Arguing for having maintained domicile in the USA, despite 3 years abroad

[spectrrr 14]

Here’s yet another proving domicile post, with a twist!

I’m arguing for having maintained domicile in the USA, despite 3 years abroad!

Here’s what I’ve got, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Trying to avoid an RFE/Checklist of course!

Three years ago I put all my stuff into storage in a 10x30’ locker, packed the rest into 3 suitcases, moved to Venezuela and got married. I sold my car to fund it all. I have no house. The original plan was to stay in Venezuela only until the visa came through in 9-12 months. But we decided to stay longer in her home country while we got our marriage fully established. As many here know, changing countries can be rather stressful!

Fast forward in time. It’s now been three years, we’re ready to move back and coming into the home stretch at the NVC. The big question of domicile. My argument is different. Despite three years having passed, my argument is for having maintained domicile in the USA. I never intended to stay as long as I did, and I’ve never taken measures to settle or establish a life here. The last 3 years have essentially been in “limbo”.

We are essentially poor and broke. My uncle is sponsoring affidavit of support, a good friend is making his spare bedroom and car available to us when we land, and from there, we get to work hard and claw our way up. It seems many of the “proving domicile” things I read assume at least a middle level of income, assets, or family, which don’t apply in my case.

My arguments for having maintained domicile in the USA:

1.Domestic USA Bank Accounts

a. I have accounts with three banks in the USA, including one I pay $15 monthly for.

2.Foreign Bank Accounts

a. I did not file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with the IRS.

b. I never opened any foreign bank accounts.

c. I never applied for a foreign credit card.

d. I do not have my name on any joint accounts.

e. I have ZERO banking presence here. I have ZERO foreign assets.

3.Belongings

a. I never shipped my personal belongings to Venezuela, I took only what fit in a suitcase on the plane.

b. I have maintained a 10’x30’ storage locker ($75 monthly expense) with all of my personal belongings, including furniture, books, clothing, electronics, artwork, and tools.

i.Problem here in proving this. I have a copy of the original contract from 3 years ago, but I don’t have receipt payments. I have been sending money to a friend via PayPal every few months, and my friend sends a check to the storage facility. Should I ask my friend for copies of his canceled checks, and combine that with copies of my PayPal statements? Or is the original contract enough…..

4.I’m here on a TR-FV Visa – (transeúnte familiar)

a. Transient, temporary family visa, limited to one year (extensions available and applied for)

b. Not a resident, no rights as such.

5.Drivers license

a. US Drivers license renewed in October, 2014 during my only visit home.

b. Never applied for Venezuelan drivers’ license.

My arguments for returning to domicile in the USA:

1. Errm…… none.

2. No apartment rental contract, no school applications for the kids we don’t have. No moving quotes for the stuff already back in storage in the USA, No job offers, and no housing search for the house we can’t afford.

[dwheels76 5,459]

Here’s yet another proving domicile post, with a twist!

I’m arguing for having maintained domicile in the USA, despite 3 years abroad!

Here’s what I’ve got, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Trying to avoid an RFE/Checklist of course!

Three years ago I put all my stuff into storage in a 10x30’ locker, packed the rest into 3 suitcases, moved to Venezuela and got married. I sold my car to fund it all. I have no house. The original plan was to stay in Venezuela only until the visa came through in 9-12 months. But we decided to stay longer in her home country while we got our marriage fully established. As many here know, changing countries can be rather stressful!

Fast forward in time. It’s now been three years, we’re ready to move back and coming into the home stretch at the NVC. The big question of domicile. My argument is different. Despite three years having passed, my argument is for having maintained domicile in the USA. I never intended to stay as long as I did, and I’ve never taken measures to settle or establish a life here. The last 3 years have essentially been in “limbo”.

We are essentially poor and broke. My uncle is sponsoring affidavit of support, a good friend is making his spare bedroom and car available to us when we land, and from there, we get to work hard and claw our way up. It seems many of the “proving domicile” things I read assume at least a middle level of income, assets, or family, which don’t apply in my case.

My arguments for having maintained domicile in the USA:

1.Domestic USA Bank Accounts

a. I have accounts with three banks in the USA, including one I pay $15 monthly for.

