no bank statements

I have been reading through some of the spousal visa threads and posts with interest.  I am sure that myself and my US wife meet all the criteria (as far as I can see) and can provide all the documents and proof of our genuine and loving marriage.  One thing that has me worried though is this:

I have no bank statements.  In fact, I have no real bank account.  I had an account before I left for the US but this has been closed as I lapsed on my overdraft payments while struggling here in the US.  I believe that the debt may have been sold on to a debt collection agency.  I am not worried about repaying the debt as I believe my CV speaks for itself and I should have no problem finding a job and paying off the debt on my return to the UK in the new year.  However, what about my bank statements?  Are they essential to the process?  If I get copies of my statements for the last year where I have defaulted on overdraft repayments while living in the US will this be looked upon in a bad light.

Like everybody going through this we are both pretty nervous.  A denial of a visa for my wife would totally destroy our lives.  So, does anybody have knowledge of the bank statement issue?  All replies so very gratefully received. 

Do you have a US bank account?  Can you provide those bank statements?

Otherwise, I believe you must have bank statements.  The financial bit is the most important.

Oh dear.  I dont have a US account and I cant get put onto my wifes as I dont have a social number.  When we came here we planned only to get married and stay a while before returning to blighty.  Then we thought we would give it a year here.  Part of the reason for returning to the Uk is that we have come to discover how difficult, long winded and expensive it would be for me to get a green card and be able to work.  That and my folks are in old and in ill health and being just basically homesick to boot.

I can of course get letters from my future employer stating my income when I return ( I have job offers already) and can even get my parents to act as sponsors if needs be.  But as for bank statements I am a bit up the creek.  Prior to my coming to america I had a good monthly income, a decent overdraft and good credit.  By now I doubt I could get a cell phone on a contract.  Is this enourmously bad do you think?  Everything but the bank statements seems to be in order.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, financial co-sponsors are no longer allowed.  Look at the thread here for more details: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=36486.0

One suggestion that I have is that you return to the UK before your wife and start working.  Get the bank account set up and start getting statements.  Three to six months worth of bank statements, along with payslips, and a letter from your employer stating your annual income should do the trick.  You have to show that you will be able to support your wife until she finds employment (or not) without recourse to public funds.  Although, I am not am immigration advisor.  This is just what I have learned from people here and my current visa application.  I know it isn't ideal to be separated but from my viewpoint, it may be the only way.  Also, for the visa application, your wife will need to provide 3-6 months of her bank statements as well.

Two advisors post on this board.  Their screen names are VictoriaS and garry.  I would contact one of them for expert advice.  I hope all of that helps!

That is all rather daunting.  That said, my wife can provide her bank statements and I can provide statements up till i left the UK which show my earning capability prior to leaving the US.  I do intend to leave beforemy wife but I dont want to be parted for more than a month if possible.  Even that would be far too long to be honest.  I wonder if it would help if my wife has a job offer when she applies for the visa.  I have friends who own their own business and will offer her a job prior to her arrival and put that on paper.  Her resume is excellent and shows that she is very employable.  The only sticking point may well be the bank statements.  Well, thanks for the info so far.  It is much appreciated. 

Your old UK bank statements won't do you any good anyway...they want recent ones.  Your wife will want to provide at least the last three months' worth of statements.  Basically, he UK government wants to know that she has enough to live on to not need public funds.

In your case, a job offer or anything showing that you will be able to support her would probably help.

I'm sure some of our immigration experts will read this in a few hours and have something to add.  I did this from within country, so the procedure may be slightly different from out of country, but that is what they are looking for - proof that she won't need recourse to public funds...

We didn't provide bank statements with our application either.  I do paperfree banking and when requested the bank to supply paper copies, they didn't arrive in time (twice!).  We supplied proof of income like payslips and letters from our employers.  That seemed to do the trick.

The job offer will be the important thing.  If your wife has bank statements, supply these.  If your job offer is good enough then I don't see how they can reject you.

Vicky

I'm actually a bit more worried about the OP's legal status in the US, if he went there just to get married, and has stayed on longer than 90 days...?

The ECO isn't going to care about that, luckily.  The Immigration Officers on the port of departure might...

Vicky

The ECO isn't going to care about that, luckily.  The Immigration Officers on the port of departure might...

Vicky

I kind of thought there might be a bigger problem leaving the US than entering the UK. 

I kind of thought there might be a bigger problem leaving the US than entering the UK. 

You have a point because they now have machines that scan passports for all non US citizens to "check out" of the country. At least they do at BWI.

Not sure whether they will stop him when he uses one of those machines but I would imagine he would have difficulty entering the states in the future.

I say that only if he entered on the visa wavier program and overstayed.

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has posted replies.  It is very much appreciated.  Unfortunately I have overstayed on my VWP - though I was advised not to leave by an immigration lawyer here if I intended to try and adjust my status after marriage, which for I while I did.  I don't think I will have any problems leaving the country, though I know I am now subject to a ten year ban.  I am not worried about that to be honest.

I do have a couple of job offers and almost definately so does my wife.  Her bank statements wont show any great savings though, we are just working Joe's getting by.  Her resume will show a great deal of experience and employability however. 

We are currently trying for a child and I wonder what bearing this will have if she becomes pregnant prior to applying for the visas - positive or negative, or is it imossible to say?

Thanks again to everyone and good luck to all in the same boat.

We are currently trying for a child and I wonder what bearing this will have if she becomes pregnant prior to applying for the visas - positive or negative, or is it imossible to say?

It will make no difference. However, can I suggest that you perhaps rethink this?  If you have no jobs and no savings, there is a risk the application will be refused, and if you have to wait for appeal, this could mean months with your family seperated.  It might not be ideal to leave a pregnant wife in a different country from you!

Vicky

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has posted replies.  It is very much appreciated.  Unfortunately I have overstayed on my VWP - though I was advised not to leave by an immigration lawyer here if I intended to try and adjust my status after marriage, which for I while I did.  I don't think I will have any problems leaving the country, though I know I am now subject to a ten year ban.  I am not worried about that to be honest.

You may not be worried about it - but your wife should be.  What if she decides she doesn't like living in the UK and decides she wants to go back to the US - and you can't?  Check out the Repatriation section - it happens.  Ten years is a long time when you're unhappy - as some on here could tell you.

And might I add to Vicky's suggestion about rethinking trying to get pregnant when your future is so up in the air at this point?  Please seriously think about where you're at and where you want to be, and the fact that some of what you're about to go through may not be that easy - and certainly won't be cheap.