Conflicting Immigration advice on Trave.State.Gov

[Coffee2Go 5]

Hello everyone,

 

Happy Monday!

 

I am always baffled the past months when researching the immigration process, and I use the U.S. State Department, USCIS, U.S. Consulate in Germany as my main references. I just found this advice on the U.S. State Department site, but see a number of members here where the U.S. citizen/petitioner/sponsor lives with the foreign spouse abroad. The U.S. citizens I follow don't have a domicile set up in the U.S. yet.

 

So how do I interpret this advice?

 

Link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/immigrant-visa-for-spouse.html

 

Is Residence in the U.S. Required for the U.S. Sponsor?

 

Yes. As a U.S. sponsor/petitioner, you must maintain your principal residence (also called domicile) in the United States, which is where you plan to live for the foreseeable future. Living in the United States is required for a U.S. sponsor to file the Affidavit of Support, with few exceptions. To learn more, review the Affidavit of Support (I-864 or I-864EZ) Instructions.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Best, 

Coffee2Go

 

 

[Coffee2Go 5]

I forgot to add that the link doesn't work for the few exceptions for U.S. citizens that don't have main domicile in the United States.

[Dashinka 24,841]

This link may be helpful.  In essence, a USC living abroad petitioning for a foreign spouse or other family member has to prove an intent to re-establish domicile to fulfill the requirements of the I864.  This is fairly common.

 

https://citizenpath.com/reestablish-us-domicile-filing-form-i-864/

Edited May 24, 2021 by Dashinka

[Nitas_man 3,100]

2 hours ago, Coffee2Go said:

Hello everyone,

 

Happy Monday!

 

I am always baffled the past months when researching the immigration process, and I use the U.S. State Department, USCIS, U.S. Consulate in Germany as my main references. I just found this advice on the U.S. State Department site, but see a number of members here where the U.S. citizen/petitioner/sponsor lives with the foreign spouse abroad. The U.S. citizens I follow don't have a domicile set up in the U.S. yet.

 

So how do I interpret this advice?

 

Link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/immigrant-visa-for-spouse.html

 

Is Residence in the U.S. Required for the U.S. Sponsor?

 

Yes. As a U.S. sponsor/petitioner, you must maintain your principal residence (also called domicile) in the United States, which is where you plan to live for the foreseeable future. Living in the United States is required for a U.S. sponsor to file the Affidavit of Support, with few exceptions. To learn more, review the Affidavit of Support (I-864 or I-864EZ) Instructions.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Best, 

Coffee2Go

 

 

Easy enough

 

So I kept my banking, CCs, mobile accounts, car registration, drivers license, 401k’s active and addressed to the same place (parent’s the first time I worked out of the country, brother’s the second time).  

 

Support affidavit ran through on “assets only” however if you work for a US company and are getting transferred home you can qualify on income, last option is joint sponsor.  Foreign income that will not continue after relocation is imputed as (zero) income for immigration purposes.

 

So:  if you are starting with nothing at all, you need to establish an address, start moving assets (money, lots of it) over, and get some sort of ID wherever you plan to relocate to.  Start matching it up to a US physical address.  It really doesn’t matter where, we didnt sign a lease and switch everything over until after the visa was issued and we had a definite travel window but you need to have a plan and a place you can show you are building ties to.  You don’t need a US “domicile”, (your domicile is where you live and sleep and you are currently domiciled outside the US)  BUT You need to take concrete action that demonstrates intent to establish one in the US and you either need to demonstrate that you intend to precede (OR) accompany your spouse to the US after a visa is approved and issued.

 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Nitas_man

[Coffee2Go 5]

40 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

Easy enough

 

So I kept my banking, CCs, mobile accounts, car registration, drivers license, 401k’s active and addressed to the same place (parent’s the first time I worked out of the country, brother’s the second time).  

 

Support affidavit ran through on “assets only” however if you work for a US company and are getting transferred home you can qualify on income, last option is joint sponsor.  Foreign income that will not continue after relocation is imputed as (zero) income for immigration purposes.

 

So:  if you are starting with nothing at all, you need to establish an address, start moving assets (money, lots of it) over, and get some sort of ID wherever you plan to relocate to.  Start matching it up to a US physical address.  It really doesn’t matter where, we didnt sign a lease and switch everything over until after the visa was issued and we had a definite travel window but you need to have a plan and a place you can show you are building ties to.  You don’t need a US “domicile”, (your domicile is where you live and sleep and you are currently domiciled outside the US)  BUT You need to take concrete action that demonstrates intent to establish one in the US and you either need to demonstrate that you intend to precede (OR) accompany your spouse to the US after a visa is approved and issued.

 

 

Hi Nitas_man,

 

Thank you for the quick response. This was very helpful that you shared this information with me.

 

I did leave a forwarding address for mail to a close relative and also kept a checking and savings account in the U.S. and 401k.

