Concerned About Financial Sponsorship

[carmel34 3,633]

2 hours ago, cbro20 said:

She doesn't mind waiting 6 months to work and we’ve already come up with a number of things she can do to fill the time. Adjustment of status won’t be fun but we’d rather go through that hassle together then wait 5 months or longer in a long distance relationship.

K-1 is taking much longer than 4 months right now, so you'll be living apart with K-1 if you have to leave by October.  Usually a long-distance relationship is part of the US immigration process.  So whether you do K-1 or CR-1 you will have a few months apart at least.  Do more research.  Check current processing times, for the entire process, not just petition approval--look at date of filing to visa approval.  K-1 and CR-1 are not that different right now.  K-1 used to be much faster, years ago, but that is no longer the case.  Good luck with your journey.

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Just heard someone here on VJ say they were approved on CR1 in 11 months.

 

Also, wouldn't Direct Consular Filing (DCF) be available in Ireland? That would be far quicker and result in almost no time apart.

[cbro20 53]

13 minutes ago, Russ&Caro said:

Just heard someone here on VJ say they were approved on CR1 in 11 months.

 

Also, wouldn't Direct Consular Filing (DCF) be available in Ireland? That would be far quicker and result in almost no time apart.

DCF isn’t available at the embassy in Dublin.

[Cathi 5,755]

With a CR-1 She would be able to work immediately upon entry to the US. 

 

[PRC Rabbit 40]

If there is a chance you may resort to using your Mom's income, make certain her Tax Returns  were filed and in proper order. Also verify the total number of dependents and households with respective  income level required.  It can get complicated if there are 2 households.

A bit of advance preparation goes a long way and having a fallback strategy is  comforting.

Edited June 18, 2019 by PRC Rabbit

[SalishSea 17,836]

Very unlikely she will have a visa in hand in 4-5 months.  

[Ash.1101 1,756]

 

32 minutes ago, LizM said:

To answer your initial question, check the poverty guidelines. Make sure your mom earns well above the minimum to provide for herself, you, your fiancée, and any other dependents she may have. Edit: See poverty guidelines, for 3ppl she'd need to be above $26,662 at least - the higher salary the better of course.

 

Do you guys have any savings? If significant, that could help your case too. 

 

You just submitted the petition, and you'll move back to the US in October. Even if you get your NOA2 this year, there are ways for you to slow down scheduling her interview if you want to make sure you have a job and a salary back in the US first. I wouldn't worry about it.

The US citizen is not counted towards the household unless he is a dependent on his mom's tax returns, which he shouldn't be if he's been living overseas. For all intents and purposes, it's the mom, the fiance, and any one who is a dependent on her tax returns.


With that said, even if the OP's mom makes enough does not mean they have to approve it. I agree with trying to find a job to help as a buffer for the mom cosponsoring.

[cbro20 53]

7 hours ago, Cathi said:

With a CR-1 She would be able to work immediately upon entry to the US. 

 

 

Yes but again, we aren’t prepared for a shotgun wedding in Ireland/Denmark in the next month, and she’s comfortable with not being able to work at first in the U.S. Seems like lots of people are concerned about her ability to work right away but we’ve come up with a number of things to fill this time, e.g. taking online courses for additional certifications, learning a different language, traveling around the US, networking, volunteering, getting to know my family better etc. Seems like lots of people have this idea of someone coming to the US and being holed up in a tiny house alone in a deep depression with no options, but that’s not the case in my situation. 

[Ash.1101 1,756]

2 hours ago, cbro20 said:

 

Yes but again, we aren’t prepared for a shotgun wedding in Ireland/Denmark in the next month, and she’s comfortable with not being able to work at first in the U.S. Seems like lots of people are concerned about her ability to work right away but we’ve come up with a number of things to fill this time, e.g. taking online courses for additional certifications, learning a different language, traveling around the US, networking, volunteering, getting to know my family better etc. Seems like lots of people have this idea of someone coming to the US and being holed up in a tiny house alone in a deep depression with no options, but that’s not the case in my situation. 

Is she going to travel with you while you’re working?

 

She won’t be able to get a drivers liscense  until she gets her EAD which means she can’t drive until she can work.

