Petitioner living outside the US

[CaliRose 19]

Hi friends I am a Petitioner and Living outside the US I need more advice from ppl  who had the same situation. How did you(petitioner) handle everything from outside of the US? about paying for IV and AOS ? online application? Affidavit of support application was online or paper work?

PLEASE PLEASE Help.

my status NOA1 

[Lee & Lei 42]

I am handing my case from abroad.  USCIS will mail you the NOA2 letter, and you should also receive e-mail notification regarding your case status. From there, your case is sent to the NVC and all further communication is handled through e-mail. You pay your fees online at CEAC's website with a US checking account (don't remember if you can use a credit card, but I do not think you can). 

 

You fill out the IV application "DS 260" online, but you physically mail all of your financial documents, your spouse's civil documents, and your Affidavit of Support to them using Fedex/DHL. You must physically sign the Affidavit of Support. 

 

The issue you might run into trouble with is proving Domicile. Because you reside outside the US, you have to prove to them that even though you are working overseas, you either maintained residency in the US or plan to return to the US soon. I provided a thick packet of documents supporting my US domicile status, even though I *should* be covered without all of that because I work for the U.S. goverment as a contractor (I supplied a Letter of Authorization from the government as proof of this). 

Edited August 18, 2017 by knightofdight

[CaliRose 19]

26 minutes ago, knightofdight said:

I am handing my case from abroad.  USCIS will mail you the NOA2 letter, and you should also receive e-mail notification regarding your case status. From there, your case is sent to the NVC and all further communication is handled through e-mail. You pay your fees online at CEAC's website with a US checking account (don't remember if you can use a credit card, but I do not think you can). 

 

You fill out the IV application "DS 260" online, but you physically mail all of your financial documents, your spouse's civil documents, and your Affidavit of Support to them using Fedex/DHL. You must physically sign the Affidavit of Support. 

 

The issue you might run into trouble with is proving Domicile. Because you reside outside the US, you have to prove to them that even though you are working overseas, you either maintained residency in the US or plan to return to the US soon. I provided a thick packet of documents supporting my US domicile status, even though I *should* be covered without all of that because I work for the U.S. goverment as a contractor (I supplied a Letter of Authorization from the government as proof of this). 

thanks, well I dont have US account, but I used check bank for my I 130 with one of the bank here and was acceptable, I dont know if this can apply to visa fee  also did you include your foreign income for sponsoring? cuz u were working outside of the US? My brother  is sponsoring us from US should I just use his income and tax return only? or have him as a "Co-sponsor" with my income? can you tell me what document did u prove? how would I prove I am going back? I am planing to go back to US 2 or 3 months before his interview and start opening bank account and renting apartment but idk if that amount of time is enough or not

thanks  

[bearflag 4]

Hey there. My wife was my petitioner and had lived outside of the United States her entire life before we immigrated (she was born and raised in England but had dual citizenship as her mother is originally from California). All her forms were filled out online and other than that I just had to take a hard copy of her affidavit of support with me to my embassy interview. Here is a full list of the supporting documents she sent with her affidavit of support:

 

- Scan of her U.S. Passport

- Copies of U.S. tax returns for last 3 years (or statement of not filing U.S. Tax Returns if under the threshold dependant on each years income).

- Personal statement of intent to establish domicile in the U.S. 

- Rental Agreement letter from future landlord (her cousin - also her co-sponsor)

- Scan of Federal Post Card Application for voter registration

- Scan of social security card (she had set up her social security on a trip to the U.S. several years before)

- Several quotes for shipping our belongings from England to the U.S.

- Several quotes for business insurance in the U.S.

 

I also had to take in a hard copy of her cousin's (co-sponsor's) affidavit of support, scan of her cousin's U.S. passport and three years of her cousin's tax returns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CaliRose 19]

1 hour ago, bearflag said:

Hey there. My wife was my petitioner and had lived outside of the United States her entire life before we immigrated (she was born and raised in England but had dual citizenship as her mother is originally from California). All her forms were filled out online and other than that I just had to take a hard copy of her affidavit of support with me to my embassy interview. Here is a full list of the supporting documents she sent with her affidavit of support:

 

- Scan of her U.S. Passport

- Copies of U.S. tax returns for last 3 years (or statement of not filing U.S. Tax Returns if under the threshold dependant on each years income).

- Personal statement of intent to establish domicile in the U.S. 

- Rental Agreement letter from future landlord (her cousin - also her co-sponsor)

- Scan of Federal Post Card Application for voter registration

- Scan of social security card (she had set up her social security on a trip to the U.S. several years before)

- Several quotes for shipping our belongings from England to the U.S.

