Questions

[NinatheWizard]

Hello! I'm new to the board so please be patient with me as I become accustomed to things. I am an American who is married to someone from the United Kingdom. We are starting the process of looking into a green card for him. Both my husband and I like to research and plan things before we move forward and that is where I need some help. I have some questions I am hoping you can help me with.

1) I realize that I will have to file a I-130 for my husband. At the time that is filed I will need to make the payment on it. But, what documents need to be submitted at that time as well?

2) If my husband is in the United Kingdom at the time I file the I-130 is there a way for him to apply to be able to come to the United States and work while it is being processed? Or does he have to wait in the United Kingdom for approval first?

3) Is it illegal for my husband to come to the United States on a holiday and while here apply to change his status to stay/work here while the I-130 is being processed? We want to know what the rules are so we do not break them and so we can best go about this process.

4) Is it possible to have my income and both of our savings count toward the financial requirements for sponsorship? Or does it have to be entirely my income?

I am sure that we will have many more questions as we go along. I just wanted to dive in and get some of the basics sorted in my mind. I appreciate your help and hope that someday when I know more I will be able to pass on accurate information to others here as well. At the end of the day I love my husband and simply want us to have our happy life together. I appreciate the assistance.

~Nina The Wiard

 

[BigJoe5]

Hello! I'm new to the board so please be patient with me as I become accustomed to things. I am an American who is married to someone from the United Kingdom. We are starting the process of looking into a green card for him. Both my husband and I like to research and plan things before we move forward and that is where I need some help. I have some questions I am hoping you can help me with.

1) I realize that I will have to file a I-130 for my husband. At the time that is filed I will need to make the payment on it. But, what documents need to be submitted at that time as well?

2) If my husband is in the United Kingdom at the time I file the I-130 is there a way for him to apply to be able to come to the United States and work while it is being processed? Or does he have to wait in the United Kingdom for approval first?

3) Is it illegal for my husband to come to the United States on a holiday and while here apply to change his status to stay/work here while the I-130 is being processed? We want to know what the rules are so we do not break them and so we can best go about this process.

4) Is it possible to have my income and both of our savings count toward the financial requirements for sponsorship? Or does it have to be entirely my income?

I am sure that we will have many more questions as we go along. I just wanted to dive in and get some of the basics sorted in my mind. I appreciate your help and hope that someday when I know more I will be able to pass on accurate information to others here as well. At the end of the day I love my husband and simply want us to have our happy life together. I appreciate the assistance.

~Nina The Wiard

The misuse of a visa (or for a UK Citizen--the Visa Waiver Program) can be fatal to obtaining a greencard in a timely manner if at all. In order to obtain or enter on a TOURIST Visa, one has to declare that they do NOT intend to stay. Therefore, intentionally LYING about one's intent is a very stupid mistake that can have EXTREME consequences. Don't go down that road.

As a UK Citizen, he does not require a tourist visa--he would enter via the Visa Waiver Program. USCIS may deny the adjustment and just tell him to leave. IF he does not do that, USCIS will hand the case over to ICE to effect his removal. In that case, he does NOT see an Immigration Judge to plead his case and has ZERO judicial review rights.

Many idiots will encourage you and him to play these stupid games and tell you "the secrets" to making this type of fraud work.

The BEST KEPT SECRET is not a secret at all. Follow the law.

That said, file the I-130 with USCIS. The I-864 comes later. BOTH your savings count. Read the I-864 instructions carefully.

With the I-130, you are ONLY proving a relationship. It is a preliminary step. You show proof of YOUR citizenship and that your marriage is legal. IF either of you was previously married, you show proof of dissolution of the prior marriages (divorce, annulment, or death certificates concerning prior spouses).

When the I-130 is approved, it is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). For a foreign-located spouse, NVC contacts you for the I-864 and various preliminary info and an $88 fee.

The completed packet is sent abroad and the Visa Processing takes place. (He will have to get Police Clearance/Criminal Background check and a medical exam and perhaps vaccinations.)

Once he is issued an Immigrant Visa and packet, he should have a 6-month window in which to travel to the U.S. Once he arrives on his Immigrant Visa, they stamp his visa and it serves as a temporary greencard but his real card will come in the mail shortly thereafter.

As of the date he actually enters the U.S. on his Immigrant Visa, IF your 2nd wedding anniversary has passed, he will skip the "conditional residence" period. IF the marriage is less than 2-years old upon entry he will get a two year conditional status and you two will have to file ANOTHER petition later and prove that it was a REAL marriage.

From filing the I-130 until issuance of the Immigrant Visa, his consular processing could take anywhere from 4 to 18 months. You would need to ask around among these forum members to get a better idea of how long it is likely to take in a particular embassy or consulate.