What if we can't meet financial requirements?

[Quinn 2]

Yay ideas! =D

Yes, I've considered and must pursue finding advancement and movement to other units within the company I work for (Taco Bell). I *am* pursuing that but my pessimistic attitude doesnt see fast enough progress >.<

Temp agencies - possible, but I have attempted to get in with those in the past. I have no high school equivalency, so I do not qualify for many of the jobs temp agencies offer. I am 4'10 and female, I cannot do construction. Those are the only temp jobs available in my area, and at the risk of sounding like a bigot - the Mexicans get those jobs. How they got here and got legal employment is beyond me; I guess everyone else can find a sponsor eh.

So, more work you guys say huh? I'm willing to do whatever it takes, I always have been. The fear that my efforts are useless hold me back.

Thank you all for the information regarding requirements; I was unsure whether my income was going to be considered cumulitavely or based on my potential income.

I know this is off topic, but my father is from Guatemala and has been called a Mexican all his life. He and his family came here legally. The only reason no one calls me a "Mexican" is because I'm light skinned enough to be mistaken as white. Lets all stop assuming that all Latinos we see are Mexican and that they're all illegal, ok?

[pushbrk 12,898]

My suggestion is that you get a second job. Work part time at a fast food restaurant if you have to. You don't have to make the money last year. You can annualize this year's income and back it up with current pay stubs at interview time.

Forgive me for continuing to sound so dour but.... I work full time fast food already. Last year, the year I made the most money, I earned 9800$. I've been pushing and pushing for management within the company, and I know I'm impatient but Im feeling incredibly incapable. Depression makes everything harder, it just does.

The financial restrictions exist for valid reasons... if you cannot improve your income level and do not have a co-sponsor, you will not qualify. Your only other option would be to move to the UK.

Jen

That was our first attempt. He does not qualify to sponsor me as well. In July '06 I attempted to fly to UK, and was stopped at the gate. After a year of personal research, I thought I was set. I get to the door and immigrations stops me because we're too poor. After an evaluation of both of our skills and income potentials, I was denied Leave to Enter. I dare not attempt such again until I'm rich enough for UK. (thank you very much UK for making the process happen at the door, after a 14 hour flight)

I do appreciate what support I can get, pity party or not I am in an incredibly desperate state and no amount of repressing or diverting is going to help that until I know that my efforts are actually going to give me what I need.

I see many of you have indeed been through and are nearing the end of your processes. I cant help but be a little jealous; seems everyone but me is capable. I feel as if I have been ready for this to be over for two years, and the process has yet to start for me. The process may never start if I have no hope it will. Without hope there's little motivation.

It sounds like you know what you need to do. Now that it is clear, you cannot sponsor your fiance without meeting the minimum requirements, perhaps you'll find the motivation to move forward. If depressed, deal with that first. You have three options. You can earn more money, find a co-sponsor or give up. The next steps are yours to decide and to take. You may have a long road that includes studying for and earning a GED. I assume you came here for help solving a problem instead of just sympathy.

[HannahP 119]

So, more work you guys say huh? I'm willing to do whatever it takes, I always have been. The fear that my efforts are useless hold me back.

What about taking on a second, part-time job to help boost your overall income? (Helps if you can switch to working twelve hour shifts, although I'm starting to think that the hospital industry is the only one that does that anymore.)

Getting a GED is actually pretty easy, and it's also usually pretty cheap. (I know it's under $100 in Kansas.) That would open up a world of higher paying secretarial/management jobs. You can get free study materials and guides through the liberary.

It's not useless. It'll just take time. Look at this period in your relationship as training for the wait that you'll have to experience while going through the K-1 process.

edit - I also know what it's like to suffer from depression. (In general, not just related to the visa.) Sometimes, the best thing that you can do for yourself is to make a list of what needs to be done and start doing it. Push all those emotions and fatigue and I-can't-do-its aside. The more you think, the more tangled up you get in the despair.

Edited May 18, 2007 by HannahP

[JenT 0]

Desperate

No hope

Pessimistic attitude

Useless

Depression

...all words used by the OP.

