Sponsoring Questions for Affidavit of Support I-864

[KStene22 79]

Hello!

 

My husband is an American citizen, and I am Canadian.  We have three children who we plan to get American passports for in the near future.  We are wanting to move to the US to buy a family house and re-open a family business.  We have lived in Canada for over 8 years.  Here are my questions:

 

1) If my husband is able to reestablish domicile, can he sponsor me with his Canadian income from the past several years, or does the sponsor have to be paid in USD?  (If USD is necessary we would NEED a joint sponsor, right?)

2) If we use a joint sponsor, does my husband have to reestablish domicile? 

3) Is the intention to re-open a family business helpful in establishing domicile or should he look for a job offer instead and we can work on the family business once we get there?

 

TIA

[Jojo92122 1,924]

1.  The income on the I-864 has to be current income and will continue after he reestablishes US domicile.  HIs Canadian income will stop once he reestablishes a US domicile.  US or Canadian dollars does not matter.

 

2.  Yes.  Domicile is a requirement for his I-864.

 

3.  It's more than that.  You may want to research what it means.

 

Has your husband been filing his US tax returns on his Canadian income as required by US laws?

[KStene22 79]

Thanks Jojo,

 

I may not have been as clear as I meant to be.  I have looked into the whole process in depth and I just need a few clarifications.  It is my understanding that as part the I-864 process the sponsor can reestablish domicile in the USA by various means, and that he can also attempt to prove his intentions of returning to the USA without actually having to go back there and live without us first.  But I still find a couple things confusing...

1) Lets say we can build a convincing case for my husband's intentions to make his primary residence in the USA, and we intend to move together at the same time upon the approval of the visa... financially all of his income has been in CAD, not USD, so would be just convert his income to USD?  He has been filing his US tax returns, do we just submit those? 

2) There are several steps we know we could take to show his intention to permanently return the the USA, and obviously getting a job is a great option!  His intention is to do something entrepreneurial, which I feel is harder to prove... would getting another job to start be a better choice?  I'm not sure how he could prove his intention to open a business, or if that would seem financially stable enough.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

1.  How will his Canadian income continue after he moves to the US?  It doesn't, so he can't use his Canadian income to satisfy the I-864.

 

2.  The US Embassy/Consulate in Canada is very harsh on domicile.  Intention to reestablish a domicile may not be enough.  Your husband may have to relocate to the US before you.