Using UK assetts for I864 Affidavit

Both me and my hubby are currently living in the UK. I moved here in September of 2002. After seeing house prices and our income, we've decided that we both would be better off in the US. But here's my question. Looking at the Affidavit, it says to list our assets. Both of us are on the mortgage of our current home (in the UK) and I've worked here since December of 2002. So can we use our assets here for the Affidavit? We're both flipping out as we had already started to get into the process, ie, getting his thingy from the police (that certificate thing! ) So can I breath a sign of relief in regards to our UK assets or should I begin to panic?

Have you checked out the form for the affidavit of support yet? If not its worth taking a look as the instructions state what you can/cant use as far as assest ares concerned. If it turns out you dont have enough money on the house to meet the poverty guidelines then you can always ask a friend or relative in the US to act as your joint sponsor, again as long as they earn enough money to support you. Check this link for more detaikled info:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/affsupp.htm#what

Download the I864 affidavit form from here also. Hope that helps a little!

Hi there!!

Keep in mind that the forms and the instructions are made for people filing FROM the USA, generally. Since you'll be filing by DCF through the Embassy you'll find that the officials at the Embassy who deal with your case are aware that youre living in the UK and that the forms arent really best suited to people in your situation.

So having said that, you need not worry about the "Domicile" issue. The affidavit says you must have a domicile in the USA in order to act as a sponsor for your spouse. Because you live full time in the UK that just isnt possible, and the Embassy knows that.

Now about the assets. You are free to use any or all of your assets based in the UK and in the US, if you have any. Assets include any property you own througout the world, including your home, cars, savings balances, checking account balances, stock portfolios or other investments that can be liquidated within one year. By looking at the affidavit form you'll be able to determine what poverty line requirement you must meet. If you have a household of two it'll be around $15,000 I think. If you wish only to use assets to meet the whole of this requirement you'll need to have assets worth at least 5 times the requirement ($75,000). If you wish to use your UK based income in combination with assets because the income alone does not meet the requirement you'll need to show you have assets worth at least 5 times the difference between the reqirement and your UK income.

Even if youve been working in the UK you'll need to have filed US income tax returns. If you havent done that its easy to file back returns without penalty. You dont have to have all three years worth of requested returns if you didnt have a reason to file, for instance you didnt work during a tax year. If youre not currently employed, thats ok too as long as you have enough assets to meet the requirement. Your UKC spouses' UK based income cannot count towards the income / asset requirement if the income will not continue after you have moved to the US. However if any of the assets you wish to use are in your spouses' name only, you are free to use those as if they were your own.

So no need to panic. All of your assets in the US and UK are fine to use on the affidavit.

Hope that helps.
Sarah

PS: You might find this helpfull. I posted it a while ago with quite an extensive and longwinded section on the affidavit lol http://www.talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=3987.0

Actually, an asset is classified as ANY property or investment in any country, weather it is your residence or not. So if you do have a house in the USA, regardless of weather it is your home or will be, you can state it as an asset on your affidavit. You only need to show that the money is there for you if you need it and that you can access it within 12 months. You do NOT need to sell any of your assets in order to obtain the visa. Your property is yours to do what you like with at any time. Jemima, Im afraid I cant agree with your statement at all. Selling a house in the USA would not make you homeless - what does the government care weather you rent or own as long as youre not drawing off of welfare. An asset is an asset weather you live in it or not.

The thing is, if you have property in the US and that house is currently your "main residence", you shouldnt be filing through DCF anyway. Also, the USCIS or whatever theyre called these days, arent about to come checking up on you to make sure you sold your US property within 12 months of being issued the visa if you used it as an asset on your affidavit. Are they? I dont think so. They have better places to use their manpower.