- Several quotes for business insurance in the U.S.

 

I also had to take in a hard copy of her cousin's (co-sponsor's) affidavit of support, scan of her cousin's U.S. passport and three years of her cousin's tax returns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well thank you so much for all the info. Did ur wife  ever travel to US before you to domicile?? or just intent to domicile. how about bank account?did they ask for banck account? how did you pay fee online without US bank account?

some of the list above i dont have for example  1. last 3 years Tax return my latest tax return was 2015 and 2.Federal Post Card Application for voter registration.

what is Personal statement???

Can one of our relative just write a letter for us that we r going to domicile in his/her place for Rental Agreement letter  well until we find a house to buy

Edited August 18, 2017 by Rosesam

[CaliRose 19]

On 8/18/2017 at 1:37 PM, bearflag said:

Hey there. My wife was my petitioner and had lived outside of the United States her entire life before we immigrated (she was born and raised in England but had dual citizenship as her mother is originally from California). All her forms were filled out online and other than that I just had to take a hard copy of her affidavit of support with me to my embassy interview. Here is a full list of the supporting documents she sent with her affidavit of support:

 

- Scan of her U.S. Passport

- Copies of U.S. tax returns for last 3 years (or statement of not filing U.S. Tax Returns if under the threshold dependant on each years income).

- Personal statement of intent to establish domicile in the U.S. 

- Rental Agreement letter from future landlord (her cousin - also her co-sponsor)

- Scan of Federal Post Card Application for voter registration

- Scan of social security card (she had set up her social security on a trip to the U.S. several years before)

- Several quotes for shipping our belongings from England to the U.S.

- Several quotes for business insurance in the U.S.

 

I also had to take in a hard copy of her cousin's (co-sponsor's) affidavit of support, scan of her cousin's U.S. passport and three years of her cousin's tax returns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did her cousin applied online AOS or did she fill out in paper n hand it to u? 

[bearflag 4]

On 8/17/2017 at 9:48 PM, Rosesam said:

well thank you so much for all the info. Did ur wife  ever travel to US before you to domicile?? or just intent to domicile. how about bank account?did they ask for banck account? how did you pay fee online without US bank account?

some of the list above i dont have for example  1. last 3 years Tax return my latest tax return was 2015 and 2.Federal Post Card Application for voter registration.

what is Personal statement???

Can one of our relative just write a letter for us that we r going to domicile in his/her place for Rental Agreement letter  well until we find a house to buy

 

Hi again. Sorry for the late reply, I've only just seen this!

 

No, never to establish domicile. We had both visited the US on vacation several times (it was on one such visit that my wife set up her social security), but my wife had never lived in the US and was with me in the UK throughout the entire process right until the moment we got on the plane to San Francisco together and both immigrated. We didn't set up US bank accounts until we were moved and living in California. We used UK bank accounts to pay for everything online (and with my UK debit card in person at the embassy on the day of my interview).    

 

You don't need the exact list I gave, just supply them with as many forms of proof as possible relevant to your circumstances. We were under the impression that if you are a citizen living abroad you have to file every year, even if you don't have to pay taxes. So you could retroactively file for the missing years now, or, if you didn't earn over the threshold you can just write a short personal letter as a 'Statement of Not-Filing US Tax Returns' for example:

 

STATEMENT OF NOT FILING US TAX RETURNS

- In tax year 2014, I was a full time Masters Degree student and held a part time job earning only $3426. The filing threshold in 2014 was $3900 so I was not required to file.

DATE: ----------

NAME: ----------

SIGNED: ----------

 

In terms of the Federal Post Card Application my wife applied online to vote whilst still in the UK, showing her intent to vote once we had moved. 

 

Yes, using a relative was exactly what we did. My wife's cousin's letter for us looked like this:

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

I am writing to state that the intended immigrant --------------- and his wife --------------- will be living with me once --------------- has been issued his visa for living in the United States of America. 

 

My place of residence where they will be living is located at ------ Main Street, --------, California, ------.

 

A rental agreement has been made between myself and the intended immigrant --------------- and his wife ---------------. They are also of course welcome to stay with me as long as they wish.

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

---------------

 

20 hours ago, Rosesam said:

Did her cousin applied online AOS or did she fill out in paper n hand it to u? 

 

No, we did all of the application ourselves online from the UK. We just emailed over the affidavit of support to her cousin to fill out. Her cousin then sent that back to us, along with scans of the last 3 years tax returns and a scan of their US Passport. I then took those hard copies with me to my embassy interview along with my wife's full affidavit of support. With my wife's affidavit of support we also submitted the proof of intent to establish domicile with a header letter:

 

PROOF OF INTENT TO ESTABLISH DOMICILE

 

The United Kingdom is where I currently reside although I intend to establish domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission. Please find attached proof of the steps I have taken to establish domicile.

