Do I need to be in the U.S.?

[bradnstefy 0]

Hi, I am a USC living in Chile and recently got married to a Chilean. We want to live in the U.S. but don't want to spend any time apart in the process. Is it possible to file for the CR-1 while living abroad? I am currently here on a work visa and do not have permanent residency here but I have been living here for about 9 months now and still have my parents address in the states for my residency. I have done some research and am thourghly confused on this subject. Please help us start this new chapter in our lives. Thanks.

[yachachiq12 43]

Since there is no USCIS field office in Chile, you cannot file via Direct Consular Filing. However, regardless of where you're currently residing you can file an I-130 petition via the Chicago lockbox and then apply for a CR-1 visa. The Guides here on this site give you step-by-step instructions on how to do so.

If by the time of your spouse's interview in Chile you are still residing abroad, be mindful that you will have to provide information for an affidavit of support (I-864) that shows you continually earn 125% of the federal poverty level (with a US employer) or have sufficient assets or that you have a co-sponsor who can cover the difference. (You'll be filing an I-864 regardless of where you live but it's a little more complicated when working abroad). Additionally, if you are still residing abroad, you will need to provide evidence that you intend to re-establish US domicile with your spouse when they immigrate or that you never abandoned your US domicile.

Edited December 28, 2011 by yachachiq12

[bradnstefy 0]

Thanks for the fast responce! What role does a co-sponsor bare considering that this year I made less than $5000 because I was only in the states for a few months?

[canadian_wife 1,823]

Then a co-sponsor might be necessary. Do you currently have a job in the US that has a salary where you will be making the requirement?

Good luck

Edited December 28, 2011 by canadian_wife

[yachachiq12 43]

The person would qualify by being able to cover 125% of the poverty guideline for their household size plus your spouse. If you get a job where you don't need a co-sponsor (by, say, moving to the US a few months ahead of the interview and securing one that meets the requirements), then you won't need a co-sponsor. Many people have family members serve as a co-sponsor. The person would be agreeing that if your spouse became a public charge, you and then the co-sponsor could be responsible for covering the amount that your spouse took in certain means-tested benefits. This responsibility lasts until the immigrant becomes a US citizen, receives credit for 40 social security quarters, loses LPR status and departs the US, or dies. Divorce will not terminate the responsibility.

Everything you need to know is in the instructions for the I-864. I'd read it at least twice. For now, though, you need to concentrate on the I-130 filing and the associated documents needed for that.

Is the employer you have for your Chilean job based in the US? And could you transfer your work with that same employer to US soil?

[bradnstefy 0]

Then a co-sponsor might be necessary. Do you currently have a job in the US that has a salary where you will be making the requirement?

Good luck

No, I am currently only working here in Chile unfortunately.

[bradnstefy 0]

One other question. Do we have to take the marrage certificate to the embassy here to make the marrage legal in the U.S.?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Your marriage is legal in the US already. You can file from abroad, but will have two extra things to consider. The first is that you will need a co-sponsor because you did not make enough money last year in the US (or currently) to qualify for the I-864 Affidavit of Support. The second is you will have to satisfy their criteria for reestablishing "domicile" in the US. This is more than your parent's address - often you must show detailed plans you have made for starting a life again in the US (housing, job, etc). There are many threads here on this topic and I am sure the embassy can help you with their requirements. Otherwise, the process is the same. Good luck.

[yachachiq12 43]

One other question. Do we have to take the marrage certificate to the embassy here to make the marrage legal in the U.S.?

No, but you'll need a translated version of it for submitting your documents to USCIS. Any competent Spanish-English translator can do this (including you), but it needs to include a certification statement.

See here: http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-11261/0-0-0-33286/0-0-0-34007.html

In Peru, since our marriage certificate was issued in a non-Lima province, we had to have it legalized at the national civil registry. Check to see if you have similar requirements in Chile. The US Embassy in Chile's website will contain a lot of country-specific info, if not all. Also see the "Embassy Info" and then "Chile" in the light blue bar at the top of this page.