Help!! Turned down for filing in London...Has this happened to you?

[bunsk2007 0]

Has anyone having their Embassy Interview during this last week been in this situation ?!

US/UK married couple, living in UK, decide to move back together to US where USC mother lives......

USC files for UKC at London Embassy, petition is approved.

UKC files their part, all seems to go well until interview at London Embassy when the USC is told -I think I have this all correct- that

she is not (regarded as) a USC because she is living in the UK, even though she has birth cert. etc to proove it...

Embassy goes on to say that the USC should already be resident in the US and filing in the US on behalf of their partner...

I have just read this on another forum- it appears to have happened today. I was hoping this poster was also on this forum but having looked, can't find her here.

** To the lady who posted this!! I can't find you on this forum. I hope you don't mind me posting about you! **

I am trying to see if this has happened to anyone else- even the US spouse's US immigration lawyers in London are baffled and have not seen this happen before! They can't understand why the US spouse's petition was approved, if they are now saying she filed incorrectly.

Someone has posted a reply to this USC saying they wonder if the problem is that the sponsor to her UKC husband is resident in the US- he's wondering if the petitioner has to file in the same country that the sponsor is in?

I am nervous now- my interview is on Monday!

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

That sounds really odd, and probably there is some info missing here. There are tons of us DCF folk here (myself included) who did this successfully with few, if any, hitches.

The only thing I could think of was if the USC wasn't actually resident in the UK and therefore not eligible for DCF? But surely this would be caught at the I-130 stage. I mean, a USC is a USC is a USC -- how could she not be regarded as a USC just because she lives abroad?

Sponsors must be USC's, which pretty much means that most of the time the sponsor will be in the US, hence in a different country than where the DCF is taking place. In my case, our joint sponsor was my mom, who lives in Connecticut. My husband and I lived in the UK. No problems.

Seriously, I wouldn't worry too much about this. Keep an eye on the discussion to see if there are any issues that make that case out of the ordinary. You are going to be just fine!

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Okay, I just read the thread on the other forum. I'm not a member there, so I'm not going to barge in. It does sound really, really weird about them questioning citizenship when the USC could adduce a lot of evidence.

IMO, the big issue looks like proving domicile. The USC didn't prove this adequately, and maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it looked like she wrote that her domicile was in the UK and not the US. In order to get approval, the USC must must must have US domicile and be able to prove it. The IO's sounded like idiots by saying the USC must move before the UKC (utter rubbish), but there wasn't enough evidence.

I said it in another thread earlier this week, but I really recommend compiling a "domicile dossier" for DCF folk in London -- stuff like US bank account statements, up to date US driver's licence, mail that gets sent to you in the US, perhaps proof you're looking for a job in America, a letter from your parents/landlord/whatever in the US saying you have a place lined up to live, a letter from your UK work saying you have resigned, and a letter from yourself to the Embassy outlining all the steps you have taken to establish domicile.

This is very weird indeed, but I think you can cover your azz, bunsk, if you can get some of this together.

[Lansbury 19]

Okay, I just read the thread on the other forum. I'm not a member there, so I'm not going to barge in. It does sound really, really weird about them questioning citizenship when the USC could adduce a lot of evidence.

Could you point me whatever forum it is. I've been advising someone on here about the issue of domicile for DCF and the fact that the London Embassy don't look to hard at it. If that is now not the case I need to amend my advice to this person.

[rebeccajo 14]

Look for posts by the member 'saywhat'.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Is the person in question a dual UK/US citizen?

[no name 1]

If the lawyers are baffled & got her into this mess, I'd suggest new lawyers ASAP!

[bunsk2007 0]

Thanks for the replies...

Lansbury, the forum is DiveIntoAmerica and the link for this particular topic is

http://forum.diveintoamerica.com/showthrea...57124#post57124

Rebbacjo, where do i search for posts by 'saywhat'- just in the search box at the top of the page? I tried that and nothing came up.

Elmcitymaven- I'm going to try to add more to the 'domicile dossier', yes.

Proof of leaving Job

DH can't provide proof that he resigned his job- what actually happened was that he was only 3 months into a new job, and got written off for two weeks becuase of illness. During that 2 weeks we went to the US to look at houses, schools, and for him to have job interviews. When we got back there was aletter waiting saying the company were giving him one months notice and terminationg his employment. He wasn't bothered of course becuase he would be leaving anyway. But this letter would not prove his intending to leave his job in advance of his move to the US.

Proof of Giving Up Rented

This is what he has so far, to prove his ties to the US:

he has a US bank account, that he's had for either 1 or 2 years (it has only recently been actively used though)

he opened a 2nd bank account last week

he has a US drivers licence

he is registered to vote (at his parents address)

So we can take his voters registration form, his bank statements, the written offer he made on the house, and I think we brought back letters that had been sent to him at his parents address....

In addition,

he has 4 interviews lined up when he goes back to the US next week for 5 days

we put an offer in on a house we want to purchase- we have this offer in writing, but the negotiations are still ongoing so we don't -yet- have a house! But he is hoping to move this along next week.

School Registration

We have chosen the school but were told we couldn't register them until we could proove we were living in the district.

I have been so careful to check we were doing everything right!!

My concerns are-

1/will they say my mother-in-law can't co-sponsor me because my husband is 'not an american citizen/ proving domicile'?!!

2/we- I think, I'll check in a minute- put on the I-130 dh's place of residence as the UK. Was that the wrong thing to put???

How could we have put his place of residence was the US, when it needed to be the UK in order to file at the US Embassy?

