NVC Stage: Do I need to submit proof of domicile status?

[chaoticenergy 32]

We are at the NVC stage and we live abroad together. We have a joint sponsor for financial assistance. The CEAC website asked for the joint sponsor's proof of domicile status as one of the required documents, which we provided (driver license), but strangely it did not ask for the primary sponsor's proof of domicile status. We are thinking maybe we should have sent a letter as part of optional documents indicating the primary sponsor's intention to re-establish US domicile status along with some other concrete steps the sponsor has taken so far such as renewing a driver license, maintaining bank accounts in the US, voting records. We do not have anything more to show at the moment. The sponsor might look for a job; we are telling them that we will initially stay with the sponsor's parents in the US.

 

Our lawyer claims that we do not need to submit additional such documents at this stage and that we will be directed by NVC to provide these at the interview stage. I am nervous and the last thing I want is an RFE from NVC that will delay our case by approximately 3 more months. Because it's only been a week since we submitted all the documents, I am trying to convince my lawyer to submit these additional documents and furnish maybe a statement for us. I absolutely do not understand why we are taking this risk of getting an RFE in the first place.

 

Do you think we should go ahead and provide a letter that says the sponsor is trying to re-establish their US domicile status and whatever other documented evidence we have so far? Why is the lawyer telling me not to submit additional documents at the risk of an RFE in the future? I don't see no harm in submitting extra documents at this point.

[pushbrk 12,989]

17 hours ago, vadamutab said:

We are at the NVC stage and we live abroad together. We have a joint sponsor for financial assistance. The CEAC website asked for the joint sponsor's proof of domicile status as one of the required documents, which we provided (driver license), but strangely it did not ask for the primary sponsor's proof of domicile status. We are thinking maybe we should have sent a letter as part of optional documents indicating the primary sponsor's intention to re-establish US domicile status along with some other concrete steps the sponsor has taken so far such as renewing a driver license, maintaining bank accounts in the US, voting records. We do not have anything more to show at the moment. The sponsor might look for a job; we are telling them that we will initially stay with the sponsor's parents in the US.

 

Our lawyer claims that we do not need to submit additional such documents at this stage and that we will be directed by NVC to provide these at the interview stage. I am nervous and the last thing I want is an RFE from NVC that will delay our case by approximately 3 more months. Because it's only been a week since we submitted all the documents, I am trying to convince my lawyer to submit these additional documents and furnish maybe a statement for us. I absolutely do not understand why we are taking this risk of getting an RFE in the first place.

 

Do you think we should go ahead and provide a letter that says the sponsor is trying to re-establish their US domicile status and whatever other documented evidence we have so far? Why is the lawyer telling me not to submit additional documents at the risk of an RFE in the future? I don't see no harm in submitting extra documents at this point.

You hired a lawyer.  The lawyer knows all the facts.  Their advice may or may not be correct, but you have not even mentioned what country the applicant is coming from.  That really does make a difference when it comes to Domicile.

 

You should have submitted evidence of the Joint sponsor's status as a US Citizen or Green Card holder...AND...evidence they live in the USA.  

 

Which country?

 

As for your "why" questions, ask the lawyer WHY.  

Edited June 9, 2022 by pushbrk

[chaoticenergy 32]

Home country is South Korea but both of us live in Canada at the moment.

Interview will be scheduled by US Consulate in Seoul.

 

We submitted

 

REQUIRED for Main sponsor (US Citizen domiciled in Canada):

I-864

2021 US Tax Transcript

 

OPTIONAL for Main sponsor

Passport Bio Page (proof of citizenship)

Declaration of Intent to establish US domicile along with

    - US Driver License

    - US Bank statements

    - Letters addressed to permanent US address

    - Letter from Korean national pension office for collecting lump sum payout upon departure

    - US auto insurance paper

GS-28 (lawyer agreement form)

 

REQUIRED for co-sponsor (US Citizen, father of main sponsor, files taxes jointly with his wife)

I-864

2021 US Tax Transcript

US Driver License (for domicile proof)

 

OPTIONAL for co-sponsor

2021 W-2 + 1099

Letter of employment

 

REQUIRED for principal applicant:

DS-261

DS-260

Current passport bio page (exp 2032)

Military Service Certificate (in English)

Basic Certificate (기본증명서) + certified translation + apostille

Family Relations Certificate detailed (가족관게증명서 상세) + certified translation + apostille (has petitioner's name transliterated into Hangul)

Family Relations Certificate in English (has petitioner's English name)

Korean Police report: Criminal(Investigation) Record Check Report  - For permission of foreign country immigration and stay (in English)

Canadian Police report: lawyer's statement in place of the report stating applicant only lived in Canada for ~1 month

US Marriage certificate + Korean Marriage registry detailed (혼인관계증명서 상세) + certified translation of Korean marriage registry + apostille (has petitioner's name transliterated into Hangul)

2x2 passport style photo digital copy

 

OPTIONAL for principal applicant

GS-28 (lawyer agreement form)

 

Do you spot anything blatantly missing? Things I am worried about:

- Applicant's domicile status since we live abroad together. Is it advised the applicant move back to the US now? I don't see what difference it would make in terms of paperwork (how would they see that she moved?) since she will live with her parents with no job until I arrive?

