Hello All,

I have a question regarding Affidavit of support. I am married to a British Citizen and have been living in the UK for the past 3 years. We are in the process of starting our I-130 but I am concern about this. Since I have been out of the US for over 3 years, I dont have any US income or W-2s to show that I can support my husband. I do still have a bank account in the US but that is it.

We do have plenty of money to bring with us to the US but does any of that count towards the Affidavit of support? Do I have to get a sponsor, and if so, how do I get the sponsors information, since I am out of the country? Do they have to file it in the US or are they allow to file it to the American Embassy in London were we are filing? We are doing direct consular filing.

This is a little confusing for us because trying to read through the board most people are going thru the K1, I129f process, but we are already married and now it looks like our process may take longer?

I am so glad that I have found this forum and I wish everyone great success with their process.

thanks

There are a lot of resources here for your FAQs--all of us living overseas have had to deal with this and we've written our experiences down for others' benefit.

Please look for the Guide at the top of the page (there is one for DCF), read the form and its instructions, and have a look through the past posts here.

The DCF process is shorter than any other marriage-based method of immigrating.

thank you for your information, it was very helpful. I'll go and see if I can find out about the amount of money we are bringing over will cover it.

much appreciated

Techincalyy you are supposed to file your taxes even if you're living overseas . . .if you have a few extra months to spare to file them and then file for your visa I would do so.

otherwise if you wanna act like you havent had a job in few years or that you've lost your ta returns or what not you have several other options like having a parent or relative co-sign you I-864 / I 864-A

Keep in mind you are theoretically supposed to be living with that person (the cosigner) when you plan on going back to the states.

If you plan on using bank funds to show that you can pay for your spouse then acording to a consular officer I spoke with you need to have 3 times the amount required or lacked (if you dont earn enough to fully cover the amount). I believe the amount you need to earn a year is 16,000 USD if filing for just your spouse and something like 20,000 if you are going to file with a cosigner.

This basically means that you need to have 48,001 USD in the bank in order for the embassy to say ok you have enough money to pay for him.

Fofire

Techincalyy you are supposed to file your taxes even if you're living overseas . . .if you have a few extra months to spare to file them and then file for your visa I would do so.

otherwise if you wanna act like you havent had a job in few years or that you've lost your ta returns or what not you have several other options like having a parent or relative co-sign you I-864 / I 864-A

Keep in mind you are theoretically supposed to be living with that person (the cosigner) when you plan on going back to the states.

If you plan on using bank funds to show that you can pay for your spouse then acording to a consular officer I spoke with you need to have 3 times the amount required or lacked (if you dont earn enough to fully cover the amount). I believe the amount you need to earn a year is 16,000 USD if filing for just your spouse and something like 20,000 if you are going to file with a cosigner.

This basically means that you need to have 48,001 USD in the bank in order for the embassy to say ok you have enough money to pay for him.

Fofire
[/quote]

Thank you for explaining that, you have been very helpful. I am one of the many who hasn't filed my taxes while living overseas, but mind you I have only done parttime work and actually fall under the amount of not filing, but, I'm going to still file them this weekend. Will that really delay my process by several months then?

We wont be having 48.000 USD in my bank so I guess I'm going to have to look into having my father co sponsor him but does my father fill out the form and mail it himself to the Consular or is that something that he can send me and does it have to be notorized? Since he is in the US and i'm in the UK.

Also, what if I am have a job to start once we move to the US, will they consider a letter from the company stating how much I will be making as income, since I wouldn't have a w2 or paystub with them yet?

Thank you so much, you have been wonderful

The safest route is to have your dad co-sponsor. He would fill out the I-864 and give it to you to take to the interview. I believe it can be notarised by a US official on the day of the interview. They would probably include the money you'd be about to make if you were hired early at a US company, but I'd still get your dad to co-sponsor to be sure. And backfile those taxes soon! They should accept a copy of your returns that you will be sending instead of having to wait for the IRS to process them and be able to send a transcript.

Don't forget the ITIN for your husband since you have to file married and he doesn't have a social security number. You include the W7 application with your returns and send it all to the Texas address in the W7 instructions.

A few gentle corrections...

Yes, USCs are required to report their worldwide income by filing a US tax return. There are foriegn income exclusions, so you are not taxed twice until you are over the $80K/year or so mark.

'Acting' as if you haven't had a job isn't a good idea, if you have had one, and lost tax returns are never a valid excuse--you can always order copies of your past returns' transcripts from the IRS.

There is no such thing as a "co sponsor" or "so signer" for the I-864. There are Sponsors (USC petitioning spouse) and Joint Sponsors. Plese see "What Is a Joint Sponsor?" from the I-864 instructions. Joint Sponsors do NOT have to share a household with the petitioner or beneficiary.