No offense, but it sounds like developing some self-esteem/confidence is in order....

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

I can't help but notice your income is lower than minimum wage. Someone correct me if I am wrong since it has been awhile for me but isn't the financial requirement that needs to be met before taxes? Just a thought you might be closer to meeting the requirement than you think you are. I would certainly start looking elsewhere that will pay a bit better, even if it is going to McDonalds or a grocery instead. Who knows if you can get something starting out at $7 an hour in 6 months time it might be $8. Just trying to give you some encouragement. Definetly get that GED taken care of.

Like someone else posted, it is now up to you to make this work......and you can do it if you set your heart and mind on it.

[Jamie76 0]

Just a question. I understand the need for the financial support, but the level is set at $16,000? I am in the process of bringing my fiancee here and decided to get a different job because I didn't think the $30,000 I am making now would be good enough to support her and myself. For those of you that just made the cutoff, how realistically can you support a wife/husband and yourself on that? I'm just curious...I know eventually my fiancee wants to work once she has settled in here, but for the time being, I will be financially responsible for her.

[*JG* 2]

My suggestion is don't get so down, where there is a will there is a way. You need so much as a job that pays $8 an hour to meet the financial requirement for one year. Set a goal for yourself if you truly want to be together and stick with it. It might take a year it might take two but at the end of the immigration process it is worth it.

It took my husband and I nearly two years to get over all of our hurdles, financial, divorces setting up a home etc. It wasn't easy but we did it for ourselves and we have now been living happily ever after together in the states for nine months.

My suggestion is that you get a second job. Work part time at a fast food restaurant if you have to. You don't have to make the money last year. You can annualize this year's income and back it up with current pay stubs at interview time.

Second, stop the pity party and get on with it. Nobody is forbidding you to marry. The issue is qualifying as a sponsor for a visa that allows you to live together in the same country.

That was pretty freakin rude!! The OP was asking for advice and explaining her feelings. The purpose of VJ is for just that. its a community to share your feelings and get SUPPORT! If you dont like reading ppl's feelings and worries, then by all means, by pass it and move on. a simple answer to the question would have been good enough, telling the OP to stop having a pity party was completely uncalled for. geez

I have to agree a little on this. While the answer may have come across a little harsh, this ENTIRE process is so difficult and seemingly never ending. If you let one problem in the beginning stop you, one you can correct fairly easily, then you will never make it to the end. I agree with the 2nd job. I have 2 jobs and it is doable.

I wish you luck.

[Dan J 277]

Just a question. I understand the need for the financial support, but the level is set at $16,000? I am in the process of bringing my fiancee here and decided to get a different job because I didn't think the $30,000 I am making now would be good enough to support her and myself. For those of you that just made the cutoff, how realistically can you support a wife/husband and yourself on that? I'm just curious...I know eventually my fiancee wants to work once she has settled in here, but for the time being, I will be financially responsible for her.

Agreed, it would be hard to support 2 people on $16,000 a year in most places. I can bearly live on that by myself. I did for awhile and I even had a roommate at that time. Even then it was hard to keep up on bills and whatnot. But then I live in the Minneapolis, its possible it would be more doable outside of a big city.

For the OP, you need to either get a second job, or find work someone else. Getting a $10 an hour job should not be too hard provided you have at least a HS diploma/GED (If you dont have that, that should be the first thing you do). And that will put you well over the sponsorship requirement.

[Misty1979 0]

Just a question. I understand the need for the financial support, but the level is set at $16,000? I am in the process of bringing my fiancee here and decided to get a different job because I didn't think the $30,000 I am making now would be good enough to support her and myself. For those of you that just made the cutoff, how realistically can you support a wife/husband and yourself on that? I'm just curious...I know eventually my fiancee wants to work once she has settled in here, but for the time being, I will be financially responsible for her.

If you ask me, it really all depends on how high maintenance your fiance/spouse will be, and what the living costs are like where you intend to live. I mean, my husband hardly made the cut as well due to having a daughter counting as a dependent and only making $8.50/hr as it is. My father in-law co-sponsored us to make sure we meet the requirements (His income ended up being around the same as yours.)

