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Thesmiths2016

Cash/savings as Affidavit of support when filing from/living overseas

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My husband (the USC) and myself currently live in Australia, and are moving shortly to NZ while we await my greencard process to occur. We will be there until the visa comes through (I'll be having a baby and he'll be working part time) and therefore from everything I have read we would put his income as "0" because his job in NZ will cease when we move to the USA.

Therefore, we'll be using our savings as our proof of support, is this ok? Has anyone on here done so and what was your experience? eg: did you end up needing a joint sponsor with ongoing income anyway?

Also with regards to the amount .... I've had a look at the i-864P form at https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864p.pdf and for a household of 3 (myself, hubby and our soon to be born baby) it states we only need to show evidence of $25,200 .... is that correct? I just expected it to be some astronomical amount but that's really reasonable so I'm wondering if I'm missing something.

Thanks in advance all!

Edited by Thesmiths2016

Got married: 26th Sep 2013 

I-130 Petition Process:

Sent petition to USCIS Chicago lockbox (via in-laws to put check in US$): 11 Mar, 2016

NOA1: 24 Mar, 2016 (email notification 30 Mar. Hardcopy 11 Apr)

Service Centre: NEBRASKA

NOA2: 3rd Aug 2016

Petition sent to NVC: 18th Aug 2016

NVC Stage

Case number assigned: 8th Sep 2016

Paid AOS Fee: 9th Sep 2016

Paid IV Fee: 14th Sep 2016

DS-260 submitted: 25th Jan 2017

AOS & IV Package sent: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite requested: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite approved (consulate only): 1st Feb 2017

Scan Date: 31st Jan 2017

Case Complete: 14th April 2017 (10 weeks 4 days)

Full expedite approved (bypass NVC to send file to embassy), however too late as I already had case complete 17th Apr 2017

Case arrived at Embassy: 21st April 2017

P4 letter received: 26th April 2017 (expedite at embassy stage so this came from the consulate, not NVC)

Medical date: 26th April 2017

Interview date: 4th May 2017 APPROVED!!

Visa received: 8th May 2017 

POE (entered the USA): 15th May 2017 

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Norway
Timeline

You can use liquid assets, but the amount of which need to be 3x the income threshold.

If it isn't difficult, it isn't worth it.

 

K1 process

9/24/15: I129f sent

9/30/15: NOA1

11/2/15: NOA2

Delayed processing due to work

3/15/16: Medical

4/28/16: Interview (approved)

Delayed entry due to work

8/12/16: POE Detroit

 

9/4/16: Wedding!

 

AOS process:

9/9/16: I485/I131/I765 sent

9/14/16: Received 3xNOAs by text/e-mail (day 2)

9/14-18/16: Received 3xpaper NOAs 

9/23/16: Received biometrics appointment letter (day 11)

10/3/16: Biometrics appointment (day 19)

11/4/16: EAD+AP approved (day 53)

11/16/16: EAD status changed to card shipped (day 65)

11/17/16: EAD/AP combo card received (day 66)

12/30/16: Notice of interview scheduled (day 109)

2/1/17: AOS interview (day 142) - APPROVED

2/8/17: GC received (day 150)

 

ROC process:

11/3/2018: ROC window opens

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You can use liquid assets, but the amount of which need to be 3x the income threshold.

Thanks! After receiving your reply I read the instructions more thoroughly and found out where it mentions this, that paragraph had confused me before. Well no over the top spending for us between now and then haha, but at least it's good to know it's possible!

We plan on having these funds already transferred to our USA bank account already... which would have both our names on the account. I assume this would work in our favour and it doesn't have to be funds only belonging to my USC husband. Would you know if this is the case?

