janamaria

We set up a dollar account to prove that we're getting ready to transfer funds.

Thanks for replying!

Ooh that sounds like a good idea, what's the best way to go about that?

You haven't mentioned tax. Have you back-filed at least your last 3 years of US tax returns? All US citizens, wherever they live, need to file and you'll need to have done so for the I-864 (the same form that'll be asking about domicile).

Thank you for replying! I was under the income threshold for filing tax so didn't have to file, I will be including a letter explaining this with my form. But thank you!

Do you think the rest of my evidence will be enough? Do you know if I can set up a bank account from the UK? Thanks!

Hey everyone

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me! You are always massively helpful and I appreciate it so much!

I am a USC but also a British citizen and I am sponsoring my husband for his visa. We are doing it through DCF with the London embassy. I have lived in Britain my entire life apart from around 5ish months about 9 years ago when I travelled around the states and stayed with different family members. I also applied for and received my social security number during this time.)

I am just in the process of gathering together all our documents for my husband's visa interview. I am trying to figure out what evidence I can get together to show strong intent to establish domicile.

So far I have/will have:

-Quotes from different shipping companies

-My application for voter registration

-My Social Security card/number that I got 9 years ago

-A letter from my relative stating that we are living with her when we first get there

-Print-outs of California job email subscriptions

Will this be enough? I would really like to set up a bank account but can I do this from the UK? If anyone could let me know that would be amazing!

Other things I may try to include:

-Confirmation emails from jobs I have applied for (I am self-employed but may work when I am first there)

Is there anything else I can include? We do not have children to enrol in schools or enough funds to rent/buy a property.

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can give, you guys are the best!!

I want to know the answers also, waiting for a `captain` to answer

Hopefully some of these answers will be helpful to you too then Good luck with your visa journey!

London should have IRS office do book an appointment with them to sort out your taxes.

Recommend you also look at your passport- last pages have obligations for citizens- filing taxes is one of them.

Thanks so much for replying! Apparently the London embassy IRS office is closed, I just googled it. Was there another one you were thinking of? Is there not just a way to do it simply online? I don't live in London so it isn't easy for me and we have a really tight schedule to get this done by unfortunately!!

If you will PM me your exact total UK income earned during the last three tax years, I can give you specific info rather than writing pages of "if this, then that, but not if.....". Need specific amounts of gross income during the calendar year--well as close as you can get. It is reported Jan 1-Dec 31, so not the April to April you are used to.

Also need to know if you were married or single those years. Married during a year counts as married all year.

Thanks Nich-Nick, that would be incredible. I will PM you now.

Hey all you lovely people,

You are always so helpful, I massively, massively appreciate it! If anyone could help me out with this, that would be incredible!!

I am a USC but also a British Citizen and have lived in the UK my whole life (apart from 5 months living/travelling in the states around 10 years ago, I did apply for my social security number during this time incase I wanted to move over there in the future)

I am in the process of sorting out the Affidavit of Support form for my husband and the next step in our immigration timeline! We are using DCF at the London Embassy.

I see that question 18a is asking if you have filed a tax return for the last three years. I have never filed a tax return as I have never worked or lived properly in the USA so I just assumed I was exempt. Someone told me in another thread however that I still need to have filed. My questions regarding this are:

1) Do I need to file as someone who hasn't worked or lived properly in the US?

2) 2015-2016 I have been working as self-employed and haven't made enough to pay taxes here in the UK. Is there a similar thing in the US, that if I don't meet a certain threshold I don't have to file? Before being self-employed I was a student, again, does this mean I don't have to file for those years

3) In a different thread someone mentioned something about there being an income threshold for working abroad that also excludes you from filing, is that right?

4) If I do have to file, how on earth do I do it?? I have no idea where to start! Also, how long does the process take and is there a way to expedite it for our interview?

If anyone could help me out that would be incredible and hugely and sincerely appreciated.

Thanks!!

America is the only advanced economy in the world that enforces extraterritorial tax law. In other words, the U.S. taxes nonresident citizens the same way it taxes those living within U.S. borders.

England and US double tax dual citizens / you should have been filing quarterly estimated taxes and filing tax returns in the spring

You will need also to have established residence in US / a place to live here in US

the joint sponsor is for income only / they fill out the i 864 a / unless there is a big gap in income for the arrest, there will should not be an issue

joint sponsor is not asked for criminal report but immigration can check the background of any and all sponsors if they need to

Thanks so much for replying! I really appreciate your help and the time you took to reply. I am glad that the criminal record will not make a difference, hopefully that will work out if I use them as a co-sponsor then!

