I-864 for US Expat in India

[GoChicago 4]

Hello,

I'm a USC who's been living in India for the past 10 years, 8 of them as a student. Now I'm married and intend to return to the US with my Indian citizen wife. I already have two job offers in the US, and I have accepted one of them, it starts in June.

I intend to use the DCF route, and will file the I-130 for my wife at the USCIS office in New Delhi. I expect this part to be smooth as I have a job offer, as well as Bank Accounts, credit cards in the US and so should qualify for "Intent to re-establish domicile" as the sponsorship requirements.

The part I'm worried about is the I-864. Please correct me if I am wrong in interpreting any of this- I currently work in India, and whatever my Indian income will be, it will stop once I am in the US, so that cannot be considered. The job offer also cannot be considered as it is not my current income. So it seems I have no basis to use my current income on the I-864.

Based on this, I have narrowed it down to the point where I need either assets, or a joint sponsor.

1. My parents (USCs living in India) have deposits as well as a house in the US. They live in India, however, so can they serve as joint sponsors? Can the house in the US qualify for them to be domiciled in the states?

2. Another option is if my parents transferred some cash / deposits in my name in the US, would I then be able to be the single sponsor, using assets to qualify?

3. I own real estate with my parents in India (it is jointly owned). Can that be used as my assets (maybe with an I-864A from my parents?)

4. I guess the last option is for me to file the I-130 before leaving for the States, and then submit whatever paystubs I have by the time of my wife's interview, (3-4 months' worth)

I would love for my wife to accompany me on my return to the US, but if that is not possible, I would like to keep the time apart to a minimum. Please let me know the best option from your experiences!

Thanks!

[lost_at_sea 995]

1. No. Sponsors must be in the US (as well as USC/LPR & over 18). They live in India, so it sounds like they don't have US domicile anymore, even if they have property there. How much of the year are they out of the US? Joint sponsors don't have to be family, by the way.

2. Maybe. It might look suspect to an interviewing officer that you've only had the funds in your account a short while. If for just you and your wife, you'd need around $60,000.

3. You'd have to have the value appraised and calculate the equity. The joint ownership may be a problem, but perhaps an affidavit to state you can sell the house, and your stake in it, would help. Not sure, though. Hopefully someone else will chip in on this and #2.

4. You may need to do this anyway. Google "I-864 instructions" to get the PDF, then read the section on domicile (i.e. active residency) in the US. You need one or have evidence of a good-faith effort to reestablish one. This is required whether you use a joint sponsor or not. EDIT: sorry, missed your paragraph that covered this. Sounds good!

Have you been filing your US tax returns?

Edited January 3, 2014 by lost_at_sea

[GoChicago 4]

Hi lost_at_sea,

Thanks for getting back.

How much of the year are they out of the US?

Almost all of it.. They visit every year for about a month to manage the property.

It might look suspect to an interviewing officer that you've only had the funds in your account a short while

Does it matter how long the funds are present in the account? Since they cannot be removed from my account without my permission.

Have you been filing your US tax returns?

I have not been filing them because as per the instructions on 1040, I am exempt from filing because my income is below the minimum required to file ($10,000). Still, I will file my first return this year anyway.

It's strange how difficult it is for Expats to do this, where as someone on an H-1 or F-1 could easily get a dependent visa I guess I could go via the Filing int the states + K-3 visa route which doesn't require an I-864, only a I-134, (I'd qualify for I-864 by the time of AOS) but then I'd have to lose out on the faster processing advantage of DCF. Any suggestions to keep the time apart to a minimum?

Edited January 3, 2014 by rsprabhu

[razspaz13 30]

g'day reading with interest

great that your job starts in June, that to me will limit the time you will have apart

we have lived overseas for 14 yrs and made the decision to wait it out together overseas for a variety of reasons, each of us certainly has our own unique circumstances

I think it is great that you have a solid job offer waiting for you, hopefully your time apart may only be 3 or 4 months?!

cheers

[GoChicago 4]

g'day reading with interest

great that your job starts in June, that to me will limit the time you will have apart

we have lived overseas for 14 yrs and made the decision to wait it out together overseas for a variety of reasons, each of us certainly has our own unique circumstances

I think it is great that you have a solid job offer waiting for you, hopefully your time apart may only be 3 or 4 months?!

cheers

Yes, but being newly married even that is a lot . Hopefully 3-4 months if I finish the DCF a couple weeks before my job starts and then it takes about 2-3 months for IR-1 processing, will submit 3 months of paystubs and try that way.

Still, would love it if the other options work out... as this is a last resort. Sucks that in spite of my parents having assets just lying there, I may be unable to use them simply because they are not domiciled in the States!

[GoChicago 4]

For those following this thread, here's an update:

My wife had her CR-1 interview today and was approved.

My AOS was as follows:

I-864 for me (USC Petitioner living in India):

• Tax return & Transcript for 2013
• Letter showing exemption for previous 2 years
• Income: Offer Letter for $90K (which I had accepted)
• Assets: $10,000 worth in cash and deposits in India
• Domicile - Bank Account ($300 balance), Credit Card opened 1 yr prior
• 2 more offers for $100K and $85K (which I did not accept)

I-864 for father (USC living in India)

• Tax transcripts for last 3 years
• $100K in deposits in US
• $150K value of house in US (Title / sale deed)
• Domicile: License, Bank Account, House, Credit Card

I-864A for mother (zero income assets split with father)

They took both mine and father's AOS, but CO did not even look at his AOS. Just examined the offer I had accepted carefully. Didn't ask for original (though we had it ready). Also Googled the name of the recruiter on another one of the offers to make sure it was genuine. Then smiled and said, congrats, the Visa is approved.

So- Seems that Visa CAN be approved on petitioner's job offer alone (though having multiple job offers might have helped), and likely without any joint sponsor.

[GoChicago 4]

So- Seems that Visa CAN be approved on petitioner's job offer alone (though having multiple job offers might have helped), and likely without any joint sponsor.

Hi,

Today we received the Passport with visa stamp and Mysterious Brown Envelope (MBE). MBE has a corner cut open (deliberately by the Consular Staff, there is a sheet outside the envelope stapled to the sheets inside through the open corner). I was able to peek in from there and noticed:

At the top of the I-864 there is a "For office use" area:

• My I-864 was marked "Petitoner" and "DOES NOT MEET the requirements"
• Father's was marked "1st Joint Sponsor" and "MEETS the requirements"

Further, all the documents I had presented along with my affidavit were returned and Father's were kept.

Hence, the earlier assumption that job offer alone will suffice for income may not hold true. I would recommend a joint sponsor in such cases.

However, joint sponsor residing outside of US seems OK.

Edited April 7, 2014 by GoChicago