 

Either way, people worry about this because there’s an increasing number of people who don’t or are unable to save up money to AOS their spouse and it’s usually people from situations like yours. The spouse ends up sitting around for longer than expected and all of those things you listed can get old within the current 6 months processing time for EAD.

 

also most people usually end up saying “I should have done spousal”, you’ll find there are more people than not who did k-1 that regret not marrying and doing spousal because of the cost and the limbo time.

 

even those who save up money end up having some form of culture shock regardless of what country they’re from.

 

also note volunteering has a very strict set of rules. She can only volunteer for something that only offers volunteer positions only. She can’t volunteer for something a person would typically be paid for at the same location. So say a small business is looking for someone to volunteer to do some data entry along side their data entry employee who gets paid, she couldn’t take it, mostly because the business is taking advantage of free labor that she provides instead of opening a job up to a resident/citizen.

 

 She can’t receive anything that has value from the place or persons she’s volunteering for. if she’s offered things like cash, gift cards or even a bouquet of flowers for her time working she has to decline it. Accepting any gift is accepting payment for services which is considered working.

 

she can’t volunteer for anything that may lead to a job with the place she volunteers at as that would be seen as potentially taking a future job from a USC. This applies to unpaid internships as well, since there is always a good chance the internship would pick someone from within their  own to come on board.

 

 

my husbands Canadian and had almost no culture shock per se, but the part where he couldn’t drive was the hardest for him and his AOS was done in less 80 days which was record time even three years ago. I would hate to have seen how bad he would have been if he had to wait the current time frame.

 

 

also people are recommending CR-1 because you’re not working hurts your chances at being approved in general even with a cosponsor.

 

Doesn’t mean it’s not possible, but just know they are cracking down on anyone who might end up being a public charge heavily based on their fiancé or spouses circumstances.

 

CR-1 the overall safer route.

 

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Oh and as a separate side note I don’t know if anyone responded to it but..

 

her work capabilities, degrees, and history do not matter.

 

your work history is all that matters. They don’t give the visas based on what you and your sponsor can do, they give it based on what the sponsor is doing currently and has in the past based off tax returns.

 

So say you had a masters in some highly sought after field but only stayed at each job 9 months at a time on a non-contractual job. Your spouse or fiancé would be more scrutinized for becoming a public charge because it looks like you can’t really hold a job.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Ash.

[cbro20 53]

Alright so if we decided to go with the CR1 route, what's does the process look like? 

 

Just trying to get it straight in my head. 

 

We would need to get married ASAP in Denmark (3 month waiting time in Ireland). Then send in an I-130 to the Embassy in Dublin with a request for DCF? 

 

Would I even qualify for DCF? My understanding was that it's only available in emergency situations, and I only have 4 months left in Ireland. 

 

The other option is to get married and fill out an I-130, then move to New Zealand under working holiday agreements (both Brazilians and Americans can go work in New Zealand) while the CR1 process takes place. What about DCF at the Embassy in New Zealand?

 

What do you guys think? 

 

If we decide to go a different route, how would I cancel the I-129F petition now that it's already been sent in? Would I get the fee back? 

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Check out the Guides in the menu bar of this website. They'll give you a good overview of the CR1 process.

 

I have to say, I think you're making a good decision with CR1. One thing that occurs to me is that you seem like an International couple, as in a couple who might want to explore job opportunities around the world at different points in your lives. The US passport becomes sort of world passport in that respect and often getting work authorization can be relatively easy for Americans abroad. If this is indeed the case, then CR1 is the best because it's the fastest route to a green card (about a year) and the fastest route to citizenship (3 yrs after the green card). If you go the k1/AOS route it would probably add a year to the length of time to gain citizenship for her. Good luck.

 

Edit: No money back on the i129, sorry. I believe you just send a letter to USCIS with your application # to cancel the petition.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Russ&Caro

[Ash.1101 1,756]

I’m sure more people will chime in but I’m unsure if you will be able to DCF. 

 

One thing you will need to make sure to do no matter what will be to establish residency in the US by the time your fiancé/spouse has an interview.

[Boiler 45,525]

DCF is going away, well there still will be the most exceptional cases situations, nothing to suggests that would apply here.

[SalishSea 17,836]

There is no DCF in Auckland.  Wanting to accelerate the wait time does not constitute “exceptional circumstances.”