CR1 Proof of Domicile - never been a resident in the US

[MichaelaMaria 0]

Hallo everyone,

 

me and my German/American husband are currently in the DCF (Frankfurt) process for my immigration visa. We already filed the I-130 and are now waiting for the approval. Our plan is to move to the US in the fall. 

 

We are are now preparing the affidavits of support and need your opinion on our situation of "proofing reestablishment of domicile in the US". We are not sure what to include that counts as proof. 

 

Background:

My husband holds the German and American citizenship (through his father, who currently lives in the US). My husband has been a resident in Germany for all his life, so he does not have any voter's registration, US bank accounts or state driver's license. He tried to open a US bank account online, but all banks required state ID's or to do it in person! The only thing we have is an address where we will stay when we arrive for the first few weeks  (his father's home). His father will also act as the joint sponsor, since my husband's German income wouldn't count for sponsoring. 

 

We looked for jobs online, but we rather want to do it when we are in the US, where we can be present for job interviews. We both have Master's degrees, if that can help to show that we are not coming to depend on the government! 

 

I am a bit concerned that this might not be enough to proof that we intent to establish domicile in the US. But I also don't know what else to include. I don't want to fly to the US only to open a bank account or rent an apartment that we won't need!

 

We did write a letter explaining our situation and we also have my husband's father write a letter and state that he will provide us accommodation for the first weeks.

 

What do you think? Any experiences or ideas? Or do you think it can be enough, if we make our case clear (maybe talk about this in the interview at the consulate)?

 

Any help is appreciated! 

[kzielu 1,144]

20 minutes ago, MichaelaMaria said:

Hallo everyone,

 

me and my German/American husband are currently in the DCF (Frankfurt) process for my immigration visa. We already filed the I-130 and are now waiting for the approval. Our plan is to move to the US in the fall. 

 

We are are now preparing the affidavits of support and need your opinion on our situation of "proofing reestablishment of domicile in the US". We are not sure what to include that counts as proof. 

 

Background:

My husband holds the German and American citizenship (through his father, who currently lives in the US). My husband has been a resident in Germany for all his life, so he does not have any voter's registration, US bank accounts or state driver's license. He tried to open a US bank account online, but all banks required state ID's or to do it in person! The only thing we have is an address where we will stay when we arrive for the first few weeks  (his father's home). His father will also act as the joint sponsor, since my husband's German income wouldn't count for sponsoring. 

 

We looked for jobs online, but we rather want to do it when we are in the US, where we can be present for job interviews. We both have Master's degrees, if that can help to show that we are not coming to depend on the government! 

 

I am a bit concerned that this might not be enough to proof that we intent to establish domicile in the US. But I also don't know what else to include. I don't want to fly to the US only to open a bank account or rent an apartment that we won't need!

 

We did write a letter explaining our situation and we also have my husband's father write a letter and state that he will provide us accommodation for the first weeks.

 

What do you think? Any experiences or ideas? Or do you think it can be enough, if we make our case clear (maybe talk about this in the interview at the consulate)?

 

Any help is appreciated! 

How did his IRS tax returns looked (he was require to file) ? If they didn't (meaning he didn't file them), I would start with that, then worry about domicile.

[MichaelaMaria 0]

Thank you for your answer. I forgot to mention this. During the visa process we became aware of his tax liability in the US and filed the last three years with the IRS. At least we have the tax returns as a proof!

[fdhs 8]

Maybe buy him a one-way plane ticket around the time you are planning on leaving? I'd also look into some timelines for how long things take for DCF in Frankfurt, and plan for him to resign his job/give notice before the interview. Then a letter of resignation (and confirmation of this from his current employer) might help...

 

Otherwise, him finding and accepting a job in the US before you leave would be a big plus.

[CEE53147 559]

I hope he signed up for Selective Service as male USCs are required to do.

[MichaelaMaria 0]

1 hour ago, CEE53147 said:

I hope he signed up for Selective Service as male USCs are required to do.

We never heard of this until recently and he is over 25 by now. So I think is not applicable for him anymore, or am I wrong?

[Nitas_man 3,100]

We did DCF.  The requirement is not "proof of domicile", it is "proof of intent to establish domicile".  Much lower bar.

 

So some good ways to show your intent to establish domicile are:

 

Moving assets over to the US

Being up to date on taxes - pfft - you guys know better than to just skip that

Arranging a place to move to.  We used a family member's address as a throw-down, even though by the time we entered we had already arranged an apartment and updated the address in the airport.  Told 'em at the embassy IO counter it was a throwdown during the interview, he said that's fine.  You did exactly what we did by arranging that and you have an actual letter.

