American abroad moving back with foreign spouse

A

americannes

New Member
Hello,

I'm a USC who's been living in France for over 8 years. I got married to a Frenchman 6 years ago here in France. We've got job offers in the US with our current company although it's only my husband who's going to accept while I'm going to stop working for a while.

I keep reading the immigration web sites, but I'm getting so confused.

From the US embassy in Paris, my husband will have to wait here in France until he gets the immigrant visa (petition I-130). But if we do apply, it will be because he has a job in the US with a work visa already. He will probably be required to go over there to work sometime before we get the visa. Will this be possible? I can't seem to find any information about applying for an immigrant visa from abroad when we already have a work visa. I'm getting the feeling that my husband will not be able to take the work visa because of the immigrant visa application.

Also, the immigration website says that I must have a US address (or domicile) when submitting the petition, but I haven't lived over there in over 10 years. Does this still apply when I'm applying from abroad? We won't have a US address until we actually move. It seems like a chicken-and-egg thing.

I'd really like to talk to someone about our particular situation (since it seems to be a rare case from what I'm (not) finding on the web), but I don't know where to turn to. The US embassy in Paris just has a email address and they may or may not reply. They explicitly say not to call them for immigrant visa questions. I'd be willing to talk to an immigration lawyer or something like that. Does that exist?

Also, for the proof of assets or income, can we simply use the equity we have in our home (which is around $400K), or will we need to show a work contract from the US?

Thanks a lot!
 
What kind of work visa is it? If it is H1B or L1, he can go to work in the US with the visa ASAP and start working, and then pursue the green card entirely within the US (no immigrant visa involved) via the adjustment of status process.

However, if you (who will be the petitioner) stop working that complicates it a little bit. Normally the petitioner has to show sufficient income to support the both of you at 25% above the poverty line. If the visa is H1B or L1 he should be able to use his income instead of yours to satisfy the income requirements, but if his visa is something else like J1 that may be problematic.
Also, for the proof of assets or income, can we simply use the equity we have in our home (which is around $400K), or will we need to show a work contract from the US?
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You mean your French home? Using your current home (wherever it is) is iffy, but once you move out of that home and start living in the US you can definitely use the equity in the French home for the affidavit of support. You'll need a recent appraisal and proof that the outstanding loan amount is far enough below the appraised value.
 
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Jackolantern said:
What kind of work visa is it? If it is H1B or L1, he can go to work in the US with the visa ASAP and start working, and then pursue the green card entirely within the US (no immigrant visa involved) via the adjustment of status process.
Click to expand...
I don't know which visa it is, but I'm sure it is one of those. We work for a huge multi-national and they are offering these to several of the employees here. Husband is a product manager for enterprise software.

This actually sounds like the most hassle-free option. I was just worried that my husband wouldn't be able to enter on a non-immigrant visa when he's married to a USC. The US embassy websites says that the foreign spouse must not enter the US while the application process for an immigrant visa is underway, but it didn't say anything about the case where we have a non-immigrant work visa at the same time.

Jackolantern said:
However, if you (who will be the petitioner) stop working that complicates it a little bit. Normally the petitioner has to show sufficient income to support the both of you at 25% above the poverty line. If the visa is H1B or L1 he should be able to use his income instead of yours to satisfy the income requirements, but if his visa is something else like J1 that may be problematic.
Click to expand...
This all becomes quite complicated. I would want to start the immigration process as soon as possible, but we haven't had the final offer yet from the company, so we don't know what the salary would be. Of course our acceptance of the job and the move is contingent on the final salary offered. I wouldn't even know how to submit proof of the contract when we don't have it yet. I suppose the company would help us in this.

Jackolantern said:
You mean your French home? Using your current home (wherever it is) is iffy, but once you move out of that home and start living in the US you can definitely use the equity in the French home for the affidavit of support. You'll need a recent appraisal and proof that the outstanding loan amount is far enough below the appraised value.
Click to expand...
Yes, our French home. This is all easier if we're over in the US first, but that's just the problem. I want to make sure that we can even go over without first having to obtain the green card. I've read of another couple, from the UK, who were able to use the value of their UK house as proof of assets. But I don't even know if we would have to do that since we will have a work contract. But then again, if we need to submit the petition before having the final work contract, perhaps we will need to use our house.

My real question then is: Can we go over to the US on a L1 or H1B without an immigrant visa? Will the fact that I'm a USC indicate that my spouse has intentions of immigrating and therefore need an immigrant visa to enter?

Thanks for your reply Jackolantern!
 
The H-L visa is considered a "dual" purpose visa (immigrant-non immigrant) as a result an individual can hold such visa and pursue permanent residency at the same time.
One possible route you can follow is come to US on L1-H1B visa, settle and then apply for GC.
 
JMG1010 said:
The H-L visa is considered a "dual" purpose visa (immigrant-non immigrant) as a result an individual can hold such visa and pursue permanent residency at the same time.
One possible route you can follow is come to US on L1-H1B visa, settle and then apply for GC.
Click to expand...

That's exactly the route we would like to take because I think it would be the least complicated. Thanks for your help!
 
americannes said:
I would want to start the immigration process as soon as possible, but we haven't had the final offer yet from the company, so we don't know what the salary would be.
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If his job is obtained with an L1 or H1B visa, the salary surely will be sufficient unless you have a large number of children. The income requirement for the affidavit of support is 25% above the poverty line for the number of people in your household. Most jobs obtained with those visas pay tens of thousands of dollars more than that.
My real question then is: Can we go over to the US on a L1 or H1B without an immigrant visa? Will the fact that I'm a USC indicate that my spouse has intentions of immigrating and therefore need an immigrant visa to enter?
Click to expand...
L1 and H1B visas openly allow entry to the US while having immigrant intent.
 
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