 

- Proof of rental agreement for myself and my husband (the intending immigrant) at ----- Main Street, ---------, California, -----

- Copy of Federal Post Card Application to register to vote in the United States.

- Copy of my Social Security Card, procured on a previous visit to the United States, in preparation for eventually establishing domicile in the United States.

- Shipping quotes in preparation for moving our belongings to California.

- Quote for changing our business insurance to a US provider with the intent of relocating our business to the United States.

 

DATE: ----------

NAME: ----------

SIGNED: ----------

 

The embassy took copies of everything and that satisfied proof of intent to establish domicile. I was asked a few simple questions at interview to confirm things such as 'you'll be renting from your wife's cousin, correct?' and 'what made you and your wife want to move to California?' That was it.

[CaliRose 19]

21 hours ago, bearflag said:

 

Hi again. Sorry for the late reply, I've only just seen this!

 

No, never to establish domicile. We had both visited the US on vacation several times (it was on one such visit that my wife set up her social security), but my wife had never lived in the US and was with me in the UK throughout the entire process right until the moment we got on the plane to San Francisco together and both immigrated. We didn't set up US bank accounts until we were moved and living in California. We used UK bank accounts to pay for everything online (and with my UK debit card in person at the embassy on the day of my interview).    

 

You don't need the exact list I gave, just supply them with as many forms of proof as possible relevant to your circumstances. We were under the impression that if you are a citizen living abroad you have to file every year, even if you don't have to pay taxes. So you could retroactively file for the missing years now, or, if you didn't earn over the threshold you can just write a short personal letter as a 'Statement of Not-Filing US Tax Returns' for example:

 

STATEMENT OF NOT FILING US TAX RETURNS

- In tax year 2014, I was a full time Masters Degree student and held a part time job earning only $3426. The filing threshold in 2014 was $3900 so I was not required to file.

DATE: ----------

NAME: ----------

SIGNED: ----------

 

In terms of the Federal Post Card Application my wife applied online to vote whilst still in the UK, showing her intent to vote once we had moved. 

 

Yes, using a relative was exactly what we did. My wife's cousin's letter for us looked like this:

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

I am writing to state that the intended immigrant --------------- and his wife --------------- will be living with me once --------------- has been issued his visa for living in the United States of America. 

 

My place of residence where they will be living is located at ------ Main Street, --------, California, ------.

 

A rental agreement has been made between myself and the intended immigrant --------------- and his wife ---------------. They are also of course welcome to stay with me as long as they wish.

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

---------------

 

 

No, we did all of the application ourselves online from the UK. We just emailed over the affidavit of support to her cousin to fill out. Her cousin then sent that back to us, along with scans of the last 3 years tax returns and a scan of their US Passport. I then took those hard copies with me to my embassy interview along with my wife's full affidavit of support. With my wife's affidavit of support we also submitted the proof of intent to establish domicile with a header letter:

 

PROOF OF INTENT TO ESTABLISH DOMICILE

 

The United Kingdom is where I currently reside although I intend to establish domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission. Please find attached proof of the steps I have taken to establish domicile.

 

- Proof of rental agreement for myself and my husband (the intending immigrant) at ----- Main Street, ---------, California, -----

- Copy of Federal Post Card Application to register to vote in the United States.

- Copy of my Social Security Card, procured on a previous visit to the United States, in preparation for eventually establishing domicile in the United States.

- Shipping quotes in preparation for moving our belongings to California.

- Quote for changing our business insurance to a US provider with the intent of relocating our business to the United States.

 

DATE: ----------

NAME: ----------

SIGNED: ----------

 

The embassy took copies of everything and that satisfied proof of intent to establish domicile. I was asked a few simple questions at interview to confirm things such as 'you'll be renting from your wife's cousin, correct?' and 'what made you and your wife want to move to California?' That was it.

oh wooow you are awesome thanks for giving me all the letters and information I really appreciated. just a quick question for the AOS from Did her cousin fill out online PDF ?and how did she sign a forms?printed signed and scanned it to you? cuz they need original docs, sorry it is a simple Q but I want to be clear. also did ur wife used her UK income , UK bank statement? what if I have joint account with my husband ? I dont have Federal Post Card I dont know if that going to be issue, but i do have a letter (job offer) from my previous boss.

