Visa based on same-sex relationship questions

[krs000a 0]

Hello,

I have several questions... Please, I would really appreciate your help.

I am in a relationship with another man who is a U.S. citizen. We're a couple since the year 2000. In 2003 he was granted residence in my country (Sweden) and the following year we became registered partners.

We have been going back and forth to the U.S. many times over the years for visits, but now we are thinking about applying for a Visa and relocate permanently to the U.S., based on our relationship, but I am worried that we have alot going against us - I am just not sure!

My questions are:

1. Which Visa application would be the appropriate one for us to use?

2. We are currently "registered partners". At the time we entered the partnership, there was no gay marriage available in my country. However, now there is. Even though registered partners have the exact same benefits as married couples in my country, do you think we should enter a "marriage" before applying? E.g. would it improve my chances of getting a green card?

3. There is a big age difference between us (my partner is 25 years older than me). Would this worsen our chances of the Visa being granted? Please note that we have documented proof of everything such as government issued registered partnership certificate, photos throughout our whole relationship since the year 2000, etc.

4. My partner is retired and receiving a pension from the U.S. He will also apply for his social security soon. I do doubt it is enough money for him to qualify (based on the U.S. migration's figures) to be a sponsor for me and support himself as well. We do however have a friend with very good finances and my partner's family in the U.S. with good economy who are willing to be listed as sponsors. Would the U.S. migration most probably accept these as sponsors, and would it worsen our chances of the Visa being granted?

5. Even though I am relatively young (37), I am not working. This is due to an anxiety syndrome I have been diagnosed with (have documentation to prove it), and I'm receiving a disability check in my country. This is my biggest worry of all - will this have any impact on wether or not our Visa will be granted? Like I said, we have several people who are willing to support me in the U.S. and I would also be willing to renounce any rights to financial support from the U.S. government so they wouldn't have to worry about me becoming a financial burden to the U.S.

Based on the factors that I have told you about above, what do you think the chances of us getting the Visa approved are? Do you think it wouldn't be a problem? Chance of being denied (if so, which point is the most crucial one that would cause it to not be approved)? Or is it hopeless and you think it's pointless to even try?

Any input would be appreciated!

Edited September 16, 2016 by krs000a

[krs000a 0]

I forgot to ask also:

6. Would our chances greatly improve if we used an immigration attorney? Do you think it is necessary in our case?

[Ryan H 3,810]

Answers:

1. CR-1
2. "Registered Partners" does not count, you need to have a legal marriage with a marriage certificate in order to file.
3. It may come up at a visa interview, it may not.
4. By law, when an immigrant visa is being sought, a joint sponsor is allowed; all Embassies and Consulates follow the law in this regard (i.e. having a joint sponsor will not be a detriment to your case).
5. Any statement you write declaring that you would "renounce any rights to financial support from the U.S. government so they wouldn't have to worry about me becoming a financial burden to the U.S." would not be worth the paper it is written on. It is the Petitioner's responsibility to establish via the I-864 (a binding contracted between the signer and the US Government) that you will not become a public charge.
6. No

Don't overthink this or get too paranoid (granted the very nature of this process lends itself to those feelings, I experienced them myself). What you and your spouse need to do is gather plenty of evidence of your time together which you appear to have no shortage of.

[krs000a 0]

Thank you so much Ryan for taking the time to respond.

Regarding #5, do you think my disability would make a huge impact on their decision? E.g. if I can prove through my sponsors that I have people who are fully willing to support me if needed, do you think that would most probably be enough?

Would it be a good idea to bring one of the sponsors to the interview, and let the interviewer know that they are available should they want to speak to them directly?

Do you have any other suggestions or tips that may be useful to us when we apply?

Answers:

1. CR-1
2. "Registered Partners" does not count, you need to have a legal marriage with a marriage certificate in order to file.
3. It may come up at a visa interview, it may not.
4. By law, when an immigrant visa is being sought, a joint sponsor is allowed; all Embassies and Consulates follow the law in this regard (i.e. having a joint sponsor will not be a detriment to your case).
5. Any statement you write declaring that you would "renounce any rights to financial support from the U.S. government so they wouldn't have to worry about me becoming a financial burden to the U.S." would not be worth the paper it is written on. It is the Petitioner's responsibility to establish via the I-864 (a binding contracted between the signer and the US Government) that you will not become a public charge.
6. No

Don't overthink this or get too paranoid (granted the very nature of this process lends itself to those feelings, I experienced them myself). What you and your spouse need to do is gather plenty of evidence of your time together which you appear to have no shortage of.

[BethyWink 96]

Hey! Fellow Scandinavian spouses! I know that most of the Nordic countries do not get married, and I do know that Denmark did have a visa for "Partner" that is not married, but unfortunately, America does not. So I would get married to your partner, and apply for a CR-1.

As for the lawyer, if you can understand the paperwork, then you should be good. Most people on here will tell you to bypass the lawyer fees, and do not even go for the "FastVisa" help pages who charge $400USD to fill out the form, they literally just ask you every question on the form in a website, and auto populate the fields.

