I-130 with a nomadic lifestyle?

[jesserz 73]

My husband (Russian citizen) and I (US citizen) have been married for more than a year, and have been living outside of the US for almost as long. We want to file the I-130 forms, but I have these hangups. Tireless internet searches have gotten us nowhere, maybe one of you is going through the same thing:

 

-We haven't stayed in and don't plan on staying in any one place (due to my husband's work) long enough to await all the processing times.

-We've officially and legally (with residence permits) lived in Prague for the past six months, and will for another four months. But then, we are leaving and will not have a permanent address together. We'll be moving across Russia and Asia on tourist visas.

-I have a permanent address in the US (it is my mother's house where I lived before moving away and where we plan to live when we get there. My mother will be our sponsor); but I don't understand what addresses I'm supposed to put on the form. Is the US address my mailing address? But I won't be there to accept any mail. Certainly my mother can, but if I have to sign anything that's going to be impossible.

-My husband also has a permanent address in Russia, and can return to do interviews or whatever is necessary, but, again, he doesn't live there right now.

-We were married in Hong Kong, does that mean we have to file another form? Is it the 129F? There are so many numbers!

-And, lastly (for now), we've lived together in three different countries so far, but have been on tourist visas in two of them, so does that even count as being worth mentioning? I mean, it shows that we're together, but it's not legal residence, just tourism.

 

Thank you so much to anyone who has any answers or even if you know a place I can write to for more help! 

[millefleur 5,035]

Honestly,  you should come back to Russia for a few months and file DCF. That would be by far the fastest option. You could even probably get it done in a month if you prepare all your docs and have everything in order.

 

This would prevent you from having to worry about the nomadic lifestyle. You'd get the visa and you can live where you want after that. The CR-1/IR-1 will be good for six months. So, I think this is really the best thing to do.

 

No, you don't need another form because you married in Hong Kong. I-29F is for K-1 visas. You're married so you only need the I-130.

 

Seriously consider the DCF option. It's super fast and easy. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance to do it. Ours took about 3 months (check my timeline) from filing the I-130 to getting the visa in hand. But this is because we dilly dallied a bit with gathering the docs and I had to get my mom to help gather stuff. If you gather everything and are ready to go, you can do your medical and interview a few weeks after you get the I-130 approval.

Edited June 16, 2017 by millefleur

[jesserz 73]

Hi millefleur! Thanks for the response! If we want to file at a DFC, don't we have to have legal permanent residence for 6 months in the place we file from before we can even file? So wouldn't we have to live legally (with a contract?) in Moscow before we could do that? If that's the case, I can only stay in Russia for 6 months at a time before leaving again. Or can we just file from there because he's a Russian citizen?

 

P.S. Love your hedgehog in the fog theme.

Edited June 16, 2017 by jesserz

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from K3 Process & Procedures to IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures.

[milimelo 4,194]

Make sure to get police certificate(s) from all places your husband has spent 6 months or more. Czech Republic definitely based on your 10 month stay. 

[millefleur 5,035]

4 minutes ago, jesserz said:

Hi mellefleur! Thanks for the response! If we want to file at a DFC, don't we have to have legal permanent residence for 6 months in the place we file from before we can even file? So wouldn't we have to live legally (with a contract?) in Moscow before we could do that? If that's the case, I can only stay in Russia for 6 months at a time before leaving again. Or can we just file from there because he's a Russian citizen?

Yeah, the 6 months period is kind of up in the air here. According to official rules, you should be resident here for 6 months but it's possible to get around that. You don't need an official 'contract' of residence, a 3-year Russian visa would be enough and you just need a kind of 'lease' saying you live somewhere. You said your husband has a permanent address in Russia, so you could use that. Just have whoever owns it write up a lease for you.

 

It's a good idea to call the field office in Moscow and ask! They will answer any questions you have and they speak English. What kind of Russian visa do you have now?

[jesserz 73]

1 hour ago, milimelo said:

Make sure to get police certificate(s) from all places your husband has spent 6 months or more. Czech Republic definitely based on your 10 month stay. 

Does that mean a criminal records check? Where does one go about getting one of those?

[jesserz 73]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

Yeah, the 6 months period is kind of up in the air here. According to official rules, you should be resident here for 6 months but it's possible to get around that. You don't need an official 'contract' of residence, a 3-year Russian visa would be enough and you just need a kind of 'lease' saying you live somewhere. You said your husband has a permanent address in Russia, so you could use that. Just have whoever owns it write up a lease for you.

 

It's a good idea to call the field office in Moscow and ask! They will answer any questions you have and they speak English. What kind of Russian visa do you have now?

I have a 3-year multi-entry business visa. So I can stay 6 months in 6 months out. It expires in two years. Would it be a problem if we wouldn't be staying in the permanent address? 

 

I will call them or write them an e-mail. Though I guess e-mailing isn't as efficient.

[millefleur 5,035]

Just now, jesserz said:

I have a 3-year multi-entry business visa. So I can stay 6 months in 6 months out. It expires in two years. Would it be a problem if we wouldn't be staying in the permanent address? 

 

I will call them or write them an e-mail. Though I guess e-mailing isn't as efficient.

I would call because they answer almost immediately and you won't be put on hold. I would explain it like this: you have a Russian husband, you have a 3-year business visa, you're wondering what documents they need to see in order to be eligible for to file an I-130 at the field office. Tell them you aren't in Russia yet and if you go there with your husband and you have an apartment lease, would you be able to file? No reason to go into details about all your plans, just find out if they would let you file with your visa type and a lease or some sort. 

 

At least if you get an answer you can know if this is an option or not. It's certainly worth looking into because it would be so much faster and less of a hassle than the mail-in way.

 

 

[geowrian 22,335]

One other consideration...what will you do once you get the visa (and subsequently a green card)? Do you plan to continue staying abroad a majority of the time or settle down in the US?

Edited June 17, 2017 by geowrian

[Roel 7,191]

You know once you get a visa and green card, you will have to spend majority of year in the USA? If you keep on traveling there is a big chance the green card will be taken away and the whole process will be a waste. 

[lacolinab13 86]

I filed for my now husband's K-1 right before we left to go travel for 6 months. I wrote my address as being my parents' permanent address, where I also receive mail. That worked fine for us and would work fine as long as you trust your parents to open mail for you and be willing to help with a potential response to an RFE (in terms of physically mailing out a letter, etc). 

[jesserz 73]

geowrian and roel: yes we plan to settle in the USA. The nomadic lifestyle is mostly due to the fact that it's the only way we can stay together right now. It's fun to travel, but my goodness I miss having things. 

 

 

[jesserz 73]

11 hours ago, lacolinab13 said:

I filed for my now husband's K-1 right before we left to go travel for 6 months. I wrote my address as being my parents' permanent address, where I also receive mail. That worked fine for us and would work fine as long as you trust your parents to open mail for you and be willing to help with a potential response to an RFE (in terms of physically mailing out a letter, etc). 

I could completely trust my mother but is there ever a need to sign anything that comes in the mail? That's my only concern. Otherwise, my mom would love to help. 

[NikLR 13,220]

On 6/16/2017 at 8:21 AM, milimelo said:

Make sure to get police certificate(s) from all places your husband has spent 6 months or more. Czech Republic definitely based on your 10 month stay. 

Actually it's 1 year unless it's current residence or country of birth.