Intent to re-establish domicile

[TarKenkari 22]

Hi all,

 

I'm a New Zealander with a US Citizen wife. We met in New Zealand, got married and lived together in NZ for the last 8 years. 

We have a pending I-130 and I am starting to think ahead to the NVC and Consulate Interview. One of the requirements is that my wife must prove domicile, with her being in NZ for the last 10 years this is difficult. From what i can read online, if she can prove "intent to reestablish domicile" then this would be sufficient.

 

Does anybody have suggestions on what steps can be taken to show this intent?

[A'n'L 735]

Job offer, lease agreement, school enrollment (for oneself or children) are typical.

[swe_jill 7]

This requirement frustrated me given the uncertainty on visa processing times. Why would I pursue a job offer, enroll my kids in school or secure housing when I don't know if my husband/father of our kids can join us? Anyway, that's my personal gripe.

 

We submitted records that I had maintained my American footing to a degree, which included continued voter registration, filing of state taxes, and maintenance of US bank and credit card accounts. I also submitted emails that I sent last year inquiring about school and daycare enrollment processes, plus email correspondence with shipping companies for quotes. I also enclosed a letter from my father stating that we could reside in a family property upon our arrival. We are still awaiting a response from our DS-260, but I haven't heard that this information wasn't sufficient. 

[laulholley 28]

I also had to prove "intent to re-establish domicile". Here is a great thread that I used when gathering my information:

 

 

[Thesmiths2016 117]

Hello fellow kiwi with a US spouse.... we are also living abroad (been in Aussie 6 years and now back in nz, in Hamilton, where are you?)

 

we showed the following: 

* drivers license kept current 

* envelope for mail with permanent address (we got my husbands college transcript sent to his mums address which we consider his permanent address there)

* current US bank account records with his name on it and funds in the account 

* a few emails from the past year to real estate agents 

* copies of his Aussie and nz work visas showing his stay here was of a temporary nature 

 

We also explained in a letter (they ask for written explanation) about our situation, our plans, that we have investigated the daycare and school situation for our daughter, and have established US citizenship for our nz born daughter. 

 

They basically want to know your spouse wasn't planning on staying overseas forever and that they will be joining you on arrival (before or same time) in the USA.

 

currently still awaiting an outcome at NVC by hopefully this was enough

Edited April 7, 2017 by Thesmiths2016

[TarKenkari 22]

All, Thanks for the advice,

 

The tough thing is that my wife no longer has a lot of the typical things to prove domicile (US Bank Account, Drivers License, etc) as she has been in NZ for over 10 years now. I guess a general frustration is that we cannot seriously pursue job offers or home leases until we have confirmation that I have a visa, yet to get the visa we need these as proof.

[laulholley 28]

6 hours ago, TarKenkari said:

All, Thanks for the advice,

 

The tough thing is that my wife no longer has a lot of the typical things to prove domicile (US Bank Account, Drivers License, etc) as she has been in NZ for over 10 years now. I guess a general frustration is that we cannot seriously pursue job offers or home leases until we have confirmation that I have a visa, yet to get the visa we need these as proof.

I had the same problem as I have also been living outside of America for quite some time. For my evidence I had family members do a lease with me, I got quotes from moving companies for shipping our belongings, quotes for shipping our vehicles, quotes for insuring our cars in America, correspondence with US schools regarding registering our children. The most important thing is that you provide some evidence and successfully convince the embassy (when yall go for the interview) that the US citizen is returning to America.

[Team_Healey 6]

17 hours ago, TarKenkari said:

All, Thanks for the advice,

 

The tough thing is that my wife no longer has a lot of the typical things to prove domicile (US Bank Account, Drivers License, etc) as she has been in NZ for over 10 years now. I guess a general frustration is that we cannot seriously pursue job offers or home leases until we have confirmation that I have a visa, yet to get the visa we need these as proof.

As long as you can show e-mail correspondences to prove you are trying to establish some sort of connection to life back in America. I would suggest going through Zillow and finding a Realtor and provide conversation in obtaining a home or in looking for rentals.

Tax filing, make sure she had filed her US taxes with the IRS all those years while living abroad! This is a major one, they will ask about this if you have not and why. You can always amend taxes and order all those transcripts for your application.

You can try and learn if your wife is still somehow able to renew her Driver's License in the State that provided it. Some do renewals online and make it easier, others have forms you can fill out if you are an American abroad. It takes some time to get them to send you the renewed card by the way!

