Affidavit of Support Inquiry - Filing/Living from Overseas (Australia)

[MapleAcacia 0]

Journey thus far: I (Maple F48) am American and my husband (Acacia M49) is Australian. I hold dual citizenship, having aquired Australian Citizenship in 2009. I have been living and working as a trained Primary (Elementary) Teacher for the past 20 years, having immigrated to Australia in 2001. My husband and I have been married since March 2013, together since August 2011. Due to aging parents and my only sibling is also living in Australia, my husband and I have chosen to move to the US to spend time with my parents (both retired, under the age of 70). I applied for the i-130 from Australia (as I'd read applying while overseas is a much quicker turnaround). The petition was filed on May 5 2024, we are now 6 months waiting for that next step, the online system basically now says "taking longer than normal". 

 

Affidavit of Support Query: If I am working and living in Australia, how does this work when submitting an Affidavit of Support? The forms don't really seem to take into account people who are living and working abroad, who can't leave and start working in the US yet. I could leave and move ahead of my husband, awaiting his approval, but the timeline is super sketchy right now and we could be appart for a long time, which is NOT ideal in the least! If we have a more set timeline, knowing it would only be for 3 months - that's doable, but otherwise...it's frustrating. The plan was to be able to be in the US just after New Years. Being a Teacher in Australia, I would be paid until the end of January, and then will be taking my entitled Long Service Leave for 6 months at halfpay, which would equate/convert roughly to $2000 USD, from Feb 2-Aug 12th 2025. 

 

Any experience or ideas would be great! I have not approached my parents yet for joint support, as looking to hopefully not have to go down that route. But I suppose on that note brings another question, would any pension or retured SS income be acceptable on an Affidavit of Support if it ends up going down that route? 

[OldUser 6,710]

2 minutes ago, MapleAcacia said:

Affidavit of Support Query: If I am working and living in Australia, how does this work when submitting an Affidavit of Support? The forms don't really seem to take into account people who are living and working abroad, who can't leave and start working in the US yet. I could leave and move ahead of my husband, awaiting his approval, but the timeline is super sketchy right now and we could be appart for a long time, which is NOT ideal in the least!

You have to file affidavit of support and find a joint sponsor who is a US citizen or LPR with qualifying income. They'll be also filing affidavit of support.

[appleblossom 2,562]

Ignore the timeline in your USCIS account, it’s notoriously unreliable. There are threads and timelines on VJ that will be far more helpful. 
 

14 months is about the norm for spousal I-130’s at the moment so you should hear something next summer. 
 

Good luck.