1. Yes you need to backfile on your foreign income. Only if you had no income at all do you not need to file.

2.Just you and your husband (and any kids or other dependents like elderly parents). People you live with in a roommmate situation do not count, even if they are family members such as siblings or parents. No, the assets or income of people living abroad do not count (in the US embassy in London, they do allow the foreign beneficiary to self sponsor, but that would only be your husband, not the people you guys live with).

3. Yes-ish; you cannot combine your assets with theirs, but you CAN have a US citizen or greencard holder who resides in the USA as co-sponsor. They would need to qualify for the income or assets of their own household plus the immigrant. So if it is a husband, wife and 2 kids, their household povertyline would be for 5 people as 2 adults+ 2 kids+ immigrant.

4. London is probably the most liberal embassy with financials, but predictive income is veyr unlikely to be allowed unless you have concrete offers of work for your company. Another possibility, not nice, but if you cannot find a co-sponsor, is for you to move to the USA first, and get a job, and then sponsor your husband that way.

5. See 3, your mom would not count. The relatives can co=sponsor; the co-sponsor need not live where you will live, or even be a relative, as long as they are US based. Steady income is better than assets for a co-sponsor, but assets may be accepted at the discretion of the CO.

Thank you so much for replying, I really appreciate your input, it was all really helpful. I always assumed that my Mom would work as a co-sponsor, it will be hard to try and find someone else to co-sponsor us. I would obviously really prefer not to have to move to the states before my husband, but at least that is a back up plan.

On a spouse visa and I-864, there is no self sponsoring or flexibility in London. The I-864 requirements are set in law, unlike the I-134 fiancé requirements.

The USC must sponsor (sign an I-864) whether they have income that counts or not. Self-employed income is not predictable nor the expenses that can be deducted that reduces the income that counts with USCIS. A tax return is pretty much the only way to document self-employment.

As a sponsor, you must supply a tax return or a reason why you were not required to file. Living and working in the UK is not a valid reason for not filing if you are a US citizen and earned money anywhere in the world. If your income in the UK was less than $4000 in 2015, then you are below the threshold for filing. That is a valid reason for not filing.

The UK AND US do not double tax your income. They have a tax treaty where the place you reside collects the taxes. So you file a US return reporting your salary income and investment income. Your salary is excluded using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Form 2555EZ. Your bottom line income for tax purposes is probably going to be zero (for salary) or quite small (if you had investment income). And you will end up owing zero taxes. You file and report, but you will not pay anything. Keep in mind that every tax situation is different and not knowing yours it is impossible to say positively no tax, but I doubt it. And you have a tax return to photocopy and submit with your I-864.

Other people explained you are a two person household and will need a joint sponsor who resides in the US. Their income requirement will be based on their family size plus the immigrant. You don't have to be supported by the joint sponsor because you are not an immigrant as such. You are a US citizen.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it! (And all the other times in the past you have responded also.) It really was never made clear to me that I would need to file taxes! Is this case even though my domicile has always been Britain? Also, do I still need to supply my tax return information on the form if I end up using a joint sponsor? In terms of tax return, where and how do I do this? Do you have a website link? I have tried to google it but there is so much information it is overwhelming and I just have no idea where to start!! Also, do you know how long the process tends to take?

Hey guys!

I can't tell you how much I appreciate everyone who tries to help me out and take the time to reply when I have questions! It is absolutely amazing of you! You are always so so helpful and are making my life so so much easier! If anyone could help me out with one, some or all of these questions it would be massively appreciated!

Some background info: I am a dual citizen (both USC and a British citizen) and my husband is British. I have lived in England my whole life (apart from around 6 months travelling the states) but we are planning to make the US our permanent residence as soon as we are allowed! We are using DCF with London. Our I-130 has been accepted no problem, we are going to my husbands medical soon.

So my questions are:

1) For the affidavit I-864 form, I can see questions 18a asks for your federal tax return (for the last three years, just attaching proof of one.) I obviously haven't worked in the states to have never needed to do this. Do I still need to file for these last three years of tax returns? Looking at the USCIS website with information on the affidavit of support, I can see that it says: "If you were not required to file a tax return in any of these years you must provide an explanation." Would this be me in this situation or do I need to file one anyway? If I do need to file one, how long does it take and does anyone have a link to the correct form?