Anyways, here in NC the living costs aren't that high. We do cut it very close sometimes from paycheck to paycheck, but we never go without anything. If you can set a budget and stick to it, living on a small wage is a no-brainer. Not saying it is something we want or intend to do for long (as soon as I am here permanently I will hopefully join the Coast Guard, and he will be going to college for a computer-related degree.)

I know very well that if we lived in Hawaii or Alaska, it would be an entirely different story since the cost of living there is much higher than where we are.

Needless to say, barely getting by isn't something I would recommend or wish on anyone, but that is how the circumstances are, so that is just what we have to accept right now. (I invented that saying "We may not be rich in money, but we are rich in love!"

Keep at it Serena Klein, if you're determined enough, you'll find a way

[GabachaYucateca 0]

First off, get your GED!

And start looking around for the agencies and organizations that provide job training for low-income people (I hope you live in a city, rather than a rural area). They often have job skills programs that can funnel you right into an entry level job, and you'll definitely be making more than minimum wage.

I always tell my students (single moms on public assistance) that they're better off spending an extra year on welfare and getting the skills and training they need to make a living wage than stop collecting and end up in a fast food joint making the min wage for the rest of their lives.

[HannahP 119]

Just a question. I understand the need for the financial support, but the level is set at $16,000? I am in the process of bringing my fiancee here and decided to get a different job because I didn't think the $30,000 I am making now would be good enough to support her and myself. For those of you that just made the cutoff, how realistically can you support a wife/husband and yourself on that?

The boy and I are lucky because we can both live at home (rent-free) while working full-time. (If he'd stop messing up the cars of little old ladies, anyway!) I have around three thousand in the bank, but I'm starting up our apartment and paying all sorts of first time start-up fees, furniture that didn't make the move from ND, etc. Starting out on your own is almost as scary as the visa process.

I make $9.50 full-time, and plan on picking up a part-time job over the summer. He's working major overtime in his country, and will probably have around four-five thousand saved up by the time he comes down. I think we'll probably be relying on that to get us through to the EAD.

Obviously, we haven't actually gone through this all. It's all speculative and based off our spending habits from North Dakota when we lived together. I've been budgeting like mad, trying to make us self-sufficient. (However, I also know that my dad - our co-sponsor - will give us what we need if we should run into trouble.)

Right now, *I* make ~$1,200 a month.

Rent: two-bedroom in a middling college town; $525.

Utilities: we pay all utilities; my best guess is around ~$150 per month. This does not include the stupid start-up fees and first-time user deposits.

Gas will probably be $120 a month because I'm commuting to my full-time job. I need to invest in a bike for around-town.

None of this includes, well, food or medical. Or the little things that you need to buy when setting up a household like a shower curtain or a couch.

Anyway, can you see I've obsessed about this a little bit? Maybe we need to start a new thread.

[Bobbie 1]

I think everyone here has given the poster very good advice. To the woman who was so rude, I really think that was uncalled for. I think if people would disagree with out making it personal, they would probably get along better. It is the fair rules of fighting, and it works great in a relationship too.

Anyway, beyond that. Poster, if when people give you advice on what to do, if you can only think of why it can't be done, then deep down in your heart, you may not be ready for this.

I know we will be tight on our budget also ( it will help when the last 2 years taxes are done and I see if I made any money), I apply for jobs...and I will take one if I really need to. WE will get along fine, we support 2 households now, one will be duck soup. But if I need another job, it will happen. Lickety split.

Do what people are giving you advice about.If you are in love with this man, it isnt just for today, or tomorrow, but forever. The situations we make in life are for us, forever. So, we get to choose what situation we want. I used to have a very very hard time in life, single mom, no eduction, no skills low pay, low wage.....

