Applying for US Greencard/Filing I-130 Petition HELP!

Hi,

I am a US Citzen, and I married my husband in November 2013 here in the UK ,he is a British Citzen.  We had been living in the US for the past 7 years together unmarried, while he was on his student visa, when it expired we decided to move here with a temporaty job oppurtunity he had.  I am now awaiting my UK residence visa, and I have been living here since September 2013 on a fiance visa.  We have been talking about returning to the US, and we would like to begin applying for his greencard.  We know this proccess may take months and months, but we want to start the application process so that we have the option to live in the US when we are ready. I understand that the first step is for me to do the I-130 petition.  I am wondering if there is going to be a financial requirement for this.  And I would like some help if anyone has any experience with this.

Since we are applying from within the UK, and I can not work under my current visa status, I am a little nervous.  Does anyone know what our options are to return?? And if because we are living here, and I will be working here soon, will that affect me being able to sponsor him?? Also, am I supposed to have been living in the UK for 6 months before applying for this??

I desperately need some insight and help. As we have gotten this far without an immigration lawyer, we are really hoping to save the expense.  And I have been doing alot of research and have an idea of what we need to do next, but I would love any help/feedback from someone with experience.

Thank you very much!

There's no financial requirement with the I-130, but there will be once that's approved and you submit further forms. You can use a sponsor in the US to help with the financial requirements. Yes, you need to be living in the UK for at least 6 months before you can apply for a US greencard via DCF. The US embassy in London website will give you all the info you need. I also recommend visajourney.com. If you're a straightforward case you should be able to do all of this without an immigration lawyer.

Thank you for your response.  But doesn't the financial sponsor have to be the one to file the petition? And have to be earning in the US? Because I would be filing for my spouse, and we are living in the UK, and I currently can't work.  And when I do work, it would be here in the UK not the US..

In a spouse visa, the spouse is always the sponsor, whether they are earning or not. To sponsor an immigrant to the US, the sponsor has to earn 125% of the poverty guideline for their household size.

If the sponsor doesn't make enough, they can use a co-sponsor who has to meet the same requirement and who has to sign an agreement stating they will be responsible for paying back benefits the immigrant may claim for a period of ten years or forty quarters of work.

Thank you Gwen666, do you know if it is possible for the sponsor to be a greencard holder? My sister in law would qualify finacially- shes a British citzen but has been living in the US for 7-8 years, and has had her greencard for 1-2 years through her job. 

You are the sponsor, but you don't have to state your financials on the I-130. That's your request to petition. Once you do the next step of the actual application, you'll have to list your financial information and use a co-sponsor if necessary. My parents were co-sponsors and they didn't get involved until after the I-130 was approved.

Thank you Gwen666, do you know if it is possible for the sponsor to be a greencard holder? My sister in law would qualify finacially- shes a British citzen but has been living in the US for 7-8 years, and has had her greencard for 1-2 years through her job. 

Yes, permanent residents can sponsor.

When we filed, I was in the UK, not working, but had a job already lined up for when we returned to the US. To be on the safe side, we asked dad to co-sponsor.