 

It is helpful then and important that I need to start targeting the area more that I want to move to. I will contact friends and family in the area I want to move and establish better ties.

 

In terms of how much money to push to my U.S. bank accounts, is there a guide with how much should be in my account, given I don’t have income yet from a U.S. job. I will hopefully have a job offer or at least prove my interview history for U.S. jobs.

 

I have read the requirements to establish minimum sponsorship is 1.5% above poverty line. But am unsure how much should be in my account for proof of support. Does 401k and pension accounts count?

 

thanks again,

Coffee2Go

[Coffee2Go 5]

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

This link may be helpful.  In essence, a USC living abroad petitioning for a foreign spouse or other family member has to prove an intent to re-establish domicile to fulfill the requirements of the I864.  This is fairly common.

 

https://citizenpath.com/reestablish-us-domicile-filing-form-i-864/

Hi Dashinka,

 

This link is excellent! Thank you and do you use citizenpath, btw?

 

Best,

Coffee2Go

[Dashinka 24,841]

1 hour ago, Coffee2Go said:

Hi Dashinka,

 

This link is excellent! Thank you and do you use citizenpath, btw?

 

Best,

Coffee2Go

You are welcome.  No, I never used it specifically, but they seem to know what they are talking about.  Immigration with both spouses living overseas is quite common, and many members here have done it.

[Paul and Sopheap 91]

4 hours ago, Coffee2Go said:

Hello everyone,

 

Happy Monday!

 

I am always baffled the past months when researching the immigration process, and I use the U.S. State Department, USCIS, U.S. Consulate in Germany as my main references. I just found this advice on the U.S. State Department site, but see a number of members here where the U.S. citizen/petitioner/sponsor lives with the foreign spouse abroad. The U.S. citizens I follow don't have a domicile set up in the U.S. yet.

 

So how do I interpret this advice?

 

Link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/immigrant-visa-for-spouse.html

 

Is Residence in the U.S. Required for the U.S. Sponsor?

 

Yes. As a U.S. sponsor/petitioner, you must maintain your principal residence (also called domicile) in the United States, which is where you plan to live for the foreseeable future. Living in the United States is required for a U.S. sponsor to file the Affidavit of Support, with few exceptions. To learn more, review the Affidavit of Support (I-864 or I-864EZ) Instructions.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Best, 

Coffee2Go

 

 

I moved back to the states after 6 years living abroad with my wife to re-establish domicile. I did it to be safe because I had been gone for so long. However, as some others have mentioned, the petitioner can also prove intent to re-establish domicile. I have a friend who lived overseas for a year and filed abroad without any issues. He just used his dad's physical address (dad was also a joint sponsor). To prove/re-establish domicile, you can use voter registration, recent visits to the US, job interview/offers, opening/keeping an active US bank account, closing foreign accounts, resignation letter from foreign job, a lease/rental in the US, ETC. Basically you have to show that you are abroad temporarily and your permanent roots are in the USA.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

10 hours ago, Coffee2Go said:

Hi Nitas_man,

 

Thank you for the quick response. This was very helpful that you shared this information with me.

 

I did leave a forwarding address for mail to a close relative and also kept a checking and savings account in the U.S. and 401k.

 

It is helpful then and important that I need to start targeting the area more that I want to move to. I will contact friends and family in the area I want to move and establish better ties.

 

In terms of how much money to push to my U.S. bank accounts, is there a guide with how much should be in my account, given I don’t have income yet from a U.S. job. I will hopefully have a job offer or at least prove my interview history for U.S. jobs.

 

I have read the requirements to establish minimum sponsorship is 1.5% above poverty line. But am unsure how much should be in my account for proof of support. Does 401k and pension accounts count?

 

thanks again,

Coffee2Go

You got the right idea.  “Intent” actually (at least for us) isn’t a high bar to overcome.
 

Minimum sponsorship (spouse) is 3x the “125% poverty line” for your household size.

 

I turned in 401k, pension, cash so I guess they accept it.  

 

Job offer’s good but not counted.  You have to be physically earning uninterrupted US  income (intracompany transfer would be an example) to get credit for any income.  Mine was imputed at “zero” but I knew that was coming.

 

How much?  I had all of it in the US.  Every cent.   What I know is that if it’s “easily accessible” they accept it.  I just happened to be stacking it in the US.  I’d advise - put as much as possible there and just keep enough for day to day expenses or show you can transfer it right over.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Nitas_man

[Chancy 6,243]

19 hours ago, Coffee2Go said:

I just found this advice on the U.S. State Department site, but see a number of members here where the U.S. citizen/petitioner/sponsor lives with the foreign spouse abroad.

 

The Department of State has another page that better addresses the question of domicile for sponsors temporarily living abroad --

 

Can a sponsor maintain U.S. domicile while living abroad temporarily?

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/i-864-affidavit-faqs.html#aos22