- Canadian police record thing being required despite living here for less than 6 mo.

- I stayed in the US on F-1 for several years and each time I changed school, my previous visa got "CANCELLED WITHOUT PREJUDICE (CWOP)", so I have a lot of those.

- Main sponsor missing W-2 and other stuff because she worked abroad for part of 2021 and did not work for the latter half.

 

Anything blatantly missing?

Edited June 10, 2022 by chaoticenergy

[chaoticenergy 32]

Lawyer said that they "usually do not submit petitioner's domicile-related documents at the NVC stage. This will be handled by the interviewer". But from my point of view, this is something that is blatantly missing and there was no document to establish main sponsor's domicile status without the additional "declaration of intent" stuff uploaded today.

Edited June 10, 2022 by chaoticenergy

[pushbrk 12,989]

5 hours ago, chaoticenergy said:

Home country is South Korea but both of us live in Canada at the moment.

Interview will be scheduled by US Consulate in Seoul.

 

We submitted

 

REQUIRED for Main sponsor (US Citizen domiciled in Canada):

I-864

2021 US Tax Transcript

 

OPTIONAL for Main sponsor

Passport Bio Page (proof of citizenship)

Declaration of Intent to establish US domicile along with

    - US Driver License

    - US Bank statements

    - Letters addressed to permanent US address

    - Letter from Korean national pension office for collecting lump sum payout upon departure

    - US auto insurance paper

GS-28 (lawyer agreement form)

 

REQUIRED for co-sponsor (US Citizen, father of main sponsor, files taxes jointly with his wife)

I-864

2021 US Tax Transcript

US Driver License (for domicile proof)

 

OPTIONAL for co-sponsor

2021 W-2 + 1099

Letter of employment

 

REQUIRED for principal applicant:

DS-261

DS-260

Current passport bio page (exp 2032)

Military Service Certificate (in English)

Basic Certificate (기본증명서) + certified translation + apostille

Family Relations Certificate detailed (가족관게증명서 상세) + certified translation + apostille (has petitioner's name transliterated into Hangul)

Family Relations Certificate in English (has petitioner's English name)

Korean Police report: Criminal(Investigation) Record Check Report  - For permission of foreign country immigration and stay (in English)

Canadian Police report: lawyer's statement in place of the report stating applicant only lived in Canada for ~1 month

US Marriage certificate + Korean Marriage registry detailed (혼인관계증명서 상세) + certified translation of Korean marriage registry + apostille (has petitioner's name transliterated into Hangul)

2x2 passport style photo digital copy

 

OPTIONAL for principal applicant

GS-28 (lawyer agreement form)

 

Do you spot anything blatantly missing? Things I am worried about:

- Applicant's domicile status since we live abroad together. Is it advised the applicant move back to the US now? I don't see what difference it would make in terms of paperwork (how would they see that she moved?) since she will live with her parents with no job until I arrive?

- Canadian police record thing being required despite living here for less than 6 mo.

- I stayed in the US on F-1 for several years and each time I changed school, my previous visa got "CANCELLED WITHOUT PREJUDICE (CWOP)", so I have a lot of those.

- Main sponsor missing W-2 and other stuff because she worked abroad for part of 2021 and did not work for the latter half.

 

Anything blatantly missing?

Blatantly missing evidence the "joint sponsor" and his spouse are US Citizens.

Driver license is not evidence of US Residency.  A utility bill would be.

Blatantly missing is an I-864a from the joint filing spouse of the joint sponsor.

[chaoticenergy 32]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

Blatantly missing evidence the "joint sponsor" and his spouse are US Citizens.

Driver license is not evidence of US Residency.  A utility bill would be.

Blatantly missing is an I-864a from the joint filing spouse of the joint sponsor.

Thanks for the input.

 

Yes joint sponsor’s passport bio page is now uploaded. I don’t know why we need his spouse’s info though. Can you elaborate?

 

I was told with tax transcript and W-2, it can be shown that his income alone can support us. The lawyers said they file I-864A only in the case we need to combine income from both people on the joint tax filing.

 

Unsure about driver license not being proof of domicile. Clearly he has never left the US and there are other docs such as tax stuff showing his address too.

