Petition for Alien Relative Outside of the U.S. - Both Sponsor and Dependant Residing Outside of the U.S.

[ArtUK 0]

Hello, I am a U.K. Citizen and my wife is a U.S. Citizen we currently reside in the U.K. and have done since 2020. We have 2 children - both of whom hold U.S. Citizenship and U.S. passports. Circumstances in our personal life have changed and our family decision is that we no longer wish to remain in the U.K. and with this want to move back to be with my wife's family in the U.S. Meaning that we are going to begin the process of submitting an I-130 for me to gain U.S. permanent residency. 

 

Given that we are both employed in the U.K. from what I understand the income in the U.K. is irrelevant and our "actual household income" is 0$. Therefore we need in 3x the shortfall against the poverty line which totals assets greater than or equal to $117,000. We are fortunate enough to be in a position where my wife (the sponsor - U.S. Citizen) can provide a large proportion of the financial requirement from savings in a U.S. bank account. However we're short roughly $20,000, I have the means to make up this shortfall but it is via savings in GBP (£) and in a U.K. bank. 

 

My question here is, is the best course of action to progress using mine and my wife's savings despite a small proportion coming from a U.K. bank or is the path of the least resistance to request a finical assistance from a joint sponsor in the U.S? Thankfully a few family members have offered and are in the position to do this should it be required. 

 

As you can imagine, my preference is to avoid dragging a member of my wife's family into this process as it is pretty invasive. 

 

This is my first post so apologies if this has been covered in previous discussions etc. 

[Boiler 45,744]

You just need one of her Family Members to Joint Sponsor you.

 

Is she up to date with her taxes?

 

What is your ideal timeline?

[appleblossom 2,815]

13 minutes ago, ArtUK said:

My question here is, is the best course of action to progress using mine and my wife's savings despite a small proportion coming from a U.K. bank

 

If having the funds in the UK would be an issue, why can't you just transfer the savings from the UK bank to her US one?

Edited September 6 by appleblossom

[ArtUK 0]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

You just need one of her Family Members to Joint Sponsor you.

 

Is she up to date with her taxes?

 

What is your ideal timeline?

Is it mandatory for a member of her family to Joint Sponsor if we have the cash? 

 

She is up to date with taxes and are ideal timeline would be as ASAP 

[ArtUK 0]

1 hour ago, appleblossom said:

 

If having the funds in the UK would be an issue, why can't you just transfer the savings from the UK bank to her US one?

It is in Stocks and Shares ISA which I would be opposed to liquidating just to transfer

[Boiler 45,744]

i would have the Joint in my back pocket

[OldUser 6,999]

1 hour ago, ArtUK said:

Is it mandatory for a member of her family to Joint Sponsor if we have the cash? 

 

 

It can be hard to convince USCIS this can be used for I-864.

 

You can lose a lot of time and they could still issue RFE much later in the process. Then you're going to be rushing to find a joint sponsor and reply on time. It may be easier just to begin with one.

[appleblossom 2,815]

1 hour ago, ArtUK said:

It is in Stocks and Shares ISA which I would be opposed to liquidating just to transfer

 

If it's a stocks & shares ISA then you may find it's better to liquidate anyway. We were advised to close all of ours before moving due to the tax treatment of them in the US and additional reporting required. 

 

But if you don't, then as @Boiler said, have a joint sponsor lined up just in case s/he is needed. 

 

Good luck. 

[OldUser 6,999]

6 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

If it's a stocks & shares ISA then you may find it's better to liquidate anyway. We were advised to close all of ours before moving due to the tax treatment of them in the US and additional reporting required. 

Very good point. Reporting would be pain in the back!

[powpow13 4]

Hey @ArtUK,

 

The issue is not that your wife receives income in the UK, it's that the Sponsor MUST be a full-time resident of the United States (even if qualifying with assets). You can see this on the USCIS website here, under "Sponsor for Affidavit of Support": the requirements are that the Sponsor must be at least 18 years old, a USC, and living in the United States. The only exception is "If you live abroad, you may still be eligible to be a sponsor if you can show that your residence abroad is temporary, and that you still have your domicile in the United States." In this case, it might be difficult for your wife to prove she's only in the UK temporarily as, from what I understand, you have been there since 2020/she might not have a domicile in the United States anymore.

 

The easiest option is to have a member of her family, someone who resides full-time in the United States and can prove that (with US tax documents, paystubs, driver's license, utility bills, anything that proves they have been residing in the United States for some time). Of course, they'll have to prove they're also a United States citizen, i.e. show a scan of their passport. Even if you transfer your assets to the US, your wife would have to prove her residence like this as well, which is why I think it might be easier for you both to ask another USC to be your sponsor. 

 

I hope your family members will be able to assist, and I'm wishing you both the best of luck!

[yuna628 9,687]

I think everyone has given you good advice here but a few other things: ISAs are a big no no. You'd need to get rid of those before coming here.