Oh boy . Am getting myself worked up now! Thanks for the replies so far.

[Lansbury 19]

Having read the other thread one thing jumps out at me.

The visa applicant told the Embassy staff the USC wasn't domiciled in the USA. That IMHO was a pretty stupid statement to make and one which the Embassy staff have to take note off. Especially as domicile is required.

They take a pretty lenient view of what being domiciled is. My wife hadn't lived in the US for 10 years but had an Oregon driving licence with our sons address on it. They didn't even ask to see it. But if they are told the USC isn't domiciled what are they supposed to do.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Has anyone having their Embassy Interview during this last week been in this situation ?!

US/UK married couple, living in UK, decide to move back together to US where USC mother lives......

USC files for UKC at London Embassy, petition is approved.

UKC files their part, all seems to go well until interview at London Embassy when the USC is told -I think I have this all correct- that

she is not (regarded as) a USC because she is living in the UK, even though she has birth cert. etc to proove it...

Embassy goes on to say that the USC should already be resident in the US and filing in the US on behalf of their partner...

I have just read this on another forum- it appears to have happened today. I was hoping this poster was also on this forum but having looked, can't find her here.

** To the lady who posted this!! I can't find you on this forum. I hope you don't mind me posting about you! **

I am trying to see if this has happened to anyone else- even the US spouse's US immigration lawyers in London are baffled and have not seen this happen before! They can't understand why the US spouse's petition was approved, if they are now saying she filed incorrectly.

Someone has posted a reply to this USC saying they wonder if the problem is that the sponsor to her UKC husband is resident in the US- he's wondering if the petitioner has to file in the same country that the sponsor is in?

I am nervous now- my interview is on Monday!

Use search term "domicile" and research what is required to demonstrate.

[bunsk2007 0]

Having read the other thread one thing jumps out at me.

The visa applicant told the Embassy staff the USC wasn't domiciled in the USA. That IMHO was a pretty stupid statement to make and one which the Embassy staff have to take note off. Especially as domicile is required.

They take a pretty lenient view of what being domiciled is. My wife hadn't lived in the US for 10 years but had an Oregon driving licence with our sons address on it. They didn't even ask to see it. But if they are told the USC isn't domiciled what are they supposed to do.

Lansbury, I don't understand this....

In my case, On the I-160, I think that dh said he was domicile in the UK. How could he be applying through the London Embassy, if he wasn't domicile in the UK?? If he was domicile in the US he would have to apply out there, right?!

[Lansbury 19]

Having read the other thread one thing jumps out at me.

The visa applicant told the Embassy staff the USC wasn't domiciled in the USA. That IMHO was a pretty stupid statement to make and one which the Embassy staff have to take note off. Especially as domicile is required.

They take a pretty lenient view of what being domiciled is. My wife hadn't lived in the US for 10 years but had an Oregon driving licence with our sons address on it. They didn't even ask to see it. But if they are told the USC isn't domiciled what are they supposed to do.

Lansbury, I don't understand this....

In my case, On the I-160, I think that dh said he was domicile in the UK. How could he be applying through the London Embassy, if he wasn't domicile in the UK?? If he was domicile in the US he would have to apply out there, right?!

You can be living in two places for the purposes of DCF via London. The USC must have permanent leave to remain (is it still called that) in the UK to file the I-130. When it gets to the UK spouse applying for the visa the USC spouse must be domiciled in the US to act as the sponsor.

The US Embassy in London seems to take quite a lenient view of domicile. As long as the USC can show ties to a US address they seem happy to accept this. They don't insist the USC is physically in the US just as long as they can show domicile.

Do what these people seem to have done by their own account, deny the USC was domiciled in the US and you have rather backed the US Consular Officer up against a wall.

[Lansbury 19]

By the way in order for the non citizen spouse to enter using the visa the USC does have to be in the US. So for example the non citizen should not travel to the US before the USC spouse for some reason. Together is OK or the USC before the non citizen.

[Lansbury 19]

he has a US bank account, that he's had for either 1 or 2 years (it has only recently been actively used though)

he opened a 2nd bank account last week

he has a US drivers licence

he is registered to vote (at his parents address)

He is domiciled in the US as far as the visa is concerned. This is more than what is need to be satisfactory.

His US domicile is his parents address as it is where he is registered to vote and I take it on his driving licence as well.

For domicile think this. It is his address in the US which he intends to return to. His address in the UK is a temporary address which he lives at until he exercises his intention to return to his permanent address (his domicile) in the US.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

My concerns are-

1/will they say my mother-in-law can't co-sponsor me because my husband is 'not an american citizen/ proving domicile'?!!

2/we- I think, I'll check in a minute- put on the I-130 dh's place of residence as the UK. Was that the wrong thing to put???

How could we have put his place of residence was the US, when it needed to be the UK in order to file at the US Embassy?

Oh boy . Am getting myself worked up now! Thanks for the replies so far.

1. Unlikely.

2. As Lansbury says, it only becomes an issue at the Embassy. On the I-130 and G-325a, my address was in North London. On the I-864, my mailing address was in North London but my "Place of Residence" was my parents' house in Connecticut. Domicile was USA.

Always, always, ALWAYS make sure that your domicile is listed as USA and you can prove it, even with just a few pieces of paper. (bunsk, you have WAY more proof than I did!)

For domicile think this. It is his address in the US which he intends to return to. His address in the UK is a temporary address which he lives at until he exercises his intention to return to his permanent address (his domicile) in the US.

Exactly! Well stated.