Hello -starting the IR-1/CR-1 journey

[nessieness 6]

Hi all,

I'm a German citizen and permanent resident of New Zealand, and my husband is a USC and permanent resident of NZ. We got married in the US a little over 5 years ago when I was an F-1 student there. We initially filed for AOS to permanent resident for me, but abandoned the application because DH accepted a job in NZ and we moved here (2008). DH has now accepted an offer for a job back in the US, starting Jan 1, 2014. I've just sent in the I-130 package to the Chicago lockbox and received the email that it was sent to the NBC and was given a receipt number.

I've been trying to read up on what the next steps are, but was wondering if any of you could clarify a few things. Please forgive me if the answers are hidden in plain sight, my head is kind of spinning from reading everything tonight.

1. It looks like the K3 process is a waste of time/money. Should we skip this step? I tried to find the processing times at the NBC for I-130s, but couldn't find any answers. I'm very anxious to receive the visa before my husband leaves for the US in Dec, because we have two small children that would have to stay behind with me until the visa is approved.

2. Any tips for filing the Affidavit of Support from a USC who intends to re-establish domicile in the US? We have a checking account and a credit card in the US (using my MIL's address), and DH has a current driver's license from when we lived in the US for 6 months in 2012, but it's not from the state we plan to move to. DH's parents also live in the city we intend to move to. Would this be enough evidence to show intend to re-establish domicile in the US? Should we supply pay stubs from his current job in NZ and/or NZ tax returns to prove his current.

3. I was looking at LingChe's shortcut for NVC processing, but it seems to be geared toward applications where the petitioner is based in the US. Can/should the shortcut still be used when the USC is living abroad?

Thanks for any info/advice!


-

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

1. Yes, ignore the K3 stuff

2. Your mixing up Affadavit of support and re-establishing domicile, they are not the same. What you have listed, plus the job offer, is enough to show wanting to re-establish domicile. However, it does NOT count for the affadavit of support, because only current and ongoing income counts, a job offer is not good enough. Your husband will need to sponsor you on assets (x3 income needed for your household), or find a co-sponsor.

[nessieness 6]

1. Yes, ignore the K3 stuff

2. Your mixing up Affadavit of support and re-establishing domicile, they are not the same. What you have listed, plus the job offer, is enough to show wanting to re-establish domicile. However, it does NOT count for the affadavit of support, because only current and ongoing income counts, a job offer is not good enough. Your husband will need to sponsor you on assets (x3 income needed for your household), or find a co-sponsor.

Thanks for your reponse. So we can't use his current income in NZ or the income attached to the job offer for AOS?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

No because the NZ income won't continue in the USA, when it may be needed, and the job offer income hasn't happen yet (unless the interview happens after the job starts, which is possible, if you only just sent the I-130 in the last couple of weeks).