[pushbrk 12,989]

2 minutes ago, chaoticenergy said:

Thanks for the input.

 

Yes joint sponsor’s passport bio page is now uploaded. I don’t know why we need his spouse’s info though. Can you elaborate?

 

I was told with tax transcript and W-2, it can be shown that his income alone can support us. The lawyers said they file I-864A only in the case we need to combine income from both people on the joint tax filing.

 

Unsure about driver license not being proof of domicile. Clearly he has never left the US and there are other docs such as tax stuff showing his address too.

Because even though the I-864a is not specifically required by USCIS rules, Consular Officers tend to ask for them.  It's a "contract" (read it) and they want both signatures no matter what.  If you don't provide it and they ask for it, you'll have a significant delay both getting it, uploading it and waiting in another queue for re-evaluation.  Affidavits of support are not just about information.  They are CONTRACTS.  Provide the wife's I-864a whether she has income or not, and whether her income is needed or not.

 

Note there are different kinds of tax transcripts.  Make sure it's a tax RETURN transcript.

 

I have a Texas Driver License with my daughter's address on it.  It's not evidence I currently live in the USA.  (I live in the Philippines)

[chaoticenergy 32]

One more concern: Should we add a note about the main sponsor not having W2/1099? The main sponsor did not work in the US in 2021 so we think we might add a note that explains this along with the main sponsor's income statement from Korea (원천징수영수증 2021). Some on this Korean forum (link in Korean - https://cafe.naver.com/gototheusa/652968?art=ZXh0ZXJuYWwtc2VydmljZS1uYXZlci1zZWFyY2gtY2FmZS1wcg.eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJjYWZlVHlwZSI6IkNBRkVfVVJMIiwiY2FmZVVybCI6ImdvdG90aGV1c2EiLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOjY1Mjk2OCwiaXNzdWVkQXQiOjE2NTUyMzI5Mzc0ODR9.XnL15j3ao7SvfVHOISE3ixUrkQ4828W61zXDBF1d4Nc) got checklists for not having W2 for the main sponsor presumably due to some misunderstanding on NVC's part, but ultimately these things led to 3+ months delays. Anyone else had similar experiences?

[boonco 4]

On 6/15/2022 at 4:43 AM, chaoticenergy said:

One more concern: Should we add a note about the main sponsor not having W2/1099? The main sponsor did not work in the US in 2021 so we think we might add a note that explains this along with the main sponsor's income statement from Korea (원천징수영수증 2021). Some on this Korean forum (link in Korean - https://cafe.naver.com/gototheusa/652968?art=ZXh0ZXJuYWwtc2VydmljZS1uYXZlci1zZWFyY2gtY2FmZS1wcg.eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJjYWZlVHlwZSI6IkNBRkVfVVJMIiwiY2FmZVVybCI6ImdvdG90aGV1c2EiLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOjY1Mjk2OCwiaXNzdWVkQXQiOjE2NTUyMzI5Mzc0ODR9.XnL15j3ao7SvfVHOISE3ixUrkQ4828W61zXDBF1d4Nc) got checklists for not having W2 for the main sponsor presumably due to some misunderstanding on NVC's part, but ultimately these things led to 3+ months delays. Anyone else had similar experiences?

I uploaded a signed cover letter explaining the lack of W-2s due to overseas employment as "FORM W-2 WAGE AND TAX STATEMENT" along with overseas tax documents as " FOREIGN TAXES" (same as what you're thinking) 

 

Still waiting to be reviewed but I believe this is the recommended practice around here.

[Redro 4,611]

On 6/15/2022 at 4:43 AM, chaoticenergy said:

One more concern: Should we add a note about the main sponsor not having W2/1099? The main sponsor did not work in the US in 2021 so we think we might add a note that explains this along with the main sponsor's income statement from Korea (원천징수영수증 2021). Some on this Korean forum (link in Korean - https://cafe.naver.com/gototheusa/652968?art=ZXh0ZXJuYWwtc2VydmljZS1uYXZlci1zZWFyY2gtY2FmZS1wcg.eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJjYWZlVHlwZSI6IkNBRkVfVVJMIiwiY2FmZVVybCI6ImdvdG90aGV1c2EiLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOjY1Mjk2OCwiaXNzdWVkQXQiOjE2NTUyMzI5Mzc0ODR9.XnL15j3ao7SvfVHOISE3ixUrkQ4828W61zXDBF1d4Nc) got checklists for not having W2 for the main sponsor presumably due to some misunderstanding on NVC's part, but ultimately these things led to 3+ months delays. Anyone else had similar experiences?

We uploaded a statement about W2s/1099s because we uploaded the tax return from 2021 not the tax transcript. 

