Start domicile in extended stay hotel?

[Unreal 0]

Hello. I have been in Sweden for 3.5 years on long-term assignment with my company. My company will move me back to the US at the end of June. My wife is Chinese, we married in Sweden, and we have a 7-month-old son. My son already has his CRBA and US passport. We have been approved for DCF with exceptional circumstances for job relocation. The I-130s have also been accepted.

 

In Sweden I am still employed by my home company in the US. I still get paid in the US with USD deposited in my US bank, and I will keep my same position when I return to the US. My only concern is domicile since I don’t have a house or apartment in the US, and I plan on returning to the US concurrently with my wife and son.

 

Our household goods will be shipped to the US by sea (arranged by my employer), which will take several weeks. What I would like to do is stay in an extended stay hotel on arrival, look for a house to rent or buy during that time, and move in after our household goods arrive. However, I’m afraid that this plan would be interpreted as an intent to establish domicile several weeks after arrival instead of “no later than the date of the intending immigrant’s admission”. However, some people do live in these hotels for years. In fact, I lived in one for a couple of months before moving to Sweden, and I have its address on my driver’s license. Maybe I did maintain this domicile while in Sweden since they are still in business?

 

Another option would be to remotely sign a short-term or month-to-month lease on an apartment. This seems like the safest option; however, it is not as flexible, and I would probably end up paying for months where I was not staying there.

 

And finally, it seems that the most common situation on this site is to move in with parents. However, my parents live in a different state an 11-hour drive from my employer. We could state that we will move in with them until we found a residence (I can work remote for a time), but would that short-term arrangement really be considered a domicile?

[Timona 4,207]

Use your parent's home as domicile address, even if you're not staying with them. Let your wife's GC go there. 

 

This will help you with GC delivery. Do not, and I can't repeat enough, use hotel address or month to month rental as GC delivery. Doing so, you will come to regret later.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Timona

[pushbrk 12,877]

15 minutes ago, Timona said:

Use your parent's home as domicile address, even if you're not staying with them. Let your wife's GC go there. 

 

This will help you with GC delivery. Do not, and I can't repeat enough, use hotel address or month to month rental as GC delivery. Doing so, you will come to regret later.

Agreed.  The OP does not have a domicile issue, as their DCF is based on a job transfer back to the USA.

[Unreal 0]

13 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Agreed.  The OP does not have a domicile issue, as their DCF is based on a job transfer back to the USA.

Thank you pushbrk. I am writing the statement of domicile for I-864. All of my evidence shows that I am returning to Michigan. Do you think it is adequate to state (with evidence) that I have a permanent address at my parents in Minnesota even though I am shipping my household goods and looking for a residence in Michigan where my job is? I still worry that they will want to see a plan to have an address with a lease or a title at the time of entry to the US.

[Lil bear 4,201]

4 minutes ago, Unreal said:

Thank you pushbrk. I am writing the statement of domicile for I-864. All of my evidence shows that I am returning to Michigan. Do you think it is adequate to state (with evidence) that I have a permanent address at my parents in Minnesota even though I am shipping my household goods and looking for a residence in Michigan where my job is? I still worry that they will want to see a plan to have an address with a lease or a title at the time of entry to the US.

Overthinking this. Make the location plans that work for you. Use your parents address until you are settled. Dont forget address change AR11 for your spouse when you do settle. Most people doing  what you are doing stay with family and/or use their address for USCIS at least initially 

 

The job carries all the evidence weight you need. Honestly USCIS wouldnt care if you were camping in a tent somewhere 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Lil bear

[pushbrk 12,877]

7 hours ago, Unreal said:

Thank you pushbrk. I am writing the statement of domicile for I-864. All of my evidence shows that I am returning to Michigan. Do you think it is adequate to state (with evidence) that I have a permanent address at my parents in Minnesota even though I am shipping my household goods and looking for a residence in Michigan where my job is? I still worry that they will want to see a plan to have an address with a lease or a title at the time of entry to the US.

I think whatever you did to get DCF is already enough.  Your intentions are quite clear already.