I am freaking out!!! (Spouse of USC)

[Marrienne 112]

Hey guys!!
From the two of us, I am the worrier in the family, so please excuse me and I thank you in advance for your time!!
I am kinda freaking out!!
Here is a little back story:

I am Greek and my husband is American. We met online and became friends, best friends actually, some years ago. Soon we started confiding to each other. We were both in miserable failed marriages (I had two small children, he did not), his eventually ended first, then mine. He came over to Greece to help me and we fell in love. Soon I got pregnant and we got our little girl.
Because of red tape (and having a brand new baby!) we didn't get married immediately. Also, he couldn't get a job here because of the horrible financial crisis in Greece.
His parents helped us out and I held odd jobs here and there to make ends meet. As things are declining fast in Greece and he has serious health life or death issues we cannot address here (unemployed/uninsured) , we decided to immigrate. His family is helping us at every turn and are very excited to have us there.

We only managed to get through the Greek red tape in December of 2015 and we got married. We had been together 3 years, this is our 4th year as a couple.
These forums have been a great help but at the same time a source of great stress. I am freaking out that for some reason will not get approved.
How often does that happen?
I know each Embassy is different, (we are doing DCF in Athens Greece), but I am worried about things like: since he was unemployed here, I couldn't open a bank account for him or add him due to capital controls enforced in Greece. Also I couldn't add him in the house lease we have because, unemployment (he is listed in my "family page" in the Greek Government and as my spouse in my IRS documents).

As for the i-864, we have a powerful joint sponsor, so I am not too worried about that. I am just worried they will think we are not a real couple or something like that.
I am not sure if it is just nerves on my part because I am the "freaking out" type, but please, could you offer some guidance, words of advise? A cup of hot chocolate would help too!! :)
Thanks for reading and thank you in advance for your replies!
Marrienne

[NikLR 13,227]

~~moved to DCF from bringing family members of USC~~

Edited February 9, 2016 by NLR

[lost_at_sea 995]

If you're a genuine couple and you have a good co-sponsor for your I-864, you'll likely be fine. They're not gonna care about his job in Greece, or lack there of - you're married with a kid, that's pretty good evidence in itself.

A bigger question I have is whether your American husband can prove US domicile or intent to re-establish domicile. It's required for the I-864 (see the instruction PDF for this form). Also, has he filed tax returns for every year he made any money abroad? Those will also be needed, or a statement as to why he was not required to file taxes (i.e. made no money).

[Marrienne 112]

Hi! Thanks for the reply!!

He didn't make any money so he didn't file. We will explain why in an affidavit.

We are taking steps to prove intend to re-establish domicile plus he has assets stateside.

Not sure what else they will need until we file the rest of the papers.

We shall see I guess

[awaywego 28]

You likely have more evidence of a bona fide marriage than you think you do. Try thinking about what you have instead of what you don't. Only been married since December? Send evidence covering the length of your relationship. (A bona fide marriage generally starts before the wedding, after all.) Unable to have a joint bank account? Perhaps he was granted some access, like an ATM card or authorized user status. (If not, no one piece of evidence will make or break.) No able to have husband on the lease? Send something that shows he lives at that address, like his visa/residence permit, some other official document, a bill, etc.

Also, check the bottom of the EZGuideSpouse for a list of items that others have sent.

This page on Athens's site might answer your question on what they'll request next. They should contact you once the I-130 is approved, but I find that knowing what's coming helps with my worries.

[Marrienne 112]

Thank you so much for your time!!!

We are doing DCF in Athens. How is this different that the steps discussed here?
http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

We got approval of our I-130 in 8 days and we are being forwarded to the consuls now to file the rest...

[awaywego 28]

Thank you so much for your time!!!

We are doing DCF in Athens. How is this different that the steps discussed here?

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

We got approval of our I-130 in 8 days and we are being forwarded to the consuls now to file the rest...

The difference is that everything is handled locally. The USCIS office is local, so your I-130 did not go to a USCIS center in the States for processing. Since your file is already at the embassy, it is not sent to NVC before being sent on to the embassy.

The documents are basically the same, but the when and where vary. If in doubt, go with what Athens requests from you.

[Marrienne 112]

Thank you! That is what I have been doing so far.
One thing that was off in their website was that they wanted everything translated into English even though it states Greek is fine too.
We have so far spent over 500 Euros in translations and I still need to translate my degrees and qualifications!! Yikes!!!

[awaywego 28]

Thank you! That is what I have been doing so far.

One thing that was off in their website was that they wanted everything translated into English even though it states Greek is fine too.

We have so far spent over 500 Euros in translations and I still need to translate my degrees and qualifications!! Yikes!!!

The USCIS portion is in English, but anyone who speaks both languages can translate. As far as I know, this is a USCIS requirement, and it's the same across embassies/consulates that offer DCF. (The USCIS office is separate from the embassy/consulate portion.)

The embassy/consulate can have its own translation requirement for the papers that go with the visa application. English or local language seems most common, but some places want everything in English.

I have not heard of a case where the beneficiary has been asked to provide copies of his/her degrees and qualifications to obtain a spousal visa. Perhaps more senior members have.

[Marrienne 112]

Oh no! The degree translations are not for the Embassy
But I need to get these done and take them with me when I go.. I was just thinking out loud really

[NikLR 13,227]

Keep in mind that most foreign degrees are not important in the USA. Any qualifications you have would need to be reobtained here.

[Marrienne 112]

Keep in mind that most foreign degrees are not important in the USA. Any qualifications you have would need to be reobtained here.

Hmmm, I have a degree in English and a teaching permit (the latter I know will not be valid in the USA). I also hold several titles in computers and programming.

Are these all worthless? My English degree is from Cambridge, UK.

I thought that at least they would help me prove I have some qualifications when looking for a job. Is that not the case?

[NikLR 13,227]

It's possible, but it's also possible that they don't count for anything. You have to try when you try for jobs. It will be a case by case basis, but people generally find their foreign degrees aren't worth much here. Often they're much harder to obtain than a US degree and should be valued higher than one. But it's a common attitide in the US.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Hmmm, I have a degree in English and a teaching permit (the latter I know will not be valid in the USA). I also hold several titles in computers and programming.

Are these all worthless? My English degree is from Cambridge, UK.

I thought that at least they would help me prove I have some qualifications when looking for a job. Is that not the case?

A degree from Cambridge or Oxford will almost certainly be worth something in the US. Both universities are very much known quantities here; I know this from experience (my ex graduated from Cambridge with a first in Modern History). If you are applying for a position like teaching, or pursuing further postgraduate education you will need to get your qualifications evaluated. Generally, my British degrees have been accepted without further investigation when applying for employment. However, when I decided I wanted to do something with my law qualifications, I had to have that degree evaluated. I found out that (for various arcane reasons) it was not sufficient to sit for the Bar in my state, so I have had to return to law school here for further education. I stress that it was only when I was looking for a position where my qualification was a requirement that my degree was not considered acceptable.

[NikLR 13,227]

I agree a degree from a UK university is likely to be looked upon favourably but the rest of it is a case by case. Sorry if I didnt make separation clear.