Going to be a student...

[sn0skier 0]

So I have quite a unique situation and I haven't been able to find many answers given how complicated it is. Anyway, let's start.

Here is the situation:

I am a US citizen and I have been living in Chile since September 2012 and I have had a job here since January 2013. I have been dating a Chilean girl who I met here in 2011 on a previous 5 month trip. In Chile you have a legal wedding before the ceremonial wedding. We got legally married on April 26th, 2014 (last Saturday). The ceremonial wedding will be on Jul 19th 2014. I am moving to the US and starting a PhD in economics at University of Colorado - Boulder on August 1st, 2014. I will being paying for school mostly with a student loan the first year, after that I will be awarded a TA position which will cover the cost of tuition and provide me with a stipend.

Here is what we want:

The best option would be to be able to go to the US and start our life together by the end of July 2014 after about a week long honeymoon in the Caribbean or Mexico. But the main point is that we don't want to be apart especially for the first few months of the marriage and we don't want to risk doing anything that will prevent her from being able to live in the US permanently. If she has to return to Chile at some point, we can deal with that but it is not the preferred outcome.

Here are some concerns I have about the process:

I essentially do not have any paperwork from the US besides my passport and I have not filed my taxes while I have been living here (I don't owe any taxes, they owe me a return so the IRS generally doesn't care as long as you don't owe them money). The DCF process was cancelled in Chile (and it seems in almost all countries--maybe this should be noted in the FAQ and elsewhere?) in 2011. I was kind of depending on this process a month ago as it seemed the natural way to go, and I didn't realize that it wouldn't be an option. I have already gotten a copy of my birth certificate once and lost it, so I don't know how difficult it will be to get a new one.

Here are some positives:

Chile recently become one of the countries on the visa waiver program. Me and my wife have all of our Chilean paperwork. We love each other <3!!!

Here are my questions:

What are my options and what do I need to do to pursue them? Is there some trade-off I must think about like if we apply for the CR-1 Visa then she won't be able to travel to the US at the beginning? Is my being a student (as opposed to having a job) going to slow the process? Are there any important things I am ignoring? What other information can I give you to help me with this? What questions should I be asking or thinking about that I am not?

[Hypnos 6,576]

1) US citizens (and LPRs) have a obligation to file US taxes with the IRS, regardless of wherever they happen to be living at the time. Often there are reciprocal tax treaties, meaning you won't get taxed twice on most / all of your income, but you are usually still required to file.

2) Follow the guide: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=i130guide1 and expect it to take ~12 - 14 months until your wife's immigrant visa is in her hands.

3) She can visit you on the VWP whilst her I-130 is pending, but would need to depart at the end of her authorized stay(s).

4) You would need to show an income of just under $20,000 a year in order to fulfill the financial sponsorship requirements; if your income would be insufficient you will need to find a joint sponsor who would be willing to complete this requirement on your wife's behalf.

5) Obtaining a new copy of your US birth certificate will likely be extremely easy. Contact the Vital Statistics Division of whichever state's Health Department that you were born in for further details.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Hypnos

[awaywego 28]

USCIS only requires one ceremony to consider you married (though it needs to be legal to file). If you've had one ceremony, it doesn't matter to them that you haven't had the second. That means you don't need to wait until July and can file the I-130 petition toward a CR-1 visa as soon as you have your documents in order.

Unfortunately, your wife will not be able to join you in the US in July, as the CR-1 is taking about a year right now*. She can visit on the VWP (see the post at the top of the IR-1/CR-1 thread about visiting), but she won't be able to stay longer than allowed under that program or to move until the CR-1 comes through.

You will not need your birth certificate if you have your passport.

Look into whether you were required to file taxes for the year(s) you did not. If you were required to file, work on that while your I-130 is being evaluated. If you were not required to file, you will send a letter explaining this with the I-864.

Your questions:

What are my options and what do I need to do to pursue them? For your situation, you'd take the CR-1 path. See the Guides section for what you will need, and check out the Wiki for info and tips on the NVC portion. Is there some trade-off I must think about like if we apply for the CR-1 Visa then she won't be able to travel to the US at the beginning? She could visit the US under the VWP, you could visit Chile, or you could meet somewhere else. Is my being a student (as opposed to having a job) going to slow the process? For the I-864 affidavit of support, you will need to show that you can support your household at 125% of the poverty level. You can do this using income or also including assets (valued at 1/3). I doubt you can use student loans as income, though I do not know. Look at information on "joint sponsors." A joint sponsor would show the same, including the immigrant in his/her household size. Are there any important things I am ignoring? Start collecting evidence that speaks to the "bona fides" of your marriage. There are a number of threads on this topic. What other information can I give you to help me with this? What questions should I be asking or thinking about that I am not? Read through the guides to get an idea of the process, and see if you have other questions.

