RFE FOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION !!!! DESPAIR !

[Captain Oates 910]

We were expecting 'case complete' today..

Our 864 was received 20th july and they said it was 'fine'

our 230 was received by them 2 weeks ago today

Just called the auto line and they said there is a 'RFE on the financial information'

I know their letters take 3 weeks to come to me so this puts me back at least a month - right into mid winter given london interview dates

We put a number of bank accounts in the US and UK as 'assets' - more than $650k in cash accounts - and included statements of transactions on all of them...spouse assets are ok for inclusion. We sent a huge pack of fine details of monetary assets. So what their problem is i dont know..

now we have an RFE to sort out from England and the whole thing is holed beneath the water line...

I feel totally gutted and I don't know how to tell Carolyn. She must be wondering why she put her life on hold for a year - all for it to end up like this...

I will call when they open but I bet they won't tell me details.. these people are plain nasty for the sake of it.

Oh well, I feel like just another wildebeest dragged out of the herd at random - just bad luck

alan

[NikkisPrecious 0]

Oh god, what a nightmare, i'm so sorry to hear this. Keep us posted on what their problem is and how you get on

[Captain Oates 910]

Oh god, what a nightmare, i'm so sorry to hear this. Keep us posted on what their problem is and how you get on

It's Carolyn's domicile !!!! They say she is not US domiciled !!!!!

She is in the UK with me but her domicile IS US !!!!!!!

We knew about this point so we covered it by sending:

Details of her:

US 401k pension

her US bank accounts

her US credit cards

US driving license

The receipts for her furniture in store in Wisconsin

She has been in the UK since october 20th

I asked the lady how we could prove domicile if this wasn't enough and she said she would ask them to re-review it

and I should call back in (10 to 14 days)

I asked to speak to a supervisor - not possible

I asked to speak to someone in the dept that reviews the 864 - not possible

I asked how else we could prove domicile - she repeated that they would review it..

WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO !!!!!!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE !!!!!

alan

[NikkisPrecious 0]

They just don't understand do they! GRRRR.. this makes me mad

[Captain Oates 910]

We knew all about domicile which is different to residence and so we covered it with lots of documentation and everyone on VJ says its never an issue unless the USC has cut all ties with the US.

So we sent a covering letter addressing the issue and referring to the instructions on the I-864 and with copies of all the ties Carolyn has - I mean even the bills for storage of her furniture in Wisconsin pending her return... We submitted the immigrant visa application January 9th - just over 2 months after she arrived in the UK !

We are really really stuck now - the adjudicators won't talk to us, the supervisor wont talk to us - Carolyn is not doing well here in the UK and her driver's license will not be valid much longer.

They are just being stupid - if it was a form or something we could sort it - this is a BRICK WALL !

I have been married to a USC for 2 years almost (married in Wisconsin), we have more than enough liquid assets - I have no convictions or health problems and have never overstayed and they just say no with no way out.... as far as I can see it's just for the hell of it - Carolyn wants to return with me on the same flight - but NO ! We have waited and waited since the middle of last winter and it's NO...

the I-864 was 'fine' two weeks ago but the final reviewer came up with this one ...

What do they want ? do they want us to divorce and call the whole thing off ? This is cruel vindictiveness just to get a thrill or justify someone's job existence...

This is not what US immigration law was supposed to stop.. I am absolutely at the end of my tether..

[NikkisPrecious 0]

I'm not totally clued up on the domicile thing tbh, but this sounds absolutely crazy, you put so much time and effort into showing them you are doing things the correct way, then this, what a joke. I really feel for you. I know its hard right now but keep your head up and you'll get this sorted, i know you won't give up.

[Captain Oates 910]

I'm not totally clued up on the domicile thing tbh, but this sounds absolutely crazy, you put so much time and effort into showing them you are doing things the correct way, then this, what a joke. I really feel for you. I know its hard right now but keep your head up and you'll get this sorted, i know you won't give up.

