# Franco-American Return to USA



## PecheLaura (Sep 29, 2014)

Hello all,

I am recently married (Nov 2015) to a French man. I have immigrated and will finish my work contract in Paris in October. He is working here too. I am American.

All in all, we just don't like Paris and its sluggish economy very much. I could go on.. but given that we met in America, and I own a home there, it could be better to spend our time and efforts there over the next 10 years or so while we start trying for the whole baby thing.

I have been very blue and lost about the whole thing because coming here was kind of epic. And now to see the writing on the wall that we will never really be able to live comfortably in the city, and he feels job prospects will be minimal in his field in Provence, we face another epic journey to get him linked into the job market back in the states.. where we met. 

Clicking on forms is sensible. Yes, understood. Can anyone report personally how long such an emigration would take? And importantly: can we visit and travel to one another during processing.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

You are not alone! Use the search function as a lot of similar scenarios have been discussed at length recently.

To the best of my knowledge France does not offer Direct Consular Filing. Check behind me! It seems that current processing times for petitions in perfect order run around 12 months.

You can visit but consider the oxymoron of declaring at point of entry no immigration intent while a spousal Green Card is in process. He may be lucky. He may raise red flags.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Twostep is right - there is no direct consular filing in Paris. And the big "catch" is that you will have to sponsor him - which means that either you need to have a job and a place to live organized, or you need to find someone already established in the US to co-sponsor with you. You may already have found the page but just in case, start here: https://fr.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/

Probably easier for you to visit him in France during the wait. (Figure on a year, but you might get lucky.) If he comes to the US to visit, he'll have to have "proof" of his intent to return back to France. The French won't require any such evidence from you on visits.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Twostep is right - there is no direct consular filing in Paris. And the big "catch" is that you will have to sponsor him - which means that either you need to have a job and a place to live organized, or you need to find someone already established in the US to co-sponsor with you. You may already have found the page but just in case, start here: https://fr.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/

Probably easier for you to visit him in France during the wait. (Figure on a year, but you might get lucky.) If he comes to the US to visit, he'll have to have "proof" of his intent to return back to France. The French won't require any such evidence from you on visits.
Cheers,
Bev


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## PecheLaura (Sep 29, 2014)

Thank you, Bev: you are my internet advisor and have been for almost 2 years!

Thank you twostep, also. I will click backward, but due to the language similarity, most convos seem to be about England. Can an administrator collate a French thread?

More helpful details about our quest.. long and harrowing.. but not overly unique in the forum. 

OK, stateside a couple of years ago when we met and there were fireworks and all this, we registered the French PACS (civil partnership agreement), which will have no bearing in the eyes of the US government. Howeveeehhh, we registered all this common household stuff, which has not changed. Husband still has name on important documents and accounts, and all of that is still active, even the power bill. I never sold the house or changed anything at all in case our France plans needed to change.

Also, I can demonstrate financial backing without too much difficulty. I understand it's 40,000 or something without an American job? For how long? Is that an annual amount?

If our files are in good shape, and I do not have to establish anything financial in an urgent fashion, can't I exercise my new carte de sejour and stay in France to minimize time apart? Also, the American consulate could consider our file under the exceptional circumstance of a "sudden" job offer for me. Seems open to interpretation. What does sudden mean? I'm plenty employable.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

PecheLaura said:


> Thank you twostep, also. I will click backward, but due to the language similarity, most convos seem to be about England. Can an administrator collate a French thread?.


French or British does not matter. Plenty of fairly recent [email protected] in the US Forum.





PecheLaura said:


> OK, stateside a couple of years ago when we met and there were fireworks and all this, we registered the French PACS (civil partnership agreement), which will have no bearing in the eyes of the US government. Howeveeehhh, we registered all this common household stuff, which has not changed. Husband still has name on important documents and accounts, and all of that is still active, even the power bill. I never sold the house or changed anything at all in case our France plans needed to change..


You need a valid marriage certificate.


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## PecheLaura (Sep 29, 2014)

We have all marriage documents legalized, notarized, translated. Even a marriage memory book. One cannot begin to function in French emigration without mountains of paper.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I think what twostep is questioning is whether you are PACS'd or married. As you mention, the US government won't give any credence to the PACS paperwork.

Anyhow to use your assets to sponsor your spouse, you need to have at least 3 times the difference between your actual household income (i.e. US income) and the required household income for your family size. (They don't make it easy, do they?) 
Cheers,
Bev


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## PecheLaura (Sep 29, 2014)

Indeed: We were PACSed (so his name is all over important US stuff, unchanged), then later married in every legal sense, and now we are in France working. He has his native right to be here, and I have my carte de sejour. 

For the money, I had understood around 20,000 with a US job contract, then double that without one? Is that the right metric? I suppose it's on a form somewhere if someone happens to have a link.

We do not want to be apart for a year (or more than a few weeks!) and would be glad to show whatever is needed. If I happen to have the legal right to be in France while he is being processed, I would like to be with him.

And Bev, what is my US household income exactly? I don't have a US income at this time. I am working here. I'm not sure where to begin the formula.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

To sponsor a non US citizen for a US spouse visa one has to fulfill financial requirements based on the poverty level for the US x 125%

The following website provides the levels based on numbers in households.


https://aspe.hhs.gov/2015-poverty-guidelines

Therefore, if your household is you and your husband (2) *the income* you require to sponsor him is 15,930 x 125% = 19,912.00 USD income per annum

If you have no income then its 19,912.00 x 3 =59,736 USD in assets, savings etc.