We also uploaded proof of current employment/income in the form of a work contract. As I've seen RFE's for not including proof of income when the main sponsor's income does not meet the minimum requirements.

I've seen people recommend you either upload paystubs or the 재직증명서  (proof of employment). We decided not to upload those documents as my husband's full name is not on either document (just his first name in hangeul). 

[chaoticenergy 32]

23 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

We uploaded a statement about W2s/1099s because we uploaded the tax return from 2021 not the tax transcript. 

We also uploaded proof of current employment/income in the form of a work contract. As I've seen RFE's for not including proof of income when the main sponsor's income does not meet the minimum requirements.

I've seen people recommend you either upload paystubs or the 재직증명서  (proof of employment). We decided not to upload those documents as my husband's full name is not on either document (just his first name in hangeul). 

Okay thanks. Would the main sponsor still need to provide proof of employment/income even though we have a joint sponsor? In our case, the petitioner is currently unemployed (unemployed since last year) so there is no proof of income whatsoever. It seems like a good idea still to include a letter explaining away W-2/1099.

 

Writing a letter to address the W2/1099 issue is a bit complicated though for us. Even though the petitioner had no job in the US, the petitioner still reported over $600 of profit through paypal sales (and paypal never provided us with any 1099, even so the petitioner was technically required to report that), so I wonder how that can be explained away exactly. We've done nothing to cross the IRS but we don't have the forms, only the tax return transcript.

Edited June 16, 2022 by chaoticenergy

[chaoticenergy 32]

1 hour ago, boonco said:

I uploaded a signed cover letter explaining the lack of W-2s due to overseas employment as "FORM W-2 WAGE AND TAX STATEMENT" along with overseas tax documents as " FOREIGN TAXES" (same as what you're thinking) 

 

Still waiting to be reviewed but I believe this is the recommended practice around here.

Should the letter mention that we have a joint sponsor who meets the income requirement so all this talk of W2/1099 for the main sponsor (petitioner) is a non-issue?

[Redro 4,611]

25 minutes ago, chaoticenergy said:

Writing a letter to address the W2/1099 issue is a bit complicated though for us. Even though the petitioner had no job in the US, the petitioner still reported over $600 of profit through paypal sales (and paypal never provided us with any 1099, even so the petitioner was technically required to report that), so I wonder how that can be explained away exactly. We've done nothing to cross the IRS but we don't have the forms, only the tax return transcript.

Threshold change is only for 2022. 

In your letter explaining no W2s/1099 you don't receive 1099K from paypal as you did not make more than $20K in 2021. 

https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-11-04-New-US-Tax-Reporting-Requirements-Your-Questions-Answered

 

For proof of income/proof of employment explain you are currently not working? You might be get DQ'ed without a letter explaining employment/proof of income BUT I'm fairly cautious and included documentation we might not have needed to upload. 

Complete this questionnaire to see what you should upload:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/financial-evidence-assistant.html.html

 

[Redro 4,611]

4 minutes ago, chaoticenergy said:

Should the letter mention that we have a joint sponsor who meets the income requirement so all this talk of W2/1099 for the main sponsor (petitioner) is a non-issue?

A member from Japan had a joint sponsor (and a friend of mine has a joint sponsor) and they were still asked for various pieces of documentation from the main sponsor. 

[chaoticenergy 32]

6 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

Threshold change is only for 2022. 

In your letter explaining no W2s/1099 you don't receive 1099K from paypal as you did not make more than $20K in 2021. 

https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-11-04-New-US-Tax-Reporting-Requirements-Your-Questions-Answered

 

For proof of income/proof of employment explain you are currently not working? You might be get DQ'ed without a letter explaining employment/proof of income BUT I'm fairly cautious and included documentation we might not have needed to upload. 

Complete this questionnaire to see what you should upload:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/financial-evidence-assistant.html.html

 

Thanks for your help. So, gathering everyone’s answers here letter will include:

 

1. Reiteration that petitioner’s tax return transcript has been uploaded

2. No W2 as petitioner worked abroad

3. No 1099 as paypal does not provide

4. Reiteration that we have a joint sponsor

5. Reiteration that petitioner is currently unemployed and therefore has no proof of income

 

We will work with our lawyer to figure out the precise language. This will be uploaded as an additional optional document.

 

The state.gov questionnaire tool does not seem to give a clear answer in our case. It says the following (no mention of possibility of adding a joint sponsor so we don’t know if we really need all of these):

 

Please submit an IRS tax transcript from the most recent tax year, which can be processed more efficiently than a copy of a tax return.  Alternatively, you may submit a complete copy of a filed tax return from the most recent tax year. In addition, please submit:

• Evidence of Income
• Proof of Domicile
• Proof of Assets you may choose to use