Got married: 26th Sep 2013 

I-130 Petition Process:

Sent petition to USCIS Chicago lockbox (via in-laws to put check in US$): 11 Mar, 2016

NOA1: 24 Mar, 2016 (email notification 30 Mar. Hardcopy 11 Apr)

Service Centre: NEBRASKA

NOA2: 3rd Aug 2016

Petition sent to NVC: 18th Aug 2016

NVC Stage

Case number assigned: 8th Sep 2016

Paid AOS Fee: 9th Sep 2016

Paid IV Fee: 14th Sep 2016

DS-260 submitted: 25th Jan 2017

AOS & IV Package sent: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite requested: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite approved (consulate only): 1st Feb 2017

Scan Date: 31st Jan 2017

Case Complete: 14th April 2017 (10 weeks 4 days)

Full expedite approved (bypass NVC to send file to embassy), however too late as I already had case complete 17th Apr 2017

Case arrived at Embassy: 21st April 2017

P4 letter received: 26th April 2017 (expedite at embassy stage so this came from the consulate, not NVC)

Medical date: 26th April 2017

Interview date: 4th May 2017 APPROVED!!

Visa received: 8th May 2017 

POE (entered the USA): 15th May 2017 

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Norway
Timeline

No, that sounds good to me. A joint US bank account additionally adds evidence of intent to re-establish domicile AND bona fide marriage/co-mingling of finances :-)

If it isn't difficult, it isn't worth it.

 

K1 process

9/24/15: I129f sent

9/30/15: NOA1

11/2/15: NOA2

Delayed processing due to work

3/15/16: Medical

4/28/16: Interview (approved)

Delayed entry due to work

8/12/16: POE Detroit

 

9/4/16: Wedding!

 

AOS process:

9/9/16: I485/I131/I765 sent

9/14/16: Received 3xNOAs by text/e-mail (day 2)

9/14-18/16: Received 3xpaper NOAs 

9/23/16: Received biometrics appointment letter (day 11)

10/3/16: Biometrics appointment (day 19)

11/4/16: EAD+AP approved (day 53)

11/16/16: EAD status changed to card shipped (day 65)

11/17/16: EAD/AP combo card received (day 66)

12/30/16: Notice of interview scheduled (day 109)

2/1/17: AOS interview (day 142) - APPROVED

2/8/17: GC received (day 150)

 

ROC process:

11/3/2018: ROC window opens

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Having it in a US bank is very beneficial. Do check the regulations on moving such a sum of money out of the country. Over here, I was told it would take several months as they would want to check the legitimacy of the transaction due to the amount involved (moving money from the UK to the USA). It's all to do with anti-money laundering laws.

Timeline in brief:

Married: September 27, 2014

I-130 filed: February 5, 2016

NOA1: February 8, 2016 Nebraska

NOA2: July 21, 2016

Interview: December 6, 2016 London

POE: December 19, 2016 Las Vegas

N-400 filed: September 30, 2019

Interview: March 22, 2021 Seattle

Oath: March 22, 2021 COVID-style same-day oath

 

Now a US citizen!

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Having it in a US bank is very beneficial. Do check the regulations on moving such a sum of money out of the country. Over here, I was told it would take several months as they would want to check the legitimacy of the transaction due to the amount involved (moving money from the UK to the USA). It's all to do with anti-money laundering laws.

Thanks for the heads up. Did you look for information on USA websites regarding such rules, or was it rules on moving money out of the UK rather than into the USA? We definitely don't want to be breaking any laws or putting ourselves under a microscope for our legitimate savings :-)

We're doing ours through a currently exchange service (probably currencyfair) ... rather than the bank.