Bank funds are one form of asset. There are specific guidelines for assets in the form instructions, but in addition to cash, you may use other vehicles that can be converted to cash (if needed). Investment accounts are one popular option.

The required amounts are in I-864P; the figure quoted for the "cosigner" does not apply.

OP: the tax returns do not have to be provided for a while yet; you can start your petition even if you do not yet have the returns completed. There is info on this for you in the DCF Guide.

If you'll be presenting an I-864 from your Dad, he can mail it to you to take to the visa interview. It does not need to be notarized. He may put the I-864 in a sealed envelope for your spouse to present at the interview if Dad wants to keep it private.

If you have a job offer, especially if you can document it, it is a good idea to include that information at the interview.

good luck!

Don't forget the ITIN for your husband since you have to file married and he doesn't have a social security number. You include the W7 application with your returns and send it all to the Texas address in the W7 instructions.
[/quote]

thank you for your information. My husband and I didn't marry until April 2006 - do I have to file Married then or can I still file single for year 2006? Do I have to send it to the Texas address or will the IRS in London take these forms?

Your help is much appreciated.

A few gentle corrections...

Yes, USCs are required to report their worldwide income by filing a US tax return. There are foriegn income exclusions, so you are not taxed twice until you are over the $80K/year or so mark.

'Acting' as if you haven't had a job isn't a good idea, if you have had one, and lost tax returns are never a valid excuse--you can always order copies of your past returns' transcripts from the IRS.

There is no such thing as a "co sponsor" or "so signer" for the I-864. There are Sponsors (USC petitioning spouse) and Joint Sponsors. Plese see "What Is a Joint Sponsor?" from the I-864 instructions. Joint Sponsors do NOT have to share a household with the petitioner or beneficiary.

Bank funds are one form of asset. There are specific guidelines for assets in the form instructions, but in addition to cash, you may use other vehicles that can be converted to cash (if needed). Investment accounts are one popular option.

The required amounts are in I-864P; the figure quoted for the "cosigner" does not apply.

OP: the tax returns do not have to be provided for a while yet; you can start your petition even if you do not yet have the returns completed. There is info on this for you in the DCF Guide.

If you'll be presenting an I-864 from your Dad, he can mail it to you to take to the visa interview. It does not need to be notarized. He may put the I-864 in a sealed envelope for your spouse to present at the interview if Dad wants to keep it private.

If you have a job offer, especially if you can document it, it is a good idea to include that information at the interview.

good luck!
[/quote]


WOW!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Your message was extremely helpful and much appreciated. Ive been trying to learn everything that I need to do, sometimes it just gets so mind blowing but I want to be prepared.

Its wonderful that you have taken your time to provide me with much needed information. Thanks again.

Hope you have a great weekend.

If you were married as of Dec 31 2006, you are 'married' for all of 2006 for tax purposes. You must file as married, but you will have a choice of married separate, or married joint. You can find many threads about how to file with a spouse who does not live in the US if you do some looking (try the CR/IR forum).

You can submit your tax returns and W-7 to IRS in London and they will forward it to the US. Keep copies for yourself, and copies to submit.

I'm glad it's been useful to you--I think everything you need to know has been written down here at one time or another!

Thank you again for your information. I'm going to have a good read this weekend and sort all this out. The only problem that I can see is being in the UK our 2006 tax year doesn't end till this April. So I dont have my tax info yet for this year. So would they accept the 2005 as our last year of taxes?

This forum has been a wonderful help and I hope that I will also be able to contribute to someones journey. Hope you have a great weekend.

Big fun for you this weekend! woooo!

I don't know what your officer will do. In my case, I put my applications in in August 2002 and had not yet filed 2001. I filed extensions and simply put a note of explanation in with my Affidavit. USCs who are out of the US temporarilty as of April 15 do get an additional.. believe it's two months to file, and there is one automagic extension that you don't even have to make an excuse up for.

Or, just rough out the numbers and file anyway. The UK/US tax years being akimbo never made any of this easier.

I'm not a tax expert, but I would have thought it doesn't matter for your US taxes that the UK tax year isn't over. The IRS is interested in what you earned in 2006, not what you earned in the 2005/2006 UK tax year. So you would calculate how much you earned in 2006 by looking at your 2006 payslips.

Thanks for everyones advice - I guess you can get so overwhelmed when you have all this paperwork in front of you and you dont want to make a single mistake to delay your process. It really is wonderful to be able to seek the advice and comfort of others who understand and appreciate what you are going through.

I wish everyone great success.