Sponsoring Spouses

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jharih1

Registered Users (C)
Hi to all the GC experts,

I need some advise on sponsoring my husband for greencard, which is anything but straightforward.

Here is my situation: My husband first came to US on a student visa (we were not married at the time). He is now under OPT and is undergoing H1 Sponsoring process via the company he works for. I am a US Citizen, but I do not have my naturalization ceritificate, since I got my USC thru my parents. Also, we do not have a joint bank account yet, due to some problems I had a years ago and had to put an alert on my ssn. That should be solved soon, I hope.

I wish to sponsor him for Greencard though. Now, what is the order of applying? Which forms do I send in first? I have about 5 - 6 forms downloaded and filled out.

I-130
I-864 (Affidavit of Support)
I 485(Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status)
G-325A (Biographic Information for both me and my husband)
I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization)

Am I missing any other applications? Which of these do I send in first?Im guessing it is I-130.

Also, for the affidavit of support, I have to prove that I have a job and can support him financially. But the problem now is I am temporarily unemployed. I hope to get a job by the end of the year. I was employed before the wedding, but since I had to move out of state, I had to resign that job. Please help me. Any advise will help. I really don't want to spend the $1000 dollars in Advocate fees

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Jan
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm no expert, so I will let others weigh in... you might also want to file I-131 Advance Parole (travel permission). Send all the forms concurrently to the Chicago Lockbox. If he has employment authorization already, you might not need I-765 (Employment Authorization Document), but I would ask for opinions on this.

Regarding affadavit of support, you can use your assets if you don't have enough income, but the assets have to 5x the Federal Min.

I hope that helps... we did the process ourselves without help from a lawyer, just really careful reading and research on the USCIS site will do the trick, if you have a straightforward case. Otherwise a lawyer's help will invaluable. There are also some books that we got from Amazon.com that were useful, just be careful on the date they were published, and check on any recent updates, particularly fees.

Hope this helps...
 
One critical piece of evidence you must submit is the fact that you are a US citizen. You need a certificate of naturalization, and send a copy in with the I-130.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
One critical piece of evidence you must submit is the fact that you are a US citizen. You need a certificate of naturalization, and send a copy in with the I-130.
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but a lawyer I talked to said that I didnt need naturalization certificate and should be okay with just my us passport.

Also what does I131 do? I don't plan on travelling anywhere overseas, and only within the USA.
 
jharih1 said:
but a lawyer I talked to said that I didnt need naturalization certificate and should be okay with just my us passport.

Also what does I131 do? I don't plan on travelling anywhere overseas, and only within the USA.
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I've applied for my husband through an I-130, too, jharih1, and I got my US citizenship the same way you did, ie, through my parents. No certificate of naturalization is needed, at least, not as far as I know. There's an option on the I-130 where it asks you if you got your citizenship through birth, naturalization or through your parents. If you check ''through parents'', it asks if you've gotten yourself a certificate of naturalization or not. I just checked 'No' and no one ever said anything. I don't think it's needed as long as you have a US passport. I submitted the I-130 personally at the Islamabad Embassy, and the officer read through it and made sure that everything was correct before he officially accepted it from me (sent me back once cos there was a mistake on it the first time!); he didn't say anything about me having no certificate..
 
jharih1 said:
but a lawyer I talked to said that I didnt need naturalization certificate and should be okay with just my us passport.
Click to expand...

My apologies - I wasn't aware you had a passport. I still with to emphasize that proof of your citizenship (ie. a copy of said passport) should be enclosed with the I-130

Also what does I131 do? I don't plan on travelling anywhere overseas, and only within the USA.
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Not for you - for your husband.
 
even if he doesnt plan on travelling abroad? We only plan on going to my mother's for a weekend in the end of October.
 
I thought my husband was a naturalized US citizen (and so did he!) since he and his parents had immigrated when he was a child, but it turns out that he had, in fact, obtained his US citizenship through his parents. (Is this how things normally work when children immigrate with their parents?) In any case, when we applied for AOS for me, we sent in his current passport and, out of abundant caution, also his certificate of citizenship, which his parents had obtained for him right after he became a citizen. Perhaps you have a certificate of citizenship as well? There is a place on the I-130 where you are asked to enter the number on the certificate of citizenship as well as its place and date of issue -- so perhaps this is fairly standard in such cases.
 
BTW - if your husband is getting a H-1 visa, you needn't file for EAD or AP, as he can continue to travel abroad and work on his H-1 visa while his AOS is processing.
 
sudhany said:
Perhaps you have a certificate of citizenship as well? There is a place on the I-130 where you are asked to enter the number on the certificate of citizenship as well as its place and date of issue -- so perhaps this is fairly standard in such cases.
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I know for a fact that I do not have a certificate of citizenship. Usually this is how it works out. Kids & teens younger than 18 will get their citizenship thru citizen parents, and once they turn 18, they can decide whether they want to stay US citizen or whatnot. I was basically considered a dual citizen til I was 18, even though I had a US Passport.
 
dr_lha said:
BTW - if your husband is getting a H-1 visa, you needn't file for EAD or AP, as he can continue to travel abroad and work on his H-1 visa while his AOS is processing.
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Wonderful! One less thing to worry about, I suppose. What else do I need to do? I have a copy of the marriage certificate (and since we got married in India, it is a good thing the certificate is completely in English). I just want everything to go through smoothly and efficiently. What do I do about not having a joint bank account yet? I have yet to hear from experian about taking off the alert on my ssn, so I cannot open any new credit cards or bank accounts.
 
You send in I-130, I-485 and all supporting forms (e.g. I-693 medical suppliment, G325As) together in one envelope to the Chicago Lockbox.
 
Thanks ! Is there any other supporting document (forms) that I need to fill out other than medical exam and g325's? Also, will it be a problem that my husband and I dont have a joint bank account yet? I haven't heard from Experian yet, and I don't want to delay this GC process any more than it has been delayed.
 
Affidavit of support (I-864 or I-864EZ) is also needed.

BTW - you don't need a joint account to get a Green Card. Having a joint account is good evidence that you are a real married couple, however if you don't have a joint account you can explain why and use other evidence to prove you marriage if asked.
 
there is a slight problem though. I have the affidavit of support filled out, but the problem is I am unemployed at the moment. I do not have any assets. My husband is the one who works now. I used to work before, but I resigned before the wedding.
 
You'll probably need a co-sponsor. Its possible you could use your husbands income to help, but that might be complicated. If a co-sponsor is available, I'd advise you to try to sort that out.
 
As long as they reside in America (citizen or green card holder) and get paid enough to meet the poverty guidelines, then anyone can be your co-sponsor.
 
Thanks all you guys, youve been so much help! Please don't get bugged by my continuous questions, but on I-765 what do I do for these two sections? I am a bit confused. My husband does not plan on staying with the same company, so the EAD processing for him from that would become "irrelevant", right? He says we have to send that form in as well, and I believe him. I need to know whether on this form under CFR number, do I state it as family based immigration or employment based immigration? Most likely, I will state family base right? Also, all the way up top, there are three options given to me. 1) Permission to Accept Employment 2) Replace of lost EAD 3) Renewal of my permission to accept employment (attach previous EAD). Please tell me which of these three I must pick. Would it be renewal since he has had an EAD filed under the present employer, or what must I do? Please advise. I'm so confused!!!
 
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