# Both living in the UK - Sponsorship advice



## Bangle (Apr 8, 2011)

Hey guys, I tried looking for an existing thread on this as I'm sure there must be one, but I couldn't find it - apologies!

I am a US Citizen, and my husband is a UK Citizen. We've been married for 4 years and both live in the UK.

We both plan to move to the USA, but we're confused about how the sponsorship will work. Who is eligible to sponsor my husband? 

Am I able to do so if we are both in this country, or must it be one of my relatives in the US? If so, must it be my parents or could it be my sister, uncle etc.

many thanks!


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

http://london.usembassy.gov/immigrant-visas.htm
It walks you through from soup to nuts; from [email protected] to forms and fees.
Use the search function her for "DCF" Direct Consular Filing.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

you have to be his sponsor ..but you can get a co sponsor usually a family member 


hopefully you filed your US taxes since you have been in the UK


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## Bangle (Apr 8, 2011)

Thank you both! 

So the thing I'm confused about is whether or not I require a co sponsor - I've been here for 4 years, filed taxes every year, but have no assets in the USA. I believe this means that none of my earnings etc will be counted, so a co-sponsor would be necessary?

If so, i believe that the co-sponsor does not have to be a family member, but would that slow the process down?


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Bangle said:


> If so, i believe that the co-sponsor does not have to be a family member, but would that slow the process down?


correct it can be anybody ... but few are that gullible to sign agreement 
to repay an limited amount for what could be an unlimited time ...its quite onerous


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Bangle said:


> I've been here for 4 years, filed taxes every year, but have no assets in the USA. I believe this means that none of my earnings etc will be counted, so a co-sponsor would be necessary?


What would be your personal employment/income situation in the United States?

You indicate you don't have assets in the United States. OK. Do you have personal assets elsewhere?


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## Bangle (Apr 8, 2011)

BBCWatcher said:


> What would be your personal employment/income situation in the United States?
> 
> You indicate you don't have assets in the United States. OK. Do you have personal assets elsewhere?


I'm hoping to line up work before we move to the states, but don't have anything at the moment. The reason we're moving is because my husband has a job offer in the states waiting for him. I don't really have any assets here in the UK either -- just income from work, though we do own a house, it's under his name though so I don't think that counts for anything.


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## Bangle (Apr 8, 2011)

The more i read about this the more conflicting info seems to creep in.

Can my and my husband's UK incomes be counted for the poverty level requirements?
I have filed tax returns from the UK for the last few years, and would probably meet the income requirements if they were able to be counted, with my husband's we definitely would.

If not, then would our house (in my husband's name) and his pension be able to be counted as our assets? This form seems to suggest so!

I personally have no assets in the USA, and nothing to speak of in my own name here either.

thank you all so much!


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Bangle said:


> Can my and my husband's UK incomes be counted for the poverty level requirements?


No. It's a bit confusing, so I'll try to explain.

Your "alien" husband counts as one of the members of the household. Household size is used to determine the level of income a U.S. person requires to be an eligible sponsor for that household. For example, if the household consists of just you and your husband, the household size is 2, and you'd look at the federal poverty line for a 2 person household then increase it by 25% to determine the minimum income required to be an eligible sponsor for that household.

So your husband certainly counts, but he doesn't count toward sponsorship. Only you do (or a substitute sponsor if you find one).



> I have filed tax returns from the UK for the last few years, and would probably meet the income requirements if they were able to be counted, with my husband's we definitely would.


Hopefully "probably" is "definitely." 



> If not, then would our house (in my husband's name) and his pension be able to be counted as our assets? This form seems to suggest so!


I don't think so. The asset qualification for sponsorship is separate from the income qualification. You can qualify either way. But I'm pretty sure it's the same arrangement with both: the sponsor has to "stand on her own two feet," basically.



> I personally have no assets in the USA, and nothing to speak of in my own name here either.


OK, understood. Then the asset path to sponsorship won't work.

In case you were wondering, no, he cannot transfer assets for these purposes. They thought of that approach.  They do sometimes check to make sure you've held the assets for a reasonably long period of time, and a sudden, almost magical surge in your bank balances isn't consistent with reliable sponsorship. 

Your firm U.S. employment offer and your past tax returns sound at least somewhat promising, so take a look at those figures and see if you can get to that magic 125% income figure to qualify as his sponsor.

Another possibility if he has an employment offer is for his prospective employer to sponsor him for a visa. That may be possible. After some period of time working in the U.S. -- and as you become a qualified sponsor (with your new employment income) -- he can then adjust status, switching from his employer's sponsorship to your sponsorship.


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## Bangle (Apr 8, 2011)

Thank you BBCWatcher, it's just so massively helpful to have people to go over this stuff with! The paperwork is so flippin' confusing! I can't imagine how much MORE stressful this whole process would be without people like you on this forum  

I've got my fingers crossed that I made enough this year, but I'm not sure I will have by December, as I went self-employed and there are some nice scary gaps in there between invoices. If, however, they will only look at my 2013 tax return... then I might just make the threshold (I can provide 2012 and 2011 to corroborate as well). Trouble is... I haven't filed my 2013 return yet! The ONE year I am late doing my US taxes (well, I filed the extension but that date is nearly on me *gulp*), thinking I could be a bit naughty and wouldn't need it for any urgent matters. WHELP. :roll: Life does like to throw timing in your face a lot haha. Having this done NOW ASAP of course...

