Questions about filling out i-130 and i-864

[Pw3t 6]

Hello,

I am a U.S.citizen and I am currently living in France with my wife who is french. My wife will be petitioning for an immigrant visa and we have printed and reviewed the forms with the instructions and I have a few questions regarding the I-130 and I-864 forms:

-Regarding the I-130, We have joint bank accounts and french tax returns will I need to send both as proofs of marriage or is one enough ?

-Regarding the I-864, It asks for my mailing address, do I use my mailing address here in France or the mailing address of where we plan to move to? Since I have no individual income, my father will be a joint sponsor, how does he calculate his annual household income? He's still married to my mother but doesn't live with her. Do I have to add the income of my french wife in my annual household income? I don't have any american tax returns from the last 3 years, how do I prove that I could not file? Will my Titre de Séjour be enough to prove that I am only living abroad temporarily?

And lastly, while filling out these forms do i write letters with accents or leave them off? Especially my wife's first name which has an accent.

I know it's a lot of questions but I hope you will able to help us. I thank you in advance for your answers.

Have a good day

[dm559 34]

Hello,

I am a U.S.citizen and I am currently living in France with my wife who is french. My wife will be petitioning for an immigrant visa and we have printed and reviewed the forms with the instructions and I have a few questions regarding the I-130 and I-864 forms:

-Regarding the I-130, We have joint bank accounts and french tax returns will I need to send both as proofs of marriage or is one enough ?

Send both, the more dumentation the better

-Regarding the I-864, It asks for my mailing address, do I use my mailing address here in France or the mailing address of where we plan to move to? Since I have no individual income, my father will be a joint sponsor, how does he calculate his annual household income? He's still married to my mother but doesn't live with her. Do I have to add the income of my french wife in my annual household income? I don't have any american tax returns from the last 3 years, how do I prove that I could not file? Will my Titre de Séjour be enough to prove that I am only living abroad temporarily?

There are some circumstances where you can direct file with the consular abroad, so contact them to see what they require. Generally the USC spouse has to file the petition from within the US, using a US address. Since you said that you haven't had no American taxable income for the past 3 years. If you didn't work while in France you will have to write a statement to that. If you did work in France you are still required to filed Federal Income Tax returns for those years so USCIS will ask for those.You can use assets and past employment but the problem is when she immigrates her income and your income stop. You will need a co-sponsor and if you are in the same household you will just combine your income with the co-sponsor. About his marriage. That's complicated. Depends on what state they are in (community property laws)and it also depends on how they file their taxes. If he files (Married but filing separately) (Head of household)etc. His income has to be enough to support himself, your wife and you and depends on the situation of their separation your mother as well. So your first step is to contact the American embassy in France to see if you can direct consular file.

And lastly, while filling out these forms do i write letters with accents or leave them off? Especially my wife's first name which has an accent. Write them exactly as they are on the original documents that you will be using. Don't "Americanize" names.

I know it's a lot of questions but I hope you will able to help us. I thank you in advance for your answers.

Have a good day

[GlobeHopperMama 95]

As far as filing directly with the consulate, unfortunately USCIS doesn't have a field office in Paris so Direct Consular Filing in France hasn't been available since August 2011. However, this thread seems to indicate that if you use your foreign address on the petition, it is likely to experience expedited processing at the USCIS service center in the US that processes it. So definitely use your foreign address in the first section of the petition if you want a shot at the faster processing.

[Pw3t 6]

Thank you for your answer.

There is no direct filling at the embassy of Paris. We have to send everything to the Chicago Lockbox.

The problem about trying to get information is that the USCIS says to contact the Paris embassy and the Paris Embassy says to contact the USCIS... So at the end, we can't get no information anywhere

I didn't work in France, just did training so I guess I'll just have to write a letter explaining this ?

As far as filing directly with the consulate, unfortunately USCIS doesn't have a field office in Paris so Direct Consular Filing in France hasn't been available since August 2011. However, this thread seems to indicate that if you use your foreign address on the petition, it is likely to experience expedited processing at the USCIS service center in the US that processes it. So definitely use your foreign address in the first section of the petition if you want a shot at the faster processing.

Yes I have seen this Should I write also the french address on the affidavit of support ?

[pushbrk 12,177]

Thank you for your answer.

There is no direct filling at the embassy of Paris. We have to send everything to the Chicago Lockbox.

The problem about trying to get information is that the USCIS says to contact the Paris embassy and the Paris Embassy says to contact the USCIS... So at the end, we can't get no information anywhere

I didn't work in France, just did training so I guess I'll just have to write a letter explaining this ?

Yes I have seen this Should I write also the french address on the affidavit of support ?

You won't complete the I-864 until after your petition is approved. You do not explain why you "couldn't file" a US tax return. The issue is whether you were required to do so. If not required, then you give that reason for any year it's applicable. Consult a US tax professional to determine whether you were required to file. If you were, then you need to file the return. Chances are, you'll owe nothing but owing and filing are not the same thing.

[didopage 337]

I am a U.S.citizen and I am currently living in France with my wife who is french. My wife will be petitioning for an immigrant visa and we have printed and reviewed the forms with the instructions and I have a few questions regarding the I-130 and I-864 forms:

Just to be sure.. You are the US citizen, so you are the one petitioning for your wife's visa. She will be the beneficiary.

[pushbrk 12,177]

Just to be sure.. You are the US citizen, so you are the one petitioning for your wife's visa. She will be the beneficiary.

Not exactly. The US Citizen files a petition that when approved allows the foreigner the opportunity to apply for a visa. You don't petition for a visa, you petition for the foreign relative's privilege of applying for a visa.

[Pw3t 6]

Just to be sure.. You are the US citizen, so you are the one petitioning for your wife's visa. She will be the beneficiary.

yes I am the petitioner

[Pw3t 6]

You won't complete the I-864 until after your petition is approved. You do not explain why you "couldn't file" a US tax return. The issue is whether you were required to do so. If not required, then you give that reason for any year it's applicable. Consult a US tax professional to determine whether you were required to file. If you were, then you need to file the return. Chances are, you'll owe nothing but owing and filing are not the same thing.

Ok, thank you!!

[ktb 15]

I am the USC living abroad with my spouse. We sent the I-130 to my mother in the US so she could include a US check with the petition and forward it on to the Chicago lockbox. I had her write on the envelope "Filed From Abroad" in hopes that this would help expedite my petition. Good luck!

[Pw3t 6]

Finally, what we are going to do is send the package from France and get somemeone make a money order on my name in USA. I think it will be easier to get the auto expedite like that.

[danzz 11]

If you have your own US checkbook with you or have a friend/relative that can give you a US check definitely just send it in from France.

We did this through Chronopost (for the tracking) it took 2 days to get to Chicago, 2 additional days to get NOA1 and 14 days after that for NOA2; So in all 18 days from sending to approved by USCIS.

Edited August 8, 2012 by danzz

[Pw3t 6]

I was thinking about sending our file by Chronopost too until I saw how much it was. We can't afford this so we're going to send it with regular tracking at the post office. It's going to take up to 3 weeks but it's way cheaper.

[danzz 11]

Yeah Chronopost is not cheap, but we figured it's not often that you can buy a couple of weeks for 50-something euros.