re-establishing domicile in the US

[mnoman 2]

Hi guys,

 

can you please give me some information about proof of re-establishing domicile in the US. My wife is US citizen and we both living together outside of US from past 7 months and now we want to apply I-130 petition. 

do we need to submit proof of re-establishing domicile in the US with I-130 Petition or do we need it after I-130 Petition approval ?

 

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

7 months is not a long time, you should have no major issues proving that- or even that you never truly abandoned domicile. 

Do you still have a valid drivers license, and/ or voter registration?  Any bills such as a US based cell phone, or storage for your furniture and things in the USA?  Paid taxes as a resident or non-resident?

The other option is to have a brief visit to the USA and establish some ties, such as register with job agencies, visit realtors and prepare to buy or rent a home, if you have kids look at schools and enroll them etc.

[mnoman 2]

she was living with her parents also she does not have any driver licenses or voter registration but yes she has Us based cell phone i am not sure if it is under her name or her dad

what if we open an bank account under her name to establish some ties and does I-130 required her domicile to file a petition or we did this after approving I-130.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

It's not needed till the interview.

[mnoman 2]

so can we create a joint bank account in US to show her ties for domicile

[acidrain 325]

6 hours ago, mnoman said:

so can we create a joint bank account in US to show her ties for domicile

I think domicile is pretty subjective. From what I understand they want a person to show ties to the US because they want to know for certain you will live there. A promise to the consulate officer is not enough. They are asking "how do we know you will in fact move to the US and not continue to live abroad"? Then you must provide proof to that answer. The more proof you can show the more likely you will be approved. I've been married to my spouse for almost a decade but was told he should move down to the US to re-establish ties as he hasn't lived there since he was a child. They want to know things like where are you going to live? How will your sponsor support your family? A green card holder gets the opportunity to live in the US and gets a number of rights that go a long with that. US immigration wants to make sure the people who are applying for a green card are in fact going to live there.