2.Foreign Bank Accounts

a. I did not file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with the IRS.

b. I never opened any foreign bank accounts.

c. I never applied for a foreign credit card.

d. I do not have my name on any joint accounts.

e. I have ZERO banking presence here. I have ZERO foreign assets.

3.Belongings

a. I never shipped my personal belongings to Venezuela, I took only what fit in a suitcase on the plane.

b. I have maintained a 10’x30’ storage locker ($75 monthly expense) with all of my personal belongings, including furniture, books, clothing, electronics, artwork, and tools.

i.Problem here in proving this. I have a copy of the original contract from 3 years ago, but I don’t have receipt payments. I have been sending money to a friend via PayPal every few months, and my friend sends a check to the storage facility. Should I ask my friend for copies of his canceled checks, and combine that with copies of my PayPal statements? Or is the original contract enough…..

4.I’m here on a TR-FV Visa – (transeúnte familiar)

a. Transient, temporary family visa, limited to one year (extensions available and applied for)

b. Not a resident, no rights as such.

5.Drivers license

a. US Drivers license renewed in October, 2014 during my only visit home.

b. Never applied for Venezuelan drivers’ license.

My arguments for returning to domicile in the USA:

1. Errm…… none.

2. No apartment rental contract, no school applications for the kids we don’t have. No moving quotes for the stuff already back in storage in the USA, No job offers, and no housing search for the house we can’t afford.

You are looking at it wrong. What you establish in Venezuela is not the matter. You are required to have filed 3 years tax returns or show reason why you were not qualified to do so.

You have a room with friend have them write up an agreement. The re-establishing domicile has nothing to do with money. They need to see you kept ties or reestablish ties to US. Here is a list to establish or reestablish you can get going or you may have.

Domicile

Please note, if the petitioner lives with the beneficiary abroad, you'll need to provide proof of US domicile with the AOS package, as well as bring it with you to the interview. Please read the I-864 instructions (pages 3 and 4) for information about it. This is NOT needed if the petitioner is living in the US. Here is a sample cover letter to include in the package (it lists MANY possible documents, some may not be applicable, of course, to prove that you have, or will re-establish, domicile in the US):

NAME

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

Form I-864

Part 4, Question 5: Country of Domicile

I, XXXX, am currently residing in FOREIGN COUNTRY with my spouse, SPOUSE'S NAME. Below you will find a list of attached documents to show that my principal residence is in the US and the steps that I have taken to return to the US with my family.

Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile:

• Maintained my XXXX voter registration

• Maintained my XXXX credit card registered in the US with a US PO box

• Maintained my bank account at the XXXX Credit Union

• Maintained my bank account at XXXX Bank

• Maintained my XXXX drivers license

• Maintained my US retirement fund through XXXX

• Maintained my US investment account with XXXX

• Maintained my US PO box

• Maintained licensure by the XXXX

• Maintained membership in the XXXX

• Maintained my automobile in care of my parents

Supporting Documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Voter registration card showing permanent US address

• XXXX credit card statement showing US billing address

• XXXX Credit Union statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX Bank statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX drivers license showing permanent US address

• Retirement fund statement showing permanent US address

• Mutual fund statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX license currently up to date

• Renewal of XXXX membership

• County tax bill showing I still own a vehicle

Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence:

• Made arrangements for us to have a house to live in

• Contacted schools for requirements of things to bring to register my children in school

• Contacted my auto insurance company to find out about re-instating my insurance on my car

• Contacted shipping company for estimate of costs to ship belongings

Supporting documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Lease agreement for our house

• Email from schools regarding registration requirements

• Email from my former auto insurance company regarding my inquiry

• Email from XXXX with estimate and correspondence regarding shipping our belongings

I declare that I intend in good faith to re-establish my domicile in the United States no later than the date of spouse's admission into the US.

I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the statements in this letter and all accompanying evidence are true and correct.

Signature: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________

[spectrrr 14]

You are looking at it wrong. What you establish in Venezuela is not the matter. You are required to have filed 3 years tax returns or show reason why you were not qualified to do so.

You have a room with friend have them write up an agreement. The re-establishing domicile has nothing to do with money. They need to see you kept ties or reestablish ties to US. Here is a list to establish or reestablish you can get going or you may have.

