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A question of finances and location

bazsouthafrica

bazsouthafrica

Member
Hi All

We entered the DV lottery, were randomly selected, and may have totally f'd it up (see http://forums.immigration.com/threads/marital-status.326280)

Anyways, I have two more questions, if @Britsimon @SusieQQQ @Sm1smom (or anyone for that matter) can answer, I will be grateful. Here goes:

Question 1
My fiancé (soon to be wife) is the principal applicant, I am the spouse. Yet, I am the bread winner in the family - even though my wife meets all the eligibility requirements (she has a masters degree!) since moving to Canada, she is doing her own thing (teaching Spanish) which is not nearly as lucrative as my job. So I am scared that as the principal applicant, the demonstration of enough funds falls onto her shoulders. We have a joint credit card that I pay for every month - this credit card is used by my wife to buy our essentials. At the interview, can we just show my bank statement to prove that we have money (and also, show that we have a joint credit card) or must it be her bank statement. Any help would be much appreciated.

Question 2
On the DS-260 form, it says "Based on your country of residence at the time you submitted your DV lottery entry, your interview will be scheduled at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in MONTREAL, CANADA and you will be notified of the specific date and time by KCC when it is available." However, it gives me the opportunity to choose another location - specifically, it allows me to choose Vancouver Canada. I would really love to be interviewed in Vancouver rather than in Montreal. Could I just put this location down and hope for the best?

Thanks Guys
Baz
 
bazsouthafrica said:
Hi All

We entered the DV lottery, were randomly selected, and may have totally f'd it up (see http://forums.immigration.com/threads/marital-status.326280)

Anyways, I have two more questions, if @Britsimon @SusieQQQ @Sm1smom (or anyone for that matter) can answer, I will be grateful. Here goes:

Question 1
My fiancé (soon to be wife) is the principal applicant, I am the spouse. Yet, I am the bread winner in the family - even though my wife meets all the eligibility requirements (she has a masters degree!) since moving to Canada, she is doing her own thing (teaching Spanish) which is not nearly as lucrative as my job. So I am scared that as the principal applicant, the demonstration of enough funds falls onto her shoulders. We have a joint credit card that I pay for every month - this credit card is used by my wife to buy our essentials. At the interview, can we just show my bank statement to prove that we have money (and also, show that we have a joint credit card) or must it be her bank statement. Any help would be much appreciated.

Question 2
On the DS-260 form, it says "Based on your country of residence at the time you submitted your DV lottery entry, your interview will be scheduled at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in MONTREAL, CANADA and you will be notified of the specific date and time by KCC when it is available." However, it gives me the opportunity to choose another location - specifically, it allows me to choose Vancouver Canada. I would really love to be interviewed in Vancouver rather than in Montreal. Could I just put this location down and hope for the best?

Thanks Guys
Baz
Click to expand...

1. Your finance as a family is what will be considered, regardless of who the PA is or who earns the income. Even if your wife earns absolutely no income of her own, your personal income will be considered.

2. Montreal is the only embassy that handles DV cases, so even if you indicate Vancouver on your DS-260 form, the interview will by default be scheduled at Montreal.
 
Thanks @Sm1smom I was worried that I would another bother setting up a joint bank account and transferring the money to that account. BTW: I am going to bring proof of a joint credit card account to the interview, but so far, we have no need to set up a joint bank account.

Yup, looks like I am heading over to Montreal for that interview then :)
 
bazsouthafrica said:
Thanks @Sm1smom I was worried that I would another bother setting up a joint bank account and transferring the money to that account. BTW: I am going to bring proof of a joint credit card account to the interview, but so far, we have no need to set up a joint bank account.

Yup, looks like I am heading over to Montreal for that interview then :)
Click to expand...

Yep, no need for a joint account if you don't already have one, and yep a trip to Montreal is on the horizon for ya :p
 
Are credit cards allowed for proving funds though? I thought they weren't because that means you're technically spending the bank's money. We have two credit cards with zero balance on them and weren't planning on even bringing them into the equation. Or should we?
 
From what I understand by @Sm1smom 's answer, if you are married, then you can show the sufficient funds in just one of the accounts (either you or your partner's account). I am in a weird situation (you can see the first question I posed when I opened this thread - look for the link there) and may need to prove that I am in a common law relationship. Hence I may need to show my joint credit card accounts. In truth, credit cards really don't count.
 
Pickles said:
Are credit cards allowed for proving funds though? I thought they weren't because that means you're technically spending the bank's money. We have two credit cards with zero balance on them and weren't planning on even bringing them into the equation. Or should we?
Click to expand...

Credit cards are not acceptable means of proving one will not become a public charge if required to prove financial capability.
 
bazsouthafrica said:
Thanks @Sm1smom I was worried that I would another bother setting up a joint bank account and transferring the money to that account. BTW: I am going to bring proof of a joint credit card account to the interview, but so far, we have no need to set up a joint bank account.

