Cora_

Hi,

We both live in the UK so we are looking at getting a co-sponsor for my I-130 application as she has no US income or address. We are wondering about some of the requirements, namely'

I believe that the co-sponsor is required to evidence a certain income level over the three years prior to the application.  Could assets be counted instead? 

Is the co-sponsor required to show three years of tax returns? 

Is the sponsor required to show three years of tax returns if there is a co-sponsor?  

Is it required that we plan to form a household with the co-sponsor?

Thanks,

Cora

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

This is not accurate.  Service centers are assigned based on USCIS workload, not the location of the petitioner.

Hi Crazy Cat.

This is even more confusing to me then as the USCIS website shows pretty wildly varying I-130 processing times for each centre.  If it was based on workload I'd expect the times to all be about the same, or no breakdown by location at all.  Why the variation?  I've even found immigration lawyer websites who say it does vary based on location and list which states go to which centres.

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

The guide section here on VJ is a good place to read up on the process.

Thanks I'll have a look for that this evening.

Hi,

I am looking for advice on the most time-efficient route for spousal settlement and what the practical process should be.

Background:

I met and married my partner in 1996.  I was on a standard visa-free visit to the US.  I am from the UK and they are a US citizen.  We have a US marriage certificate.

At the time, we were told that I had to return to the UK and apply to settle from there.  We did this and waited and waited. Eventually the processing centre said they 'lost' the application and it would take 18 months before they even opened a new one.  We gave up and decided instead to have my partner apply to settle in the UK.  That application process took one week!  My partner moved to the UK and eventually got their ILR and then citizenship.

Twenty-odd years later and we are looking to finally move to the US but are very confused and unsure about the process for getting my visa.  It seems the USCIS is no longer precessing I-130 applications outside of the US and the US processing centre used depends on the 'state the application came from'.  Taking these together it seems that we're expected to have my partner move back to the US first?  This would mean that they need to establish an address and income there, then make an I-130 application for me and we wait for that and the approval before I can join them.  A process which could take years.

Is this correct?  Is this what they seriously expect couples to do?  It feels like I'm missing something here which gives a humane immigration route, but I can't see it.  I can't imagine going over on a one-way ticket would go down very well at the border though?

Thanks for reading and any advice you can offer.