Immigration and Bankruptcy
July 20, 2010 10:08 AM Subscribe
Will filing bankruptcy (UK) affect my chances of being granted a spousal visa?
YANML, etc. I have a petition in for a spousal visa, sponsored by my US wife, to go live in the US. I am also on the hook in the UK, my home country, from a high court for debts accrued -- a guy visited me today and got me to agree to a payment plan, while also surveying my parents' (staying with them temporarily) possessions, in case it comes to levying them. (Not sure if my jargon is 100% there, basically they want to repo stuff if I can't pay.) He warned me that if I miss a payment, I'll default and they'll either start taking away my stuff or I'll have to file bankruptcy. Since I don't really own anything they can take away, and I'm not likely to make my payments, I find myself in a bit of a bind. My wife has offered to help me cover payments, but I owe an awful lot of money and she can't cover it all, and she really shouldn't be on the hook for my debts anyway, we're not even living together yet. I've been looking for work for 3 months and have gotten pretty much nowhere. I finally scored a job interview, for a job I'd actually enjoy doing against all odds last week and heard yesterday that I'd been turned down, which really took the wind out of my sails. I haven't given up, but my optimism is waning.
And so I start considering my options. It may not be the "right" thing to do, but leaving the country permanently in what will hopefully be less than 6 months makes declaring bankruptcy seem like an awfully convenient option. It's not the best idea, but it's certainly the easiest.
If I file, will it affect my chances of getting my visa? Will the effects of it carry over to the US in any way? My wife seems to think neither of these will present a problem, but I'm not even sure where I'd start looking for that kind of information. The way I see it, they're going to look at my application and see either a guy with a bunch of debt he has no ability to pay, and hasn't made much headway in paying in the meantime, or a guy that's officially bankrupt. I have no idea which is worse, frankly. Which is worse?
I've been pretty lazy and irresponsible in the past, and it's biting me in the ass now. I need to get as much straight as possible, as fast as possible, so that I can a) make sure nothing stops me being granted a visa, and b) leave the country in the best shape possible. I have no issue with delaying my move to the US if it means making progress to getting "clean" here, but we can't afford to re-do the visa petition, so I'm trying to be careful in what I do. Any advice?
YANML, etc. I have a petition in for a spousal visa, sponsored by my US wife, to go live in the US. I am also on the hook in the UK, my home country, from a high court for debts accrued -- a guy visited me today and got me to agree to a payment plan, while also surveying my parents' (staying with them temporarily) possessions, in case it comes to levying them. (Not sure if my jargon is 100% there, basically they want to repo stuff if I can't pay.) He warned me that if I miss a payment, I'll default and they'll either start taking away my stuff or I'll have to file bankruptcy. Since I don't really own anything they can take away, and I'm not likely to make my payments, I find myself in a bit of a bind. My wife has offered to help me cover payments, but I owe an awful lot of money and she can't cover it all, and she really shouldn't be on the hook for my debts anyway, we're not even living together yet. I've been looking for work for 3 months and have gotten pretty much nowhere. I finally scored a job interview, for a job I'd actually enjoy doing against all odds last week and heard yesterday that I'd been turned down, which really took the wind out of my sails. I haven't given up, but my optimism is waning.
And so I start considering my options. It may not be the "right" thing to do, but leaving the country permanently in what will hopefully be less than 6 months makes declaring bankruptcy seem like an awfully convenient option. It's not the best idea, but it's certainly the easiest.
If I file, will it affect my chances of getting my visa? Will the effects of it carry over to the US in any way? My wife seems to think neither of these will present a problem, but I'm not even sure where I'd start looking for that kind of information. The way I see it, they're going to look at my application and see either a guy with a bunch of debt he has no ability to pay, and hasn't made much headway in paying in the meantime, or a guy that's officially bankrupt. I have no idea which is worse, frankly. Which is worse?
I've been pretty lazy and irresponsible in the past, and it's biting me in the ass now. I need to get as much straight as possible, as fast as possible, so that I can a) make sure nothing stops me being granted a visa, and b) leave the country in the best shape possible. I have no issue with delaying my move to the US if it means making progress to getting "clean" here, but we can't afford to re-do the visa petition, so I'm trying to be careful in what I do. Any advice?