Thanks for the support - it's most appreciated... I have read and re-read the instructions on 'domicile' on the I-864 form and I know we qualify under the 'temporary absence' clause. They are all 'OR' not 'AND'

They really do want it both ways - London USCIS refused to take the petition because Carolyn is 'temporary' in the UK and said file in Nebraska - then NVC refuses the application on the last review before 'case complete' because she has not shown she is 'temporary' in the UK...

catch 22 I reckon....

I know Carolyn will not make her home here in the UK so this is just awful...

We have overcome every single problem all the way but this seems insurmountable and I am too tired to carry on - I hope she isn't...

[hhN400 3]

... This is cruel vindictiveness just to get a thrill or justify someone's job existence...

This is not what US immigration law was supposed to stop.. I am absolutely at the end of my tether..

I am very sorry to hear about your bad news. This indeed strikes me as "cruel vindictiveness" of a mindless bureaucrat as well.

Your wife should contact her congressman immediately to get this sorted out. They usually have email contact forms on their websites to get this going quickly. And she may want to follow this up with a telephone call in a day or two.

[Erica 0]

Oh, Alan ... I'm so very sorry to hear all this

FFS, they couldn't come up with this any sooner? Argh!

But don't give up ... and yes, have Carolyn contact her congressman.

*hugs*

[Yodrak 7]

Alan,

This is interesting. My understanding is that the role of the NVC with regard to the I-864 is to review it for completeness (all required documentation present) not for adequacy (does the sponsor qualify).

In any event, whether the NVC made a mistake in overstepping their bounds by making the domicile determination, or whether they made a mistake in the determination that they made, or neither, this situation is one that needs to be considered in the attorney v no attorney discussions but rarely is - sometimes the USCIS or DoS turns an un-complicated case into a complicated case.

The one thing that is certain is that the letter they send to you needs a response. You can respond by providing additional information or you can respond by telling that they have all the information that you can provide and should make a determination based on it.

The DoS web site has some information about domicile here:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/in....html#_Domicile

Also review 9 FAM 40.41 Notes, N6 "Domicile".

Then, having read those resources to prepare myself, if it were me I would have a consultation with a US immigration attorney to review the material that I had submitted and get some guidance on how to write the response. At the conclusion of the consultation I would decide whether to prepare the response myself or retain the attorney to prepare the response for me.

Yodrak

It's Carolyn's domicile !!!! They say she is not US domiciled !!!!!

She is in the UK with me but her domicile IS US !!!!!!!

We knew about this point so we covered it by sending:

Details of her:

US 401k pension

her US bank accounts

her US credit cards

US driving license

The receipts for her furniture in store in Wisconsin

She has been in the UK since october 20th

I asked the lady how we could prove domicile if this wasn't enough and she said she would ask them to re-review it

and I should call back in (10 to 14 days)

I asked to speak to a supervisor - not possible

I asked to speak to someone in the dept that reviews the 864 - not possible

I asked how else we could prove domicile - she repeated that they would review it..

WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO !!!!!!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE !!!!!

alan

[Captain Oates 910]

Alan,

This is interesting. My understanding is that the role of the NVC with regard to the I-864 is to review it for completeness (all required documentation present) not for adequacy (does the sponsor qualify).

In any event, whether the NVC made a mistake in overstepping their bounds by making the domicile determination, or whether they made a mistake in the determination that they made, or neither, this situation is one that needs to be considered in the attorney v no attorney discussions but rarely is - sometimes the USCIS or DoS turns an un-complicated case into a complicated case.

The one thing that is certain is that the letter they send to you needs a response. You can respond by providing additional information or you can respond by telling that they have all the information that you can provide and should make a determination based on it.

The DoS web site has some information about domicile here:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/in....html#_Domicile

Also review 9 FAM 40.41 Notes, N6 "Domicile".

