DCF in London and sponsorship questions

[AlexisT 0]

My husband (British) and I (American) want to move back to the US next year.

I know that since I'm permanently resident in the UK (dual citizen, resident since '04) I can file with the embassy here in London. Does anyone know what the processing times are like now? I know that the embassy website says they're processing applications from 2 months ago, but what's the overall timeline from filing to getting your green card? I've heard so many horror stories about how USCIS is backed up.

Two, I'm confused about sponsorship. I thought that as I'm the spouse, I act as sponsor. Someone (who went 2 years ago) is telling me that I need a co-sponsor (even though we have enough money through sale of our house here) because I'm not legally domiciled in the US any more. Someone else is telling me that's nonsense. Which is correct?

(Going back to the US is way more complicated than it was to come here, I have to say!)

[MargotDarko 0]

My husband (British) and I (American) want to move back to the US next year.

I know that since I'm permanently resident in the UK (dual citizen, resident since '04) I can file with the embassy here in London. Does anyone know what the processing times are like now? I know that the embassy website says they're processing applications from 2 months ago, but what's the overall timeline from filing to getting your green card? I've heard so many horror stories about how USCIS is backed up.

Two, I'm confused about sponsorship. I thought that as I'm the spouse, I act as sponsor. Someone (who went 2 years ago) is telling me that I need a co-sponsor (even though we have enough money through sale of our house here) because I'm not legally domiciled in the US any more. Someone else is telling me that's nonsense. Which is correct?

(Going back to the US is way more complicated than it was to come here, I have to say!)

Hello there! Currently, I would say you're looking at five months give or take a couple weeks from start to finish as long as you do everything quickly on your end. The USCIS is backed up in America, but the USCIS office in London is separate and not experiencing the same volume of petitions.

Yep, you will be the main sponsor. It's kind of hard to say whether or not you will need a joint sponsor for your husband. You will need to show a minimum of $53,000 USD in assets. They also look at the bigger picture, but I from my experience and what I've heard, London is fairly the UK and good job prospects in the US, that will count as a positive.

About domicile - you definitely do not automatically lose it just by living out of the country for a certain period of time. People have taken up British citizenship and been out for many more years than you have and still were able to show US domicile. Do you happen to have any property in the US? If so, you are homefree. If not, have you left open any US bank accounts or credit cards and maintained your driver's license? Also, do you have a US mailing adddress such as a family member's address? Those are all good things as well. The worst that will happen on this issue, and it probably won't even come to this, is that at the interview they will say you need to prove US domicile before they issue the visa and at that point you could do something a bit more extreme, but I wouldn't sweat it too much at this point. The embassy in London is also more flexible about this than other embassy locations.

Another thing to think about is tax returns. If you have been earning income the past three years over the filing threshold, you should be filing tax returns. You won't owe any US taxes unless you've earned more than $82,000 USD in any given US tax year, but you're still required to file. If you haven't been filing, don't worry but do it soon. It's pretty easy actually, and you don't have to send in proof of your UK income - just convert it to dollars. In my personal opinion, it's easiest to file "married, filing separately" so that you can avoid the confusion of getting an ITIN for your husband and avoid having to report and exclude his income as well. You can put N/A or 000-00-000 for his SSN on the 1040. I had no trouble filing this way.

And yes, I agree, it is much more complicated to go UK to US than it is US to UK!

Edited December 3, 2007 by MargotDarko

[AlexisT 0]

thanks! I have a US drivers license and bank account, so I should be fine.

I remember looking at the charts for how much money we need--I think it was 5x the poverty line--and we're fine on that front.

I've filed my taxes every year thankfully!

Good to know London's OK--my mother was telling me some horror story about someone in her office whose brother was trying to return from China with his wife. I suspected that it's a different procedure there but wanted to be sure.

[MargotDarko 0]

thanks! I have a US drivers license and bank account, so I should be fine.

I remember looking at the charts for how much money we need--I think it was 5x the poverty line--and we're fine on that front.

I've filed my taxes every year thankfully!

Good to know London's OK--my mother was telling me some horror story about someone in her office whose brother was trying to return from China with his wife. I suspected that it's a different procedure there but wanted to be sure.

You're more than okay if you have 5x! Since you're sponsoring your husband, you're only required to have 3x 125% of the poverty line for your household.

It's not a different procedure in China, but I imagine they are not as flexible as in London. There may have been complications with her immigration as well that got lost in the retelling of the story. I wouldn't let it make you worry.