Affidavit of Support

[LightSear 8]

My wife is Chinese and I am an American.  We are planning to have my wife immigrate to America in June and for me to find a teaching job as I have a degree and prof certificate in Music Education.  I have already submitted the I-130 with the $500 something fee and received approval to apply for a visa.  We have discovered I must complete an affidavit of support.  Can I do this without a job?  Do we have to wait until I have a job before she can apply for the visa?

[JFH 12,190]

As her spouse you must complete the I-864 affidavit of support, even if your income and/or assets are insufficient. If you do not meet the financial requirements you can use a joint sponsor who does meet them. 

[Greekwife 58]

I would advise you to get a job first before applying.That way you increase chances of being approved.Personally,I think you need to consider not only getting your spouse there but able to cope with expensive life in US as a couple.

Best of luck😉

[EandH0904 1,184]

When did you apply? If it was recently she will not be able to move by June...even DCF takes a few months.  If you do not meet the financial requirements you will need to find a co sponsor that does. If you come to the US first to get a job then you no longer meet DCF requirements and will need to do a CR1

Edited April 20, 2019 by EandH0904

[Nitas_man 3,100]

1 hour ago, LightSear said:

My wife is Chinese and I am an American.  We are planning to have my wife immigrate to America in June and for me to find a teaching job as I have a degree and prof certificate in Music Education.  I have already submitted the I-130 with the $500 something fee and received approval to apply for a visa.  We have discovered I must complete an affidavit of support.  Can I do this without a job?  Do we have to wait until I have a job before she can apply for the visa?

You must complete an affidavit of support and you do not have to have a job.  In lieu of a job you do have to show (very liquid) assets exceeding 3X the required income based on your household size.

 

Or......get a joint sponsor

 

[Cathi 5,748]

Read the guides at the top of the page. 

 

Also, it wasn't clear from your post but if you're not domiciled in the US you must establish domicile here before your wife's visa can be issued.

Edited April 20, 2019 by Cathi

[nastra30 2,287]

OP, are you currently residing in the US or China? One thing to know is with I-864 you'll also have to show you've been filing your tax retuns. US citizens are supposed to file their taxes regardless of where they live.

[Just Paul 4,595]

Ok we did DCF last year in Mexico and had our interview within 102 days of filing.   Can she Come to the US by June 1, probably not. You need the I-864 done at the interview.

 

You will need to file the I-864 for yourself. You will need 3 years of US tax transcripts.  Unless you have sufficient assets, you will need a joint sponsor.  They will fill out a I-864 as well.  

 

As for domicile you need to show plans to come back to the US.  I kept my condo while I lived abroad so I had utility bills, hoa dues, etc.  

[LightSear 8]

3 hours ago, EandH0904 said:

When did you apply? If it was recently she will not be able to move by June...even DCF takes a few months.  If you do not meet the financial requirements you will need to find a co sponsor that does. If you come to the US first to get a job then you no longer meet DCF requirements and will need to do a CR1

I applied Feb 19, 2019.  I hear we will be able to finish 1-2 months from a least one person who has done it before. 

 

Yes, if I don't get a job, I'll need a cosponsor.  I know a few people that I can ask about that.

 

I am a bit surprised to her that I would not meet DCF requirements.  Do you know where the official webpage is that confirms this is a requirement?

[EandH0904 1,184]

Just now, LightSear said:

 

 

I am a bit surprised to her that I would not meet DCF requirements.  Do you know where the official webpage is that confirms this is a requirement?

I said if you come back to the US to look for a job you would not meet the requirements as you have to be a resident there, so if you come back to work then you aren't a resident any more

[LightSear 8]

1 hour ago, Cathi said:

Read the guides at the top of the page. 

 

Also, it wasn't clear from your post but if you're not domiciled in the US you must establish domicile here before your wife's visa can be issued.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.  I think I need to research this more as well.  I live in China with my wife.  My wife and I planned to live with my friend over the summer while I look for jobs.  My friend will likely be willing to be an sponsor and sign a affidavit of support.  Does anyone know a link to information on domicile for DCF?

Edited April 20, 2019 by LightSear

[Just Paul 4,595]

7 minutes ago, LightSear said:

I am a bit surprised to her that I would not meet DCF requirements.  Do you know where the official webpage is that confirms this is a requirement?

It is hard for someone that did not do a DCF to understand how it works.   Morrocco does not have DCF.  You need to be a resident (or have residency status) when you filed.  Your petition has been approved.   You technically do not need to stay there anymore.

 

 

[LightSear 8]

2 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

It is hard for someone that did not do a DCF to understand how it works.   Morrocco does not have DCF.  You need to be a resident (or have residency status) when you filed.  Your petition has been approved.   You technically do not need to stay there anymore.

 

 

Thanks Paul and Mary for your thoughts. 

 

I am a current resident of China with a residence permit. 

 

I need to spend time looking at domicile requires of my DCF.

 

I have copies of my tax returns for the last three years.

[Just Paul 4,595]

You can submit the visa.  If you still need time to get things together you can move the interview back.

 

If you don't qualify based on assets you can find a joint sponsor.

 

Getting the domicile setup is not much more than proving intent.  You can show that you might be staying with friends, doing air-bnb, etc.

[JFH 12,190]

34 minutes ago, EandH0904 said:

I said if you come back to the US to look for a job you would not meet the requirements as you have to be a resident there, so if you come back to work then you aren't a resident any more

But the I-130 has already been approved. DCF only requires that the petitioner is resident in the country in question at the time of filing. There was recently a DCF case where the petitioner filed and moved back the following week (after being in the said country for many years).