Then, having read those resources to prepare myself, if it were me I would have a consultation with a US immigration attorney to review the material that I had submitted and get some guidance on how to write the response. At the conclusion of the consultation I would decide whether to prepare the response myself or retain the attorney to prepare the response for me.

Yodrak

Thanks for those thoughts Yodrak -I feel like a mother whose baby has been snatched - only 1 in a million and it's happened to me..

We have spent the winter and spring and the wettest summer since the ice age in a rented house in a horrible area just to be near the only place where Carolyn could get work.... and just so we could be together while I spend 11 months getting this visa. Carolyn gave up a great job and sold her house in Wisconsin so we could be together and do this - now her own government treat her like she has left forever and defected to Russia or something.

I would not blame her if she regretted ever getting involved with 'an alien' and just went back on her own.

We will get to work on it when I get my morale back but at the moment I am devastated.... yes thank you

[Mononoke28 134]

Alan,

I'm so sorry to hear this and I came in today all happy to give you the good news that my case is completed, thinking yours would be too. That domicile stuff is just not right, it doesn't even make sense since you said you sent all of that other stuff.

Let's hope the review doesn't take longer than 10 days. I'm sure they said 10 to cover their bases, so hopefully they'll complete the case sooner than that.

Diana

[Captain Oates 910]

Alan,

I'm so sorry to hear this and I came in today all happy to give you the good news that my case is completed, thinking yours would be too. That domicile stuff is just not right, it doesn't even make sense since you said you sent all of that other stuff.

Let's hope the review doesn't take longer than 10 days. I'm sure they said 10 to cover their bases, so hopefully they'll complete the case sooner than that.

Diana

Huge congrats Diana ! I knew we would be the same day so I knew you would be done today...

You must be so happy knowing the horrible pitfalls that can come out of nowhere !

So yippee ! and well done... phew you can start to agonise over how long it takes em to get it finished now !

We will get good news from Erica too when she recovers enough to tell us about the interview

Me ? 'Killed in action' - if the bullet has got your name on it and all that....

I hope Carolyn can carry us through this because I am done in. Up to recently I felt 42 but now I am really feeling my age - 59.75 ! She is really pining for the US and not ready for another winter here so I will hear plan B tonight no doubt .. she will freak when she hears her very own government are saying she has left the US and they have disowned her... The I-864 states quite plainly you dont need a house in the US to prove you are domiciled - you only need to show temporary abscence and all your personal life like banks/cards/pensions/furniture and mailing address are still there - domicile and residency are very different. Wish someone would tell NVC that.

but GOOD for you !!!!!! excellent news- now celebrate for the 4 of us !!! HOORAY !!!!!

alan

[Yodrak 7]

Alan,

My understanding is confirmed in 9 FAM 40.41 Procedural Notes, N1.2c

Perhaps the person at the NVC is requesting some additional documents, perhaps specific additional documents, that they expected to see to demonstrate domicile. Or perhaps they are overstepping their bounds and the error will be corrected on review of what you did submit.

In any case, when and if you recieve a letter from the NVC requesting something respond to it in writing. Do no assume that your phone call is sufficient.

Yodrak

Alan,

This is interesting. My understanding is that the role of the NVC with regard to the I-864 is to review it for completeness (all required documentation present) not for adequacy (does the sponsor qualify). .....

[trailmix 77]

Well that is truly unfair. I was uncertain how to prove domicile (as we both live in Canada - and I have never lived in the U.S., although I am a U.S. citizen).

I asked someone, a Canadian, who was recently approved, what he used to show domicile. For the question on the I-864 they stated 'Canada' for domicile and for proof of reestablishing U.S. domicile they included a letter from his U.S. citizen wife stating that they would enter the U.S. together upon approval of his visa.

It sounds to me like you covered all bases and she has OBVIOUSLY proven her ties/temporary absence, from the U.S.. I hope there is some solace in the fact that you did a great job proving it. The good news is it will stand you in good stead as you proceed, whether with a lawyer following up, through your wife's congressman, or on your own. I do wish you both the best of luck!