I-130 questions: address and self-employment income from abroad

[Sendug 0]

Hi all, I'm new around here. The archives here are a huge source of info, but I still have a few questions.

 

Here's our situation:

-Married couple with child and living abroad (Japan) together, married more than 2 years

-The petitioner (me) is self-employed and she's officially my bookkeeper

-My job is location-independent and will come with us, so I'm staying throughout the process and we will move together

-I'm originally from one state (MD) and intending to move to another (CO)

-I use my parents' MD address for my US credit cards, and my aunt in CO said she'll let us stay there while we search for a place upon arrival

 

Now, I see that on the I-130 I should list our Japanese address as our current address and mailing address; for "address in US where the beneficiary intends to live," I'm guessing that my parents' address would be simplest as that's where I'd argue that I'm currently "domiciled." Will this answer affect where we disembark though, i.e. would we need to fly into DC if I put the MD address? Better to use the aunt's address in line with our actual plans? Or even better, list Denver and leave the address TBD? 

On the self-employment, the one lawyer I talked to seemed to be of the opinion that they'd be skeptical of self-employment income traveling with me. I know it will, but it's more about what they think. I also have the $80K in US assets that I can list; would that be the safer route? If so, just list the assets?
 

Also on address, less than 5 years ago, we went traveling and had no address for that period: we canceled our lease and my residence status and just traveled, a different country each month. Should I just put N/A or NONE with the dates? I'm guessing this would be a good place for a supplemental note.

 

Finally, on the place of birth for her father, the town was consolidated and the name has since changed. List the name as it appears on his birth records and leave another note with the current name?

Thank you in advance!

[silverjetplane 34]

Welcome to the forums! Firstly, take all of my advice and that of others carefully - none of us (or at least not many) are lawyers and all of our situations are unique and different. I'll take a stab at a few questions, but overall it looks a bit 'messy' from an outside perspective in that it's not clear cut in several places... I would definitely get as much input from here as possible. You said you've spoken to a lawyer - have you considered using one for this process? Many of us do the entire thing ourselves, but if I were in your situation I might reach out for additional help. Anyway...

 

7 hours ago, Sendug said:

Now, I see that on the I-130 I should list our Japanese address as our current address and mailing address; for "address in US where the beneficiary intends to live," I'm guessing that my parents' address would be simplest as that's where I'd argue that I'm currently "domiciled." Will this answer affect where we disembark though, i.e. would we need to fly into DC if I put the MD address? Better to use the aunt's address in line with our actual plans? Or even better, list Denver and leave the address TBD? 

Yes, use your address in Japan for your current address but definitely do not put TBD for your intended address. You can change your actual address with USCIS after arriving with a simple online form. I would suggest going with your domiciled address. You can explain that you intend to settle at that location at least temporarily to get things set up and are thinking of moving to Colorado to pursue some opportunity, etc. In your journey to prove or reestablish domicile (which may be a little complicated given the sabbatical you mentioned and depending on how long you've been outside the US and what links you still have...), you'll want as much evidence that you are, well, domiciled in a particular place. In your case, it looks like it'd be the location where you credit card bills go to. There's definitely no issue with your POE corresponding or not to your intended address... USCIS wouldn't know if you were, for example, going to arrive in San Francisco and spend a few days with friends before making your way to your intended address by train, etc. Another idea is that either your parents or your aunt could even create a month-to-month lease (lots of generic versions online) that you could enter sign and which could be submitted as evidence of establishing permanent residence in the US.

 

7 hours ago, Sendug said:

On the self-employment, the one lawyer I talked to seemed to be of the opinion that they'd be skeptical of self-employment income traveling with me. I know it will, but it's more about what they think. I also have the $80K in US assets that I can list; would that be the safer route? If so, just list the assets?

Don't know I can help here other than to say that it does seem 'weird'... Have you been filing taxes from abroad? The I-864 needs your current individual annual income and your total income from the three most recent tax years (note that those values may actually be $0 or $1 if you filed foreign income exclusion on your taxes). Self-employment income would be shown on your tax transcripts, too. It gets messier in that you contract your spouse... (how is it 'official', are you offering her an employment contract from the US following required labor laws, etc... I'm not actually asking, but I imagine these are kind of complicated questions and answers). Basically, USCIS will have access to all your income information and is really looking for transparency and proof that you're above the federal poverty guidelines for your household size and that you're in good standing with the IRS. If I were you, I would include the US assets to make your case - you may need to if your income doesn't meet the requirements. You could also include additional explanations on your domicile explanation letter (that I think you'll definitely need).

 

7 hours ago, Sendug said:

Also on address, less than 5 years ago, we went traveling and had no address for that period: we canceled our lease and my residence status and just traveled, a different country each month. Should I just put N/A or NONE with the dates? I'm guessing this would be a good place for a supplemental note.

