K1 question - US citizen born abroad

[artofconfusion 0]

Hi all..hope someone can help me out with this.

I was born in Germany to a German father and an American mother, so have had dual citizenship since birth. I have never officially lived in the US except for short stays with my grandmother in NY state...now I live in the UK, and am engaged to a Brit. We would like to move to the US, first to study for Masters degrees and then to work. We've spoken to someone at the embassy in London and they recommended that due to our prospective timeline for study the K1 visa is the best option for us. What they said they were not able to give us advice on (which is exceptionally frustrating) was whether or not I may not be eligible as a sponsor because I do not have a permanent residence in the States. I am registered to vote at my mother's last address in the US, as per voter registration laws, but I don't really understand how the two relate.

Anyone been through a similar situation? I'd really appreciate any advice you've got!

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

The petitoner is always the main sponsor for a visa, so I am a bit confused what you/ the consulate means by what you write. I assume they mean they are not sure whether you are elligible as a financial sponsor by yourself, as you do not have a US based income. If so, you will need to sponsor your fiancee on assets (property, savings, shares etc), or have a US based co-sponsor such as your grandmother.

You might also want to look at DCF as an option btw.

[artofconfusion 0]

The petitoner is always the main sponsor for a visa, so I am a bit confused what you/ the consulate means by what you write. I assume they mean they are not sure whether you are elligible as a financial sponsor by yourself, as you do not have a US based income. If so, you will need to sponsor your fiancee on assets (property, savings, shares etc), or have a US based co-sponsor such as your grandmother.

You might also want to look at DCF as an option btw.

I see, I see...that makes sense, I am not entirely sure what they meant either but did assume it was due to lack of job in the US. Who is able to co-sponsor his petition then? Does it have to be one of my parents, or can it be my grandmother or an uncle? If I were to sponsor him based on savings and assets, is there some sort of minimum they want to see as proof of ability to support?

[nane1104 146]

I guess they suggested K-1 for you since you are engaged. If marriage is in your near future, I'd definitley suggest DCF. It's a short, easy process, your spouse will get a gc right away and it will be all taken care of before you even leave the UK.

But: You have to be married.

Also, but I might be wrong, I don't think you need to even deal with co-sponsors. !?

I have a question regarding your dual citizenship: Don't you have to give up one of your citizenships when you are 18? That's what we were told when our son was born who is a dual- us/german citizen

[artofconfusion 0]

I guess they suggested K-1 for you since you are engaged. If marriage is in your near future, I'd definitley suggest DCF. It's a short, easy process, your spouse will get a gc right away and it will be all taken care of before you even leave the UK.

But: You have to be married.

Also, but I might be wrong, I don't think you need to even deal with co-sponsors. !?

I have a question regarding your dual citizenship: Don't you have to give up one of your citizenships when you are 18? That's what we were told when our son was born who is a dual- us/german citizen

Oddly I had not heard of DCF until Penguin suggested it, the US Embassy in London keep it nicely hidden on their website! The more I read about it the more I think that IS the best option for us...the wedding date isn't set yet while we figure this out so we can always pull it up a few months. Sounds like a huge money and time saver. You can't use co-sponsors from what I see, you just have to prove domicile or intent to re-establish residence in the US for cases like my own where you were abroad first due to parents and then due to studies. So I'm sending off an enquiry to the embassy to get my head around this.

To answer your question, that's a bit of a fuzzy grey area, it seems. I was never told to choose a citizenship when I turned 18. I think a variety of factors contribute to this..in my case, my mother never took on German citizenship, so my claim to the US passport was still firmly established; I attended an American school abroad; and I travelled regularly to the US. A friend of mine was told to give up his US passport at 18, but his case was that he was born in the US, but his parents then moved and the US-citizen parent became a dual national. He also never travelled to the US at all between birth and age 18.

They might also have changed the rules recently, which is more likely in your son's case. However I never have had any issues with it, nor have my two younger siblings, so before handing over his passport it might actually be worth consulting a lawyer at some stage. There seem to be a lot of loopholes and undefined areas.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

For financial sponsorship, you need 125% of the US poverty level in income, or three times as much in assets. For two people in mainland USA, this is currently about 18'400 in income. Co-sponsor can be anyone who is an LPR or US citizen and currently lives in the USA.

If you are considering DCF, check out the DCF forum on here and the experiences of UK couples, as each embassy has slightly different rules.

[pushbrk 12,107]

I see, I see...that makes sense, I am not entirely sure what they meant either but did assume it was due to lack of job in the US. Who is able to co-sponsor his petition then? Does it have to be one of my parents, or can it be my grandmother or an uncle? If I were to sponsor him based on savings and assets, is there some sort of minimum they want to see as proof of ability to support?

The petition is not sponsored. The visa applicant is sponsored. Any of the individuals you mention can sponsor if they are a US Citizen or permanent resident.

[Anh map 2,098]

If you are evaluating the DCF option this Affidavit of Support FAQ may help answer some questions regarding US domicile, etc. http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3183.html