134. You have enough for 2 people or you need a joint sponsor. Once the I-864 is accepted and the AOS approved, that will be the last time you will need to provide proof of income and support.

[Sally Elle 0]

When he files for AOS, you need to provide another affidavit of support, the I-864. He cannot work until after he has filed for AOS and applied for an EAD. It takes 2-3 months after filing to receive the EAD. He will not have income to count on the I-864. It will be the same as the I-134. You have enough for 2 people or you need a joint sponsor. Once the I-864 is accepted and the AOS approved, that will be the last time you will need to provide proof of income and support.

This is making a lot more sense now. So once he is here, we are given 90 days to get married, which is the time we'll file for AOS immediately after, correct? And if it generally takes 2-3 months to receive EAD, then it would take a maximum of roughly half a year AFTER he has come to the US for him to be able to start working. So basically, if it takes ~1 year to get the paper work done and approved, and half a year for him to obtain EAD...then the overall process (if gone smoothly) would take approximately a year and a half?

If this is true, I am feeling a lot more hopeful. I feel like waiting 5-6 more years before I finish professional school would be postponing for far too long ):

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

This is making a lot more sense now. So once he is here, we are given 90 days to get married, which is the time we'll file for AOS immediately after, correct? And if it generally takes 2-3 months to receive EAD, then it would take a maximum of roughly half a year AFTER he has come to the US for him to be able to start working. So basically, if it takes ~1 year to get the paper work done and approved, and half a year for him to obtain EAD...then the overall process (if gone smoothly) would take approximately a year and a half?

If this is true, I am feeling a lot more hopeful. I feel like waiting 5-6 more years before I finish professional school would be postponing for far too long ):

You only need to get married within 90 days of his entry. There is no deadline to file for AOS. The sooner the better of course, and the sooner you file, the sooner he will be able to work and get his green card. You can file for AOS as soon as you get your certified marriage certificate back from the court after you marry. So, if you married within 30 days of his arrival, then it took 3-5 days to get your certified marriage certificate, you could file for AOS then and he would get his EAD/AP 60-90 days later, about 3-4 months after he arrives on the K-1.

You can read all the flowcharts and guides here on VJ while you wait for your I-129F approval. It will help make more sense of the entire process and what all you need to do.

[BaBamSam 239]

I would advise asking your questions to the UK-specific forum as London is a totally unique embassy to go through. Sponsorship through London on the K-1 has more options than other embassies.