US-UK

Best to sell before you become a PR

Of course.
 
He would never lie, nor would I make him lie. I actually work in immigration (but backwards--Americans coming to Europe) so I know the importance of being forthcoming. There is nothing wrong with him having visited Iraq (he went to Kurdistan with a childhood friend and had an amazing time), so why would he lie? It's a bureaucratic formality we unfortunately must comply with. In the grand scheme of things, worse things could happen than having to wait another year or two to visit NYC. 
 
That poster suggesting we commit fraud is way out of line.

AP is free while AOS is pending, just like the EAD. You could have included the I-131 with your initial submission. You could still apply for it now. It would still be free, you would just have to include a copy of the receipt notice of the AOS showing you’ve paid for those fees. AP is not only for emergencies. If you look at the forums, people travel on it for non-emergencies all the time. 

Before the mods lock this thread....
 
So you are saying if i had given 15 examples of cases where people got visas after visiting temples or after ditching motorcycles for public bus, you would have accepted the conclusion!!!! Wow..

In my case it's how you go to the US embassy makes the difference. My unemployed parents took the public bus to go to the US embassy, both got their visitor visas on their first try. My well employed brother (a doctor) who rode his motorcycle to the US embassy got denied twice. On his second try I told him he needs to take the public bus to be able to get the visa but he didn't listen to me and got denied. 

But she was prepared to bring him here and into her home after one visit of 5 days.
 
I agree that people should get to know each other better but it seems odd that we often see advice here that the USC should do their homework before moving overseas to the spouse but not when they are bringing spouses into their homes (and possibly living with their children) when they have only spent a few days together in person. 

"Asking for a blog"......
 
 

When she is asked for purpose of visit, make sure she tells the truth which is to help look after the baby so you don't have to hire anyone else to do it.

What kind of job allows you leave for two thirds of the year? Yeah I don’t think “dad’s company” is a great employment reference.

This opens another can of worms, but as you already have possibly violated the tourist visa by working in the US on a tourist visa for about 5 months, you should get married and adjust because then all illegal work is forgiven. Also if you have made more than around 1100 dollars while on US soil you have to file taxes according to the IRS here in the US. Depending on where your company has offices also can complicate things. While working won't terribly effect your immigration path, make sure you cover yourself via the Tax implications, as the IRS has no " Grey area" on working while on US soil. Just as a side note thinking you can work anywhere in the world is a misnomer, most countries require you to have a work permit or the proper visa to work from within their country. The US being one of them.

I'm the OP, from almost a year ago. At the time, the administration had not imposed the requirement of proving the immigrant would have health insurance within 30 days of arrival. For a sponsor who doesn't have employer-provided health insurance, it's near impossible to meet the 30-day limit (although proving you tried might be sufficient).
 
So there are two kinds of US-citizen sponsors: 1) Those who have employer-provided health care, in which you add your immigrant spouse to the policy. And 2) Those of us who don't, and who need to get insurance on the exchange or the private market.
 
Those of us in the 2nd group don't have many options. Every state has different laws regulating Short Term Medical (STM) policies, so you have to check with your state health commissioner what options you have. STM policies are practically useless, since they have all sorts of conditions. Applying on the ACA health exchange (or going directly to a health care provider for ACA qualifying coverage) is the only way to get "true" qualifying coverage. But the ACA has rules that prevent insuring an immigrant until they physically enter the country, and further rules that can prevent coverage from starting up to 45 days later. A STM policy can bridge this, but as I said, try not to get sick.
 
That's my experience in lining up health insurance for my spouse. But I don't know what it takes to satisfy the new "30-day requirement" for health insurance.
 
Edit: Oh -- STM is not the same as Traveler's insurance. If your spouse is immigrating, they are not a "Traveler". If in doubt about what kind of temporary policy you need, read the policy coverage.
 
See previous threads for more information:
 
 
 
 
 

Also, you may want to check Form 8621 https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8621 and Form 3520 https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3520
 
You may need to file 8621 for "Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund", which could include mutual funds or ETFs from foreign countries. Also, 3520 is for reporting foreign trusts, which probably include 401(k) type of trusts of foreign countries. It is required when a US person receives a gift of more than $100k in a year from foreign persons.  
So it would be important to know what you as a couple have and then figure out what you need to file, because delinquent filings could result in large penalties.
 
