Timeline of CR-1/ Specific Questions

[conwa1rr 0]

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this site and just wanted to ask a few questions in one post about my CR-1 specifics.

I am a US citizen living in Michigan, and my fiance lives in Northern Ireland with his two children, claiming British citizenship. He is currently applying to have the parental responsibilities of the mother removed as she has not been an active parent in four years, as well as applying to have the children come to live here. We plan to reside in MI following our marriage.

Ideally, we would like to get married by December, but I had a few questions regarding the timeline and more first.

1. How soon after marriage do we need to fill out and mail in the CR-1? If we do not send it in immediately, would my fiance (then husband) be able to travel to the US still?

2. Once we start the CR-1 paperwork, I know he is not able to travel here but am I, my friends, and family still able to travel freely there (for a later date reception, etc)?

3. How much does it affect your application if you require a sponsor? I am off of full time work currently and am worried how this will look to our case reviewer. Does the joint sponsor affect how the case worker would view my ability to support my fiance and his children?

I'm sorry if these questions have previously been answered or if they are disjointed. We are just beginning the process and it can be overwhelming with all the information out there to sort through.

Thanks!

Rebecca

[speedwell 224]

How's things?

1. Any time. As soon as you want, or as late as you want. It's up to you. When you first file, it's Form I-130, the application for recognition of your relationship and establishment of the immigrant's eligibility to apply for a visa as a spouse.

2. He can travel here as a tourist if he wants to, there is no law against it. My Northern Irish husband traveled here on the Visa Waiver Program, stayed 85 days over the holidays, and went home. What the prospective immigrant should do is show evidence that he intends to return to his home country (a job, mortgage papers, kids left behind, even the pending court case). In general the immigrant must spend at least as much time out of the US as in the US, to avoid accusations of using the VWP to impermissibly "live" in the US. You (the US citizen) can travel freely as much as you want, provided you know you must be on hand to receive notifications and be present in case you are asked to interview.

3. If you do not income qualify on your own, having a joint sponsor is the only way to qualify. Using one can only help your case. All they case about is that SOMEONE is taking responsibility. It need not be you. You don't need one to start off with, anyway. You only need one in the second part of the procedure (after the I-130 form is approved). That gives you around four or five months, or even more, to find a job if you feel funny about presenting as unemployed, but you should still use a joint sponsor if your job is new, especially if your 2011 and/or 2012 income tax returns don't show sufficient income.

Verb. sap.: When you fill out your paperwork, write out United Kingdom nice and big. Don't use UK and don't put Northern Ireland in the address if you can avoid it, or you run the risk of having some undereducated American slob deciding that you're filing for someone in the ROI. This happened to us. It got fixed. After much cursing in private.

Edited May 23, 2013 by speedwell

[conwa1rr 0]

2. He can travel here as a tourist if he wants to, there is no law against it. My Northern Irish husband traveled here on the Visa Waiver Program, stayed 85 days over the holidays, and went home. What the prospective immigrant should do is show evidence that he intends to return to his home country (a job, mortgage papers, kids left behind, even the pending court case). In general the immigrant must spend at least as much time out of the US as in the US, to avoid accusations of using the VWP to impermissibly "live" in the US. You (the US citizen) can travel freely as much as you want, provided you know you must be on hand to receive notifications and be present in case you are asked to interview.

I guess I'm a little fuzzy on the "immigrant must spend at least as much time out of the US as in the US." My fiance was here in Michigan for a little over two weeks in April, and we'd like to have a wedding reception here if possible before sending in the CR-1. With his ESTA/VWP, are you just saying this would be okay so long as it is under 90 days and he has proof of plans to return?

Sorry for so many questions--and thanks for your answers! Glad to hear of another pairing of a US-Northern Ireland couple. Karl reminds me constantly about the care of Northern Ireland vs. the United Kingdom, so thanks for stressing that. We'll be sure to take care when filling out those forms.

[speedwell 224]

I guess I'm a little fuzzy on the "immigrant must spend at least as much time out of the US as in the US." My fiance was here in Michigan for a little over two weeks in April, and we'd like to have a wedding reception here if possible before sending in the CR-1. With his ESTA/VWP, are you just saying this would be okay so long as it is under 90 days and he has proof of plans to return?

Sorry for so many questions--and thanks for your answers! Glad to hear of another pairing of a US-Northern Ireland couple. Karl reminds me constantly about the care of Northern Ireland vs. the United Kingdom, so thanks for stressing that. We'll be sure to take care when filling out those forms.

Yup, that would probably be just fine. Short trips of a couple weeks are good on the VWP, even during immigration proceedings. Since he had two weeks in April, more than two weeks have passed, and his trip for the wedding reception will probably be as brief, so it's just fine. My husband spent almost three months from November to January, so we were going to leave it till May before thinking about bringing him over for a visit again. But now with his medical and interview date so close, we are just going to let him do that before he comes over.

[conwa1rr 0]

Ahh I see now. Just make sure there's an equal amount of time between the two places. That's not a problem!

Thanks for the information ?

[lost_at_sea 995]

I guess I'm a little fuzzy on the "immigrant must spend at least as much time out of the US as in the US." My fiance was here in Michigan for a little over two weeks in April, and we'd like to have a wedding reception here if possible before sending in the CR-1. With his ESTA/VWP, are you just saying this would be okay so long as it is under 90 days and he has proof of plans to return?

Essentially, you should avoid being on a tourist visa in one 12 month block for more than 6 months in the USA (so two trips of 90 days would be fine, for example, in one year but not a third trip that long). The same is true in the other direction - UKBA does not like American tourists being in the UK for more than 6 months total in one year (we discovered this when my husband entered the UK once, just shy of being in the UK for nearly 6 months total visiting me before he lived here - they almost didn't let him in to visit for Christmas!).

Edited May 23, 2013 by lost_at_sea