*There is some report of apparent auto-expedite on I-130 processing for couples who both live abroad, but I don't know much about this. They will approve when they approve.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Auto expedites for couples both resident overseas ended some time ago.

[NikLR 13,227]

Auto expedites for couples both resident overseas ended some time ago.

If you look at the thread dedicated to it, if the file is headed to CSC or VSC then the unofficial auto-expedites seem to be going through. (10 days for one couple) NSC, TSC, and NBC don't seem to be up to punch.

However, it's best NOT to count on any auto-expedites! Expect the process to take longer than it does and be pleasantly surprised when it's shorter, that's my opinion and how I kept my sanity during our journey.

Edited May 3, 2014 by NLR

[sn0skier 0]

Thanks for everyone's help. A few responses:

1) US citizens (and LPRs) have a obligation to file US taxes with the IRS, regardless of wherever they happen to be living at the time. Often there are reciprocal tax treaties, meaning you won't get taxed twice on most / all of your income, but you are usually still required to file.

2) Follow the guide: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=i130guide1 and expect it to take ~12 - 14 months until your wife's immigrant visa is in her hands.

3) She can visit you on the VWP whilst her I-130 is pending, but would need to depart at the end of her authorized stay(s).

4) You would need to show an income of just under $20,000 a year in order to fulfill the financial sponsorship requirements; if your income would be insufficient you will need to find a joint sponsor who would be willing to complete this requirement on your wife's behalf.

5) Obtaining a new copy of your US birth certificate will likely be extremely easy. Contact the Vital Statistics Division of whichever state's Health Department that you were born in for further details.

1) The foreign earned income exclusion means that income from foreign salaries up to 96,700 US$ (or about that much anyway) are not taxed. Since I am substantially below that level, and because I did not make any money in the US, I did not have any taxable income in 2013 and therefore did not have to file. I know this because I attempted to file through one of the official e-filing systems, and it informed me that I did not have to file (and in fact would not let me file). In 2012 I made money in the US, but below the amount necessary to file. If I want my return, I need to file, but I think I might just wait till this process is over to do it so that things don't change in the middle of the process.

4) Would a tuition waiver count as income? I think technically they pay me the money for being a TA, and then I pay the tuition with that money, in which case I would be above 20K, but I am not sure. Anyway, I of course have not made more than 20K in the states for the past two years, since I haven't been there. Is there no exception to this rule for people that have been living abroad? Can I report my foreign income in Chile even though I didn't/couldn't file taxes on this income? How does this work for USC living abroad and planning on returning home?

In Reply to awaywego:

When do I have to file the Joint sponsor paperwork? From the very beginning?

I hope the auto-expedite process works, but we are not going to depend on it.

[awaywego 28]

Thanks for everyone's help. A few responses:

1) The foreign earned income exclusion means that income from foreign salaries up to 96,700 US$ (or about that much anyway) are not taxed. Since I am substantially below that level, and because I did not make any money in the US, I did not have any taxable income in 2013 and therefore did not have to file. I know this because I attempted to file through one of the official e-filing systems, and it informed me that I did not have to file (and in fact would not let me file). In 2012 I made money in the US, but below the amount necessary to file. If I want my return, I need to file, but I think I might just wait till this process is over to do it so that things don't change in the middle of the process. You might want to double-check that your Chilean income, even though it is subject to the foreign income tax exclusion, does not count toward the threshold at which you are required to file. I am not an accountant, so I don't know.

4) Would a tuition waiver count as income? I think technically they pay me the money for being a TA, and then I pay the tuition with that money, in which case I would be above 20K, but I am not sure. Anyway, I of course have not made more than 20K in the states for the past two years, since I haven't been there. Is there no exception to this rule for people that have been living abroad? Can I report my foreign income in Chile even though I didn't/couldn't file taxes on this income? How does this work for USC living abroad and planning on returning home? If there is no continuing income, sponsorship happens through joint sponsor(s), assets, or a combination. (This can make it a bit more work for those of us abroad with our spouses, but it's not insurmountable.)

In Reply to awaywego:

When do I have to file the Joint sponsor paperwork? From the very beginning? You won't file this at the beginning. The I-864 Affidavit of Support (and other things) will be sent after you receive the NOA2 (notice that I-130 petition was approved), which will probably take months. There's no nice flowchart for the CR-1, but you can get an idea of how the process will go from the I-130 guide.

I hope the auto-expedite process works, but we are not going to depend on it. Good plan. I didn't mean to suggest that you would be put into that queue, just to note that I've heard rumblings.