US domicile requirement

[Whitey1944 0]

I have been living in Japan for the past 34 years and do not maintain a domicile in the US. I am currently sponsoring my Japanese wife of 31 years for her IV. We are at the NVC stage (have case no. and invoice no.).

Is there any way to get around the US domicile requirement? My older retired brother has a house in CA. Can I ask him to be our joint sponsor without starting the whole process all over again?

I guess I didn't do enough initial research, so any advice would be appreciated.

[geowrian 22,338]

9 minutes ago, Whitey1944 said:

Is there any way to get around the US domicile requirement? My older retired brother has a house in CA. Can I ask him to be our joint sponsor without starting the whole process all over again?

No. You must be the primary sponsor via an I-864. A requirement to provide an I-864 is being a USC or LPR with US domicile.

The CO will accept either actually having US domicile (i.e. moving before your spouse) or showing sufficient intent to establish US domicile. Note that domicile does NOT mean just having a place to sleep.

The NVC guide has several examples of how to show domicile or intent to establish domicile. There are also many threads to browse through on the subject. http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Good luck!

[Whitey1944 0]

Thanks, Dee elle, for your prompt reply.

Is it possible to add my brother as co-sponsor at this stage in the process, I mailed our documents to NVC on 6/15 and received an email on 617, stating that "information is missing."

Can I add my brother as co-sponsor without starting the process all over again, paying the large fees, etc.?

[pushbrk 13,260]

Why not take a little time out from asking questions and use it to study the NVC wiki.  Do the homework now that you didn't do before?  THEN, ask remaining questions.

 

The problem with JUST asking questions is that you never know what it is that you DON'T know.  Do the homework first.  Study those I-864 instructions.  Study what it means to provide evidence of intent to re-establish domicile.  Except from Canada, your wife's intention to immigrate to the US and live with you there, is a good start on that evidence.  

 

Don't confuse financial sponsorship with being the petitioner.  You will always be the petitioner and primary sponsor.  If you've been living abroad, for 34 years and married for 31, it should be pretty easy to demonstrate WHY the two of you are moving to the US.  Perhaps it's to retire, etc.

 

Filing those tax returns is going to be critical, at least the last three.  (IRS would want more but three is enough for immigration purposes.)  You may well owe no taxes, due to the foreign earned income exclusion, but you might well if you've had a six figure income.

[Whitey1944 0]

Thanks, Dee, for the info. I wish I'd known you before starting the whole process. Now I can't believe how naive and arrogant I was at the beginning. My attitude was, "I'm an American! I can bring my wife to the States and she can work if she so chooses!" I think that's the kind of "entitled" attitude that's responsible for a lot of the current problems in America.

Anyway, there was no attachment in the email I received from NVC. Probably because I indicated "Not Applicable" to so many of the documents listed on the Document Cover Sheet. BTW, I assumed the documents listed under "2." on the Cover Sheet referred to my wife, and those under "3." referred to me. Is that correct?

Also, we're applying for an IR-1 visa. I don't know how that "E-1" came into being.

Thanks again, Dee.

[Whitey1944 0]

Hi again, Dee ellle.

 

You indicated that I wouldn't have any problem with the US domicile requirement if my brother was willing to assume joint sponsor status. I asked and he agreed. Then I found a domicile FAQ on the NVC site that stated the following: Q: If a petitioner does not have a domicile in the United States, can a joint sponsor file an I-864? A: No. The petitioner must meet all requirements to be a sponsor (age, domicile and citizenship), except those related to income, before there can be a joint sponsor."

If this is true, do you think my brother can become my wife's petitioner, and use his domicile as our US domicile? I will call NVC tomorrow morning and get their answer, but if you have any thoughts on this I would appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you.

[fdhs 9]

23 minutes ago, Whitey1944 said:

Hi again, Dee ellle.

 

You indicated that I wouldn't have any problem with the US domicile requirement if my brother was willing to assume joint sponsor status. I asked and he agreed. Then I found a domicile FAQ on the NVC site that stated the following: Q: If a petitioner does not have a domicile in the United States, can a joint sponsor file an I-864? A: No. The petitioner must meet all requirements to be a sponsor (age, domicile and citizenship), except those related to income, before there can be a joint sponsor."

If this is true, do you think my brother can become my wife's petitioner, and use his domicile as our US domicile? I will call NVC tomorrow morning and get their answer, but if you have any thoughts on this I would appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you.

No, your brother cannot petition for your wife.  Regarding the domicile requirement: since you live overseas, you aren't required to prove that you have domicile in the US. Instead, you can prove that you intend to reestablish domicile.

[pushbrk 13,260]

19 minutes ago, fdhs said:

No, your brother cannot petition for your wife.  Regarding the domicile requirement: since you live overseas, you aren't required to prove that you have domicile in the US. Instead, you can prove that you intend to reestablish domicile.

Correct.  Homework time.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

1 hour ago, Whitey1944 said:

Hi again, Dee ellle.

 

You indicated that I wouldn't have any problem with the US domicile requirement if my brother was willing to assume joint sponsor status. I asked and he agreed. Then I found a domicile FAQ on the NVC site that stated the following: Q: If a petitioner does not have a domicile in the United States, can a joint sponsor file an I-864? A: No. The petitioner must meet all requirements to be a sponsor (age, domicile and citizenship), except those related to income, before there can be a joint sponsor."