Domicile

Please note, if the petitioner lives with the beneficiary abroad, you'll need to provide proof of US domicile with the AOS package, as well as bring it with you to the interview. Please read the I-864 instructions (pages 3 and 4) for information about it. This is NOT needed if the petitioner is living in the US. Here is a sample cover letter to include in the package (it lists MANY possible documents, some may not be applicable, of course, to prove that you have, or will re-establish, domicile in the US):

NAME

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

Form I-864

Part 4, Question 5: Country of Domicile

I, XXXX, am currently residing in FOREIGN COUNTRY with my spouse, SPOUSE'S NAME. Below you will find a list of attached documents to show that my principal residence is in the US and the steps that I have taken to return to the US with my family.

Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile:

• Maintained my XXXX voter registration

• Maintained my XXXX credit card registered in the US with a US PO box

• Maintained my bank account at the XXXX Credit Union

• Maintained my bank account at XXXX Bank

• Maintained my XXXX drivers license

• Maintained my US retirement fund through XXXX

• Maintained my US investment account with XXXX

• Maintained my US PO box

• Maintained licensure by the XXXX

• Maintained membership in the XXXX

• Maintained my automobile in care of my parents

Supporting Documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Voter registration card showing permanent US address

• XXXX credit card statement showing US billing address

• XXXX Credit Union statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX Bank statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX drivers license showing permanent US address

• Retirement fund statement showing permanent US address

• Mutual fund statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX license currently up to date

• Renewal of XXXX membership

• County tax bill showing I still own a vehicle

Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence:

• Made arrangements for us to have a house to live in

• Contacted schools for requirements of things to bring to register my children in school

• Contacted my auto insurance company to find out about re-instating my insurance on my car

• Contacted shipping company for estimate of costs to ship belongings

Supporting documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Lease agreement for our house

• Email from schools regarding registration requirements

• Email from my former auto insurance company regarding my inquiry

• Email from XXXX with estimate and correspondence regarding shipping our belongings

I declare that I intend in good faith to re-establish my domicile in the United States no later than the date of spouse's admission into the US.

I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the statements in this letter and all accompanying evidence are true and correct.

Signature: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________

MMMM, so if I am reading that example letter correctly, It is not a case of "either / or"?

I don't have to choose only ONE - maintained US domicile /OR/ returning to the US.

The NVC evaluates BOTH "Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile" AND "Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence" together to form a complete picture?

My taxes are current, no problems there.

[dwheels76 5,459]

MMMM, so if I am reading that example letter correctly, It is not a case of "either / or"?

I don't have to choose only ONE - maintained US domicile /OR/ returning to the US.

The NVC evaluates BOTH "Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile" AND "Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence" together to form a complete picture?

My taxes are current, no problems there.

Its one or another. Some people need to reestablish and some just need to show they have kept their domicile things going. Just look through the list and gather what you can.

The #1 things are a place to live, bank account, voters card things to show you are coming back or that you have already establish domicile.

[spectrrr 14]

Its one or another. Some people need to reestablish and some just need to show they have kept their domicile things going. Just look through the list and gather what you can.

The #1 things are a place to live, bank account, voters card things to show you are coming back or that you have already establish domicile.

ok, that's what I had thought originally.

The only thing I have towards "reestablishing" would be a letter from a friend for housing, which is pretty flimsy (anyone can write a letter).

My evidence for showing that I kept domicile going is much more convincing. Which brings me back to my original post - despite being out of the country for 3 years, could it work to argue that I have kept my domicile going all these years, with the evidence I listed in the first post?

Two additions to the original post: I did file state taxes. I do NOT have voter records.

[slycordinator 6]

And with the storage locker thing, if you get the canceled checks you might also want an affidavit from your buddy that he was paying it on your behalf from transfers made. Otherwise, it might look like you just reneged and he covered it or he was taking over.

[spectrrr 14]

And with the storage locker thing, if you get the canceled checks you might also want an affidavit from your buddy that he was paying it on your behalf from transfers made. Otherwise, it might look like you just reneged and he covered it or he was taking over.

Good call.

