Perpetual Tourist vs. Permanent Resident of Morocco (merged)

[msalc1234 0]

What about this scenario?

I am planning to go to my (future) spouse's home country, Morocco, so that we can live together (I have lived in the US as a citizen my entire life). I currently don't meet the minimum income requirements to be a sponsor. So the plan is to live in Morocco with him, get married there, and save up money, all while working remotely for a US company as an independent contractor (this is what I am currently doing for my job). They say you have to meet the minimum income requirements for 3 years in a row-- so I'm assuming that means I would have to live in Morocco for as long as it would take to meet that income requirement and maintain it, before applying for the visa, whichever one would be best. I say "have to live in Morocco" because we refuse to be separated from each other and plane tickets to the US and back are way too expensive.

I am not sure if it would be better for me to become a perpetual tourist (meaning that I would leave Morocco to a different country other than the US every 90 days and re enter Morocco shortly thereafter), or if I can and should establish permanent residency in Morocco while maintaining my US citizenship, of course. Would I be able to prove domicile with either of these? I would keep my US bank, US student loan payments, and US vehicle financing payments the entire time. The goal is for us to not have to be separated at any time in the process. Any insights would be extremely appreciated, as this seems like a very complex situation!

**neither of us have ever been married before, no children, and no criminal records.

[msalc1234 0]

I am in a similar situation... and I'm wondering if I should become a PR of Morocco or do the perpetual tourist thing, as mentioned above. I'm also not familiar with the differences between what one is permitted to do as a tourist vs. a PR in Morocco. I also plan to ship my truck and truck bed camper to Morocco. It is a 2007, so I will have to make it a "perpetual tourist" and have it leave Morocco every 3 months...

I am planning to go to my (future) spouse's home country, Morocco, so that we can live together (I have lived in the US as a citizen my entire life). I currently don't meet the minimum income requirements to be a sponsor. So the plan is to live in Morocco with him, get married there, and save up money, all while working remotely for a US company as an independent contractor (this is what I am currently doing for my job). They say you have to meet the minimum income requirements for 3 years in a row-- so I'm assuming that means I would have to live in Morocco for as long as it would take to meet that income requirement and maintain it, before applying for the visa, whichever one would be best. I say "have to live in Morocco" because we refuse to be separated from each other and plane tickets to the US and back are way too expensive.

I am not sure if it would be better for me to become a perpetual tourist (meaning that I would leave Morocco to a different country other than the US every 90 days and re enter Morocco shortly thereafter), or if I can and should establish permanent residency in Morocco while maintaining my US citizenship, of course. Would I be able to prove domicile with either of these? I would keep my US bank, US student loan payments, and US vehicle financing payments the entire time. The goal is for us to not have to be separated at any time in the process. Any insights would be extremely appreciated, as this seems like a very complex situation!

**neither of us have ever been married before, no children, and no criminal records.

[Pitaya 2,576]

~duplicate thread removed~

~please refrain from multiple posting of same topic~

Pitaya

VJ Moderation

[Anh map 2,098]

"They" gave you bad information about the income requirement. Your current and continuing income must meet the guidelines. As a self-employed person the income used is line 22 from the most recent tax year's form 1040.

If you don't meet the requirement you could obtain a joint sponsor who must meet the requirements for their household size plus your spouse. Any US citizen or green card holder can be a joint sponsor.

[Ontarkie 13,902]

~~Post split off from a Zombie thread that was 2.5 yrs old and he OP hasn't been back on since 2014. Please start your own threads rather then posting in other members as your question was overlooked and members were replying to the original thread.~~

[Happytobe 164]

obtaining residency in Morocco would probably be the "easiest" thing to do. From what I have heard the Moroccan authorities do get suspicious after a time of a person leaving and returning continuously.

Here is a great blog about obtaining residency there: http://marocmama.com/applying-for-a-carte-sejour-residency-in-morocco/

You can also have a joint sponsor.

