Establishing Domicile?

[heynow 0]

Hi all, we live in PH now. I am going to states now to the home we will live permanent when she has her CR1 visa (it's my parents home I grew up in and we will live with them, I don't currently have any bills or mail going there as my US mail (car insurance, bank, credit card) still goes to other state I lived before my 3 year tourist stay in PH).

 

What are good things I should do there (parents home) now on this 2 weeks when I'm there to help domicile case?  

 

And should that supporting evidence be included in my i130 or i864 or both?

Thanks!

[IWander 589]

4 hours ago, heynow said:

Hi all, we live in PH now. I am going to states now to the home we will live permanent when she has her CR1 visa (it's my parents home I grew up in and we will live with them, I don't currently have any bills or mail going there as my US mail (car insurance, bank, credit card) still goes to other state I lived before my 3 year tourist stay in PH).

 

What are good things I should do there (parents home) now on this 2 weeks when I'm there to help domicile case?  

 

And should that supporting evidence be included in my i130 or i864 or both?

Thanks!

Proof of domicile is an affidavit thing.  Proof can include things such as your DL, voter registration, tax returns etc...  Really not all that hard to prove.

[Chancy 6,241]

6 hours ago, heynow said:

should that supporting evidence be included in my i130 or i864 or both?

 

Not required until after the I-130 has been approved.  So upload along with I-864 at NVC stage.

 

[heynow 0]

1 hour ago, Chancy said:

 

Not required until after the I-130 has been approved.  So upload along with I-864 at NVC stage.

 

I saw here https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/checklist-of-required-initial-evidence-for-form-i-485-for-informational-purposes-only

that the i864 may be required with the i485 which is further down the line but does the NVC ask for the i864 before that?

[heynow 0]

2 hours ago, IWander said:

Proof of domicile is an affidavit thing.  Proof can include things such as your DL, voter registration, tax returns etc...  Really not all that hard to prove.

currently I have those type of things for CA, but we will live in MD when we both go back with her CR1 so I'm wondering if my CA docs will not work since we will not be living there...? (and I plan to put the MD address on i130 as where we/she will live in America)

[Chancy 6,241]

Just now, heynow said:

I saw here https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/checklist-of-required-initial-evidence-for-form-i-485-for-informational-purposes-only

that the i864 may be required with the i485 which is further down the line but does the NVC ask for the i864 before that?

 

Ignore the I-485 instructions as that is not applicable to your wife's case.  CR1 immigrants do not need to file I-485.

 

You will need to submit I-864 at NVC stage before your wife can be interviewed for a spouse visa.  Refer to this flowchart for the process overview -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition.html

 

[heynow 0]

8 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Ignore the I-485 instructions as that is not applicable to your wife's case.  CR1 immigrants do not need to file I-485.

 

You will need to submit I-864 at NVC stage before your wife can be interviewed for a spouse visa.  Refer to this flowchart for the process overview -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition.html

 

oh great chart, thnx. so for CR1 then at what point does she get green card without doing i485? 

[Chancy 6,241]

6 minutes ago, heynow said:

so for CR1 then at what point does she get green card without doing i485?

 

The minute CBP stamps her CR1 visa on US entry, it becomes a green card valid for 1 year and equivalent to the plastic GC for all legal purposes.  So she will have a GC from day 1 in the US.  As for the plastic GC, pay the $220 immigrant fee after the CR1 visa is issued, then wait for delivery after arriving in the US.  No need for I-485.

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Chancy
clarification

[heynow 0]

5 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

The minute CBP stamps her CR1 visa on US entry, it becomes a green card valid for 1 year and equivalent to the plastic GC for all legal purposes.  So she will have a GC from day 1 in the US.  As for the plastic GC, pay the $220 immigrant fee after the CR1 visa is issued, then wait for delivery after arriving in the US.  No need for I-485.

 

thnx very much for clearing that up;)   any thoughts on my domicile part of the post above?

[Chancy 6,241]

2 minutes ago, heynow said:

any thoughts on my domicile part of the post above?

 

More suggestions for you -- 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

 

The US embassy in Manila is not particularly strict about domicile for spouse visa cases, as it's unlikely that the American petitioner would want to stay in the PH while their Filipino spouse flies off to the US.  They are more strict with domicile for family-preference cases, as many Fil-Am retirees in the PH sponsor their adult Filipino children to move to the US, while they continue to stay in the PH.

 

[heynow 0]

1 hour ago, Chancy said:

 

More suggestions for you -- 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

 

The US embassy in Manila is not particularly strict about domicile for spouse visa cases, as it's unlikely that the American petitioner would want to stay in the PH while their Filipino spouse flies off to the US.  They are more strict with domicile for family-preference cases, as many Fil-Am retirees in the PH sponsor their adult Filipino children to move to the US, while they continue to stay in the PH.

 

great, thnx. Do you think it makes a difference that my bank acct, credit cards, car insurance that I submit as evidence are at my CA address and the place we intend to live on petition will be MD address?

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, heynow said:

Do you think it makes a difference that my bank acct, credit cards, car insurance that I submit as evidence are at my CA address and the place we intend to live on petition will be MD address?

 

I doubt it would matter.  You and your wife are free to move anywhere in the US anyway after she gets her spouse visa.  That said, fill out the DS-260 form (at NVC stage) with your intended US address if you already decided on it.  And make sure your wife is clear about your plans as she may be asked about it at the interview.  I was asked at my interview about where I will live in the US.

 

[heynow 0]

4 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

I doubt it would matter.  You and your wife are free to move anywhere in the US anyway after she gets her spouse visa.  That said, fill out the DS-260 form (at NVC stage) with your intended US address if you already decided on it.  And make sure your wife is clear about your plans as she may be asked about it at the interview.  I was asked at my interview about where I will live in the US.

 

yes we made the plans together so thnx for reminder and ds260 noted. But what about on the i130 and i864, which address to use as my, the petitioners US address- CA where I can show bank, car insurance, credit cards as support docs or the intended MD address that I have no mail or docs attached to?

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, heynow said:

what about on the i130 and i864, which address to use as my, the petitioners US address

 

Note that these forms specifically ask for physical address and mailing address.  If you currently live in the Philippines, your physical address should list your Philippine address.  Your mailing address can be any address, preferably in the US, where you can reliably get your mail.  If your paper mail gets delivered to your CA address, then list that.  It's ok even if your mailing address doesn't match your current physical address nor your future intended address.  Also, on the I-864, it's ok to list "USA" as your "Country of Domicile" (I strongly recommend you do so), yet have a Philippine address listed as physical address.

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

When I applied for the K1 for my wife, I had been out of the US for 25 years.  I just included a short letter in the initial documents that stated I would be moving back to the US between such and such dates.  I gave a range of about 3 or 4 months.  I had nothing tying me to the US except some brokerage accounts.  I had no US bank, no US credit cards, no drivers license, all the credit report items had dropped off so had no credit which hasnt been an obstacle to anything.  I listed my sister's address as a mailing address. Nobody ever asked about it through the entire process and it was never an issue which included USCIS and the embassy in Manila.  I filed US taxes every year but the IRS never inputted my overseas address correctly, so when I returned to the US, it took multiple days and a total of about 10 hours on the phone to confirm my identity.  This was during Covid so no offices were open.

Edited August 19, 2023 by flicks1998