Questions on Income and Domicile Requirements

[toothpix07 0]

I plan to get married to a Polish national in Poland this year and we plan to live there for one school year, basically until we can get approval to come back to the US.  In looking up the requirements for a spouse visa there are a few questions I have.

1. About the income requirement:

If we live in Poland on a small Polish wage, even if I can show them my leave of absence from my job as a teacher assistant in MPS Schools, would my small Polish wages count against us?  And would my MPS wages (which is just slightly higher than the 125% requirement) be high enough to qualify?  If we have an oops baby, would an co-sponsor who meets the requirement be enough if we don’t?

2. About needing a current domicile in the US.

Would the last address I lived in count as current domicile while temporarily living overseas for a year?  Would we have to file the exact same place that we would immediately live in once we entering the US?  Would a relative’s residence (whom we may possibly live with upon coming back) count for a current address?  Basically what counts and what doesn’t count for current domicile.

Also is there any alternatives for coming back to the US?  Could she come back on a tourist Visa and adjust status once in the US?

Would there be anything in our initial plan that we should be concerned about, that might possibly separate us from each other or cause her not to be able to come back to the States with me.  One friend suggested getting married now since she is here on a tourist visa and then adjusting status... would that be safer or unnecessary? 

[NikLR 13,231]

14 minutes ago, toothpix07 said:

I plan to get married to a Polish national in Poland this year and we plan to live there for one school year, basically until we can get approval to come back to the US.  In looking up the requirements for a spouse visa there are a few questions I have.

1. About the income requirement:

If we live in Poland on a small Polish wage, even if I can show them my leave of absence from my job as a teacher assistant in MPS Schools, would my small Polish wages count against us? no

 

And would my MPS wages (which is just slightly higher than the 125% requirement) be high enough to qualify? Mps? If US wages then yes. 

 

If we have an oops baby, would an co-sponsor who meets the requirement be enough if we don’t? Joint sponsor, yes.

 

2. About needing a current domicile in the US.

Would the last address I lived in count as current domicile while temporarily living overseas for a year? Depends. Can you still live there? 

Would we have to file the exact same place that we would immediately live in once we entering the US? You should on the DS-260 but you can change this at POE too.  

Would a relative’s residence (whom we may possibly live with upon coming back) count for a current address? You can use that.  You may want a letter stating lease agreements or stating how they're allowing you to live there.

 Basically what counts and what doesn’t count for current domicile. Depends on the person and the country.  Domicile is usually established by having a place to live and preferably a job, bills, bank account, unexpired driver's license etc.. 

 

Also is there any alternatives for coming back to the US?  Could she come back on a tourist Visa and adjust status once in the US? NO this is visa fraud. The CBP would also deny entry. 

Would there be anything in our initial plan that we should be concerned about, that might possibly separate us from each other or cause her not to be able to come back to the States with me.  One friend suggested getting married now since she is here on a tourist visa and then adjusting status... would that be safer or unnecessary? If you plan to spend a year in Poland it would mean longer before you can do that.  She would likely need a reentry permit after getting her green card.  AOS takes about 6-12 months (ish.)  If you want to marry now that she is here and not go to Poland anytime soon yes do that.  However pay attention to what your fiancée wants too. 

Answers in bold. 

[NikLR 13,231]

~~moved to general immigration discussion from IR1/CR1 progress reports. Topic is asking questions about domicile and sponsorship and AOS.  OP is undecided on an immigration path~~

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

Your questions about domicile and income are pretty well answered in the instructions for the I-864.  Have you read them yet?  

 

You will need to be currently receiving paychecks from your US employer at the time of filing the I-864 to qualify.

Edited January 31, 2017 by N-o-l-a