Got married: 26th Sep 2013 

I-130 Petition Process:

Sent petition to USCIS Chicago lockbox (via in-laws to put check in US$): 11 Mar, 2016

NOA1: 24 Mar, 2016 (email notification 30 Mar. Hardcopy 11 Apr)

Service Centre: NEBRASKA

NOA2: 3rd Aug 2016

Petition sent to NVC: 18th Aug 2016

NVC Stage

Case number assigned: 8th Sep 2016

Paid AOS Fee: 9th Sep 2016

Paid IV Fee: 14th Sep 2016

DS-260 submitted: 25th Jan 2017

AOS & IV Package sent: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite requested: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite approved (consulate only): 1st Feb 2017

Scan Date: 31st Jan 2017

Case Complete: 14th April 2017 (10 weeks 4 days)

Full expedite approved (bypass NVC to send file to embassy), however too late as I already had case complete 17th Apr 2017

Case arrived at Embassy: 21st April 2017

P4 letter received: 26th April 2017 (expedite at embassy stage so this came from the consulate, not NVC)

Medical date: 26th April 2017

Interview date: 4th May 2017 APPROVED!!

Visa received: 8th May 2017 

POE (entered the USA): 15th May 2017 

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I was advised by my bank here in the UK when I tried to arrange a funds transfer to the USA. Might be worth contacting your bank and asking about their terms and conditions.

Timeline in brief:

Married: September 27, 2014

I-130 filed: February 5, 2016

NOA1: February 8, 2016 Nebraska

NOA2: July 21, 2016

Interview: December 6, 2016 London

POE: December 19, 2016 Las Vegas

N-400 filed: September 30, 2019

Interview: March 22, 2021 Seattle

Oath: March 22, 2021 COVID-style same-day oath

 

Now a US citizen!

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Sweden
Timeline

We used assets alone to meet the I-864 requirements. All our assets were in Sweden and in my name and it wasn't an issue. It needs to be three times the poverty guidelines plus a little extra, so for your household size you need around $78,000. We had to submit a letter from the bank manager stating how long I had been a customer, that the assets had been in my name for at least a year and what the amounts were in local currency and the US equivalent. Then I also had to write a letter confirming that the assets would be moved to the US within a year of me moving there plus explaining which assets made up the different amounts on the I-864.

I have transferred about $28,000 of our money to the US so far, in three different installments and haven't had to file anything with the IRS or FINCEN. If you keep the transfer under $10,000 at a time and between accounts in the same name, it's normally not reported to the IRS or FINCEN. This is on the US side though, you still wanna check the rules in NZ because they might have some specific rules of sending money out of the country.

Met online October 2010


Engaged December 31st 2011


heart.gifMarried May 14th 2013 heart.gif



USCIS Stage


September 8th 2014 - Filed I-130 with Nebraska Service Center


September 16th 2014 - NOA1 received


March 2nd 2015 - NOA2 received :dancing:



NVC Stage


March 28th 2015 - Choice of agent complete & AOS fee paid


April 17th 2015 - IV fee paid


May 1st 2015 - Sent in IV application


May 12th 2015 - Sent in AOS and IV documents


May 18th 2015 - Scan Date


June 18th 2015 - Checklist received


June 22nd 2015 - Checklist response sent to NVC


June 25th 2015 - Put for Supervisor Review


Sept 15th 2015 - Request help from Texas US Senator Cornyn and his team


Sept 23rd 2015 - Our case is moved from supervisor review to NVC's team for dealing with Senator requests


Nov 4th 2015 - CASE COMPLETE!!!! :dancing:



Embassy Stage


Dec 16th 2015 - Medical exam


Dec 21st 2015 - Interview


Dec 21st 2015 - 221(g) issued at interview for updated forms


Jan 13th 2016 - Mailed our reply to the 221(g) to the US Embassy, received and CEAC updated the next morning


Jan 20th 2016 - Embassy require more in-depth info on asset for i-864


Feb 1st 2016 - Sent more in-depth info on assets as requested. Received the next morning


Feb 16th 2016 - Visa has been issued :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:



In the US


April 5th 2016 - POE Newark. No questions asked.


