sponsorship options both U.S. citizen and spouse living abroad

[Rockslide8977 0]

Hi all!

 

My partner is a U.S. citizen filing for IR-1 for me, her spouse. We're planning on moving to the US. We've both lived and worked in the UK for 8 years so as I understand it, she can't be my sponsor, since she has no real presence in the US. 

 

We're not ecstatic about recruiting her parents to sponsor me. She does have some close friends in the US that would, but we're understandably not enthusiastic about it either.

 

My questions:

1. can we cover the sponsorship requirement with, say, 50k in a petitioners savings account? I've seen some threads that are either very skeptical or mildly enthusiastic about liquid assets. 

2. I work for a multinational corp, remote, sw engineering,  where there's precedent in my department of relocating to different countries somewhat easily + Help with relocation etc. Would some sort of relocation document or future contract influence anything?

 

Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks! 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

1. Yes, but 50K USD is not enough. Needs to be 3 times $24,650 or $73,950 USD for a household of 2 people. Should be in a U.S. bank account.

 

2. If your income will continue after you move to the U.S., yes this can count.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Mike E

[SalishSea 17,828]

28 minutes ago, Rockslide8977 said:

she can't be my sponsor, since she has no real presence in the US. 

She is your petitioner, and your sponsor.  You can have a qualified joint sponsor, but your wife is the sponsor.

 

She will want to read up on domicile requirements.  Also, if she has a job offer in the US, she may be able to request DCF via the London consulate.

[Boiler 45,486]

1 hour ago, Rockslide8977 said:

 

2. I work for a multinational corp, remote, sw engineering,  where there's precedent in my department of relocating to different countries somewhat easily + Help with relocation etc. 

 

I would jump all over this L1 is the normal for an internal move, they pay everything and then you can adjust once you are in the US at your leisure.

[pushbrk 12,882]

4 hours ago, SalishSea said:

She is your petitioner, and your sponsor.  You can have a qualified joint sponsor, but your wife is the sponsor.

 

She will want to read up on domicile requirements.  Also, if she has a job offer in the US, she may be able to request DCF via the London consulate.

Correct.  I see two viable options that do not include a joint sponsor.

 

1.  Wife moves back to the USA and gets a job

2. Foreign spouse gets an official transfer to a US position with the same company employing him now.

[Rockslide8977 0]

15 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Correct.  I see two viable options that do not include a joint sponsor.

 

1.  Wife moves back to the USA and gets a job

2. Foreign spouse gets an official transfer to a US position with the same company employing him now.

 

Thanks for you response @pushbrk 

 

1. Given the sponsorship requirements mainly listed tax returns as proof of work(I could be wrong, sorry), does that mean she'd have to work in the US for - let's say at least a year - before she becomes an eligible sponsor? Could a contract + rent agreement etc suffice?

2. I'm assuming you're talking about an L1 visa? I don't know if this makes me sound like a brat, but I'm not enthused about tying my residency status to an employer. As I currently understand it, my job is ok with people relocating(I assume that entails some legal/insurance/etc work) but dealing with my *ability* to relocate - I haven't inquired. 

 

All in all, I feel that we might be too busy trying to interpret and substitute requirements when we could just... try and fall in line with typical expectations. Something to think about I guess. 

[Rockslide8977 0]

20 hours ago, Mike E said:

1. Yes, but 50K USD is not enough. Needs to be 3 times $24,650 or $73,950 USD for a household of 2 people. Should be in a U.S. bank account.

 

2. If your income will continue after you move to the U.S., yes this can count.

 

 

Obviously nothing is ever guaranteed, but is there some documentation somewhere that specifies that liquid assets in a US account are considered equivalent to tax returns of past income? I guess what I'm asking is if this is official guidance or people have succeeded in the past with these parameters. 

 

I should really re-read the instructions for I-864. 

[Rockslide8977 0]

20 hours ago, SalishSea said:

She is your petitioner, and your sponsor.  You can have a qualified joint sponsor, but your wife is the sponsor.

