IR-1 from inside Brazil

[riovegas 0]

I am a USC that has been married to a Brazilian for the last 5 years. We originally met in Brazil, my wife later followed me to the US on a tourist visa. She stayed and applied for the green card from within the US. We received a letter that she was would be granted the card, however by this time we decided to move to Brazil. We have been living here for the past 4 years, and are now considering moving back to the US. Would there be any issue with her reapplying? If I understand correctly, I cannot do a Direct Consular Filing (DCF) from Brazil. From the consul website:

If the petitioner resides in a country where USCIS does not have a public counter presence, the Form I-130 must be filed with the USCIS Chicago Lockbox at one of the addresses below, unless the petitioner requests and is granted an exception based on one of the criteria described below:

Also, from the department of state:

Yes. As a U.S. sponsor/petitioner, you must maintain your principal residence (also called domicile) in the U.S., which is where you plan to live for the foreseeable future. Living in the U.S. is required for a U.S. sponsor to file the Affidavit of Support, with few exceptions. To learn more, review the Affidavit of Support (I-864 or I-864EZ) Instructions.

So, can I file from within Brazil via mail, or do I have to return to the US without my wife and file from there? Any help with this process would be awesome......

Thanks!

[oohpartiv 484]

You can stay in Brazil with your wife and file the I-130 through the mail by sending it to the Chicago Lockbox. I would send it through a courier though, so that you can track it and make sure it gets there. Please be advised, though, that if you decided to stay abroad with your wife while the petition is being processed, you will need to do some extra work at the NVC stage, including providing proof of domicile, and you'll probably need a joint sponsor for the AOS.

There are many USCs who filed from abroad here on VJ, including me. If you want to stay with your wife, you can. No need to head back to the States for the sole purpose of filing.

Edited April 15, 2013 by oohpartiv

[riovegas 0]

You can stay in Brazil with your wife and file the I-130 through the mail by sending it to the Chicago Lockbox. I would send it through a courier though, so that you can track it and make sure it gets there. Please be advised, though, that if you decided to stay abroad with your wife while the petition is being processed, you will need to do some extra work at the NVC stage, including providing proof of domicile, and you'll probably need a joint sponsor for the AOS.

There are many USCs who filed from abroad here on VJ, including me. If you want to stay with your wife, you can. No need to head back to the States for the sole purpose of filing.

Thanks for the reply! That does make things a lot easier. The state.gov site can be confusing. Does anyone know what they need as proof of domicile? If I tell them Ive been living in a foreign country, what do they expect us to have for a 'domicile' back home?

[oohpartiv 484]

Thanks for the reply! That does make things a lot easier. The state.gov site can be confusing. Does anyone know what they need as proof of domicile? If I tell them Ive been living in a foreign country, what do they expect us to have for a 'domicile' back home?

That's the hard part. You have to prove ties you have in the States. This could be anything from a mortgage or lease, to car insurance or title, voter registration, bank accounts, etc etc. If you look at the monthly NVC threads and read the first two posts, there are a bunch of ideas there. You won't need to do that until after the original I-130 petition is approved, so you have time.

[velrich 50]

Did she overstay when she visited on her tourist visa in the US when you filed the first petition?

[riovegas 0]

Did she overstay when she visited on her tourist visa in the US when you filed the first petition?

She did stay for more time than was permitted on her tourist visa. However we were told that she was granted some kind of temporary status because we were in the process of applying for her permanency. I dont remember what this provision was called. Is it possible for her to travel to the US with a tourist visa before or even after we have applied again for her green card?

[velrich 50]

I was thinking that she may have to apply for a waiver. You are correct that she would have been granted a reprieve since she was doing an adjustment of status.

I would take the chance and apply for the visitor's visa before filing the I-130. Good luck.