A signed letter from him stating his payment was on my behalf, combined with the canceled check and my PayPal transfer statement at the same timeframe should do it I think.

Getting ALL canceled checks would prove annoying for the friend, but he shouldn't have any trouble getting the last 1-2 from his online statements and faxing me a copy.

You are looking at it wrong. What you establish in Venezuela is not the matter. You are required to have filed 3 years tax returns or show reason why you were not qualified to do so.

You have a room with friend have them write up an agreement. The re-establishing domicile has nothing to do with money. They need to see you kept ties or reestablish ties to US. Here is a list to establish or reestablish you can get going or you may have.

Domicile

Please note, if the petitioner lives with the beneficiary abroad, you'll need to provide proof of US domicile with the AOS package, as well as bring it with you to the interview. Please read the I-864 instructions (pages 3 and 4) for information about it. This is NOT needed if the petitioner is living in the US. Here is a sample cover letter to include in the package (it lists MANY possible documents, some may not be applicable, of course, to prove that you have, or will re-establish, domicile in the US):

OK, let's see if I'm looking at this better now! Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I need to get the structural content nailed down and confirmed so I can gather the final missing documents. I can fine-tune spelling, phrasing, etc later on.

Anything wrong with the structural content of the letter below, verbatim as it is?

NAME

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

Form I-864

Part 4, Question 5: Country of Domicile

I, XXXX, am currently residing in Venezuela with my spouse, SPOUSE'S NAME. Below you will find a list of attached documents to show that my principal residence is in the US and the steps that I have taken to return to the US with my family.

Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile:

• Maintained my bank account at AAA Bank ($15 monthly fee)

• Maintained my bank account at BBB Bank

• Maintained my bank account at CCC Bank

• Maintained my Ohio drivers license (Renewed in person, October 2014)

• Maintained my US PO box in Ohio

• Maintained a storage locker in Ohio with all of my belongings ($75 monthly fee)

• Filed taxes with the State of Ohio in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Supporting Documents for the above steps I have taken:

• AAA Bank statement showing US PO Box address

• BBB Bank statement showing US PO Box address

• CCC Bank statement showing US PO Box address

• Ohio drivers license showing permanent US address (mom’s house)

• Copy of original rental agreement with XYZ storage locker in Ohio, dated December 14, 2012.

• Statements documenting most recent payment to XYZ storage locker in Ohio.

§ PayPal statement showing payment from myself to Tom Jones in Ohio.

§ Canceled check showing payment from Tom Jones to XYZ storage.

§ Letter from Tom Jones stating that his payment to XYZ storage in my name was on my behalf.

• Copy of most recent 2015 Ohio State tax return.

Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence:

• Made arrangements for us to have the use of a house and car upon our arrival.

Supporting documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Letter from Tom Jones in Ohio, guaranteeing us the use of his spare bedroom and spare car upon our arrival.

I declare that I intend in good faith to re-establish my domicile in the United States no later than the date of spouse's admission into the US.

I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the statements in this letter and all accompanying evidence are true and correct.

Signature: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________

Is this part necessary, should I just delete it?

Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence:

• Made arrangements for us to have the use of a house and car upon our arrival.

Supporting documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Letter from Tom Jones in Ohio, guaranteeing us the use of his spare bedroom and spare car upon our arrival.

[NikLR 13,220]

Keep the second part. The CO like to see you will have a place to live with your spouse and also that you may have a job the most. But a place to live is pretty important. Keep in mind you're not impressing the NVC, but rather the consular officer conducting the interview.

Edited April 16, 2016 by NLR

[spectrrr 14]

Keep the second part. The CO like to see you will have a place to live with your spouse and also that you may have a job the most. But a place to live is pretty important. Keep in mind you're not impressing the NVC, but rather the consular officer conducting the interview.

Roger that

I'll be quite happy to get past the NVC in a timely manner. It's the distant NVC officer that has little knowledge of country-specific conditions.

The interview itself I expect to be quick and painless. No red flags in our case, I'll be present for the interview, and recent experiences from this embassy have been positive. Given the severe economic and security problems Venezuela is experiencing right now and how many people have left or are trying to leave, convincing a consular officer that lives here and knows how things are that I do indeed plan on returning to the US with my wife is basically a given.