Will I qualify as being domiciled in the US for I-864 purposes?

[Dongbei 22]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

As the petitioner, you must be the primary sponsor for the I-864. An I-864 sponsor must meet the US domicile requirement. The purpose of a joint sponsor is for the financial requirements only...it has nothing to do with domicile.

I didn't realize that. That's very helpful to know.

 

Can you or anyone else provide some more help on proving the intent to reestablish domicile?

[geowrian 22,337]

3 minutes ago, Dongbei said:

Can you or anyone else provide some more help on proving the intent to reestablish domicile?

I hope others chime in on specifics, but I would refer you to the NVC wiki's section on domicile for ideas as a starting place: http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process.

Note that DCF cases won't go through NVC, but the domicile piece is the same since that's when domestic filers submit the I-864.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

4 hours ago, Dongbei said:

Hello VJ folks. I am going to be going the DCF route for my wife and I have a question about if I will qualify as being domiciled in the US for filing my I-864. Please read below for details.

 

I have lived in China for the past 3 years, traveling back to the US 2 times over that period. Over the next year I will be working for a university in China (will be working for them when going through the DCF process). During those 3 years I was employed by a US company while also studying in China and online at an American university. The company does not appear on the automatic exemption list.

 

I have also maintained a US bank account (with frequent deposits and withdrawals), US stock brokerage account, US credit card with activity every month and filed federal taxes every year (already requested tax transcripts for 2014-2017). In addition, I have been studying online at an accredited US institution and plan on moving to that school to finish my degree once my wife gets her visa and my contract is up with the Chinese university (about a year from now). I also have maintained a permanent mailing address (my father's place of business). I could easily have my father write up a letter saying we will stay temporarily in his home before moving to my university to finish my degree in America as well.

 

All that said, I'm wondering if the above would count as being domiciled in the US?

 

In sum:

 

Things I have: 2 trips back to America (no boarding passes, just the digital records of my ticket purchases), US stock brokerage account and bank account with frequent activity, US credit card account, federal tax transcripts, and records of online study during entire time overseas with intent to finish my degree in the US after moving back. All my family is in the US as well.

 

Things I don't have: voting records, utilities (cell phone, etc.), property in my name, a lease or rental property, a car in my name, kids to be enrolled in US schools or a job offer (too far out).

You don't have to be domiciled, you only need intent to domicile to file a petition for your wife.  Your father's address is fine for the address you intend to stay - no letter needed.  It is enough to print current bank statements, etc addressed to that location.

 

With that said:  If your income does not continue after you return to the US (for purposes of I-864) your income is considered zero and unless you have about $100k in easily accessible liquid assets you need to get a joint sponsor to make up the difference.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

1 hour ago, Dongbei said:

I didn't realize that. That's very helpful to know.

 

Can you or anyone else provide some more help on proving the intent to reestablish domicile?

All my accounts - bank, cell, credit card, etc were addressed to my father's address and that is the address I put down as our intended address.  Signed a lease just before we left and at POE my wife updated that as our mailing address and that is where the green card arrived a few weeks later.

 

It is more than enough to be enrolled in school and show that you intend to continue education.  IF you cannot meet the sponsor guidelines with ongoing US income (most DCF cannot) then you need to get someone to co-sponsor your wife.

 

In our case I didn't have to "prove" anything - I just told the consulate when I filed the I-130 that I was going home LOL.  Remember YOU the USC are filing the petition and that's all you or any of us have to tell them.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Nitas_man

[Nitas_man 3,100]

3 hours ago, Dongbei said:

This would require me getting a lease on an apartment or job offer, which I can't really do so far out from when I'm actually going to be moving back (July 2019). 

You do not need a lease or a job offer to file a petition for a spouse from overseas.  Their primary question is where your assets are and yours are exactly where they need to be - in the US.

 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

2 hours ago, Dongbei said:

 

That's good to hear, thank you. Do you think it would be best to file with a joint sponsor just in case? I think my father is willing to do it and he definitely meets all of the qualifications. He said he'd be willing to write a letter for residence or even offer me a job as well if necessary as he owns a business (but I don't plan on working for him so I'd rather not go that route). 

