Co-Sponsor Question

[SamanthaHaley 0]

Hello! 

 

Petitioner speaking. My British fiance and I will be interviewing at the Seoul, Korea embassy where we both currently live and work legally. Question about the co-sponsor for the K1-visa. 

 

Because my fiance and I have been teaching in Seoul, South Korea, I will probably not have a job lined up by the time we move back to America with the K1 visa. Obviously I will be applying for jobs, but I am a certified teacher and school jobs hire between March-June where I am from and its looking like our K1 interview will probably be in January or February 2020. Because of this, we will be using my aunt as a co-sponsor.

 

My aunt (co sponsor) has no dependents and lives alone. She is 58 years old and has recently quit her job to take care of some aging family members. While she is unemployed, she does have hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets including savings, bank account, and stocks. I also currently make above the minimum requirement, but obviously my job will end here in Korea when we move to America. Will my aunt be an adequate co sponsor for the interview with all of her assets even though she is currently unemployed?

 

Furthermore, we plan to live with my grandmother for a while to help take care of her before we get our own apartment. i have been using my grandmothers residence for years as my permanent address in America and my license and mailing address are linked to that. My aunt (co sponsor) lives in another apartment but in the same city, is that okay? Should I try to arrange our own apartment before we move back? That would be quite the hassle but is possible.

 

The other option is to use my cousin as a co sponsor. However, my cousin is my age (25), doesn't have near as much money or assets as my aunt, doesn't live in the same state as we will, but does have a current job and income of about $45,000 annually.

 

Any thoughts or advice about which route we should go (aunt or cousin as co sponsor) would be highly appreciated, thanks!

[geowrian 22,337]

It's impossible to say whether any individual sponsor will satisfy the CO or not as that is a decision based upon the totality of the circumstances. COs from some countries are less inclined to consider assets (or even co sponsors). The I-134 is not legally binding, and they do look first and foremost at the primary sponsor (you). Your employment history is part of the consideration as a sponsor, although your income won't be here.

 

That said, in the consideration if the beneficiary is likely to become a public charge or not, does it make sense that the co sponsor will actually use their assets to support them (so they don't become a public charge in the first place)? I don't know the answer...that's a question to ask yourself, though.

Keep in mind you may be unemployed, your fiance/fiancee can't work for likely the better half of a year or longer, and you have a new household, wedding, etc. coming into the picture. How you plan to actually support yourself and the intending immigrant is something that the sponsorship would need to address.

 

Sorry for not having the firm answers you're looking for, but hopefully the questions and considerations raised can help guide you.

[SamanthaHaley 0]

Thanks for your reply!

 

Those are good things to consider. I think it is unlikely that he would become a public charge. We are both college educated, both young and have many years of work ahead of us, both have over 30000 in savings and assets, and I am likely to get a job very quickly, its just that the hiring openings for teachers comes about a month after his interview will probably be.

 

How is it possible to show that the co sponsor is likely to use those assets for the beneficiary? Like a letter from the co sponsor stating how they plan to support the beneficiary?

 

Thanks!

[geowrian 22,337]

18 hours ago, SamanthaHaley said:

How is it possible to show that the co sponsor is likely to use those assets for the beneficiary? Like a letter from the co sponsor stating how they plan to support the beneficiary?

That's a tough question, tbh. Generally, it's by being somebody the petitioner or applicant knows well (like a close family member). Basically, they need a real reason to support the individual. For example, people have mentioned - just as an example -  an acquaintance. They technically qualify as a sponsor, although they have no real reason to want to support the individual so they are not a good choice. if you are close to the aunt, then I doubt that will raise much of a concern.