Living/Working Overseas and I-864

[AmerHun 0]

Hi everyone! I am new to the site and thought I would ask my first question. me and my Hungarian girlfriend are planning on getting married sometime in 2016. I was lucky enough to land a job here in hungary so we could be together, unfortunatly I don't make enough to meet the standards for the I-864. Our plan is that I will leave Europe soon after we get married and start working back in the states. We do not want my family involved as a joint sponsor so I realize I will have to leave and start work in America soon after we get married. Can I file immediatly from America when I start my new job there? Is there some sort of time limit for working that I must reach before applying? Thanks for any information and help on the subject!

[Darnell 8,478]

you can file anytime, bear in mind there is a duration of processing time for the I-130 at USCIS and you control the pace at NVC for the Visa Application.

for an I-864, you want to show a minimum of 1 year of w-2 income on a tax return above 125 percent of the poverty level for yer household size.

[AmerHun 0]

Thank you for the quick response. So basically I would have to move back and work for a year and then file for her to come? It doesn't matter if I work for a few months, get a letter from employer stating that I am employed and have a sufficient salary, and show pay stubs? From your response it seems that getting a joing sponsor might be the only realistic option...

[hanniel 41]

you can file anytime, bear in mind there is a duration of processing time for the I-130 at USCIS and you control the pace at NVC for the Visa Application.

for an I-864, you want to show a minimum of 1 year of w-2 income on a tax return above 125 percent of the poverty level for yer household size.

Is the I-864 presented at the embassy stage? If so it would make sense for the OP to file as soon as he gets a job, because marriage visas generally take one year or longer from start to finish.

[Kastrs 723]

The AOS (affidavit of support) package, which is the I-864 and supporting documents, is reviewed by the NVC. I would say that could be about 6 months after filing, but could be less could be more- it is difficult to predict timelines sometimes.

[quimolum 12]

Thank you for the quick response. So basically I would have to move back and work for a year and then file for her to come? It doesn't matter if I work for a few months, get a letter from employer stating that I am employed and have a sufficient salary, and show pay stubs? From your response it seems that getting a joing sponsor might be the only realistic option...

Hi,

We did the same thing than you.

My husband started working in the US after we got married. If you get a job that seems to last in the US and put a little money aside, do not hesitate to start the process right away. Do not wait.

They asked me a few questions about this at the embassy but they approved my visa.

[AmerHun 0]

That is great news thank everyone for the help with this one! From what I can gather I should apply as soon as I have a job and am back in America. We really did not want to have to get a joint sponsor for this and I was worried for a second that I would have had to get one or wait to file after working a year. Basically I get a residence and start a good job back home in the states and I should be ok

[Moustafa/Crystal 65]

Do you have $60,000 in savings? That would be another way to show you have appropriate support.

If you are a two person household, you will need to make $20,000/year...this might go up slightly next year.

If you want to do this on your own with no help and do not have $60K in savings...I would do a civil marriage ASAP and move back to the USA immediately. Depending on the kind of work you do, you might be able to get to the $20,000 mark by the end of this tax year.

Good luck. Start collecting those documents and filling out all those forms! I would expect you could get through in as fast as 8 months if you are lucky....we got through in about 10 months.

[AmerHun 0]

It seems that I'm getting some conflicting ideas. What I would like to do is get married next year, March or so, and the. Leave for the USA with a job starting in April or ASAP. Then once there I will file for her to come and when I have to fill out the I 864 hopefully my income and job will be enough. I don't have 60,000 in savings. Thanks for all the help!

[hanniel 41]

Does anyone here know about Direct Consular Filing and if the OP qualifies?

Anyways, I would get married and file ASAP when the time comes. The immigration process is so long already that waiting a year just for a tax return is too long. What happens if you wait a year and then your are laid-off? Back to square 1 with the co-sponsor.

[AmerHun 0]

Just to be clear I can get married, move back to America and establish residence and get a job, and then start the process? It doesn't matter if I will be recently hired and haven't worked more than a month or two? I'm inder the impression with a letter from my work and some savings it would be fine to do this...am I wrong?

[NikLR 13,220]

Just to be clear I can get married, move back to America and establish residence and get a job, and then start the process? It doesn't matter if I will be recently hired and haven't worked more than a month or two? I'm inder the impression with a letter from my work and some savings it would be fine to do this...am I wrong?

it's fine.

The NVC process, which is about 6 months from initial I-130 filing (after I-130 approval) is where you start the affidavit of support issues. You have some time to look for a job and do everything you need to do.

You can wait to send the affidavit of support as well at that time and you feel you need more time. 1 year is a rough estimate, as my husband had 6 months of his current job when I had my interview. Have a look at my timeline. It's faster than yours is likely to be (due to the processing at the time) but you can see we waited to file the petition after my husband obtained work. It took him from Nov 2011 to Sept 2012 to get a job in his field.

However you can send the petition and then wait to send the affidavit of support as well which is a better idea than what we did.

[AmerHun 0]

Great! I want to get married here and not come back until I have a job lined up. I'm working here so I'd rather not give that up while going back and looking in person in the states for who knows how long. Thanks for all the help on this one it's clear to me now!

[Anh map 2,098]

FWIW: a joint sponsor does not have to be a family member. Any US citizen or Permanent Resident can be a joint sponsor. They would only be sued after you, the petitioner, is sued by the US government. So the joint sponsor's exposure is pretty limited.

[Expat1 971]

Does anyone here know about Direct Consular Filing and if the OP qualifies?

Anyways, I would get married and file ASAP when the time comes. The immigration process is so long already that waiting a year just for a tax return is too long. What happens if you wait a year and then your are laid-off? Back to square 1 with the co-sponsor.

The OP qualifies but absent 3X the 125% income in cash-equivalent assets and since they do not want a joint sponsor he has the right plan