If you have assets to cover it you do not need a joint sponsor and the domicile question is answered at the point you file the I-130 -  It will never come up again.  Once the embassy accepts the I-130 and sends out the packets then they treat you as a US domiciled resident for all other purposes.

 

Remember - DCF requires that you HAVE to be legally domiciled in the country you are filing from.  Once intent to return is established - when the I-130 is filed, that's it.  You're assumed to be a domiciled sponsor and they look at your income and assets as if you live in the US.  Foreign income that will stop when you leave the foreign country = zero income, leaving you with nothing but assets to cover sponsorship of your beneficiary.  Almost all DCF applicants lose their income so they either need a joint sponsor OR they immediately leave their foreign location and obtain employment before it is time to file the I-864.

The support affidavit and medical are the last things they want before they schedule the interview.

[Ryan H 3,818]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to DCF Discussion.

[Dongbei 22]

2 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

With that said:  If your income does not continue after you return to the US (for purposes of I-864) your income is considered zero and unless you have about $100k in easily accessible liquid assets you need to get a joint sponsor to make up the difference.

I believe it is about $60k for a spouse. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Jorge V 195]

3 hours ago, Dongbei said:

I believe it is about $60k for a spouse. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

This is correct. You can find the poverty guidelines here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p . For spouses, the asset requirement is only 3x the annual income requirement. For a household size of 2 the annual requirement is $20,575 and the asset requirement is $61,725.

 

As far as establishing domicile, as others have mentioned you simply have to prove that you intend to reestablish. I used things like moving quotes, apartment leasing quotes, bank accounts, and drivers license.

 

Be sure to read the I864 instructions (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf). On page 5 you'll find all you need to know about establishing domicile. On page 10 you'll find the explanation for the 3x asset rule for spouses.

[Sherry_c 3]

why not apply it next year in China since you have lived in China for 3 years, you just need residence permit which you can get it while doing a work visa or marriage visa? It only takes about 2 months to get CR1 visa, and also you are intending to go back that time.

Edited July 26, 2018 by Sherry_c

[Sherry_c 3]

I think they only care about if your income is above the poverty line when checking I-864 form

BTW, our case was similar like yours we filed i-130 in June in Guangzhou China, got the visa this week.

[Dongbei 22]

1 hour ago, Sherry_c said:

I think they only care about if your income is above the poverty line when checking I-864 form

BTW, our case was similar like yours we filed i-130 in June in Guangzhou China, got the visa this week.

Yes I’m planning on waiting now that I know it is so fast! I don’t want the visa to expire before we go back to America in July. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

11 hours ago, Dongbei said:

I believe it is about $60k for a spouse. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

You are correct.  It's 3X poverty guideline for your household size.  The previous post was a throwdown number - my bad.

Edited July 26, 2018 by Nitas_man

[Nitas_man 3,100]

1 hour ago, Dongbei said:

Yes I’m planning on waiting now that I know it is so fast! I don’t want the visa to expire before we go back to America in July. 

We had an issue with that this year.  Activated the visa in March, returned in April, came back to the US for good end of June.  You probably want to file your I-130 about 8 months before you plan to return.  The visa itself is good for 6 months after medical. When you file, they'll ask you (USC) what's your plan, and if you tell them exactly what you said here you're good to go.  Best of luck to you both..

[Qian 33]

22 hours ago, Dongbei said:

All that said, I'm wondering if the above would count as being domiciled in the US?

My husband had been working outside of the US for eight years when we filed i-130.  One attorney that we consulted told me that I was not qualified due to his "domicile" issue, but I prepared the files myself and I got my green card no problem.

We had similar stuff as yours: permanent mailing address (very important), up-to-date driver's license, professional certificates, active US bank accounts & credit cards, tax returns, medical insurance... No ultility bills, no property...

 

I suggest you to be particularly cautious about your job in China- taking up an employment overseas could be seen as "abandoning your US domicile", unless you can prove it's "temporary".

 

It's advisable to write up a statement explaining why you believe you domicile in the US while residing overseas, and your future plan of retuning to the States. Intention of moving to that US institution is a perfect plan for "reestablishing" your domicile.

 

Also, as everyone else has said, domicile issue is at NVC stage, you don't have to front load those yet. But we did, and it didn't hurt. 

 

Good luck!

Edited July 26, 2018 by Qian