Proving domicile when not living in the U.S.

[gad33 47]

based on my experience, the most important one is the employer's letter. Make sure that the interviewer sees it. When I had my interview, even though we had included the letter with NVC package, the interviewer was not going to look at what was in the file. From the get go it was you have to prove intent to re-establish domicile after her first statement that she hadn't looked at my file.

And make sure you know your SIL's address and the address where you will be staying. I don't know if they will like that you will be staying in a hotel but maybe with the job details it doesn't matter.

I hadn't realised that you were a same-sex couple, I am so happy/excited for you that you at last get a chance to live together in his country. Good luck for Monday.

[sean.law 2]

Hello!

Here is my situation...

Right now my fiance and I live in Canada. She has dual-citizenship (born in the US) but has lived in Canada for the past 25 years or so with few ties to the US. There is a new company that is opening in the US that I would like to work for in the next couple of years. I was hoping to get my green card before they open so I could apply for work and state that I have my green card and there's no need to sponsor me (thus making it more likely that I get the job).

Now, in light of all this domicile business, how do I go about this if I don't have any offers of employment? Because the way it looks is I want to move to the US, but only if I find a job there. What if I don't get the job? Then the US will have wasted a green card on me. I guess that's how they'll look at it anyway.

On top of this, it will be a job for myself - she is not likely to find a job (this new comnpany is opening in the middle of nowhere essentially) and is considering not working, having kids, etc. So she, the sponsor, will not have any income.

Anyway around this one without having the company sponsor me?

[canuckmoran 7]

Good morning everyone.

I just had a quick question. If my USC wife moves back to US for work after we file the I-864 under the guise of re-establishing domicile what happens? Do we need to resend the I-864?

[scottishlander 5]

Good morning everyone.

I just had a quick question. If my USC wife moves back to US for work after we file the I-864 under the guise of re-establishing domicile what happens? Do we need to resend the I-864?

No because you might be OK with the paperwork you sent in. It's possible the NVC will ask for more evidence and then you can update them on your situation.

[sean.law 2]

Well I feel like a complete ### asking the (naive) question I did before. Guess what, I've actually taken the time to read through this thread (26 pages and counting...) over the Christmas holidays. I appologize for my ignorance. To the rest of you, it is worth reading through this. Don't be a slacker and take the time to educate yourself, that way any remaining questions you have become relevant to this wonderful community (and yourself!). Moderators may delete that post of mine because it makes me blush but anyways...

My situation:

- USC lives in Canada and has been for her whole life.

- We are in love.

- We have dreams of living in Vermont.

- We are engaged but not yet married.

- We are willing to be separated (spouse can go to VT and find job).

- She has relatives in the US who can act as joint sponsors.

- We don't intend on pursuing this until the end of 2015.

My questions may seem a bit obvious but perhaps it wasn't clear in the previous posts.

Questions:

1) We are not yet married. Seeing as how we need to be married in order to go through this process (CR-1) I figure the sooner the better. However, as we do not mind being separated (our love is deep), it is possible that she finds a US job, moves to the US, and we could go through another visa route (K-1 for example). In this situation (she is domiciled in the US with a job), is their any advantage to going the K-1 route over CR-1? Ease of and less time in processing is advantageous. My feel is CR-1 is the best choice.

2) If my spouse finds a job in VT, how long before I start filing? It's my understanding that I can begin immediately. However, come the interview with Montreal, is it to our benefit if she had been working there for some period of time? 1 month, 3 months, and so on? I figure proof of her employment (a pay stub, letter of employment) will suffice and the length of time is not so important.

3) It seems like *proving domicile* vs *proving re-establishment of domicile* have different impacts on the Montreal consulate. It's my understanding (over the past 6 years of this thread) that you're better off being granted the visa in a situation where you can *prove domicile*, ie the USC lives in and is employed in the US. I'm just stating that. If there's anything incorrect about that thinking please let me know. I want to set up our situation so there are no denials of the visa after the interview.

