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I'm not sure who you are trusting more your tax software to a tax accountant that does this for a living?

JS is what? JavaScript. CO = Colorado. Sorry I'm not an immigration lawyer.

@Tesco what was the problem? Why did you have to get a joint sponsor?

I'm really surprised that people give advice on filing FEIE with a note that "I'm not an expert", or when someone said that "taxes are complicated" You bet they are. I'm not an expert either. That is why I hired an expat tax preparer that is also an enrolled agent with the IRS to prepare my FEIE. I didn't understand it like half of the people who post here. And that is why I hired someone who does understand and deals with it on a regular basis. Anyway, this question was not about filing for FEIE. It was about the immigrant (spouse) visa, which this forum is about. And I think I kinda got the answer from the first couple replies: I need to have the income above the poverty line after the FEIE write-off is deducted.

@KMG please read it from the IRS website yourself: Where does it say that you need to work for a foreign company?

@JeanneAdil what are you basing it on?

@Edward and Jaycel oh, that's pretty cool. Thanks for explaining it. I didn't know that detail.

@Edward and Jaycel hmm, interesting. I was going by what my tax preparer told me. You have to be gone 330 days out of 365 to qualify for FEIE. But maybe I misunderstood. @OldUser yes, you make a good point there.

@Edward and Jaycel that is not how FEIE works, you can't claim it for 8 months. I believe you have to be gone for 11 months or more in a year. But nonetheless I see your point. Thanks. I wonder if anyone here actually filed for that FEIE?

@OldUser "to me claiming FEIE highlights you're living abroad and working abroad, undermining your claim to have US domicile." Yes, that's why I'm asking. Hoping that someone else went through this FEIE as well. On one hand I wouldn't mind not sharing my hard earned $$ with Uncle Elon (or whoever else runs this country now), but on the other hand I don't want to jeopardize this marriage visa. (It takes several years to complete, so I don't want to save some money and then get a bunch of complications over it.) But, on the other hand, it also proves that I'm living with my wife and it's a genuine marriage. This is what they want after all, right? And if they were moving a bit faster and didn't take years to process these cases, I wouldn't have to live abroad for this long.

@Edward and Jaycel thanks for the tip. You mean "total income" as in "taxable for the IRS", right? Because my total income will be what it is. It's just that I don't pay tax on a good portion of it. I think it's around $126k now that FEIE allows to write-off. Just from the curiosity, what is the minimum income required for the I-864? I found this. I am assuming it will be for 2 people, right. So the poverty line is $21k/yr. Then we get 125% off it, so the min income should be $26.5k/yr. As for the @OldUser's question. Sorry, I'm not a lawyer, so I didn't understand it right away. I googled it and it seems like I need to prove these points for the domicile: U.S. Tax Returns Employment in the U.S. Property Ownership or Lease Agreements U.S. Bank Accounts Driver’s License or State ID Voting Records I have all of those, except the last one. I have a voter registration card, but I haven't voted for the last year. (Since I was abroad.) But can the US government actually ask for a proof of voting? I don't think so.

@OldUser I'm assuming that you're referring to what I provided in the form I-130 in the "Address history" section. (I had to look it up to check.) I gave them two addresses. 1) My address in the US (I co-rent it with my friend and still pay rent there, and keep all my registrations there) and 2) provided the address in Africa where we're staying with my wife.

I applied for the CR1/IR1 visa for my spouse back in Feb 2024. We were married online in the UT state prior to that. I lived with her since Dec 2023. I was able to do that because I work remotely for a US company. I'm filing my taxes for the year 2024 now and since I haven't set foot on the US soil in 2024, my tax advisor prepared the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) tax write-off for me. Which is a decent amount. My question is (maybe someone knows) - can the FEIE filing affect my wife's visa application?

Thank you both. I wonder if anyone tried it though? Not necessarily in Spain, but somewhere else.

Hey folks: We're waiting for the CR1/IR1 visa for my wife. She is from an African country with the worst processing times. She and I are both digital nomads (i.e. we work remotely.) I know that some countries like Spain issue digital nomad visas that seem to allow issuance of a Residence Permit Card for holders of a digital nomad visa (source). I also know that US embassy in Spain processes applications much faster than the US embassy in her home country. My question though: if she gets a digital nomad visa in Spain, will she be also able to transfer her case to the US embassy in Spain? Has anyone tried it with a digital nomad visa?