April 14th 2016 - SSN received


May 10th 2016 - First day at my new job :dancing:


May 27th 2016 - Green Card received


June 7th 2016 - Got my Texas driver's license

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We used assets alone to meet the I-864 requirements. All our assets were in Sweden and in my name and it wasn't an issue. It needs to be three times the poverty guidelines plus a little extra, so for your household size you need around $78,000. We had to submit a letter from the bank manager stating how long I had been a customer, that the assets had been in my name for at least a year and what the amounts were in local currency and the US equivalent. Then I also had to write a letter confirming that the assets would be moved to the US within a year of me moving there plus explaining which assets made up the different amounts on the I-864.

I have transferred about $28,000 of our money to the US so far, in three different installments and haven't had to file anything with the IRS or FINCEN. If you keep the transfer under $10,000 at a time and between accounts in the same name, it's normally not reported to the IRS or FINCEN. This is on the US side though, you still wanna check the rules in NZ because they might have some specific rules of sending money out of the country.

Thanks so much! Great to hear first hand experience of someone who's done this. Did you find out from somewhere about the keeping it under $10K per transfer, or just playing it safe just in case? Did you use a currency exchange company or just your bank? (just wondering as it's a fee every transfer...)

Got married: 26th Sep 2013 

I-130 Petition Process:

Sent petition to USCIS Chicago lockbox (via in-laws to put check in US$): 11 Mar, 2016

NOA1: 24 Mar, 2016 (email notification 30 Mar. Hardcopy 11 Apr)

Service Centre: NEBRASKA

NOA2: 3rd Aug 2016

Petition sent to NVC: 18th Aug 2016

NVC Stage

Case number assigned: 8th Sep 2016

Paid AOS Fee: 9th Sep 2016

Paid IV Fee: 14th Sep 2016

DS-260 submitted: 25th Jan 2017

AOS & IV Package sent: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite requested: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite approved (consulate only): 1st Feb 2017

Scan Date: 31st Jan 2017

Case Complete: 14th April 2017 (10 weeks 4 days)

Full expedite approved (bypass NVC to send file to embassy), however too late as I already had case complete 17th Apr 2017

Case arrived at Embassy: 21st April 2017

P4 letter received: 26th April 2017 (expedite at embassy stage so this came from the consulate, not NVC)

Medical date: 26th April 2017

Interview date: 4th May 2017 APPROVED!!

Visa received: 8th May 2017 

POE (entered the USA): 15th May 2017 

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Sweden
Timeline

It was my bank in the US who told me to keep it under $10,000 at a time or it needs to be reported to FINCEN. I transferred the money from my Swedish bank account to our Bank of America bank account. It costs $16 regardless of how much you transfer.

Met online October 2010


Engaged December 31st 2011


heart.gifMarried May 14th 2013 heart.gif



USCIS Stage


September 8th 2014 - Filed I-130 with Nebraska Service Center


September 16th 2014 - NOA1 received


March 2nd 2015 - NOA2 received :dancing:



NVC Stage


March 28th 2015 - Choice of agent complete & AOS fee paid


April 17th 2015 - IV fee paid


May 1st 2015 - Sent in IV application


May 12th 2015 - Sent in AOS and IV documents


May 18th 2015 - Scan Date


June 18th 2015 - Checklist received


June 22nd 2015 - Checklist response sent to NVC


June 25th 2015 - Put for Supervisor Review


Sept 15th 2015 - Request help from Texas US Senator Cornyn and his team


Sept 23rd 2015 - Our case is moved from supervisor review to NVC's team for dealing with Senator requests


Nov 4th 2015 - CASE COMPLETE!!!! :dancing:



Embassy Stage


Dec 16th 2015 - Medical exam


Dec 21st 2015 - Interview


Dec 21st 2015 - 221(g) issued at interview for updated forms


Jan 13th 2016 - Mailed our reply to the 221(g) to the US Embassy, received and CEAC updated the next morning


Jan 20th 2016 - Embassy require more in-depth info on asset for i-864


Feb 1st 2016 - Sent more in-depth info on assets as requested. Received the next morning


Feb 16th 2016 - Visa has been issued :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:



In the US


April 5th 2016 - POE Newark. No questions asked.