4) I understand that opening a US bank account is a good thing. She has her SSN and has an address she can use in the US. We were planning on using RBC since that is where our current Canadian banking is done. Is there any problem in using this "Canadian" bank? Is this simply not "American" enough for the consulate? I recall reading that it's not enough to have a Canadian "funds" account based in a Canadian bank, but to have a complete US account. I assume RBC offers this as they have banks set up in the US.

5) I am the immigrant. I do not need to establish that I am cutting ties with Canada, I do not need to show that I've quit my current job, etc. It's the responsibility of the sponsor, correct? So I can keep my job while my spouse is gallivanting in VT.

6) Can someone offer more information on a joint sponsor? This is more for *proving re-establishment of domicle*. The USC has relatives who live in VT who fit the profile of a sponsor. In the event that the USC doesn't want to move to the US, get a job (and follow the *prove domicile* route), we have the option of a joint sponsor. Are we able to use a joint sponsor if the USC is not working, or domiciled in the US? In other words, is the joint sponsor meant to supplement income for the sponsor, or does s/he take on the whole burden?

7) We're currently going back to Montreal/Ottawa soon for a trip. Is there anything that can be done in these places that could help us out later on? Thinking of getting my criminal record check in Ottawa, but I'm assuming this can be done through mail.

I still have much to read and hope I'm not too ignorant this round!

[sean.law 2]

I really hate that there's a time limit on edits. I made some errors that took me some time to fix only to find out that I can't! Frustrating...

Anyways, just clarification on question 6 which seems to be the most important (in bold)...

6) Can someone offer more information on a joint sponsor? This is more for *proving re-establishment of domicle*. The USC has relatives who live in VT who fit the profile of a sponsor. In the event that the USC doesn't want to move to the US, get a job (and follow the *prove domicile* route), we have the option of a joint sponsor. Are we able to use a joint sponsor if the USC is not working, or domiciled in the US? In other words, is the joint sponsor meant to supplement income for the sponsor, or does s/he take on the whole burden? I feel like I'm missing something here, because any USC with a somewhat wealthy friend/relative can be used as a joint sponsor for the immigrant. Seems too easy. Admittedly this is something I need to research further but I thought I'd ask as it wasn't previously addressed much in this thread. Do we need to use the joint sponsor's address, live with them, or anything else like this?

ALSO wanted to says thanks to trailmix for all his/her efforts. All those updates were wonderful!!

[sean.law 2]

Damn. Another edit...Might be confusing otherwise, sorry!

Question 4 in bold...

4) I understand that opening a US bank account is a good thing. She has her SSN and has an address she can use in the US. We were planning on using RBC since that is where our current Canadian banking is done. Is there any problem in using this "Canadian" bank? Is this simply not "American" enough for the consulate? I recall reading that it's not enough to have a AMERICAN "funds" account based in a Canadian bank, but to have a complete US account. I assume RBC offers this as they have banks set up in the US.

Edited January 3, 2015 by sean.laub

[scottishlander 5]

I really hate that there's a time limit on edits. I made some errors that took me some time to fix only to find out that I can't! Frustrating...

Anyways, just clarification on question 6 which seems to be the most important (in bold)...

6) Can someone offer more information on a joint sponsor? This is more for *proving re-establishment of domicle*. The USC has relatives who live in VT who fit the profile of a sponsor. In the event that the USC doesn't want to move to the US, get a job (and follow the *prove domicile* route), we have the option of a joint sponsor. Are we able to use a joint sponsor if the USC is not working, or domiciled in the US? In other words, is the joint sponsor meant to supplement income for the sponsor, or does s/he take on the whole burden? I feel like I'm missing something here, because any USC with a somewhat wealthy friend/relative can be used as a joint sponsor for the immigrant. Seems too easy. Admittedly this is something I need to research further but I thought I'd ask as it wasn't previously addressed much in this thread. Do we need to use the joint sponsor's address, live with them, or anything else like this?

ALSO wanted to says thanks to trailmix for all his/her efforts. All those updates were wonderful!!

The joint sponsor is needed when the USC petitioner does not have enough US-sourced income. Each sponsor must individually meet the poverty guidelines for their own household.

You do not need to live with the joint sponsor.

The joint sponsor does not remove the need for the USC petitioner to re-establish domicile. The USC pet. still has to move to the US before or when the immigrant does.

