I-864w fee waiver?

[ujongjoe 6]

I know it’s exceptionally rare, but my alien spouse can be credited with >40 credits of my social security because we have been married >10 years and my US employer abroad required me to participate  in social security the entire time.

We are about to begin NVC processing and step 1 is pay fees for I-864 AOS. Since we are exempt from AOS, is there any way to avoid the fee? It is clear that no fee is required with USCIS, but NVC is under DOS and it’s not very clear if payment is required. 
 

Appreciate the advice!

Edited January 18, 2023 by ujongjoe

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

I think it would be easier to just pay the fee and submit the I-864. I guarantee you will not easily convince NVC of the exemption.  Good luck.

[Lil bear 4,181]

1 hour ago, ujongjoe said:

I know it’s exceptionally rare, but my alien spouse can be credited with >40 credits of my social security because we have been married >10 years and my US employer abroad required me to participate  in social security the entire time.

We are about to begin NVC processing and step 1 is pay fees for I-864 AOS. Since we are exempt from AOS, is there any way to avoid the fee? It is clear that no fee is required with USCIS, but NVC is under DOS and it’s not very clear if payment is required. 
 

Appreciate the advice!

The I864w is an exemption from the responsibilities of the I864 and your circumstances seem to meet the criteria But the fee for filing is not “exempted”. The fee reflects the NVC costs of the assessment of the documentation The instructions for the I864 state the same info for the fee .. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Lil bear

[ujongjoe 6]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

I think it would be easier to just pay the fee and submit the I-864. I guarantee you will not easily convince NVC of the exemption.  Good luck.

Thanks for the response. I was planning to include my marriage certificate (2003) and my latest social security statement which shows consistent contributions from 2003 until now. Should be 80 full credits, and most years I maxed out earnings-wise.

[ujongjoe 6]

52 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

The I864w is an exemption from the responsibilities of the I864 and your circumstances seem to meet the criteria But the fee for filing is not “exempted”. The fee reflects the NVC costs of the assessment of the documentation The instructions for the I864 state the same info for the fee .. 

Thanks for confirming. This info is not readily apparent, but I did find a few websites that indicated the same. I think the only way out is expedited processing at the Singapore embassy, but that needs proof of eminent transfer from my employer, which I don’t have. 

[ujongjoe 6]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

I think it would be easier to just pay the fee and submit the I-864. I guarantee you will not easily convince NVC of the exemption.  Good luck.

One other reason I want to use I-864w is to bypass the US domicile requirement. I’m domiciled in Singapore. I could try to use my US employer as an exception, but hard to prove it is temporary when I’ve been working there over 20 years.

[Lil bear 4,181]

3 hours ago, ujongjoe said:

One other reason I want to use I-864w is to bypass the US domicile requirement. I’m domiciled in Singapore. I could try to use my US employer as an exception, but hard to prove it is temporary when I’ve been working there over 20 years.

How does it bypass the domicile requirement? 2 different   things You must demonstrate that you will be establishing domicile in the US either prior to or at the time the immigrant enters the US   You must either be already in the US when your spouse enters or enter together   What you do remove is tue need to have stable adequate income in the US at the time if the interview 

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Progress Reports to IR1/CR1 Process & Procedures ***

 

10 hours ago, ujongjoe said:

Since we are exempt from AOS, is there any way to avoid the fee? It is clear that no fee is required with USCIS, but NVC is under DOS and it’s not very clear if payment is required. 

 

NVC says you are not required to pay the AOS fee, but I don't know how you can bypass the AOS fee payment step to be able to upload the I-864W.  Best to ask NVC directly -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html

 

From the NVC Fee Payment FAQs -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/step-3-pay-fees/nvc-fee-payment-faqs.html#fee9A

 

Who is not required to pay the AOS fee?

If you are not required to submit an Affidavit of Support form, you do not need to pay an AOS fee. For a list of scenarios that do not need to submit an Affidavit of Support form and do not need to pay an AOS fee, please visit https://nvc.state.gov/aos. The most common exemptions are for applicants with 40 quarters of creditable employment under the SSA and for applicants who will immediately gain U.S. citizenship upon entry to the U.S. under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

 

[ujongjoe 6]

4 hours ago, Chancy said:

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Progress Reports to IR1/CR1 Process & Procedures ***

 

 

NVC says you are not required to pay the AOS fee, but I don't know how you can bypass the AOS fee payment step to be able to upload the I-864W.  Best to ask NVC directly -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html

 

From the NVC Fee Payment FAQs -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/step-3-pay-fees/nvc-fee-payment-faqs.html#fee9A

 

Who is not required to pay the AOS fee?

If you are not required to submit an Affidavit of Support form, you do not need to pay an AOS fee. For a list of scenarios that do not need to submit an Affidavit of Support form and do not need to pay an AOS fee, please visit https://nvc.state.gov/aos. The most common exemptions are for applicants with 40 quarters of creditable employment under the SSA and for applicants who will immediately gain U.S. citizenship upon entry to the U.S. under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

 

Wow, thank you for spotting that! You may have just saved me $120! 
 

In that case I shall not pay the AOS fee and submit the I-864w (by snail mail if needed). We are not in any kind of hurry, so if this delays things it won’t be an issue for us. 

[ujongjoe 6]

10 hours ago, Lil bear said:

How does it bypass the domicile requirement? 2 different   things You must demonstrate that you will be establishing domicile in the US either prior to or at the time the immigrant enters the US   You must either be already in the US when your spouse enters or enter together   What you do remove is tue need to have stable adequate income in the US at the time if the interview 

We will enter together. 

 

We have lived abroad for 26 years and will move to whatever state our daughter goes to college in the fall of 2024. We have enough to retire, so no issue showing adequate financial means during the interview.

 

The issue with the AOS is that the petitioner/financial sponsor must already have domicile (residence) in the US when they execute it. The waiver gets around that.
 

The only alternative — I work for a major US company abroad and should qualify for that exception under the AOS — but hopefully won’t need to.

Edited January 19, 2023 by ujongjoe

[Chancy 6,241]

9 hours ago, ujongjoe said:

I work for a major US company abroad

 

If you work for a major US company, are you planning to get a job transfer to the US?  If so, that may qualify you for the much faster DCF process.  I know you may not be in a hurry, but DCF has advantages other than the very fast timeframe -- it will let you bypass USCIS and NVC altogether.  All the interaction and processing will be through the consulate.

 

[ujongjoe 6]

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

If you work for a major US company, are you planning to get a job transfer to the US?  If so, that may qualify you for the much faster DCF process.  I know you may not be in a hurry, but DCF has advantages other than the very fast timeframe -- it will let you bypass USCIS and NVC altogether.  All the interaction and processing will be through the consulate.

 

Thanks for this. Yes, I am aware of this option, but I read that you must provide evidence of an eminent transfer back to the US by the employer - I do not have this evidence. I also do not know whether I will keep working after we move back. I wouldn’t mind, but could also retire. 

 

I’ve already got the approved petition now after filing it in Feb last year. Singapore embassy is pretty efficient, so we will wait until the later this year to proceed with the NVC. We don’t want to move to the US before June 2024. Once they issue “the packet” we’ll only have 6 months.

Edited January 19, 2023 by ujongjoe

[Chancy 6,241]

8 minutes ago, ujongjoe said:

I’ve already got the approved petition now after filing it in Feb last year.

 

Oops, I forgot you're already at NVC stage!