April 14th 2016 - SSN received


May 10th 2016 - First day at my new job :dancing:


May 27th 2016 - Green Card received


June 7th 2016 - Got my Texas driver's license

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Share on other sites

It was my bank in the US who told me to keep it under $10,000 at a time or it needs to be reported to FINCEN. I transferred the money from my Swedish bank account to our Bank of America bank account. It costs $16 regardless of how much you transfer.

Ah ok, thanks so much!

PS: You should check out Currency Fair. I hear great things about them and they charge only $4 per transaction (that's the outgoing fee, so that plus whatever your bank charges to receive it)

Got married: 26th Sep 2013 

I-130 Petition Process:

Sent petition to USCIS Chicago lockbox (via in-laws to put check in US$): 11 Mar, 2016

NOA1: 24 Mar, 2016 (email notification 30 Mar. Hardcopy 11 Apr)

Service Centre: NEBRASKA

NOA2: 3rd Aug 2016

Petition sent to NVC: 18th Aug 2016

NVC Stage

Case number assigned: 8th Sep 2016

Paid AOS Fee: 9th Sep 2016

Paid IV Fee: 14th Sep 2016

DS-260 submitted: 25th Jan 2017

AOS & IV Package sent: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite requested: 25th Jan 2017

Expedite approved (consulate only): 1st Feb 2017

Scan Date: 31st Jan 2017

Case Complete: 14th April 2017 (10 weeks 4 days)

Full expedite approved (bypass NVC to send file to embassy), however too late as I already had case complete 17th Apr 2017

Case arrived at Embassy: 21st April 2017

P4 letter received: 26th April 2017 (expedite at embassy stage so this came from the consulate, not NVC)

Medical date: 26th April 2017

Interview date: 4th May 2017 APPROVED!!

Visa received: 8th May 2017 

POE (entered the USA): 15th May 2017 

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Share on other sites

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Sweden
Timeline

Thanks for the tip but considering the amounts of money we're sending, it just feels safer using our banks. Plus I log into my online banking click twice and the transfer is done, so easy. :)

Met online October 2010


Engaged December 31st 2011


heart.gifMarried May 14th 2013 heart.gif



USCIS Stage


September 8th 2014 - Filed I-130 with Nebraska Service Center


September 16th 2014 - NOA1 received


March 2nd 2015 - NOA2 received :dancing:



NVC Stage


March 28th 2015 - Choice of agent complete & AOS fee paid


April 17th 2015 - IV fee paid


May 1st 2015 - Sent in IV application


May 12th 2015 - Sent in AOS and IV documents


May 18th 2015 - Scan Date


June 18th 2015 - Checklist received


June 22nd 2015 - Checklist response sent to NVC


June 25th 2015 - Put for Supervisor Review


Sept 15th 2015 - Request help from Texas US Senator Cornyn and his team


Sept 23rd 2015 - Our case is moved from supervisor review to NVC's team for dealing with Senator requests


Nov 4th 2015 - CASE COMPLETE!!!! :dancing:



Embassy Stage


Dec 16th 2015 - Medical exam


Dec 21st 2015 - Interview


Dec 21st 2015 - 221(g) issued at interview for updated forms


Jan 13th 2016 - Mailed our reply to the 221(g) to the US Embassy, received and CEAC updated the next morning


Jan 20th 2016 - Embassy require more in-depth info on asset for i-864


Feb 1st 2016 - Sent more in-depth info on assets as requested. Received the next morning


Feb 16th 2016 - Visa has been issued :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:



In the US


April 5th 2016 - POE Newark. No questions asked.


April 14th 2016 - SSN received


May 10th 2016 - First day at my new job :dancing:


May 27th 2016 - Green Card received


June 7th 2016 - Got my Texas driver's license

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Share on other sites

 
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