Voters Registration kept current as well, you can register to vote while abroad to also show you have a connection to the USA while abroad. 

Even if you do not secure a job while abroad, just e-mails confirming you are trying should be enough. 

Contact a local bank (where you will be settling down in the US) to see if they can open an account before your arrival, if they say no this correspondence can still be used as evidence of proof of trying to establish domicile.

They really want to see your effort into proving you are trying more than anything. They do know it is difficult to do much while outside the USA which is why they usually accept e-mailed quotes and such. 

[Thesmiths2016 117]

17 hours ago, Team_Healey said:

As long as you can show e-mail correspondences to prove you are trying to establish some sort of connection to life back in America. I would suggest going through Zillow and finding a Realtor and provide conversation in obtaining a home or in looking for rentals.

Tax filing, make sure she had filed her US taxes with the IRS all those years while living abroad! This is a major one, they will ask about this if you have not and why. You can always amend taxes and order all those transcripts for your application.

You can try and learn if your wife is still somehow able to renew her Driver's License in the State that provided it. Some do renewals online and make it easier, others have forms you can fill out if you are an American abroad. It takes some time to get them to send you the renewed card by the way!

Voters Registration kept current as well, you can register to vote while abroad to also show you have a connection to the USA while abroad. 

Even if you do not secure a job while abroad, just e-mails confirming you are trying should be enough. 

Contact a local bank (where you will be settling down in the US) to see if they can open an account before your arrival, if they say no this correspondence can still be used as evidence of proof of trying to establish domicile.

They really want to see your effort into proving you are trying more than anything. They do know it is difficult to do much while outside the USA which is why they usually accept e-mailed quotes and such. 

I agree with all the above, this is pretty much exactly what we did.  Emails to and from realtors, Zillow notification emails for properties that match our criteria, emails from HSBC and Charles Schwab bank about their process of setting up accounts, and so on.  I'm at 10 weeks at NVC as of tomorrow, so I don't know for sure they were happy with all this but the more info the better so fingers crossed.
If she hasn't been filing taxes because she's just been earning overseas, and you will be doing so yourselves, let me know. We just went through it all ourselves so I can explain how to find and fill in the forms for the overseas exemption.

[TarKenkari 22]

Thanks again, @Thesmiths2016 my wife has not been filing taxes so I would be interested in finding out more about the overseas exemption 

 

Also how much luck did you have setting up a bank account from overseas? From what I have seen you need things like utility bills/Drivers license and such to prove residence.

 

 

 

 

[Thesmiths2016 117]

56 minutes ago, TarKenkari said:

Thanks again, @Thesmiths2016 my wife has not been filing taxes so I would be interested in finding out more about the overseas exemption 

 

Also how much luck did you have setting up a bank account from overseas? From what I have seen you need things like utility bills/Drivers license and such to prove residence.

 

 

 

 

We actually piggy backed off my husbands parents account, they added his name then removed their funds from it.  We did try to set up a separate joint account but had no luck. it's possible with HSBC but a HUGE mission and a $200 fee to do so.  We decided to wait it out.  

 

With regards to taxes, if she hasn't been earning more than $100K US she will be able to file a 1040 (or 1040EZ if she wasn't self employed at all) and also a Form 2555 foreign income exclusion. 

[TarKenkari 22]

Hi @Thesmiths2016, thanks for the advice on taxes. I've prepared the tax filing for 2016 (using H&R Block) for free

 

The Tax filing forms make the I-130 petition look easy! Wow there is a lot to it!

 

Just saw you got your interview, good luck!

[Ryan H 3,790]

~~~Hijack post removed; if you have your own question, you need to start your own thread.~~~

[Thesmiths2016 117]

 

Hi @Thesmiths2016, thanks for the advice on taxes. I've prepared the tax filing for 2016 (using H&R Block) for free

 

The Tax filing forms make the I-130 petition look easy! Wow there is a lot to it!

 

Just saw you got your interview, good luck!

I did, and I got approved!!! :-)  I haven't been on here in days but my interview was yesterday    The person before me got Administrative processing ... it's their 3rd attempt... eek!  She worked for a government before though from what I overhead, and from a high fraud country. Personally I found immigration to be very friendly.

[TarKenkari 22]

wow, congrats @Thesmiths2016! What kind of questions did they ask?