You need to start researching here:

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

The process takes about 9 to 12 months unless you can do Direct Consular Filing in France.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

There is no Direct Consular Filing in France. London, yes, but not from the Paris consulate.
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> There is no Direct Consular Filing in France. London, yes, but not from the Paris consulate.
> Cheers,
> Bev


??? OP is in France, married since 2015


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Some corrections and clarifications here:

1. Financial assessments do not happen until after USCIS approves an I-130 petition. It's an interesting discussion, but it's a _future_ hurdle. Step one is to file an I-130 petition (with related attachments), and there are no financial health assessments during that initial part of the process.

2. When the time comes, if the sponsor (the U.S. citizen) does not pass the income test then the National Visa Center can consider household assets instead -- without a financial co-sponsor. Yes, both the citizen's and the intending immigrant's assets count, unlike the income test. But it's not 3X (except in certain military families), it's 5X the income figure. So, it's a minimum of $100,125 (2016 figure) for a household of two.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

On the following website:

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/affidavit-support

Under the section If You Can’t Meet the Minimum Income Requirements I read it to say that for sponsorship of spouses, the amount of assets required to make up a shortfall in income is *3 times* the difference between income and the financial requirement needed. For parents and other relatives it is 5 times ?

Also, the OP asked about financial requirements hence my answering the question.(better to know about financial requirements than being hit with _how are you going to financially sponsor your husband_ later down the line).


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Sorry, the asset test was reduced from 5X to 3X in 2006 for non-military spouses. (It was already 3X for military spouses.) The 3X figure for spouses is correct, at least for two person households. (Note: It's best not to try to clear this bar by one dollar. The U.S. consulate likes to see a little more cushion since the requirement also includes being able to obtain and spend those assets without causing "undue hardship.")

The question of when the financial assessments are made is _highly_ relevant, especially given the context of the original poster's question. Those who cannot qualify based on the asset test must either qualify based on the sponsor's income or line up a qualified co-sponsor. The sponsor's income is very often established in the United States (with a few exceptions), meaning it requires the sponsor to relocate to the United States to start work there. But, very importantly for couples/households, it does not require relocating to the United States now, during the I-130 petition phase. That's why I (and everybody) should point this stuff out, with empathy and understanding. We're dealing with people's real lives and marriages here. These details are extremely important and relevant.

/SNIP/


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## PecheLaura (Sep 29, 2014)

Thank you all for joining in the discussion. Very informative. If I am reading correctly, I can demonstrate adequate assets and liquid cash. We have savings, also the house (paid for) is an asset. So the logic suggests if neither my husband nor I can work after a year, we would sell the house to keep him off welfare/benefits.. or come back to France? 

Intense. Ok.

They are asking for my financial capacity for his first 12 months? Or should I be able to pay for him for longer than this, theoretically speaking?


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## PecheLaura (Sep 29, 2014)

Bevdeforges said:


> There is no Direct Consular Filing in France. London, yes, but not from the Paris consulate.
> Cheers,
> Bev


HI Bev, if you click through the site, there is an exceptional circumstance list which détails that they will consider your file in the event of a "sudden job offer," which caught my eye. None of the rest of the circumstances apply to our situation.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

PecheLaura said:


> Thank you all for joining in the discussion. Very informative. If I am reading correctly, I can demonstrate adequate assets and liquid cash. We have savings, also the house (paid for) is an asset. So the logic suggests if neither my husband nor I can work after a year, we would sell the house to keep him off welfare/benefits.. or come back to France?
> 
> Intense. Ok.
> 
> They are asking for my financial capacity for his first 12 months? Or should I be able to pay for him for longer than this, theoretically speaking?


https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/affidavit-support

Start by using information given by the official source.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

PecheLaura said:


> HI Bev, if you click through the site, there is an exceptional circumstance list which détails that they will consider your file in the event of a "sudden job offer," which caught my eye. None of the rest of the circumstances apply to our situation.


What site are you clicking through?


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## PecheLaura (Sep 29, 2014)

twostep said:


> What site are you clicking through?


https://www.uscis.gov/i-130

Because I am in France, it is true that I do not have a convenient regional office (noted Under Where to File header). However, if I presented a "sudden" job contract back in states, they could consider my file as the last bullet point under exceptional circumstances. Not a guarantee.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

PecheLaura said:


> Thank you all for joining in the discussion. Very informative. If I am reading correctly, I can demonstrate adequate assets and liquid cash. We have savings, also the house (paid for) is an asset. So the logic suggests if neither my husband nor I can work after a year, we would sell the house to keep him off welfare/benefits.. or come back to France?
> 
> Intense. Ok.
> 
> They are asking for my financial capacity for his first 12 months? Or should I be able to pay for him for longer than this, theoretically speaking?


Officially, as his sponsor, you are financially responsible for him for his first 10 years in the US - or something like that. (Or until he takes US citizenship which takes less time than that.)

You should probably look at the USCIS site here: https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens

The Paris consulate site used to have lots more information than they seem to do since their re-formatting of their website.
Cheers,
Bev


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