 

She will want to read up on domicile requirements.  Also, if she has a job offer in the US, she may be able to request DCF via the London consulate.

 

Yep, my apologies! I'm still trying to get the lingo down. I was hoping we could do this in a somewhat predictable fashion in the span of 12-18 months - say 

1. apply 

2. go through the the uscis and nvc dance

3. sort out spouse work move (ie letting them know we're relocating so spouse can continue working in the US)

4. terminate any agreements we have in the UK (ie rental etc)

5. move.

 

Job offer and DCF approach sounds somewhat difficult to pull off with respect to timing IE a bit of a chicken and egg problem not to mention that it sounds like it's at the discretion of the consular officer. Is this a common approach? 

[Mike E 11,739]

39 minutes ago, Rockslide8977 said:

 

Obviously nothing is ever guaranteed, but is there some documentation somewhere that specifies that liquid assets in a US account are considered equivalent to tax returns of past income?

No such thing exists. All petitioners must:

 

* provide the most recent IRS tax return or tax transcript

 

* file the tax returns for the most recent 3 years or prove that they were not required to file

 

There is something close: form I-864 and/or its instructions say $3 of assets can substitute for $1 of income.

39 minutes ago, Rockslide8977 said:

I guess what I'm asking is if this is official guidance or people have succeeded in the past with these parameters.

IMO, from experiences of those who have posted here for years, asset based petitions are more  difficult to get approved than income based petitions. Indeed, until last year, I considered asset based petitions to be urban myths. I have seen two since then, so now I consider them unicorns.

 

When I see members pushing back on converting their off shore assets into liquid assets in a real American bank, I question the resolve.

 

39 minutes ago, Rockslide8977 said:

I should really re-read the instructions for I-864. 

Agreed

Edited August 20, 2023 by Mike E

[pushbrk 12,882]

6 hours ago, Rockslide8977 said:

 

Thanks for you response @pushbrk 

 

1. Given the sponsorship requirements mainly listed tax returns as proof of work(I could be wrong, sorry), does that mean she'd have to work in the US for - let's say at least a year - before she becomes an eligible sponsor? Could a contract + rent agreement etc suffice?

2. I'm assuming you're talking about an L1 visa? I don't know if this makes me sound like a brat, but I'm not enthused about tying my residency status to an employer. As I currently understand it, my job is ok with people relocating(I assume that entails some legal/insurance/etc work) but dealing with my *ability* to relocate - I haven't inquired. 

 

All in all, I feel that we might be too busy trying to interpret and substitute requirements when we could just... try and fall in line with typical expectations. Something to think about I guess. 

You've got some real misconceptions here.  Time to become an A-Student of the I-864 instructions.

 

Tax returns are about the past.  The petitioner in your wife's circumstances has two hurdles, as your sponsor.  One would be to have a job providing sufficient "current income".  If she has a job making 1k a week, that's 52k in current income she can document with a pay stub.  The second hurdle is US Domicile.  If she's in the USA working and living, that is all the evidence she needs of US Domicile.

 

If your wife has not been working, she would not be required to file past tax returns.  If she HAS had qualifying income in the past three years, she'll need to file those tax returns, but is unlikely to actually owe any taxes.

 

If YOUR employer will offer you a job IN THE USA, then you can use that expected income from the same source you earn income now, to effectively self sponsor, but that leaves the domicile issue to deal with.

 

Yes, stop misinterpreting and substituting.  Learn the actual requirements and work within them.

[pushbrk 12,882]

Third option for.  The affidavit of support is submitted a year or so after the I-130.  Build your savings to more like 100k USD by then and qualify based on assets.  It really IS ok if those savings are in a UK bank.

[Rockslide8977 0]

15 hours ago, pushbrk said:

You've got some real misconceptions here.  Time to become an A-Student of the I-864 instructions.

 

 

Yes it's been humbling. I'm very thankful for helping me realise it though. I'll regroup, read all the official instruction and come back. Thanks all!