Chile329w8

I neglected to mention that I was born in the United States and am a U.S. Citizen.

Hello everyone! First I want to say that I've thoroughly read through this forum and found answers to some of my questions, but I haven't seen a case exactly like my wife's, so I felt it would be more comforting to ask the experts about our specific problem.

My wife entered the states ten years ago with her family when she was 13 on a Tourist visa. The visa has obviously since expired. She has graduated high school and even earned an associates degree! We met over a year and a half ago, and we got married and moved in together in January of 2010.

My main question is: How necessary is it to file an i-130 and i-485 at the same time? Our income is tight and we really can only afford to send in the i-130 right now. Will this cause an issue due to her overstay status?

Also, I am a college student and work only part time and am supported by my parents. They will have no problem filing as a joint sponsor of my wife. Do I need to send in an I-846 with the rest of the paperwork? I read on an FAQ from this site that they request this information after the initial paperwork process. Is that true?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!