# UKC looking to relocate with USC Spouse



## fandn2016 (Sep 13, 2016)

Hi there!

First time poster, so a little bit of background info from myself.

I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, and met my husband in 2009. He was born and raised in Roswell. New Mexico, and since 2009 has been living in the UK. He went through 2 different student visas, gaining a BA, and an MA in the process, and after graduating in 2014 I sponsored him as my partner on his Biometric Residency Permit and we currently live together in London. 

We married a couple of months ago on the 30th of July this year, and we’re trying to start the process of moving back home. Home right now is considered to be Dallas, TX, where there is a whole tonne of family and great opportunities to be closer to them and a part of their lives as we start to build our own family. 

In normal circumstances, we would be okay with this process taking 10+ months - we actually had no real plans to relocate until about June next year (my husband is taking part in the London Marathon next April, so we were actually taking our time with the process/moving). Unfortunately over the past few weeks my Mother-In-Law’s health has taken a turn, and as she is in TX with my husband's family, we have found ourselves wanting to fast track the process, in order to be able to spend time with her. 

Now to the questions.. 

I’ve been spending the best part of my morning browsing the forum and trying to collect all the information to hopefully make our process a little easier. We are slightly worried about the time it takes to go through a process like this, and would basically like some information on the best/quickest route to go. 

We have filled in an i-130 and a G-325A for each of us, the only thing we are waiting on now is my passport / our marriage license to be returned from having my surname changed to my husbands. 

Our main question, after experiencing this whilst applying for my husbands BRP - is there a way to do everything in one day, and come out with a green card? In a perfect world I can imagine turning up to the US Embassy in London and just showing them all of our evidence, having an interview, and leaving with the knowledge that my passport and GC would be returned to me in the mail. We did exactly this a couple of years ago for his BRP. 

In short: my husband (USC) and myself (UKC) are looking to relocate as fast as possible - we would be entirely grateful for any insight on... how this can be done? what paperwork to file? how we need to go about this? and typically how long it could take us? 

From what I’ve read, this forum seems very welcoming, informative and friendly, so in advance: thank you very much for your time!

~ F & N


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Direct Consular Filing in London is the fastest option as long as there are no skeletons in closets and Affidavit of Support has been taken care of.


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## fandn2016 (Sep 13, 2016)

twostep said:


> Direct Consular Filing in London is the fastest option as long as there are no skeletons in closets and Affidavit of Support has been taken care of.


We had read up about the Direct Consular Filing - but when trying to find information on the USCIS website about it, I felt like I was going round in circles, all the codes and form numbers are starting to confuse me! How exactly does the process for Direct Consular Filing get started? 

I found the form for the Affidavit of Support, (the I-864, I hope), and whilst browsing through I now have a new question.. Is it required to prove that we have a certain amount of funds? Or is it required for my husband to prove this? 

We had not come across that point of the process yet before and were not expecting that to be necessary, as we are currently both living in the UK and have been living together since 2011, the only link my husband has back to the US is his parents address. (Where we would move to, in order to be available for his mother, and in order to apartment hunt) I was reading somewhere that the petitioner cannot be the sponsor until they establish their US residency again. Does this put a spanner in the works? Will we have to be separated for a while between two countries? Of course, we'd prefer not to do that!

Thank you for your help so far!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Fast track is a relative notion and while DCF is the quickest way to process your visa application, you're still talking in terms of "several months" in most cases.

And yes, with your husband sponsoring you, he needs to have a certain level of income or savings and to demonstrate that he has a place for the both of you to live. It is possible to work with a co-sponsor - usually a family member or close friend who meets the minimum income requirements and (ideally) is prepared to house you when you first arrive.

But no, there is no "one day, in and out" service. As it is, you get a visa, and you get the actual green card after your arrival in the US.
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Frankfurt is at 3-4 months so London is in the same ballpark. Elections may or may not cause delays.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Affidavit of Support AoS 
Detailed info about sponsors and requirements are on uscis.gov under instructionshow to fill out I 864 from US spouse to self sponsorship. Plenty of good posts by BBCWatcher.

Has your husband filed his US taxes?

DCF
I130
Proof of petitioner's legal status (US spouse)
Proof of marriage 
Filing fee
FC029 copy verification 
To US consulate in London; mail/courier/in person with appointment

I797C notice of action ; you can track your status on line with the receipt number
Medical, interview.

Verify if all your shots are up to date. Personally I find travel.state.gov easier to navigate for most questions. The London web site has all details as well.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Direct Consular Filing the I-130 form with the Embassy in London reduces the process down to about 4 to 6 months currently.

https://www.uscis.gov/family/family...pouses-live-united-states-permanent-residents

Since you both live in the UK you can either fulfill the I-864 by using assets or get a joint sponsor (your husband is the main sponsor) either a relative or friend who is a US citizen.

As said there is no one day in and out process


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## fandn2016 (Sep 13, 2016)

One final question in response to twostep (or anyone who can advise) - since we've lived in the UK together since 2009, my husband stopped filing taxes in the states as he did not earn any American income, and did not have any assets left in the United States. Is this an issue? 

Thank you all for the great help so far! You've made the process feel a little less crazy, and we are currently making sure we have all the documents together ready for DCF Part 1.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

fandn2016 said:


> One final question in response to twostep (or anyone who can advise) - since we've lived in the UK together since 2009, my husband stopped filing taxes in the states as he did not earn any American income, and did not have any assets left in the United States. Is this an issue?
> 
> Thank you all for the great help so far! You've made the process feel a little less crazy, and we are currently making sure we have all the documents together ready for DCF Part 1.


US citizens are required to file income tax and report world wide income. There are some exceptions for very low income but he will need a minimum of hree years to support the petition. Use the search function. Bev has posted the IRS link for expats to back file several times. 

Bev - can you please help here? Thank you.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Questions about DFW - we left it November 2015 after five years.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

There are any number of discussions in the Expat Tax section here on Expat Forum Expat Tax - Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad

I believe the process to sponsor a non-US spouse for a visa requires you to produce copies of your US returns for the last 3 to 5 years. US citizens are required to file returns based on their worldwide income, no matter where in the world they live - but there is a "streamlined" filing procedure to satisfy the filing requirements if one has not been filing but owes little or nothing for those years not filed. Details here: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/streamlined-filing-compliance-procedures

If he really owes nothing, it's also possible to simply file the last few years (whatever is required for the visa sponsorship) on a late basis. The penalty for late filing is a % of the tax due. So if there are no taxes due, then the penalty is $0.

On the IRS website, Publication 54 explains the filing process for overseas residents.
Cheers,
Bev


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## fandn2016 (Sep 13, 2016)

Thank you all very much - all your info has been super helpful and we're looking forward to getting the process started. We have a very busy weekend on our hands! 

I'll try my best to refer to other forum posts for any additional info I need, and I'll let you know how it all goes!


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Damn .. I did not know they closed the London IRS office last year

https://uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/internal-revenue-service-u-s-taxes/


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