Damn. Another edit...Might be confusing otherwise, sorry!

Question 4 in bold...

4) I understand that opening a US bank account is a good thing. She has her SSN and has an address she can use in the US. We were planning on using RBC since that is where our current Canadian banking is done. Is there any problem in using this "Canadian" bank? Is this simply not "American" enough for the consulate? I recall reading that it's not enough to have a AMERICAN "funds" account based in a Canadian bank, but to have a complete US account. I assume RBC offers this as they have banks set up in the US.

RBC has a real US bank account that you can open from Canada.

Edited January 3, 2015 by scottishlander

[goinbackintime 0]

The joint sponsor is needed when the USC petitioner does not have enough US-sourced income. Each sponsor must individually meet the poverty guidelines for their own household.

If the USC petitioner hasn't been employed in the last 5 years, but has $80k cash in her US account. Is it possible that they may still not accept that as enough and require us to find a co-sponsor? .... that would be very painful if the proof of cash is not enough for them.

Edited January 5, 2015 by goinbackintime

[scottishlander 5]

If the USC petitioner hasn't been employed in the last 5 years, but has $80k cash in her US account. Is it possible that they may still not accept that as enough and require us to find a co-sponsor? .... that would be very painful if the proof of cash is not enough for them.

The instructions say you need 5x the assets in lieu of the required income.

[goinbackintime 0]

oh, so you mean its 5 times the 125% of poverty limit?

That means she needs to have 15730*125%*5, thats $98000. We can transfer another 20k into her account and that would make her cash sufficient, yes? without requiring us to go asking relatives to co-sopnsor us.

[scottishlander 5]

oh, so you mean its 5 times the 125% of poverty limit?

That means she needs to have 15730*125%*5, thats $98000. We can transfer another 20k into her account and that would make her cash sufficient, yes? without requiring us to go asking relatives to co-sopnsor us.

The poverty limit for a household of 2 is $19,662.

5 * 19662 would meet the requirement.

You really need to read the instructions!

Edited January 5, 2015 by scottishlander

[goinbackintime 0]

Thanks for the info scottishlander. I will transfer some more of our savings into her US account.

I looked on the web, it says poverty limit for 2 persons is 15,730 for the 48 states, but its 19660 in Alaska, and 18090 in Hawaii. Since we're not going to either Alaska or Hawaii, So, we arrive at $19662 by (15730 * 125% = $19662)

correct?

[scottishlander 5]

Thanks for the info scottishlander. I will transfer some more of our savings into her US account.

I looked on the web, it says poverty limit for 2 persons is 15,730 for the 48 states, but its 19660 in Alaska, and 18090 in Hawaii. Since we're not going to either Alaska or Hawaii, So, we arrive at $19662 by (15730 * 125% = $19662)

correct?

Yes! I was already including the 25% bump.

You may meet the requirements and get your I-864 approved. The consulate officer will probably still want to see one of you with a job.

Edited January 5, 2015 by scottishlander

[goinbackintime 0]

reading the instructions, seems to say that I need 3xtimes poverty, not 5 times.

Please see this:

10. Total Value of Assets.

In order to qualify based on the value of your assets, the total value of your assets must equal at least five times the difference between your total household income and the current poverty guidelines for your household size. However, if you are a U.S. citizen and you are sponsoring your spouse or minor child, the total value of your assets must only be equal to at least three times the difference. If the intending immigrant is an alien orphan who will be adopted in the United States after the alien orphan acquires permanent residence, and who will, as a result, acquire citizenship under section 320 of the Act, the total value of your assets need only equal the difference.

Example of How to Use Assets: If you are petitioning for a parent and the poverty line for your household size is $22,062 and your current income is $18,062, the difference between your current income and the poverty line is $4,000. In order for assets to help you qualify, the combination of your assets, plus the assets of any household member who is signing Form I-864A, plus any available assets of the sponsored immigrant, would have to equal five times this difference (5 x $4,000). In this case, you would meet the income requirements if the net value of the assets equaled at least $20,000.

By reading the above, it seems to say 19662x3=$58986

anybody want to throw in their 2 cents please.