Previous H-1B, married in NZ and returning to the US, have a few questions

[kiwipete 18]

Hi everyone. My wife and I are just starting the application process and very happy to have found this community. I've done a fair amount of searching through the forums, so apologise if these are answered in other places.

Background:

• I was previously working in the US on an H-1B from 2012 - 2017 as a software developer.
• My wife's a US Citizen by birth. We met in the US in 2013.
• We moved to NZ (I was a sponsor for her partner permanent resident visa) and got married in Jan 2019 (2 years, 8 months ago).
• We have one dependent who's 5 months old. Neither of us have been married previously.
• We're keen to return to the US to be near family, and about to start the Green Card application process.
• Neither of us have US income but should have sufficient assets. If not, our family in the US have offered to be a joint sponsor.

 

I have a few questions:

1. We were just about to buy a house in NZ before deciding to return to the US. If we went through with this (approx. March, when my wife's maternity leave ends) would it have any impact on proving intent to establish domicile? My wife's continued to vote, kept a bank account and credit card open. We both have 401k accounts in the US.
2. Are there any other gotchas around having been previously in the US on an H-1B, then leaving, then applying to return?
3. One option would be to apply for a role with a US company with a NZ office, then transfer internally. I feel like this could be a slower approach, and relies on the company to be willing to do this. It could have the advantage of them covering visa and relo costs. Is this is a common path worth pursuing, or better to go with a more solid plan of sorting out the green card ourselves?
4. Is our case sufficiently simple that we should be able to figure it out ourselves, or should we get in touch with an immigration lawyer?

 

Thanks for any advice you're willing to give

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, kiwipete said:

I have a few questions:

 

1,  No impact.

2.  No issue.  I assume you have no prior visa violations.

3.  A job transfer to a US office could be the ticket to the fastest visa process, if it's the USC who is offered the job.  This could qualify as exceptional circumstances to convince the consulate at Auckland to let you do direct consular filing (DCF) -- https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3

4.  Your case seems straightforward enough to DIY.

 

I suggest you check the posts of @EKT, another member in NZ who has similar circumstances to you.

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Chancy
typo

[kiwipete 18]

That's really helpful, thank you so much for the reply.
 

Quote

I assume you have no prior visa violations.

No, I filed one extension with my company that went through fine, and left the US before that expiry date.

Thank you for the info on DCF, I'll look more into this option.

[EKT 117]

Happy to help if I can! The IR process has been smooth and relatively quick for us so far and I think this has to do with having a straightforward application and applying from a low fraud country. We filed our I-130 in early February this year and despite some delays at NVC my husband's interview is scheduled for Sept 15th. It probably won't happen until early October due to lockdown but that's still quicker than we thought it would be starting this process. 

 

We thought about going the employment visa route. My husband works for an international engineering consultancy with offices in the most major US cities. In the end he was hesitant to tell his employer about our intention to move (and therefore leave his current team) so we decided to go IR and he will request a transfer once he has his immigrant visa.

 

We've been married and living in NZ for 10 years so I have fewer ties to the US than your wife but I found the intent to re-establish domicile process quite straightforward. My husband had a few H-2Bs in the late 2000s. All of this is making me feel very old suddenly! Anyway, I think you will be fine to DIY your application and I would be happy to assist with tips and tricks you go the IR route

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by EKT

[kiwipete 18]

Man, what a great group of people here!

Thanks @EKT - that's really comforting to hear what your experience has been. There are a lot of new concepts to wrap my head around.

We're planning to be in NZ for my sister's wedding in Oct 2022, so that timeline for IR filing may work well (assuming our case is roughly similar and processing times don't increase too much).

Your other comments on other threads about how not to include the W-2, proof of assets, etc. was really useful as well - thanks.

 

 

[EKT 117]

18 hours ago, kiwipete said:

Man, what a great group of people here!

Thanks @EKT - that's really comforting to hear what your experience has been. There are a lot of new concepts to wrap my head around.

We're planning to be in NZ for my sister's wedding in Oct 2022, so that timeline for IR filing may work well (assuming our case is roughly similar and processing times don't increase too much).

Your other comments on other threads about how not to include the W-2, proof of assets, etc. was really useful as well - thanks.

 

 

That's a great plan to allow a long lead in. The one part of the process that seems to be the least predictable is the first stage, the petition approval. It really depends on the processing times at the service center where your petition ends up and if it gets transferred to another center before getting to the front of the queue. Our approval took 2 months while I have seen others that have taken 6 months or more for normal processing. If your wife files the I-130 now you will have extra time up your sleeve in case it takes longer than expected.

[SalishSea 17,839]

On 9/4/2021 at 3:08 AM, EKT said:

The IR process has been smooth and relatively quick for us so far and I think this has to do with having a straightforward application and applying from a low fraud country.

We did a K-1, but we had a similarly fast and smooth experience.  Auckland is a very well-organized and efficient US consulate.  

[kiwipete 18]

@Jorgedig great to hear, thanks. Did you arrange your own application as well, or did you use an immigration lawyer or service?