If this is true, do you think my brother can become my wife's petitioner, and use his domicile as our US domicile? I will call NVC tomorrow morning and get their answer, but if you have any thoughts on this I would appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you.

I will step in here because I did this.

 

You are the petitioner and you can sponsor either by continuing US income (pension, transfer by your company back to the US, moving to the US and going to work before your spouse, etc) or assets.  Your wife is your beneficiary.  You filed correctly.  Now sponsorship and intent to establish domicile are the hurdles you need to overcome and any USC with adequate income can help you overcome the sponsorship hurdle.

 

Leaving intent to establish domicile.  It’s on the petitioner’s shoulders to demonstrate this.

 

1.  You need to establish an address in the US.  I used my parents address.  I did not intend to move or stay there and I didn’t.  Told the consulate that at the interview and told the IO we would arrange a place to live after the visa was issued.  They don’t expect you to buy a house before they approve a visa LOL. 

We did not have a permanent address on file until we signed a lease to occupy an apt the day after arrival.  That lease was signed and processed before we left and that address was provided at the airport to the IO processing the envelope at entry.

2.  You need to show intent to establish domicile by taking any number of actions on the previously mentioned list.  One thing thing the consulate did is look at where our assets were.  They were in the US and they were addressed on statements, etc to that US address.

3.  You need to sponsor or have a co-sponsor.  In our case,  the (easily accessible and liquid) assets in the US were enough to cover the 3X household size required to sponsor on the difference between continuing income (example pension, etc) and the 125% poverty level.

4.  At the interview, you, the USC are as much under the microscope as your beneficiary.  You need to share a definite plan for returning to the US.

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by Nitas_man

[Whitey1944 0]

Dear fdhs, pshbrk, Nitas_man,

Thank you all so very much for your advice. I truly appreciate it. I was beginning to think I'd have to give up on the wife's visa since I don't have a US domicile.

So I guess I'll go ahead and have my brother register as our cosponsor, and use his address as our permanent US domicile. Any further advice you might have on establishing intent to relocate would be greatly appreciated. Our assets are currently in Japanese banks, etc. I imagine it'd be advisable to transfer all or most to a US bank account, which I have maintained for many years.

[fdhs 9]

32 minutes ago, Whitey1944 said:

So I guess I'll go ahead and have my brother register as our cosponsor, and use his address as our permanent US domicile

If you meet the financial requirements then your brother will not be needed as a joint sponsor. The I-864 ask for "country of domicile", not a physical address  in the country. In order to file the I-864, you must write "United States" as your country of domicile. Since you live in Japan, this will not be the same as your current physical address, so (as the instructions for the I-864 state) you must include a printed explanation explaining that you intend to reestablish domicile in the US. You will also need to include evidence for this.

 

34 minutes ago, Whitey1944 said:

Our assets are currently in Japanese banks, etc. I imagine it'd be advisable to transfer all or most to a US bank account, which I have maintained for many years.

Yes, a good idea.

[Whitey1944 0]

Hi again, fdhs.

Thanks for all the good advice. I wish I had known you - and also about the VisaJourney site - earlier, before I filled out the AOS. It's now in the hands of NVC, and unfortunately I wrote "Japan" as my country of domicile.

Is there any way to make changes to the AOS once it has arrived at NVC?

Also, don't you think it'd be a good idea to have my brother, who has a big house in the area we want to settle in, and whose address we will be using to relocate - on board as our co-sponsor, even if just for security?

Thanks again.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

31 minutes ago, Whitey1944 said:

Hi again, fdhs.

Thanks for all the good advice. I wish I had known you - and also about the VisaJourney site - earlier, before I filled out the AOS. It's now in the hands of NVC, and unfortunately I wrote "Japan" as my country of domicile.

Is there any way to make changes to the AOS once it has arrived at NVC?

Also, don't you think it'd be a good idea to have my brother, who has a big house in the area we want to settle in, and whose address we will be using to relocate - on board as our co-sponsor, even if just for security?

Thanks again.

Relax.  I also moved my family in from overseas and on my I-864 I put my "country of domicile" as Saudi Arabia.  If you don't have an established domicile but intend to establish one, this is an accurate answer.  Mailing address:  Foreign address.  Place of residence:  Intended US address.  Country of domicile:  Foreign country.  It's a loop:  We couldn't qualify for DCF if I wasn't domiciled in the country I was filing from and I do not believe that they will treat you any differently than they treated us.

I put all assets into US banks before the interview.  IF your assets are liquid (cash, easily sold equities, etc) you're in a good position to self-sponsor your wife even with no US income.  It never hurts to have a co-sponsor in the wings.

[Whitey1944 0]

Thanks so much, Dee elle.

What a great community of friends and allies!

You guys are the best!

[Whitey1944 0]

Great advice, Nitas_man! Thanks so much. This is exactly what I needed to hear. I was getting way too stressed about doing everything perfect, and now I learn it's pretty much enough to do the best you can. And my wife deserves this visa!

Thank God I didn't run out and buy a house in CA to establish domicile! LOL