IANAL but isn't it your wife who needs to be solvent to sponsor your visa? I can't see anything in particular in the documents you need to immigrate to the US that refers to your solvency. You should contact an immigration attorney in the US for more specific advice about whether your bankruptcy would affect your emigration.
For general advice in the UK as to whether it would be better to go bankrupt or find some other solution to your debt problems, you should contact the Citizens Advice Bureau. You probably shouldn't tell your creditors that you intend to leave the country, or they might make you bankrupt whether you want it or not.
posted by plonkee at 10:36 AM on July 20, 2010
For general advice in the UK as to whether it would be better to go bankrupt or find some other solution to your debt problems, you should contact the Citizens Advice Bureau. You probably shouldn't tell your creditors that you intend to leave the country, or they might make you bankrupt whether you want it or not.
posted by plonkee at 10:36 AM on July 20, 2010
Check if your wife can do so-called Consulate Filing through US Consulate in UK. My wife did that for me through consulate in Helsinki and the whole process took less than 3 weeks and I had my green card. In my experience it was more about her ability to support me at twice of the official poverty line level, than my financial situation.
Consulate Filing isn't an option everywhere, but it's very easy as the Conditional Permanent Resident Status (i.e. Green Card) is issued before you enter US.
posted by zeikka at 10:54 AM on July 20, 2010
Consulate Filing isn't an option everywhere, but it's very easy as the Conditional Permanent Resident Status (i.e. Green Card) is issued before you enter US.
posted by zeikka at 10:54 AM on July 20, 2010
The spousal visa process places the onus on the sponsoring spouse (i.e. your wife) to prove his/her ability to support both of you (and any children) in the US so that you don't become a 'public charge'. The sponsored party (i.e. you) has to satisfy the criminal background check and health exam. Direct consular filing may be an option for you if she's a UK resident right now: it's faster and as zeikka says, gives conditional permanent resident status when you enter the US, sparing you the extra bureaucracy of work authorisation and adjusting status.
There are restrictions on declaring bankruptcy in the UK once you've been abroad for three years, and extra costs if you do it from abroad within that period, so the pragmatic choice might be to get it over and done with before you start establishing a credit history in the USA. If you run into trouble with repayments while you're in the US, there's the chance that your UK debts could be sold on to American collectors, and the archives suggest that's not much fun.
posted by holgate at 11:04 AM on July 20, 2010
There are restrictions on declaring bankruptcy in the UK once you've been abroad for three years, and extra costs if you do it from abroad within that period, so the pragmatic choice might be to get it over and done with before you start establishing a credit history in the USA. If you run into trouble with repayments while you're in the US, there's the chance that your UK debts could be sold on to American collectors, and the archives suggest that's not much fun.
posted by holgate at 11:04 AM on July 20, 2010
USCIS/ICE do not give a crap about your financial status. They would only care if somehow this developed to the point of criminal charges against you.
Will it carry over? Creditors in the UK might be able to pursue you through the US court system, but it will be more expensive for them to do so.
You will probably (but not with certainty) find that once you are in the US, your financial history abroad becomes irrelevant, and that you'll be treated more or less the same as an 18 year old with no history. Usually this bites people on the ass -- their sterling credit in the US disappears -- but in your case it might be to your advantage. In a related matter, you can expect your car insurance to be quite expensive because as far as they care, you'll be a new driver.
Check if your wife can do so-called Consulate Filing through US Consulate in UK.
She can't, unless she's resident in the UK (IIRC with leave to remain).
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:20 AM on July 20, 2010
Will it carry over? Creditors in the UK might be able to pursue you through the US court system, but it will be more expensive for them to do so.
You will probably (but not with certainty) find that once you are in the US, your financial history abroad becomes irrelevant, and that you'll be treated more or less the same as an 18 year old with no history. Usually this bites people on the ass -- their sterling credit in the US disappears -- but in your case it might be to your advantage. In a related matter, you can expect your car insurance to be quite expensive because as far as they care, you'll be a new driver.
