Joint Sponsor worth while if have enough funds?

[ahiann8 2]

Hi, I'm looking to bring my wife to the US.
At the moment I am not making a lot of money and will quit my job here before we move, but I have around £150,000 in my bank account. Fluid funds that can be accessed at any time.
I have read that having enough money is a valid substitute to annual income.
But (theoretically! 😀) it's possible I could gamble it all away the first day I bring my wife over, and be left with nothing.
Do they want to check up on my bank balance every so often? To make sure I am still capable of providing for her?

Would there be any benefit at all in getting a joint sponsor?
I imagine it won't hurt, but it's dealing with more paperwork back and forth between family members in the US that I would rather not have to deal with!

Any experiences?
Thanks

Edited May 28, 2019 by ahiann8

[geowrian 22,335]

53 minutes ago, ahiann8 said:

Do they want to check up on my bank balance every so often? To make sure I am still capable of providing for her?

They only look at income/assets for the I-864. This is only presented at the interview for DCF since a journey through NVC is not involved. If that goes fine, they will never look at your income/assets again (unless you sponsor somebody else, obviously).

 

55 minutes ago, ahiann8 said:

Would there be any benefit at all in getting a joint sponsor?

A joint sponsor would only apply if one is necessary.

Nobody can say with certainty what a CO will decide with regard to the public charge decision. It's a judgement call based on the totality of the circumstances. But you can generally get a good idea if your case makes sense (re: current ability to provide/support the intending immigrant).

 

There's no harm to your case if you have an I-864 for a joint sponsor on hand. Just don't present anything unless requested.

Liquid assets alone in that amount that have been maintained for a year or longer does not raise any flags IMO.

[laylalex 7,245]

When my ex and I went through London in 2010 (we did a K1) it was possible for the immigrating fiance to do self-sponsorship by showing a certain amount of money in the bank, so I hope that a US spouse having way more than three times the poverty limit in the bank would be sufficient now. Of course it's 9 years after when I went through so I hope someone with more recent experience can help. 

[geowrian 22,335]

33 minutes ago, laylalex said:

When my ex and I went through London in 2010 (we did a K1) it was possible for the immigrating fiance to do self-sponsorship by showing a certain amount of money in the bank, so I hope that a US spouse having way more than three times the poverty limit in the bank would be sufficient now. Of course it's 9 years after when I went through so I hope someone with more recent experience can help. 

Absolutely right, and that's still the case today (re: self sponsorship). That said, that's for an I-134 for a K-1...the I-864 for an immigrant visa requires the petitioner to be a sponsor (although they can include the spouse's assets still).

[Wuozopo 4,285]

3 hours ago, ahiann8 said:

but I have around £150,000 in my bank account. Fluid funds that can be accessed at any time.

 

That's near $190,000. I think that will work just fine in London. I know of one person was asked how they planned to get the funds to the US, so have an answer prepared. I have used transferwise.com to move funds successfully. 

 

Prepare a package of info with your recent bank or financial statements. If in multiple locations, maybe a spreadsheet to provide a one page summary showing each account and the total in assets. 

 

 

[geowrian 22,335]

5 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

I have used transferwise.com to move funds successfully. 

I second this. I never used them for very large transfers, but they've been great moving several thousands at a time.

[ahiann8 2]

10 hours ago, geowrian said:

Liquid assets alone in that amount that have been maintained for a year or longer does not raise any flags IMO.

How about less than 6 months? It's only recently that I have had access to this money.
 

I appreciate everyone's input - thank you very much.

 

And yes, transferwise has been very good in the past when moving a few thousand here and there.

[geowrian 22,335]

8 minutes ago, ahiann8 said:

How about less than 6 months? It's only recently that I have had access to this money.

Decision by the CO. London is not usually strict.

 

In general (not specific to London): the concern is if like somebody just suddenly had a large sum of money put into the account without a good explanation. Is it from a loan? Is it from a family member or friend that is just letting you "hold" the money until you get the visa? That would be an issue. If it was because of an inheritance, won the lottery, sold some other asset, etc., then that would likely be fine.

Edited May 29, 2019 by geowrian

[ahiann8 2]

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Decision by the CO. London is not usually strict.

 

In general (not specific to London): the concern is if like somebody just suddenly had a large sum of money put into the account without a good explanation. Is it from a loan? Is it from a family member or friend that is just letting you "hold" the money until you get the visa? That would be an issue. If it was because of an inheritance, won the lottery, sold some other asset, etc., then that would likely be fine.

That sounds reasonable