Yup, looks like I am heading over to Montreal for that interview then :)
Click to expand...

Open the joint bank account and take documentation of the joint credit card. Married people have joint bank accounts and evidence you have (such as joint bank and credit accounts) helps to build a picture of a "married" couple. The credit card account is not useful at all for public charge reasons but a joint statement predating the eDv entry would be a handy thing to casually introduce in the interview... (subtly).
 
bazsouthafrica said:
From what I understand by @Sm1smom 's answer, if you are married, then you can show the sufficient funds in just one of the accounts (either you or your partner's account). I am in a weird situation (you can see the first question I posed when I opened this thread - look for the link there) and may need to prove that I am in a common law relationship. Hence I may need to show my joint credit card accounts. In truth, credit cards really don't count.
Click to expand...

Ahh - I see you already understand my point.
 
Britsimon said:
Ahh - I see you already understand my point.
Click to expand...

Hi Simon. Yup, I do understand. Actually, not only am I getting a statement predating edv, I am going to make it dead simple for the CO: I am going to get a written declaration from my bank (and stamped by them) stating the start and end of the joint credit card account. Then as you said, a subtle introduction of these facts if necessary ;)
 
@Britsimon - honestly, the US government should pay you and then link to your website. If this is the first time someone is doing the edv, then knowing how "strict" the US can get with these things, and having proper instructions will help immensely. I can't imagine how many other people have screwed up (like potentially me) by not having the correct info. Also, people who enter initially (at least this was my case) have the idea that this is not a big deal because the draw has not taken place yet. Only when the draw is done and someone has won does it get real for people. Yup, you live, you learn :)
 
bazsouthafrica said:
Hi Simon. Yup, I do understand. Actually, not only am I getting a statement predating edv, I am going to make it dead simple for the CO: I am going to get a written declaration from my bank (and stamped by them) stating the start and end of the joint credit card account. Then as you said, a subtle introduction of these facts if necessary ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, you should do that. I advised against opening a joint bank account now, if you don't already have one, in view of the fact that it doesn't really address the issue of being a "married couple" prior to the eDV registration, which I think is the issue you're trying to address. Any shrewd OC will clearly see the joint account was open after your wife's selection and doesn't quite address the stated "issue". If you have other assets with both names listed, it's as good as having a joint bank account IMO. Other assets such as mortgage or rent statement payment, utility bills, insurance documents listing one another as beneficiaries are some of the documents you can also use to prove your relationship.
 
Sm1smom said:
Yeah, you should do that. I advised against opening a joint bank account now, if you don't already have one, in view of the fact that it doesn't really address the issue of being a "married couple" prior to the eDV registration, which I think is the issue you're trying to address. Any shrewd OC will clearly see the joint account was open after your wife's selection and doesn't quite address the stated "issue". If you have other assets with both names listed, it's as good as having a joint bank account IMO. Other assets such as mortgage or rent statement payment, utility bills, insurance documents listing one another as beneficiaries are some of the documents you can also use to prove your relationship.
Click to expand...

Thanks @Sm1smom - yeah, I have all of that. I have rental agreements where we are listed together, and mobile phone bills. I am going to present all of that information. My plan is to make it as simple for CO as possible. First, an appropriate letter written and stamped on a letterhead stating in plain english what the CO will be looking at, and then the actual boring proof (like statements etc).
 
bazsouthafrica said:
Thanks @Sm1smom - yeah, I have all of that. I have rental agreements where we are listed together, and mobile phone bills. I am going to present all of that information. My plan is to make it as simple for CO as possible. First, an appropriate letter written and stamped on a letterhead stating in plain english what the CO will be looking at, and then the actual boring proof (like statements etc).
Click to expand...

Don't forget, you probably can't win an argument over your issue so "subtle persuasion" is what you need - almost making it a non issue.

Comments like "I didn't know what documents you would need so I just bought joint credit card statements going back two years in case you need to see financial paperwork. Oh and I have a joint bank account too where we have our savings. Oh and apartment rent agreements for the last three years" and so on... And say all that with the demeanor of a simple boy straight of the farm in South Africa (as opposed to some smartypants who "lawyered up" expecting an argument).

Just how I would play it...
 
Pickles said:
Only to build credit history. Otherwise I hate the bloody things. Have them strictly for emergencies.
Click to expand...

Actually I always used my card, because it's a lot more convenient than carrying cash around and obviously things like air tickets and big ticket items you'll use a card for. Had a great cash back program and I paid it off in full every month so no interest charged. Using my US one exactly the same way!
 
Pickles said:
Only to build credit history. Otherwise I hate the bloody things. Have them strictly for emergencies.
Click to expand...

Here you use them all the time (and simply pay them off in full). It is unusual to find a situation when you cannot use them, no matter how small the amount. I honestly could not tell you if I have any cash at all in my wallet right now and can't remember the last time I withdrew cash from an ATM.
 
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