Brand83

Hi all,

I’m in a pretty confusing situation. I’m sponsoring my wife and my dad is the co-sponsor.

He is self-employed and he files taxes jointly with his wife. I can tell which part of the earnings on the IRS transcript is his (it’s going to be the NET Profit from Schedule C and the earnings from Schedule E), but I am thinking it will be easier just to have his wife also sponsor and count their household income.

How does one go about that? As far as I know, the I-864A is for the MAIN sponsor’s household, and I am the main sponsor. What do I do to count my dad and his wife’s earnings together?

Hi CG3. There is absolutely nothing official about this. There has been a rumor on this board about it, but there are no facts supporting that it works. 

With that said, you have nothing to lose except the time it takes to complete the K-3 form and the money it costs to mail it.

1 minute ago, Paul and Sopheap said:

Absolutely! I was wondering, because I sent our i130 to the lockbox on March 2, and it was delivered on the 5th. The online receipt says it was received on March 31st. Our priority date is March 5th. Hopefully we'll get approved soon too! Did your online receipt status ever change from received to actively reviewing?

 

Not really. I checked a few days ago and it was still "received."

When I look at the case history tab right now, it says "reviewing" on 21 April and "approved" on 22 April.

I don't know if this played a role in the decision, but we've been married for about 6 1/2 years (originally, we didn't plan on moving to the US) so we've got 6 years of financial records and stuff validating our marriage. But I'd like to hope that things are just picking up and everyone will get their cases approved faster.

56 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

It doesn't make sense that the "trick" should work.  There are people who have been waiting for months and months who should have been approved first. ...but if it works, it works.  

Could be a coincidence. I honestly don't know, but I was bracing for 10-12 months of waiting. So to me it was worth the time to complete the form and the $35 to send it from South Africa to the US via DHL just to see if it works.

10 minutes ago, Paul and Sopheap said:

Wow nice! Did your online receipt say it was received on the 2nd? Or did you mail it and the lockbox received it on the 2nd?

Thanks!

I did everything online. Not long before I made this post, I received an email update from the USCIC saying they have taken an action on my case. After 10 solid minutes of anxiety, I checked it and saw that I was approved. They said they'll be mailing me an approval notice, but if I don't receive it by May 22, the message included a link to request a copy. 

I think this is good news for everyone filing.

USCIS received my I-130 petition on March 2, 2021 and informed me it was being processed in Nebraska. Two weeks ago I filed for K-3 just because I've heard the rumors that it can speed up the I-130 process. 

My petition was approved yesterday (April 22). Actually kinda amazed at the turnaround time because I'm still waiting for the IRS to process my paper returns (yikes!)

11 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

That is usually the process.  You might want to look in the South Africa forum for more specific answers there.

Thank you, very much. That's a very good point. Because if there's one thing South Africa is gonna do, it's change things up. lol.

Hey everyone. 

My wife hasn't had vaccines since she was a child, and she's worried that this could cause problems. What's the vaccine process? From what I understand, the approved doctor looks over her medical records and administers any vaccines that she needs. Is this correct?

Thank you for your help.

So I was planing to finish the I-130 filing today online. I have everything ready to go except the I-130A. Downloaded it today and started filling out the information, then I see this at the top-right corner:

Hi everyone

I am a little confused about the "Additional Information" section under the "Other Information" tab when filing online.

Is there were I need to attach the I-130A PDF

Hello, I'm American and I live with my wife overseas. I'm about to file the I-130 petition online, and everyone I talked to here and elsewhere said that I can do this portion overseas without any problem.

Ideally, I would like to spend as little time away from my wife––especially during the global pandemic. When would I need to travel back to the United States, and what kind of information do they need from me to prove I have an established domicile there? I don't know if this is going to make a difference, but my father is going to be a co-sponsor.

I am a US Citizen living abroad. I getting ready to petition for my wife. I have the original copy of my birth certificate with me, but my passport recently expired (and my consulate temporarily suspended passport services bc of COVID lockdown)  just want to get a definitive answer because it looks like I can use a BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR PASSPORT to prove my residency. 

I am American and my wife in South African. We both are living in South Africa and plan on moving to America. Can I start the sponsorship process while we're both living in South Africa, or do I need to be in the US? 

Additional information: If I can do it from South Africa, do I need to show proof that I am a resident in South Africa? My temporary resident's/spousal visa in South Africa is being renewed - government takes notoriously long with this so the existing one has already expired while I'm waiting on the new South African visa, so I don't think I could use that as proof. 

Thank you for your help.

Hi everyone,

I'm a US citizen and my wife is South African. We've been living in Cape Town for the past 5 years, and I've been running a sole proprietor business working with remote clients. This means that I'll still have the same income coming in when I move back to the United States, but I claim Foreign Earned Income Tax Exclusion on what I pay now. I still pay "self-employment" tax every year though. Does anyone know if it's possible to sponsor my spouse in this situation? 

Thanks!