Immigration Site

Hello,

Im a USC whos been living in France for over 8 years. I got married to a Frenchman 6 years ago here in France. Weve got job offers in the US with our current company although its only my husband whos going to accept while Im going to stop working for a while.

I keep reading the immigration web sites, but Im getting so confused.

From the US embassy in Paris, my husband will have to wait here in France until he gets the immigrant visa (petition I-130). But if we do apply, it will be because he has a job in the US with a work visa already. He will probably be required to go over there to work sometime before we get the visa. Will this be possible? I cant seem to find any information about applying for an immigrant visa from abroad when we already have a work visa. Im getting the feeling that my husband will not be able to take the work visa because of the immigrant visa application.

Also, the immigration website says that I must have a US address (or domicile) when submitting the petition, but I havent lived over there in over 10 years. Does this still apply when Im applying from abroad? We wont have a US address until we actually move. It seems like a chicken-and-egg thing.

Id really like to talk to someone about our particular situation (since it seems to be a rare case from what Im (not) finding on the web), but I dont know where to turn to. The US embassy in Paris just has a email address and they may or may not reply. They explicitly say not to call them for immigrant visa questions. Id be willing to talk to an immigration lawyer or something like that. Does that exist?

Also, for the proof of assets or income, can we simply use the equity we have in our home (which is around $400K), or will we need to show a work contract from the US?

Thanks a lot!

You can file directly with the U.S. embassy in France.

You can file directly with the U.S. embassy in France. Actually, that is the one thing that is very clear. All of my questions are about how to do it in my particular case.

What kind of work visa is it? If it is H1B or L1, he can go to work in the US with the visa ASAP and start working, and then pursue the green card entirely within the US (no immigrant visa involved) via the adjustment of status process.

However, if you (who will be the petitioner) stop working that complicates it a little bit. Normally the petitioner has to show sufficient income to support the both of you at 25% above the poverty line. If the visa is H1B or L1 he should be able to use his income instead of yours to satisfy the income requirements, but if his visa is something else like J1 that may be problematic.
Also, for the proof of assets or income, can we simply use the equity we have in our home (which is around $400K), or will we need to show a work contract from the US? You mean your French home? Using your current home (wherever it is) is iffy, but once you move out of that home and start living in the US you can definitely use the equity in the French home for the affidavit of support. Youll need a recent appraisal and proof that the outstanding loan amount is far enough below the appraised value.