Those US assets need to meet the bar for support, or you need a joint sponsor.  The rule of thumb is 3X the 125% poverty rate in easily accessible assets (difference between income, which you - and we - could not show at the time LOL)

So for a household size of two you need about $100k, ish. 

They (seem to) like it when the assets are parked over in the US.  He specifically asked me where they were.

 

Good luck!

 

Edited June 8, 2018 by Nitas_man

[MichaelaMaria 0]

4 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

We did DCF.  The requirement is not "proof of domicile", it is "proof of intent to establish domicile".  Much lower bar.

 

So some good ways to show your intent to establish domicile are:

 

Moving assets over to the US

Being up to date on taxes - pfft - you guys know better than to just skip that

Arranging a place to move to.  We used a family member's address as a throw-down, even though by the time we entered we had already arranged an apartment and updated the address in the airport.  Told 'em at the embassy IO counter it was a throwdown during the interview, he said that's fine.  You did exactly what we did by arranging that and you have an actual letter.

Those US assets need to meet the bar for support, or you need a joint sponsor.  The rule of thumb is 3X the 125% poverty rate in easily accessible assets (difference between income, which you - and we - could not show at the time LOL)

So for a household size of two you need about $100k, ish. 

They (seem to) like it when the assets are parked over in the US.  He specifically asked me where they were.

 

Good luck!

 

Thank you Nitas_man for your replay, it is very helpful to us! Appreciate it!

 

So this is what we currently have to "offer" to proof intent to establish domicile in the US:

- US address where we will stay in the beginning (his father's address)

- tax returns for the last three years

- we have a joint sponsor, so our assets are not counted for the support requirement, but we will transfer some assets to a US bank account to show that we intent to bring our assets there

- landlord's confirmation letter of the termination of our apartment in Germany

- employer's confirmation letter of my husband's resignation from his job here in Germany

 

Would you suppose that this is "enough" to proof intent of establishing domicile?

[Jorge V 195]

3 hours ago, MichaelaMaria said:

Thank you Nitas_man for your replay, it is very helpful to us! Appreciate it!

 

So this is what we currently have to "offer" to proof intent to establish domicile in the US:

- US address where we will stay in the beginning (his father's address)

- tax returns for the last three years

- we have a joint sponsor, so our assets are not counted for the support requirement, but we will transfer some assets to a US bank account to show that we intent to bring our assets there

- landlord's confirmation letter of the termination of our apartment in Germany

- employer's confirmation letter of my husband's resignation from his job here in Germany

 

Would you suppose that this is "enough" to proof intent of establishing domicile?

My only concern is that those (except for the tax returns) may not be considered definitive. Fathers can easily lie and your last two items really only show your intent to leave Germany, but not necessarily establish US domicile. They may be enough but you may also be interviewed by a particularly strict CO.

 

Could you gather more evidence? Maybe a moving quote, proof of job search,  etc.

Edited June 8, 2018 by Jorge V

[Nitas_man 3,100]

12 hours ago, MichaelaMaria said:

Thank you Nitas_man for your replay, it is very helpful to us! Appreciate it!

 

So this is what we currently have to "offer" to proof intent to establish domicile in the US:

- US address where we will stay in the beginning (his father's address)

- tax returns for the last three years

- we have a joint sponsor, so our assets are not counted for the support requirement, but we will transfer some assets to a US bank account to show that we intent to bring our assets there

- landlord's confirmation letter of the termination of our apartment in Germany

- employer's confirmation letter of my husband's resignation from his job here in Germany

 

Would you suppose that this is "enough" to proof intent of establishing domicile?

Based on personal experience in general that's more than enough.  Not sure about the embassy there but the embassy here talked more to me (USC) than to my wife at the interview. Based on that:  It's probably a good idea if possible to attend the interview jointly and avail yourselves for clarification questions. 

Some comments:  This is just me -

I wouldn't have resigned before I filed.  Embassy doesn't care what the USC is currently doing.  They care about what you plan to do.

Resignation before filing:  doesn't matter.  Cancel apt before filing:  doesn't matter.  Wait to transfer assets until after filing:  Not good.  They need to be parked over there before interview time.

The asset transfer is first, before you ever file a page.  The other actions - before/after the visa, doesn't matter.

Realistically it's too early to start a job search and the embassy was very interested in my current (overseas) income and current skills.  You have 6 months after the medical to actually use the visa, that's a lot of time.  By the time we left, I was onboarded with a US company and had a starting date - but that was way after the interview and the visa was issued.  For the interview we filed the affidavit on US based assets and assets alone, if you file on a joint sponsor basis you should be OK.

 

Best of luck!

Edited June 9, 2018 by Nitas_man

[BlueDevil1442 23]

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