 

This is going to be a tough one... the whole point of trying to prove domicile in the US and/or show good faith reestablishing of domicile is that you've maintained a legal and financial presence in the US and that you're making active efforts to continue reestablishing domicile there. The address information is so they know where you've been over the last five years. I would suggest an easy-to-read supplemental explanation and table of dates and locations, but others may say differently. I would explain that you and your spouse wanted to travel, but kept your parents address in the US as your permanent address (as you had always done) during that time and visited X country between date to date, then Y country between date to date, etc. I definitely wouldn't put N/A or NONE since it raises flags that you either didn't have an address during a period of time, or that the information they want doesn't apply... make things easier for USCIS to approve with an explanation than leave them to their own devices trying to figure out what N/A means for a list of addresses. Others may have better advice here.

 

As you can see - it gets complicated quickly and can sadly be dependent on the individual person reviewing your file. Don't go overboard, but more information is better. Good luck!

[Sendug 0]

Thanks for the response. The only AILA-certified lawyer in Japan wants way more than I'm willing to pay. If the consequence is a possible delay, I'll take it. I've provided more details below in hopes of more advice.

 

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Yes, use your address in Japan for your current address but definitely do not put TBD for your intended address. You can change your actual address with USCIS after arriving with a simple online form. I would suggest going with your domiciled address. You can explain that you intend to settle at that location at least temporarily to get things set up and are thinking of moving to Colorado to pursue some opportunity, etc. In your journey to prove or reestablish domicile (which may be a little complicated given the sabbatical you mentioned and depending on how long you've been outside the US and what links you still have...), you'll want as much evidence that you are, well, domiciled in a particular place. In your case, it looks like it'd be the location where you credit card bills go to. There's definitely no issue with your POE corresponding or not to your intended address... USCIS wouldn't know if you were, for example, going to arrive in San Francisco and spend a few days with friends before making your way to your intended address by train, etc. Another idea is that either your parents or your aunt could even create a month-to-month lease (lots of generic versions online) that you could enter sign and which could be submitted as evidence of establishing permanent residence in the US.

2

I believe my domicile case is solid. It has been a full 12 years since I officially lived in the US, but I never cut ties. I still have my US bank accounts, have numerous US credit cards open (with her name as well on some), still have a current MD driver's license, have US-based retirement and investment accounts, and am current on my US taxes. Especially in the financial sense, I'm already there, I think. Thanks for the idea on the lease. That should be easy to set up.

 

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Don't know I can help here other than to say that it does seem 'weird'... Have you been filing taxes from abroad? The I-864 needs your current individual annual income and your total income from the three most recent tax years (note that those values may actually be $0 or $1 if you filed foreign income exclusion on your taxes). Self-employment income would be shown on your tax transcripts, too. It gets messier in that you contract your spouse... (how is it 'official', are you offering her an employment contract from the US following required labor laws, etc... I'm not actually asking, but I imagine these are kind of complicated questions and answers). Basically, USCIS will have access to all your income information and is really looking for transparency and proof that you're above the federal poverty guidelines for your household size and that you're in good standing with the IRS. If I were you, I would include the US assets to make your case - you may need to if your income doesn't meet the requirements. You could also include additional explanations on your domicile explanation letter (that I think you'll definitely need).

 

 

Yes, I'm current on my taxes and FBARs and well above the poverty line (edit: I will have to check the returns to see what my AGI was... definitely not $0 as I maintain taxable income to continue IRA contributions). Your opinion seems to agree with the lawyer. The US-based assets will cover it, so I'll include them. The domicile explanation letter would go with the I-864, correct? I still have time--will look into that further.

 

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The address information is so they know where you've been over the last five years. I would suggest an easy-to-read supplemental explanation and table of dates and locations, but others may say differently. I would explain that you and your spouse wanted to travel, but kept your parents address in the US as your permanent address (as you had always done) during that time and visited X country between date to date, then Y country between date to date, etc. I definitely wouldn't put N/A or NONE since it raises flags that you either didn't have an address during a period of time, or that the information they want doesn't apply... make things easier for USCIS to approve with an explanation than leave them to their own devices trying to figure out what N/A means for a list of addresses. Others may have better advice here.

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It was basically an extended honeymoon. I was switching from a working visa to a spousal visa, so it made sense to just let it lapse to save on Japanese taxes for a year, then reapply upon reentry to Japan. Got the spousal visa for Japan sorted in DC. Also, I continued to work while on the road enough to exceed the US poverty level for that year. I'll work on the wording for the note. As mentioned above, I've maintained my US domicile throughout and am still in Japan on a temporary visa, not PR.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Sendug
added info

[Sendug 0]

Just to add: when I say "officially" for my wife being my bookkeeper, I mean that is how it is declared for Japanese taxes. I can make sure it shows up that way in my US tax filings this year as well as I haven't filed 2017 taxes yet. I have until June for that as I live abroad.