2) Household size. When people talk about needing to make 125% above the poverty line for your household size, what members of the household should you include? For example, would it be me and my husband only as we are the ones who combine our income and are planning on moving to the states, or would we also count people that we live with even if they have no financial ties to us? For example, say if we were hypothetically currently living with my parents temporarily (to save money for example) would we need to include all the relatives in the house for household size? If hypothetically we did have to do that, could we also use their assets (despite the fact that they are not US residents?) to make up the percentage above the poverty line?

3) If we can just apply as a two person household, can we still hypothetically use the assets of relatives to reach the 125% that we would hypothetically be staying with temporarily? Or does that rule that out?

4) My husband and myself are self-employed but do not currently make (or have the assets) to cover 125% above the poverty line. Our business is picking up and we plan on taking it to the states with us, someone mentioned that we could do predictive income, but I haven't found any more information about this. Does anyone have anymore information on this? Are there any other ways to meet the 125% poverty line without using a joint sponsor?

5) Joint sponsors! So am I right in thinking that joint sponsors have to be not only USC but also domiciled in the states? My mother is a USC but lives in England, so I couldn't use her? Are there any limits to who you can use for joint sponsors? I have some relatives in the states that were arrested, it was quite a big deal locally but then had the charges dropped, would it be a bad idea to use them??

Okay, that is all for now! Thank you so so so much in advance for any help you can give me!

Have an awesome Sunday!

They changed the website and lots of bookmarked links changed.

Contact form found here https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-information-services/contact-us-immigrant-visas/u-s-embassy-london-visa-unit-contact-form/

Thank you so much!! Massively helpful as usual

Hey all you awesome knowledgeable people! You are always so so massively helpful whenever I have questions, I massively appreciate it!

I am a USC filing through London DCF for my husband to get an immigrant visa. I have some rather pressing questions about the affidavit of support and after ringing a million times a man from the London embassy said I should use this form (https://uk.usembassy.gov/niv/visa_contact_form.html) to contact the right person who should be able to help. Obviously the link doesn't work and the page doesn't exist anymore. Does anyone with experience with London DCF know the right contact form I can use?? It is so frustrating not being able to easily contact someone all this visa stuff!!

Thanks so much in advance!

I can confirm this having had my medical interview last month

If records aren't complete you can pay to have additional vaccines on the day. I had a hard time tracking down my vax records so I had some additional shots provided by my GP before the interview, one of which required a second dose and I paid the extra to get it done at Knightsbridge. I probably could've gone back to my GP and asked for the second dose to be done there but I got it over and done with!

We also don't do varicella (chicken pox) vaccinations here in the UK as standard so that's not a requirement.

Thanks so much for responding! It's great to hear from someone who has gone through the same thing so recently. Hopefully we'll manage to sort all my husbands vaccinations before we go to Knightsbridge, but if not it is good to know we have a back-up. Thanks again!

I wanted to avoid vaccines especially live virus ones as they shed and I am still breastfeeding and my husband is on immune suppression and there is always a chance of either the baby or him getting sick so I had to prove immunity.

From what I have these last few months on here it seems like the Greek Consulate is VERY strict

Thanks for replying! It seems like the Greek Consulate is a lot more particular than the London one, but I really appreciate the input!

Good luck with your visa journey

The clinic in London will not require a blood test to prove immunity.

Phew!

They take most anything at Knightsbridge clinic. Some have computer print outs with no surgery name or signature on it. Some look more like little charts. My husband's was handwritten by the nurse on unlined paper. The important thing is dates. If it just says "MMR-complete", then not good enough.

You are helping me a lot today, thanks!

So the vaccine record is for the Knightsbridge clinic? I won't have to present it to the embassy at all? It does have dates on so hopefully that should be fine!

This page answers many of your questions. Just keep reading. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/dl/dl_info#two500

Yes a SSN is required.

Will do, thanks again!

I am running into the same issue coming from Europe (Greece).

He will have to take the written and driving test from scratch. The good news is him (and me) having a license proves driving expertise so we will not to have any actual driving lessons.

The US does have a treaty with some countries one of which is Germany, under which you can just exchange your license for a local one, no questions asked. My USC did this when he moved to Germany. The UK and Greece unfortunately do not such a treaty, we need to take the tests

Thank you so much for replying Marrienne! It is good to hear from someone in a similar situation. I can't believe how stupid it is! I guess he will just have to try and sort his test within 10 days of getting his green card then (that is what it is for California) How annoying! Wish I was German...