[Gafelkins56 2]

Im retired an make good money an they still said i needed a spondsor for my younger than husband.I guess because I may die before him an they want someone to be responsible for him.or because I do not have A job.b prepared to have someone that meets the poverty guidelines.good luck

[krs000a 0]

Hey! Fellow Scandinavian spouses! I know that most of the Nordic countries do not get married, and I do know that Denmark did have a visa for "Partner" that is not married, but unfortunately, America does not. So I would get married to your partner, and apply for a CR-1.

As for the lawyer, if you can understand the paperwork, then you should be good. Most people on here will tell you to bypass the lawyer fees, and do not even go for the "FastVisa" help pages who charge $400USD to fill out the form, they literally just ask you every question on the form in a website, and auto populate the fields.

Thank you. I think I can understand everything on the form alright, so I guess I can skip the lawyer part.

Im retired an make good money an they still said i needed a spondsor for my younger than husband.I guess because I may die before him an they want someone to be responsible for him.or because I do not have A job.b prepared to have someone that meets the poverty guidelines.good luck

I see... We may have to do the same thing. But did you find a sponsor? And if you found a sponsor, was your Visa approved then?

[Gafelkins56 2]

Yes I found a sponsor. An we are in AP but waiting for visa issuance.they just needed new sponsors papers

[mallafri76 1,012]

About the age difference; the US embassies tend to follow the cultural norm in the country they're based in and since we don't give a about age difference in Sweden, neither will the CO interviewing you.

The US embassy in Sweden is very relaxed and pleasant to deal with, so don't worry too much about it. What does it say on your "personbevis"? Does it say married or registered partnership?

Edited September 18, 2016 by Ryan H
Reason for edit: to remove alternate spelling of profane word.

[krs000a 0]

That is good to hear. :-)

It says registered partnership, but we have decided to get married, just to make the process easier.

All I'm really worried about now is my disability not being able to work... I really hope the sponsor part can solve any reluctancy they might feel toward that. I wonder if I am able to use several sponsors? Maybe that would make them feel more confident that I would not end up being a financial burden?

About the age difference; the US embassies tend to follow the cultural norm in the country they're based in and since we don't give a #### about age difference in Sweden, neither will the CO interviewing you.

The US embassy in Sweden is very relaxed and pleasant to deal with, so don't worry too much about it. What does it say on your "personbevis"? Does it say married or registered partnership?

[NikLR 13,227]

Just remember that health care in the USA is not cheap. Your spouse can use medicare and medicaid but you will need health insurance especially if you're on any medication that requires a perscription. Can you continue to get disability after you move to remove the financial burden on your partner? You only need (and only can have) 1 joint sponsor that makes over the poverty guidelines for their family + you. Many people use joint sponsors.

As for the age difference, i find most of my gay friends tend to be really close in age or have big differences. I doubt it's an issue.

[krs000a 0]

Yes, I know it costs alot. I don't know yet wether or not I will be able to continue to receive disability from my country, I have been trying to look into it but haven't found a definitive answer yet.

About the sponsor, is there certain norm they go by, e.i. how much over the guideline the person have to make? The person I have in mind for my sponsor makes over the poverty guideline times two (enough for him and for me, if I would need financial aid).

Just remember that health care in the USA is not cheap. Your spouse can use medicare and medicaid but you will need health insurance especially if you're on any medication that requires a perscription. Can you continue to get disability after you move to remove the financial burden on your partner? You only need (and only can have) 1 joint sponsor that makes over the poverty guidelines for their family + you. Many people use joint sponsors.

As for the age difference, i find most of my gay friends tend to be really close in age or have big differences. I doubt it's an issue.

[mallafri76 1,012]

To continue disability from Sweden, you have to live in Sweden. Since you're immigrating to another country, you cannot continue claiming disability in Sweden.

There are still many jobs you can do in the US once you move here. In the Scandinavian forum, someone posted about a job you do online from home. A few people signed up for it and is currently doing that, so seems legit. You might want to look into that or any other home based job.

[NikLR 13,227]

A sponsor counts their household plus the immigrant. So a man would count his spouse, children, any other dependents, plus the immgrant (you.) They must make 125% of the poverty guideline, as per the current I-864p at time of interview, for their household size including immigrant.

When I say thr cost of healthcare is expensive, I mean it. My husband works for the federal government and gets a good deal on insurance. We have a high deductible plan to keep costs down but have to pay $3k before our insurance covers any expenses beyond preventative care. Granted they may tell the urgent care or ER they cannot charge us as much as they are, but still that comes out of pocket. Most insurance has at least a co-pay, a paymemt that must be made by the insured when services are rendered. Health care is a business here.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Do you have an idea of what state you may be moving to? I say this because in a few states LPRs do have affordable health care options if they are low income.

Anxiety isn't given the same disability treatment in America that you might get in Sweden and you have to work a number of years before you'd even be eligible to apply for it. You might have to find some employment that works for you, especially if you'd like to receive social security at some point. I'm not saying this to be harsh as I also have pretty bad social anxiety, but even I am mindful that I need to work another 6 years full time (out of 10 total) to even qualify for social security on my own. There are some rules about receiving your spouses in the event of their death or divorce that you might want to read up on, but trust me, it isn't going to be enough.

There are other safety nets that you won't be eligible for either because you are a LPR or aren't working. Things like food stamps, housing assistance, and cash help might not be possible for your household and living on just social security payments might be very difficult.

If it were me, I'd put some serious thought into whether America was the right option. Only you can decide that.