[CaliRose 19]

2 hours ago, Dee elle said:

If the embassy at which you are interviewing required you to submit your documents to the NCV via email or CEAC upload, then print off the completed firms, sign and scan, save and email or upload. For anything you submit as a scan, you will be required to bring the original with you to the interview. This includes things like Police Check, tax records, financial evidence,Birth and Marriage Certificates, and the signed I864

Ok great thank you well I dont have 2016 Tax return because I was not in US so I have my brother sponsoring from US, in this case should I collect my Financial evidence (banck statefrom myself too? or just him?  Do you know how and when we request for police check? do we get any letter from NVC regarding how to get  police check any referral letter? if NOT how we apply for police check ?can we request now to get ready by next year for NOA 2?

thankssss

[bearflag 4]

5 hours ago, Rosesam said:

oh wooow you are awesome thanks for giving me all the letters and information I really appreciated. just a quick question for the AOS from Did her cousin fill out online PDF ?and how did she sign a forms?printed signed and scanned it to you? cuz they need original docs, sorry it is a simple Q but I want to be clear. also did ur wife used her UK income , UK bank statement? what if I have joint account with my husband ? I dont have Federal Post Card I dont know if that going to be issue, but i do have a letter (job offer) from my previous boss.

That's okay, no problem at all. I know how stressful the process is so I'm more than happy to help! I'd check with your embassy exactly what they need in terms of original documents - we went through the London embassy with direct consular filing and didn't deal with NVC, all my documents (police certificate, birth certificate, passport etc.) had to be the original documents, but for my wife's AOS and her cousin's AOS the embassy were happy with scans of their passports etc. Her cousin's passport just got scanned and the copy emailed over to us, then anything that required a signature such as the AOS form, rental agreement letter etc. was printed off, filled out and signed by her cousin in the States and then airmailed over to us ready to take into the embassy. Things may be different depending on where you're submitting the forms and evidence, but original copies of my wife and her cousin's passports were never required by London in our case. My wife didn't use her UK income or submit any UK bank statements as she didn't earn over the threshold. The only proof of income submitted were her cousin's US tax returns. If you have a joint account with your husband it shouldn't make a difference - they just want to see that you are capable of supporting yourselves. The job offer letter from your previous boss sounds great to me, I'd definitely submit that letter as evidence as it shows you are taking steps to secure work over here in preparation for your move. We were never given a clear list of evidence that we needed, we just submitted whatever we had accumulated in our preparation to move and establish domicile.

[bearflag 4]

7 hours ago, Dee elle said:

One of the things that really helped me during the process, was being able to understand the process from start to finish.. and have clear, trustworthy resources to go back to over and over again. 

I would encourage you to look at the following link on the state .gov.website.. it has an overview of the process and indepth explanations for each stage.. it answers all your questions and more!! Read read and reread, folow each link on each page and get  a good picture of the process in your mind.. Then you can keep coming back to this forum for support and with specific questions..  remember though, we all share from our own experiences and your journey will have differences to ours.. so not all the answers offered wil aply to you.. You need to have your own understanding,  so you can sort out what is helpful to you and what may not apply to you.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process.html

This is great advice!

[CaliRose 19]

9 hours ago, bearflag said:

This is great advice!

yes thank you so much all wish me luck 

[CaliRose 19]

21 hours ago, bearflag said:

That's okay, no problem at all. I know how stressful the process is so I'm more than happy to help! I'd check with your embassy exactly what they need in terms of original documents - we went through the London embassy with direct consular filing and didn't deal with NVC, all my documents (police certificate, birth certificate, passport etc.) had to be the original documents, but for my wife's AOS and her cousin's AOS the embassy were happy with scans of their passports etc. Her cousin's passport just got scanned and the copy emailed over to us, then anything that required a signature such as the AOS form, rental agreement letter etc. was printed off, filled out and signed by her cousin in the States and then airmailed over to us ready to take into the embassy. Things may be different depending on where you're submitting the forms and evidence, but original copies of my wife and her cousin's passports were never required by London in our case. My wife didn't use her UK income or submit any UK bank statements as she didn't earn over the threshold. The only proof of income submitted were her cousin's US tax returns. If you have a joint account with your husband it shouldn't make a difference - they just want to see that you are capable of supporting yourselves. The job offer letter from your previous boss sounds great to me, I'd definitely submit that letter as evidence as it shows you are taking steps to secure work over here in preparation for your move. We were never given a clear list of evidence that we needed, we just submitted whatever we had accumulated in our preparation to move and establish domicile.

thank youu  you were so lucky for everything all the processing and ur counselor    also your case took about 6-7 months to approve  woow how lucky you are wish me luck too