Income Requirements as Petitioner Residing Abroad

[shytown 45]

I am a US citizen petitioning for my husband (I-130 submitted 09/21). We have both been living abroad for many years, thus I do not have a US-based tax history to meet income requirements for his application. We do, however, have savings that will cover the income requirements specified. As I understood the documentation, this should be enough and there is no expectation that I move back to the US while the application process is under review. Is this correct?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Boiler 45,479]

You have to show Us domicile and that you have filed taxes you may not owe anything 

[pushbrk 12,877]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

You have to show Us domicile and that you have filed taxes you may not owe anything 

Sort of.  You may be required to show evidence you intend to reestablish US domicile.  If the US Citizen has been earning foreign income, they will need to file at least the last three years' tax returns, even though their income may be exempt from owning any income tax.

 

Note that the liquid assets must be comfortably over three times the required income.

[shytown 45]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

You have to show Us domicile and that you have filed taxes you may not owe anything 

I have filed US taxes every year from abroad. Does that not count? 

[shytown 45]

3 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Sort of.  You may be required to show evidence you intend to reestablish US domicile.  If the US Citizen has been earning foreign income, they will need to file at least the last three years' tax returns, even though their income may be exempt from owning any income tax.

 

Note that the liquid assets must be comfortably over three times the required income.

Thanks for this info - which kind of evidence are they looking for of me reestablishing a US domicile? And if I understood correctly, this means that there's no particular expectation that I already live in the US, but rather that I have the intent to live in the US? 

[pushbrk 12,877]

2 minutes ago, shytown said:

Thanks for this info - which kind of evidence are they looking for of me reestablishing a US domicile? And if I understood correctly, this means that there's no particular expectation that I already live in the US, but rather that I have the intent to live in the US? 

From Germany, the Domicile intent issue is not very stringent.  That you filed a petition for your spouse is often sufficient.  Canada is where we see domicile issues mostly.  If you have an intended place to live or evidence of looking, you should be ok.  If it's a job transfer, show evidence of that.  Can't really help without understanding your circumstances but this is an issue dealt with at the NVC stage, not the petition filing stage.

[shytown 45]

3 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

From Germany, the Domicile intent issue is not very stringent.  That you filed a petition for your spouse is often sufficient.  Canada is where we see domicile issues mostly.  If you have an intended place to live or evidence of looking, you should be ok.  If it's a job transfer, show evidence of that.  Can't really help without understanding your circumstances but this is an issue dealt with at the NVC stage, not the petition filing stage.

Thanks, I appreciate your advice. 🙂

[tab0712 141]

I did K1 while I was living abroad. I maintained an address (my dad's) for the 8 years I was outside the US. That's where I had my CC and bank addresses listed. I think it was before the interview (The application didn't ask about any intent), I went back home and bought a cheap car, got car insurance and a few other things, so my fiance (now husband) had all the paperwork at the interview. 

[StrawberryKiss 170]

20 hours ago, shytown said:

Thanks for this info - which kind of evidence are they looking for of me reestablishing a US domicile? And if I understood correctly, this means that there's no particular expectation that I already live in the US, but rather that I have the intent to live in the US? 

Hi there. Yes, intent was sufficient for us, too. We uploaded my husband’s bank statement showing the US address he’s maintained, my MIL’s affidavit attesting that we’re going to live with her for the first few weeks until we find a place, our child’s CRBA (dual citizen) with the intent of enrolling her in an American school and my husband’s voter registration for absentee ballot. It was all accepted by NVC and we had no issues at the interview last week. 
 

There is so much more you can use such as car titles, car insurance, mortgage payment, property, a job offer, email inquiring about daycare or enrollment in school, etc … Whenever you get to the NVC stage and fill out the I-864 form for affidavit of support, have a look at the instructions/FAQ section regarding the intent to reestablish domicile to see more examples. 
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/i-864-affidavit-faqs.html#aos23

Edited December 6, 2021 by StrawberryKiss
added some examples and link

[StrawberryKiss 170]

20 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Note that the liquid assets must be comfortably over three times the required income.

I thought it was five times 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/i-864-affidavit-faqs.html#aos14

 

@shytown we also used assets (five times the required income for a household size of three people) and that got accepted just fine by NVC. No questions asked at the interview. 

[Just Paul 4,595]

20 hours ago, shytown said:

I have filed US taxes every year from abroad. Does that not count? 

That works.  It is best to get tax transcripts in hand prior to filing the I-864.   

 

For Germany usually just having a place in the US picked out is what they want.   You could make a trip to the US and open a bank account, register to vote, etc if you were really worried.   It doesn't matter at the time of filing the I-130.

[pushbrk 12,877]

3 hours ago, StrawberryKiss said:

I thought it was five times 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/i-864-affidavit-faqs.html#aos14

 

@shytown we also used assets (five times the required income for a household size of three people) and that got accepted just fine by NVC. No questions asked at the interview. 

If you read ALL the I-864 instructions you'll notice that it is 3 times for the spouse of a US Citizen, but 5 times for any other immigrant sponsored. 😉

[StrawberryKiss 170]

7 hours ago, pushbrk said:

If you read ALL the I-864 instructions you'll notice that it is 3 times for the spouse of a US Citizen, but 5 times for any other immigrant sponsored. 😉

Gotcha. Thanks for the info! I stand corrected 😊