Good luck with your visa journey

Hey all!

Here I am with ANOTHER question! How would I cope without you all and your amazing help??

I have recently sent off my husbands I-130 form and am just trying to get together the things for the upcoming steps. One of the things to get together according to the London DCF Wiki (on this website) is the vaccination records.

We asked our doctors surgery to provide us with a vaccine certification and what they ended up giving us was a handwritten scrawled note that hand a stamp on of the surgery. Other people who DCF with London, will they except this? What are your vaccine records like?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jana

One thing to comprehend is the individual states have their own separate powers and laws. So there is state law for your state of residence and federal law that applies to all. Immigration is federal law. So is paying US income tax.

States are in charge of deciding law on things like marriage/divorce, driving, education, building highways, banking, welfare, sales tax, and state income tax. There is some overlap when the federal government steps in and says everybody needs to align with the Feds on some issues. Examples- same sex marriages. Some states allowed it. Others didn't. The Federal government has dictated that it must be legal in all states. Decades ago it was integration allowing black students to attend school with white students.

But where the Feds have not stepped in with mandates, the individual states still decide how to get a marriage license or driver license, how teachers get certified, educational curriculum, some taxes, etc. I don't have a state income tax in Texas, but you will in CA. Alaska is one of about 4-5 states that have no sales tax on purchases. So figuring out many things will require you to see how it is done in CA.

Start here to read about driving in CA. There are a lot of links to look at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/dmv/dl

Thank you so much for the detailed replied! From my basic research it seems like within 10 days of establishing residence my husband would have to get a CA license. This seems crazy!! Does he have to take lessons or can he just take the test? Is there something (like a learners permit) he could get to drive in the meantime? Also, what counts as establishing residence? Does he need to get a SSN number first? We are staying with relatives when first there and will opening a bank account before we go, would that be enough that that counts as residence? Sorry to bombard you with questions!!

All driving laws are state issues so you have to look up California DMV. When you said "US driving test", it is more specifically a "California driving test". Most states will have some law that says you must get a state license within X days of becoming resident in the state. Before that, using the UK license would be acceptable.

Thanks so much for replying! Do you know where the best place to find that information? I find the US governmental really hard to find information on!

Thanks for the answer Jack! That's crazy!! So we can't even use the UK license while we wait to take the new test? Is there any kind of leniency there?

Hey all!

Thanks for everyone's help so far, you guys are the best!

I was just thinking ahead and wondering if someone could clarify something for me. I am a USC petitioning for my husband to get a US visa (via DCF). Once we are approved and living in California (if all goes to plan!!!) what does my husband need to do about a driving license? He has a UK licence which he has driven on in California as a tourist before when renting a car. I have googled it and I can't get a straight answer about whether or not he needs to get a CA license and if so, when? Can he drive on his UK license for a while or does it need to be immediate? Also what is the process of sorting a US license? Does he need to do a US drivers test? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Jana

Yes, you can attach an additional sheet. Just write in the applicable section "see attached supplemental sheet" and then follow the same structure on the supplemental sheet (like "Full Name and Address of Employer" first, then "Occupation", then To/From dates, etc).

That's great, thanks so much!

Attach a supplemental sheet that details everything. It's far better to put it all out there than to try to squeeze everything into the tiny boxes on the form and leave out information. If you were a student/part-time photographer/restaurant-worker, then say that. And if your husband was "On benefits/self-employed part-time, say that too. But don't fudge the dates, either.

Put N/A for Alien Number.

Check the "Other" box and write "I-130" in the blank next to it.

Thanks for your help! Are we okay attaching a additional sheet? I am so worried about doing something wrong! They don't mind if we do this?

I am guessing that this is work in the UK. I am not up on UK employment laws, but I would not put down anything that would be considered illegal or under the table work (avoiding taxes). Remember the the petitioner has to show US tax statements for the last 3 years.

Thanks for the reply! Yes it is all UK work. The waitressing work wasn't illegal (unless the restaurant was doing something sneaky behind my back) I filled in the forms they gave me when I first joined, maybe they just preferred to pay in cash?

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for everyone's help so far! You're all the best

I just had a question or two about the G-325A form where you have to list the last five years of employment.

1) My husband and I are currently self employed and working from our home office except when we have shoots which are on location. Do we put 'self employed' in the occupation box and our business name and home address in the full name and address box?