A separate point: were you able to get the exact information about how much interest, dividend, capital gains, rental income, etc. she made from foreign countries? You needed to report them in your joint 1040 return, because US (and maybe your state) taxes worldwide income.

Why does the US have a duty to keep non-American adults together? They are all adults. And if being together is important they can stay where they are. They are together now. 
 
Note that the USA is one of the only countries in the world that allows people to apply for citizenship after 2 years 9 months as a resident AND allows citizens to bring in parents and siblings. 

You’re misunderstanding the concept. Foreign earned income up to around $100k can be excluded from taxation by using form 2555EZ. But you still have to report you full foreign income plus interest/dividends, scholarships (all converted to US dollars) and work through the whole tax return.  The only way you get out of filing is if you didn’t have enough gross income to have to file. Total income includes salary plus anything else taxable.
2018 Single - file if your income was over $12,000 US.
2017 Single - file if your income was over $10,400 US.
 
So your first step is figure out how much you earned in those years (before taxes were taken out of your check) and any money earned from investments. 
 
NO. They want information from your actual US tax return if you earned more than those minimum amounts above and have to file. Nothing to do with 100k or Canadian returns.. The I-864 affidavit of support instructions explain what they need in tax return info. 
 
Your sponsorship ability is not based on your previous returns. They just require you to provide that info. They want to know your current income...right now June 2020 and prove it. So if you earn right now $2000/month in Seattle, then your income for support is $24,000/yr.  You do need to prove it with something like an employer letter if you currently earn more than your 2019 return says on Line 7b of the 1040. You can’t just make up a higher number than your tax return Line 7b without proving it with something from your employer or six months of pay stubs.

If you made over the threshold to file (which is significantly less than 100k) you need to  back file. 
https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/income/other-income/how-much-do-you-have-to-make-to-file-taxes/

My partner came to the US on 01 (which took 4 months from him starting to collect paperwork to arrival in US), with company funded legal support and expedite. I recall we were advised to wait 6 months after arrival before adjusting status but then delayed it further for personal/business reasons. We are, thankfully, a few years into our careers and my partner is in a field that lends itself to the publications and awards they are looking for, and doesn’t have any US specific training or licensing requirements, so he covered the EB1 criteria fairly comfortably.

I, a former Labor & Delivery Nurse say otherwise........

It's very common indeed but a pregnancy is not a medical condition.
 
OP, you're probably better off with medical care OUTSIDE the US nowadays.

Sound like, your use of "tricky" refers to the fact that this is that the minimum requirements are not a goal line.  If you fall short, you are sure to fail, but merely meeting some minimum requirement does not assure success.  It's a judgment call.
 
Now may well not be a good time to find a second job, but doing so, sounds like the solution for you.

Not as pickers.  Our faternal family has an operation and needs 200 to 400 pickers at different times of the year.  They go thru the department of Labor to get certification because no Americans will take 15 to 17 dollars an hour (got to pay the prevailing wages), plus medical car, free schooling and free housing to do manual labor outdoors in the sun.  H2B visas all over.  If you would like to pick some of your own lettuce, asparagus, oranges, cotton and alfalfa I can give you my cousin's number.  They also do honey and chickens if that is more your thing.

Am I the only one wondering how all the family members ‘stuck in the US’ will manage to extend their travel insurance and do so in a way that covers them should the get covid? Screwing up a visa is bad enough, but a hospital bill could be crushing for the visitor and their financial guarantor, even under the CARES Act. I am honestly astonished that people didn’t start repatriating in late February and heed the recommendations and subsequent directives to return home in March. 

 

Kind of shocking when you actually write out what year it would be. I still think the 80s was 20 years ago lol

Do not forget to sort out her Health Insurance, especially in these times.

You were told 2 weeks ago to get her out and you chose to ignore that advice. Now it's only become worse and it will continue to get worse by the day. Get her out while you can. The airspace in Pakistan has NOT been closed, most flights have been cancelled. Big difference.
 
 
P.S. If you don't like the very good answers and advice you're getting, allow her to overstay and then get back to us and let us know how it goes.

I am totally on board with the separation of finances (and have one shared account to which we contribute pro rata for household expenses). I assume there’s a good financial benefit to you filing MFJ. There isn’t for us but if we did I might try to run the returns as MFS and then use those numbers to determine proportional shares. Or just use the amount of tax each partner paid (from W-2s) to calculate the proportion of who gets what back on the refund.  There isn’t a right answer but you could just agree on a calculation that is reasonable and based at least somewhat on logic.