One day, thats it, NO MORE. I went to college, I worked the entire time (and starved)....and then I did what it took to be employed. And, when my state no longer provided me decent opportunites, I moved across the entire country, with no friends, no family, nothing. But, I knew I could get a good job. 10 years later...Im still here, make good money when I work (ok its only been about 2 years I am commissioned/self employed)....but I can turn things around on a dime when ever I need it.

I have a multitude of skills.....only because I spend hours and hours and hours learing. You have the internet, this is a wonderful thing, expecially to people living in rural areas. YOU can do this. YOU can make the life you want, you dream about.....

Many people will choose to complain and wish it was easier....but Y OU can decide to become BIGGER than the problem.....

Good Luck, with all my heart good luck....but dont sit to long.....life goes on and YOU need to go on also!

Life is a fantastic journey...there is beauty in struggle. Friction produces diamonds, ...have you had enough platitudes?

When you think you must quit, sit a while, rest if you must but dont quit!

[Serena Klein 0]

Yay ideas! =D

Yes, I've considered and must pursue finding advancement and movement to other units within the company I work for (Taco Bell). I *am* pursuing that but my pessimistic attitude doesnt see fast enough progress >.<

Temp agencies - possible, but I have attempted to get in with those in the past. I have no high school equivalency, so I do not qualify for many of the jobs temp agencies offer. I am 4'10 and female, I cannot do construction. Those are the only temp jobs available in my area, and at the risk of sounding like a bigot - the Mexicans get those jobs. How they got here and got legal employment is beyond me; I guess everyone else can find a sponsor eh.

So, more work you guys say huh? I'm willing to do whatever it takes, I always have been. The fear that my efforts are useless hold me back.

Thank you all for the information regarding requirements; I was unsure whether my income was going to be considered cumulitavely or based on my potential income.

I know this is off topic, but my father is from Guatemala and has been called a Mexican all his life. He and his family came here legally. The only reason no one calls me a "Mexican" is because I'm light skinned enough to be mistaken as white. Lets all stop assuming that all Latinos we see are Mexican and that they're all illegal, ok?

I know, I later regretted my statement - please forgive me. I'm angry and feeling very useless. Also I did not intend that statement to mean that all 'mexicans' I see here (in Phoenix mind you) are illegals. In fact, my anger was in the assumption that they did get here and find employment legally.

I assume you came here for help solving a problem instead of just sympathy.

Maybe a little of Column A, a lil Column B? I am in need of real solutions and emotional support.

[russ 1]

Everything will be okay. You will be able to do it. Many people here have, facing much more difficult hurdles. As they say in Russia - Всё будет хорохо. (everything will be okay).

When I started out, I worked about 90 hours a week. It was worth it in the end, but not easy. In school (that I paid a lot for), it was more than that -- 14 hour days 7 days a week most of the time. And I worked during breaks to help pay for it.

The money is just that. Money. You will have it if you want it. I have a friend who is a full time college student. He managed to do this working two jobs. You can too. Find all the work you can, even little side jobs (but make sure you document your income). The goal is that number. Make sure you beat in on your taxes this year.

I know someone that cleans apartments here for about $40/hour on the side to supplement her income from her day job. Look for things like that. It counts just as much on your taxes (you report this income on form Schedule C). Even without a paper trail, they will believe this (since you are paying taxes on it, after all )

Good Luck!

In fact, my anger was in the assumption that they

[russ 1]

In July '06 I attempted to fly to UK, and was stopped at the gate. After a year of personal research, I thought I was set. I get to the door and immigrations stops me because we're too poor. After an evaluation of both of our skills and income potentials, I was denied Leave to Enter.

Wow. I have flown into the UK at least 50 times, probably more. Usually they just flip through my passport and say "nice to see you again" or "have a nice trip, it's been a few weeks." I don't think that I have ever been asked any questions about anything (while I always do get the third degree going to Canada where much of my family lives.)

Also - the secret of flying into Heathrow. Waste 15 minutes and get on the bus to the domestic terminal before doing immigration. There is no one in line there. This will avoid the 2 hour line of the 747s from India and Pakistan that just arrived at Terminal 3 or 4 and always seem to be in front of you in line...