2) In the last five years I was a student and doing some part time photography work, what do I put for this? Student or still self-employed?

3) In the last five years I was a student and working for a restaurant where they paid me cash (as well as doing the odd photography job) what do I put for this time period? Do I put the restaurant? Or Student? Or self-employed?

4) During the last five years my husband has been unwell and has been on a benefit because of this, but has also worked (the legally allowed amount) with me in the business during this. What do we put for this time period? Self-employed? Unemployed? On benefits?

5) The very last box says to enter your name and alien registration number. We don't have one of these, do I just leave it blank? Put N/A?

6) Last question I promise!! The bit where it says 'this form is submitted in connection with an application for:' What do I put for this if we are filing it with the I-130? Do we put I-130? Or tick one of the boxes?

Sorry for all my very stupid questions!

So you are the USC? Living in the U.K.?

Yes I am

# 2 makes no sense. Please explain

Sorry, it was a little rambly I think!

I think I understand what you mean.

If you have a hiccup in providing proper documentation, they give you the opportunity to get it right without paying again.

Examples--

You send the I-130 but forgot to sign it. They might send it back and say sign it. No charge.

You send the I-130 but forgot your marriage certificate. They write and ask for it. No charge.

You go to the medical exam and they want a report about your high blood pressure from your GP. No extra charge.

You get to the interview and they want more about your intent to domicile. no extra charge.

If you fail to qualify for a visa, you do not get your money back.

Example--

You have drug dealer convictions on your police report. You are denied. No refund.

Fees/Currency

Since all of your processing will happen in London, paying in local currency with a UK credit card works.

Basically anything to the USCIS London or Embassy London will be priced in $$ because it's the US government you are paying. But your credit card will be charged in ££ at the going exchange rate of the day.

Fees that are to UK agencies will be priced in ££. That would be ACPO who provides your UK police certificate and Knightsbridge clinics, a private practice UK doctor contracted to do the visa medical exam.

You are a super star, thank you so much for the massively helpful and detailed reply! You've helped loads, much appreciated!

The I-130 must be paid from a US bank account so you cannot use a uk bank to pay for it.

Secondly I'm not sure of your situation so I don't understand your question of domicile.

But once your I-130 is accepted you will not have to pay for it again.

Thank you for your reply! I am using the london embassy to file my I-130 through, and they have a credit card form you can use to pay the fee. Doesn't say anything about it needed to be a credit card linked to an american bank account. So it that okay? I know it is different depending on what country you are filing in.

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for everyone's help so far, you're all the best

Just a few little silly questions if anyone would be kind enough to help out!

1) When paying for various form fees (I-130, etc!) on the form do you just put the amount in US dollars rather than your home currency?

2) If I were to send off my I-130, which I am about to do, and come into any trouble with the other steps (establishing domicile, or anything else) would I ever have to resubmit my previous forms and repay form fees? I want to go ahead with the I-130 but what happens if things don't work out with the next steps for me? Is there any point in the process where you have to pay a form fee again??

If people could let me know that would be sooo appreciated!!

For a self employed person the income shown on line 22 of their form 1040 tax return is the amount considered as income. If you show enough income to meet the requirement and this income will continue then that may solve your sponsorship problem.

An amount dropped into your account from another person won't be accepted.

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. I will look into the self-employed tax return stuff and see if that would work for us, though I am just not sure we would be able to prove that our income would continue. If I changed our plans slightly and found myself a proper job offer there, could I count the expected income of that towards reaching the minimum income?

In terms of the money being put into my account. Yes, it's tricky because it's basically just because our supportive family who would happily be co-sponsors aren't USC so can't co-sponsor, so they would help just with a cash sum if it would work. Would it make a difference as to when they put the money in? For example if they did it now even before we have sent off our I-130?

Sorry to bombard you with questions, you just seem very knowledgeable!

I am putting off sending off the i-130 until we have our domicile and affidavit of support stuff sorted. Is this a mistake? What would happen if we did the I-30 but couldn't get the rest of the stuff sorted in time? Would we have to pay any fees/submit any forms again?

A recently transfered large sum will be suspicious, and in many US embassies, wil not count even if you get to keep it. However, London is one of the most easy going embassies when it comes to the afffadavit of support, so you may be in luck.

Thanks so much for your reply! I agree it may seem suspicious, it's just that they can't co-sponsor us (not USC) and want to support us. I am glad to hear that the London embassy is one of the most easy going though!