If you are maintaining some sort of address (i.e. friend or parents for your DL, bills, etc) you should be fine in regards to maintaining domicile.

best of luck!

[Expat1 971]

What about this scenario?

I am planning to go to my (future) spouse's home country, Morocco, so that we can live together (I have lived in the US as a citizen my entire life). I currently don't meet the minimum income requirements to be a sponsor. So the plan is to live in Morocco with him, get married there, and save up money, all while working remotely for a US company as an independent contractor (this is what I am currently doing for my job). They say you have to meet the minimum income requirements for 3 years in a row-- so I'm assuming that means I would have to live in Morocco for as long as it would take to meet that income requirement and maintain it, before applying for the visa, whichever one would be best. I say "have to live in Morocco" because we refuse to be separated from each other and plane tickets to the US and back are way too expensive.

I am not sure if it would be better for me to become a perpetual tourist (meaning that I would leave Morocco to a different country other than the US every 90 days and re enter Morocco shortly thereafter), or if I can and should establish permanent residency in Morocco while maintaining my US citizenship, of course. Would I be able to prove domicile with either of these? I would keep my US bank, US student loan payments, and US vehicle financing payments the entire time. The goal is for us to not have to be separated at any time in the process. Any insights would be extremely appreciated, as this seems like a very complex situation!

**neither of us have ever been married before, no children, and no criminal records.

If you meet the minimum income requirement you can file anytime.

We were all separated for awhile. Get your life and job in order and file immediately after that. Whoever told you this 3-yr myth is a moron.

~~Post split off from a Zombie thread that was 2.5 yrs old and he OP hasn't been back on since 2014. Please start your own threads rather then posting in other members as your question was overlooked and members were replying to the original thread.~~

I fell for that

[Ontarkie 13,902]

If you meet the minimum income requirement you can file anytime.

We were all separated for awhile. Get your life and job in order and file immediately after that. Whoever told you this 3-yr myth is a moron.

I fell for that

I saw that, and you gave such good advice too!

[awaywego 28]

Have you looked into a joint sponsor? We live together abroad, and this is our plan, as the USC's income does not count for sponsorship when it will not continue from the same source.

Your other option, as noted, is to sponsor once you find a higher-paying job in the US; no need to wait three years. It sounds, though, like you would prefer to live in Morocco while the CR-1 is being processed.

You can address domicile with either plan for living in Morocco (but check that the "perpetual tourist" plan is valid). You will show either that you have maintained domicile or that you intend to reestablish domicile no later than the date your spouse enters the US. The I-864 instructions address each path, and there are some example evidences for each path in the NVC Process wiki here (scroll down a bit). You may be able to get some information about how strict your embassy is on domicile from embassy reviews or the MENA board.

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

****** 5 posts asking the same question in other member's threads removed, and two threads merged. Do NOT create anymore threads on this or related issues; if you have follow-on questions, ask them as part of this thread. ********

[kyrachos 11]

The advice others gave you is correct. Your current income is what matters, not what you earned in the past 3 years (though you have to submit your tax transcripts). You can work as a freelancer while living in Morocco as long as your employer permits it. This is exactly what I did. Although I was earning below the poverty threshold throughout the majority of our case, exactly one month before our interview, I got a raise (to several thousand dollars above the threshold) and my husband's visa was approved without needing a co-sponsor. Don't forget about filing taxes while you are out of the US, though. If you're teetering on the threshold line and are thinking about having children ASAP, remember that having kids increases the requirement, so if that will be an issue (should the visa be delayed), plan your family accordingly. Maintain your domicile in the US like you already listed (car, continuing job, bank account, anything else that will help) and you'll be good to go at the time of the interview.

I can't answer the perpetual tourist thing because I don't know Moroccan immigration laws, but my guess is that you can get permanent residency through your husband after you marry. If it's a possibility, go for it. You'll save money by not having to travel and your legal status won't be scrutinized (in Egypt, for example, a lot of perpetual tourists recently had their extensions denied and were told they need to leave the country within 24-48 hours from when they applied for the extensions).