ArtUK

On 9/6/2024 at 11:44 PM, 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!

Hi @powpow13,

Thanks a lot for your in detailed response! Apologies on the delayed reply we had actually just returned from the U.S. and have been very jet-lagged.

I guess my question is, what is required to prove that the U.K. was planned on being temporary - without boring you too much our desire when we first decided to end long-distance and reside together was for me to come to the U.S. on the fiancé visa however this was during COVID and processing times were extraordinary. Whereas in the U.K. they were weeks if you paid to expedite (which we did) and that is why my then fiancée came to the U.K. and we got married in the U.K. then throw in a pregnancy or two and it has been difficult to to up sticks and move to the U.S. as you can imagine.

I would say that my wife has maintained strong ties with her home country, she has been returning to the U.S. for roughly 2-3 months over the year, every year with our kids - mainly in summer and thanksgiving / xmas. She has also renewed her drivers license, maintained bank accounts, filed taxes in the US as well as voting in elections. 

If even with all this would it be tough to prove the UK is temporary? We are fortunate that a we have the offer of sponsorship from an immediate family member so if utilising said sponsor makes this process even slightly easier I am willing to do that I just wanted to understand if we could do this off of our two feet so to speak. 

Thanks! 

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

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 

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.