 

If you are living in the UK, how far is your wife through the UK's process? Close to citizenship? Green cards are for living in America and keeping your life there. If you are close to citizenship, you might want to consider finishing that first before forfeiting any status she has.

[OldUser 6,999]

1 hour ago, powpow13 said:

Hey @ArtUK,

 

The issue is not that your wife receives income in the UK, it's that the Sponsor MUST be a full-time resident of the United States (even if qualifying with assets). You can see this on the USCIS website here, under "Sponsor for Affidavit of Support": the requirements are that the Sponsor must be at least 18 years old, a USC, and living in the United States. The only exception is "If you live abroad, you may still be eligible to be a sponsor if you can show that your residence abroad is temporary, and that you still have your domicile in the United States." In this case, it might be difficult for your wife to prove she's only in the UK temporarily as, from what I understand, you have been there since 2020/she might not have a domicile in the United States anymore.

 

The easiest option is to have a member of her family, someone who resides full-time in the United States and can prove that (with US tax documents, paystubs, driver's license, utility bills, anything that proves they have been residing in the United States for some time). Of course, they'll have to prove they're also a United States citizen, i.e. show a scan of their passport. Even if you transfer your assets to the US, your wife would have to prove her residence like this as well, which is why I think it might be easier for you both to ask another USC to be your sponsor. 

 

I hope your family members will be able to assist, and I'm wishing you both the best of luck!

I believe sponsor can be LPR too

[powpow13 4]

24 minutes ago, OldUser said:

I believe sponsor can be LPR too

Oop! I totally missed that in the instructions. 😂 Yep, USC or LPR. Thank you!

[SalishSea 17,971]

2 hours ago, powpow13 said:

Hey @ArtUK,

 

The issue is not that your wife receives income in the UK, it's that the Sponsor MUST be a full-time resident of the United States (even if qualifying with assets). You can see this on the USCIS website here, under "Sponsor for Affidavit of Support": the requirements are that the Sponsor must be at least 18 years old, a USC, and living in the United States. The only exception is "If you live abroad, you may still be eligible to be a sponsor if you can show that your residence abroad is temporary, and that you still have your domicile in the United States." In this case, it might be difficult for your wife to prove she's only in the UK temporarily as, from what I understand, you have been there since 2020/she might not have a domicile in the United States anymore.

 

The easiest option is to have a member of her family, someone who resides full-time in the United States and can prove that (with US tax documents, paystubs, driver's license, utility bills, anything that proves they have been residing in the United States for some time). Of course, they'll have to prove they're also a United States citizen, i.e. show a scan of their passport. Even if you transfer your assets to the US, your wife would have to prove her residence like this as well, which is why I think it might be easier for you both to ask another USC to be your sponsor. 

 

I hope your family members will be able to assist, and I'm wishing you both the best of luck!

Joint sponsor does not need to be USC.  Can be LPR.

 

Joint sponsor's US domicile does not replace the requirement for the petitioner (USC) to have domicile/intent to establish.

[WoodlandsFamily 13]

On 9/6/2024 at 12:42 PM, ArtUK said:

Hello, I am a U.K. Citizen and my wife is a U.S. Citizen we currently reside in the U.K. and have done since 2020. We have 2 children - both of whom hold U.S. Citizenship and U.S. passports. Circumstances in our personal life have changed and our family decision is that we no longer wish to remain in the U.K. and with this want to move back to be with my wife's family in the U.S. Meaning that we are going to begin the process of submitting an I-130 for me to gain U.S. permanent residency. 

 

Given that we are both employed in the U.K. from what I understand the income in the U.K. is irrelevant and our "actual household income" is 0$. Therefore we need in 3x the shortfall against the poverty line which totals assets greater than or equal to $117,000. We are fortunate enough to be in a position where my wife (the sponsor - U.S. Citizen) can provide a large proportion of the financial requirement from savings in a U.S. bank account. However we're short roughly $20,000, I have the means to make up this shortfall but it is via savings in GBP (£) and in a U.K. bank. 

 

My question here is, is the best course of action to progress using mine and my wife's savings despite a small proportion coming from a U.K. bank or is the path of the least resistance to request a finical assistance from a joint sponsor in the U.S? Thankfully a few family members have offered and are in the position to do this should it be required. 

 

As you can imagine, my preference is to avoid dragging a member of my wife's family into this process as it is pretty invasive. 

 

This is my first post so apologies if this has been covered in previous discussions etc. 

I thought it was 5 x the shortfall if both the USC and the beneficiary are outside the US and earnings are therefore $0 and using cash or assets to make up the difference?

 

Or is that only when the assets are totally foreign based so is that why you say 3 x as your wife has it in a US account? 

 

Or assets also owned jointly with the beneficiary ie Property are 5 times..

 

Honest question, what if a sponsor is impossible to find? Can it be up to the Officer at the interview to accept cash assets? I am having a similar problem 😢 is it a case of no sponsor no Green Cards?