Check if your wife can do so-called Consulate Filing through US Consulate in UK.
She can't, unless she's resident in the UK (IIRC with leave to remain).
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:20 AM on July 20, 2010
If you leave the country, will your parents be charged to pay your debts?
posted by Cranberry at 12:25 PM on July 20, 2010
posted by Cranberry at 12:25 PM on July 20, 2010
If you leave the country, will your parents be charged to pay your debts?
Shouldn't happen, unless they are guarantors or jointly liable in some other other way. High Court Enforcement officers shouldn't threaten to take goods they know belong to relatives either - your parents may be advised to get proof of ownership handy, or at least make a sworn inventory of their goods, to hand to any bailiff who is trying to levy on them. Jointly-owned goods aren't protected though - depending on their financial interest, the other owner's share of the proceeds would just be repaid to them after auction.
Getting a High Court warrant withdrawn is not straightforward, but you should at least get advice on what they legally can and can't do to you. And basically, if you had stuff a bailiff could take, it would likely be at risk in a bankruptcy anyway.
posted by wilko at 1:56 PM on July 20, 2010
Shouldn't happen, unless they are guarantors or jointly liable in some other other way. High Court Enforcement officers shouldn't threaten to take goods they know belong to relatives either - your parents may be advised to get proof of ownership handy, or at least make a sworn inventory of their goods, to hand to any bailiff who is trying to levy on them. Jointly-owned goods aren't protected though - depending on their financial interest, the other owner's share of the proceeds would just be repaid to them after auction.
Getting a High Court warrant withdrawn is not straightforward, but you should at least get advice on what they legally can and can't do to you. And basically, if you had stuff a bailiff could take, it would likely be at risk in a bankruptcy anyway.
posted by wilko at 1:56 PM on July 20, 2010
I'd naively say you should take U.K. bankruptcy over letting your wife pay anything.
Firstly, you've got high odds for ruining your marriage over financial shit, given your obviously different perspectives. all those troubles will skyrocket if you start off on the wrong foot. Do not underestimate this. You got into debt, she did not, that's a big indicator. You should try you best to start over in the U.S. by learning her financial lifestyle.
Secondly, any significant decrease in her account balances will hurt your chances for gaining & continuing the visa. There are people who pay U.S. citizens $10k+ for a marriage visa, but obviously U.S. citizens with assets would not risk fraud via divorce for $10k. So their time spent investigating your case depends largely upon your wife's assets.
Thirdly, you're just some chump who's stupidly got suckered into the bank's credit shenanigans. If more like you declared bankruptcy, the banks might actually shape up their behavior. You're doing British society a very indirect favor.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:33 PM on July 20, 2010
Firstly, you've got high odds for ruining your marriage over financial shit, given your obviously different perspectives. all those troubles will skyrocket if you start off on the wrong foot. Do not underestimate this. You got into debt, she did not, that's a big indicator. You should try you best to start over in the U.S. by learning her financial lifestyle.
Secondly, any significant decrease in her account balances will hurt your chances for gaining & continuing the visa. There are people who pay U.S. citizens $10k+ for a marriage visa, but obviously U.S. citizens with assets would not risk fraud via divorce for $10k. So their time spent investigating your case depends largely upon your wife's assets.
Thirdly, you're just some chump who's stupidly got suckered into the bank's credit shenanigans. If more like you declared bankruptcy, the banks might actually shape up their behavior. You're doing British society a very indirect favor.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:33 PM on July 20, 2010
In fact, a recent bankruptcy might even look better to the consulate than merely debts you're trying to pay off : debts might indicate you're deceptively marrying for financial reasons, but a bankruptcy is kinda an open & solved problem.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:43 PM on July 20, 2010
posted by jeffburdges at 5:43 PM on July 20, 2010
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2) If you've got a relative, particularly a spouse, who is a US citizen, getting a green card isn't that difficult. It can take a while--USCIS isn't known for its efficiency--but it's usually pretty much pro forma. The "alien relative" website is here, and you're wife will need to fill out the I-130.
3) The I-130 doesn't ask about bankruptcy.
posted by valkyryn at 10:27 AM on July 20, 2010