In case I don't make the threshold though...

The bit that's confusing about determining household income for sponsorship is when I came across Page 6 of the I-864 Instructions (http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf).

It's related to where, on the sponsorship affidavit form itself, in Part 6. Sponsor's Income and Employment, there is, under Part 5. (where I would put my current individual annual income) a note that says "Income you are using from any other person who was counted in your household size, including, in certain conditions, the intending immigrant. (See Instructions.)"

So when I look at Page 6 of the Instructions, there is text referencing "if you included the income of the *intending immigrant who is your spouse*". But then when I look at the instructions, it says that he would have been included on Item Number 7 of Part 5 on the form -- when I look at that part of the form, Item 7 of Part 5 is "Optional: If you have siblings, parents, or adult children with the same principal residence who are combining their income with yours by submitting Form I-864A, enter the number here", so it doesn't even seem to correspond correctly? 

????

Why does it need to be so confusing? 

On Page 7 of the Instructions, Part 7, Use Of Assets to Supplement Income, the text says "If your total household income does not meet the requirement, you may submit evidence of the value of your assets, *the sponsored immigrant's assets*, and/or assets of a household member that can be used, if necessary, for the support of the intending immigrant(s). The value of assets of all of these persons may be combined in order to meet the necessary requirement." <-- this bit here got me really excited! Because if it's true that we can use my husband's house and pension to supplement income... then that will be a huge relief as a backup. 

In any case, digging out all my financials and such so it might be worrying for nothing once I finish my taxes and get those ducks in order, but it's hard not to worry about everything all at once.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

"Dumb" question here: have you filed USCIS Form I-130 (and related attachments) yet? If not, don't worry too much. None of the sponsorship/financial qualification stuff comes up until your husband starts the actual visa process, after I-130 approval. You've got a few months to research all this while the I-130 is pending. You could well be right about the household assets -- I'm less familiar with that option. Of course it isn't free to file an I-130, so one ought to be _reasonably_ sure one is (or can find) a qualified sponsor so that the application fee isn't wasted.

By the way, did you know your U.S. tax return is due _at_ the IRS by October 15 (with the extension) unless you use the U.S. Postal Service (not possible overseas) or one of the IRS's designated couriers (and only specific services offered by those couriers), whereupon the date they receive your tax return is considered the filing date? That's the bad news since it's October 8 as I write this. The good news is that if you don't owe any U.S. income tax then there's no penalty imposed for late filing.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Yes, upon further checking your husband's assets can be counted -- assuming you even need to get that far (i.e. you flunk the income qualification test). The assets must be reasonably liquid -- easily convertible to cash within one year and without causing undue hardship for the household.

There's even an option for your husband's income to be counted, but it crucially depends on that income continuing _from the same source_ after he emigrates to the U.S. That caveat basically rules out employment-related income. His pensions, annuities, royalties, etc. are really what they seem to have in mind there.

Anyway, to net it out, it sounds like you're well covered.


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## Bangle (Apr 8, 2011)

We haven't filed the I-130 yet. We're basically hoping to as soon as possible, but we're waiting on a copy of my birth certificate  -- WAIT, I have literally just twigged on something. *double checks* OMG, so this whole time, we thought we'd need both a copy of my passport AND a copy of my birth certificate to send off the I-130, but as I was typing just now it occurred to me that that just seemed SO redundant because my passport should be sufficient proof of citizenship, surely?! My husband was the one providing me with a checklist of documents needed, and he said he saw online that we'd need both.. but with googling myself and looking at the instructions... it seems we only need ONE or the other, is that correct? Which one of us is right here? 

My husband said the same thing last night as you BBCWatcher, that we probably didn't need to fret about all this stuff _just yet_, but as you say, it's good to know we've got a reasonable chance before paying the application fee at least.

Thanks for the further checking! I am grateful! That's a relief that the assets can be counted (we'll gather the necessary evidence for using the house as an asset if I flunk the income test, which shouldn't be too difficult). PHEW.

As for my taxes... I know it's going to be late now  When I filed the extension, I figured I'd have gotten to it by now... but I just got lazy since I knew I wouldn't owe anything. :/ oops.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Instead of considering items "SO redundant" use USCIS.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-130instr.pdf

Petition for Alien Relative | USCIS


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## Bangle (Apr 8, 2011)

twostep said:


> Instead of considering items "SO redundant" use USCIS.
> 
> http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-130instr.pdf
> 
> Petition for Alien Relative | USCIS


It's on reading page 2 of those instructions that I concluded I may not need BOTH passport AND birth certificate, as a citizen who was born in the US (seeming to confirm that it was indeed redundant to need both). Are you saying that's not correct?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I think he's saying that instead of asking random Internet strangers how to fill in USCIS's forms and what their requirements are, start with USCIS's instructions. On page 2 of those instructions you'll find an important little word: "or." It's found next to item number 4 under the heading "What Documents Do You Need to Show That You Are a U.S. Citizen?"

Yes, it's quite reasonable to interpret those instructions as requiring only one of the 5 listed documents. 

....Maybe it'd be a good idea to ask your husband (or any trusted person) to double check your work before you send in the I-130. 

In all seriousness, the biographical forms get a little confusing because you've got to keep clear the distinction between "sponsor" (you) and "applicant" (your husband). Like your tax return, consider this another test of your American English language proficiency at about a high school level. And if anybody tells you he/she is operating at least at a high school English level 100% of the time he/she is probably lying.


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