Hi All. Im so happy to have found this website! Ive been married for 7 yrs and been livin in saudi arabia for that long as well. I applied for my husband but it was denied because I didnt have some hard to get documents. one yr later when I finally got the documents, the application had expired and I had to start all over again... which I did... and ddn't go through the whole thing bcs I ran out of funds. Now I really REALLY want to leave with my dh .. but I just don't know what to do! where do I start! could anyone tell me what to do? should I leave and apply from the states? should I apply from here? what in the world is domicile?!

DOMICILE is a very important concept because it essentially means that (you) a U.S. Citizen with an ADDRESS in the U.S. is APPLYING for a non-citizen to IMMIGRATE to the U.S. and JOIN you in the U.S.

An exception would be someone who is in the U.S. Military stationed in a foreign country but they would still be considered DOMICILED in the U.S.. Military personnel have what is called a H.O.R. (HOR) "Home Of Record" which is their stateside address which they listed when they joined the military.

Other exceptions may apply, but generally DOMICILE requirements are: having a U.S. Bank Account, a U.S. State Drivers License, VOTING in U.S. elections, receiving mail at a U.S. address, owning residential property in the U.S., and of course not forfeiting your U.S. Citizenship, etc.

You might start trying to re-establish your domicile in the U.S.

Ideas other than what beameup already mentioned are:

I wrote up a tenancy letter between my dad and I in his home, stating my spouse and I may live there indefinatley.

Register to vote, it's something you can usually do online, and then have papers sent to your US domicile address.

In my case, at my dad's house I have many personal belongings, I've got pics of those.

On my last trip home, I opened a joint U.S. bank account with my husband.

I opened and activated movie rental and library cards.

I renewed my State Drivers Licence.

I've got passport stamps and boarding passes showing that I maintained ties with my family in the U.S.

I made myself a resumè to send out when I do move to the U.S.

I've sent myself tons of college applications and info on insurance and etc. to my U.S. address.

Sorry I couldn't help on your other questions, don't worry though, you'll get it all figured out!

Of course I failed to post the MOST important item: PAYING the IRS your yearly TAXES.
One "reason" why "domicile" is SO important (even though not publicly admitted) is that AMERICA wants MORE taxpayers - anyone immigrating into the U.S. must contribute to the U.S. economy (and not be a "drain" on the economy). Those Americans who have "forsaken" their livelihood in contributing (paying taxes) to the U.S. economy by moving permanently abroad are not considered desirable for immigration purposes.

WELCOME TO VJ!!!

GYPC29,

See 9 FAM 40.41 (Public Charge) Notes, N6, for the Department of State's explanation.

Yodrak

In addition to the 9 FAM, there are several links regarding domicile in the DCF guide (blue tabs, top of the page)

Something I forgot:

On the Step-by-Step Instructions on the form I-864 Part 4 B and C, it talks about living abroad temporarily, and then about your intentions of reestablishing your domicile in the U.S. no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission. (You'll attach this proof with the I-864.)

It describes what might be considered as concrete steps to reestablishing domicile like we talked about above:

job, signing a lease or purchasing a home in the U.S. or registering kids in school. voting, tax records, banking, and so on

I didn't have any of these things so I slowly created these things, in a round about way,I even have proof that I filed no taxes! (no taxes to be filed, I don't work.)

It dosen't say anywhere on the form that if you don't have these things you can't bring your husband back with you...

So start preparing these things now so you will have something to show when you turn in the I-864.

Don't worry, you can fix things!

Good Luck and let me know what you come up with!

sorry to hijack your thread buddy! but i have a quick question.

My wife is in the process of reestablishing domicile in the states as she has been married to me in the UK for 5 years now and we are in the process of filling in the I-130, I-864 etc as we are hoping to move to the States and hope to DCF soonish.

Would a lease agreement with proof that we have paid 6 months rental up front suffice? along with her US bank account, drivers license etc, which she has kept, while being here in the UK.

Thanks in advance for any help!