Legal Question in Immigration Law in Michigan

Re: wifes visa

First, we would need to know if you are a US Citizen or a US legal permanent resident. The K visa is an advance admission for the spouse and children of a U.S. citizen.

Assuming your relative qualifies for a K3 visa, you do not need to submit an affidavit of support at the time you file your Form I-129F petition, but you are going to need to submit it at the time your spouse adjusts status to permanent resident after coming to the United States. (You will need to submit an affidavit of support regardless of whether she comes to the US in advance with a K visa. The affidavit of support must be submitted in order for her to be able to adjust status.)

Immigration regulations indicate that if you are bringing a relative to live permanently in the United States, you must accept legal responsibility for financially supporting this family member and you must show that your income meets the poverty guidelines requirements.If the visa petitioner's household income is not sufficient to meet the requirements of INA section 213A and 8 C.F.R. � 213a, INA section 213A permits a joint sponsor to sign an affidavit of support, in addition to the affidavit of support signed by the visa petitioner. A joint sponsor is someone who is willing to accept legal responsibility for supporting your family member with you. A joint sponsor must meet all the same requirements as you, except the joint sponsor does not need to be related to the immigrant. The joint sponsor (or the joint sponsor and his or her household) must reach the 125 percent income requirement alone. You cannot combine your income with that of a joint sponsor to meet the income requirement.

You can check the approximate processing times for the I-130 at the USCIS website: www.cis.gov

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me to schedule an appointment at my office.

Good Luck!