Hi Guys,

All seems to be running smoothly but we have some queries over the I-864. I live with my UK husband in the UK and he currently supports our family. Obviously neither of us have jobs in the US to go to so my folks back home in Florida have filled in the I-864 with their 2007 tax returns, agreeing to support us. Their income far exceeds the requirement.

Is this acceptable as I cannot see an alternative?

Regards Amy.

US Citizen Spouse MUST sponsor the immigrants, his parents can be Joint Sponsor, but cannot be primary sponsor.

A few things with the I-864 that can trip a person doing DCF. First, US Domicile, the sponsor must show that has not given up US Domicile while living in foreign country, the other, the US Citizen MUST provide past years IRS returns, (US Citizen may be exempt from paying US tax on foreign income, but they are not exempt from filing a return with the IRS every year)

More can be found here: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/I-864GenInfo-FAQ-Final.pdf

Many US Citizens doing DCF will return to the USA shortly after filing the I-130, and work on reestablishing US Domicile, file past years returns, and work on finding a job to show being able to support the immigrant.

However, it is not absolutely necessary for the petitioner to return to the U.S. (I didn't - we were living in Canada). You just need to prove that - you intend to reestablish domicile no later than the intending immigrant.

Well returning is not really and option anyhow. We had a baby here in the UK. As we have a place to live in Florida then I read that it is infact proof of established domicile. So from what I understand then I need to sponser my UK husband on form i-864 and my folks are secondary sponsers and use form I-864A.

This is so complicated!!!!

Thank you both.

You don't have to return to the US - DCF is designed with cases like yours in mind. For domicile, he can open an account, pay his taxes, etc. You should be ok.
remember you need to also file the I-864 even if you have a cosponsor.
Good luck ,L.

Good the domicile issue is handled, then your husband will file I-864, and parents also use I-864 as Joint-Sponsor.

I-864A is only used by a household member to add support to a sponsor, husband's parents are not members of his household.

Example of when I-864A may be used is this: (A K-3 spousal visa holder comes to USA, files for EAD before adjusting status, the K-3 then gets a job, and at this point the K-3 spouse could file I-864A to provide self support to their Spouse's I-864 when adjusting status)

Hi there,

I have my I-864 ready and my parents who reside in Florida are sending over their I-864A forms with tax returns etc. Surely we only need prove my domicile?? I’m not sure what you mean by “he can open an account, pay his taxesâ€� He lives and works in the UK and is English. Am I missing something? Do you mean when we return to the US?

Thanks for your advise....

Are the parents members of your husband's household? Do they live in your husband's home? I-864A is only used by members of a sponsor's household. His parent needs to provide an I-864 as a Joint sponsor, NOT I-864A.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864A.pdf

Ok , I think I have confused you. It’s my parent’s household. This is my main residence in the US. This is where we will both be living when we return.( We have been given a plot of land to develop but it still belongs to my folks on paper at present)
Does that make better sense?

That makes sense, so they will in fact be part of the household. What Len was referring to is proving your (the U.S. citizen sponsors) domicile. Since you live in the UK, you may need more than just an address in the U.S., they will, of course, expect to see your tax return from 2007, possibly from 2005/06 as well. They also might want other proof like a bank account in the U.S. etc..

Your parents should definitely be filling out the I-864 and not the I-864A if you are currently living in England. They are not a part of your household because you do not live together. The future situation does not matter. My parents were joint sponsors for my husband and we lived with them when we first moved to the US, but because my husband and I were both living in the UK at the time of the interview, I had to do an I-864 as the main sponsor and my parents had to do the I-864 as the joint sponsors. Your parents are the joint sponsors not household members. Have they sent the I-864A yet? I hope you guys can get it fixed quickly. Good luck!

Also want to add that YuAndDan is giving good info but has it confused which is the USC and which is the UKC, which is why some of it is confusing.

So parents can only be joint sponsors if you move into their household once immigration to the US is completed?

No, definitely not. Please let me know if it was something I said that led you to think that and I will clarify.

Ok, since this is all so complicated we decided to fill in ALL the forms.. My folks have filled in both I-864 and I-864 and I the I-864. Simple. As I am my husbands dependant in the Uk I not have to file a tax return. I have previous tax returns from previous years etc but none since being here in the UK. We have bank statements from my US account and other proof of US domicile. Im confident we will be ok.

Cheers Amy

I'm glad you'll have the I-864 from your parents.

Have you earned more than roughly the equiv. of $3,500 any calendar year you've lived in the UK? If so, you will need to back file for that year(s). USCs living outside of the US can claim a large income exclusion (around $85,000 USD) but are still required to file if they've earned over the filing threshold amount no matter where they live or whether or not they're considered independent. It's really not to hard to do the backfiling the either the tax office at the US embassy or the IRS over the phone would be happy to help.

No, it was the part about household members.

So my wife doesn't have a job there, basically 0 income. Her mom easily meets the requirements, so would that be enough to meet the requirements if they both filled in an AOS?

Thanks.

Yes, if her mom is a USC living in the US with US-based income, she would fill out the I-864 (not the I-864A) as the only joint sponsor. And your wife would also fill out the I-864 as the sponsor. They would consider it based on your mother-in-law's income. This what my husband and I did, and it was perfectly fine.