I-864 Form When Living Aborad

[Jasontnyc 9]

Hello,

I have completed an I-130 for my spouse and it has now at Initial Review in the California Processing Center.

I have two questions - I am the US citizen applying for an Irish citizen. We are married 8 years and I have lived in Ireland for the last 10 years (permanent resident), fully employed in the same job. I am continuing to live in Ireland with my spouse and 2 children (both children have US passports and SS numbers by registering their births at the US embassy here) while the paperwork is processed.

We are moving over because of my job and I will have a salary well above the poverty line in the US.

My questions

1.) How will I fill out an I-864 as I have no US income (And havent for 10 years) but am currently in full employment which will continue with the same company in the US? Would they accept a letter from my employer?

2.) I have read a few posts about applications being treated differently when the USC is living abroad - Is the I-130 processed faster? I saw a USC living in India say it took 2-3 weeks. Links to more info would be welcome

Thanks and I appreciate all the great posts I have read to get me this far, even if I havent posted before.

Jason

[Anh map 2,098]

Hello,

I have completed an I-130 for my spouse and it has now at Initial Review in the California Processing Center.

I have two questions - I am the US citizen applying for an Irish citizen. We are married 8 years and I have lived in Ireland for the last 10 years (permanent resident), fully employed in the same job. I am continuing to live in Ireland with my spouse and 2 children (both children have US passports and SS numbers by registering their births at the US embassy here) while the paperwork is processed.

We are moving over because of my job and I will have a salary well above the poverty line in the US.

My questions

1.) How will I fill out an I-864 as I have no US income (And havent for 10 years) but am currently in full employment which will continue with the same company in the US? Would they accept a letter from my employer?

2.) I have read a few posts about applications being treated differently when the USC is living abroad - Is the I-130 processed faster? I saw a USC living in India say it took 2-3 weeks. Links to more info would be welcome

Thanks and I appreciate all the great posts I have read to get me this far, even if I havent posted before.

Jason

If your income is continuing from the same source and it meets the requirement for your household then you ought to be ok. You will be submitting the I-864 affidavit of support and all needed documentation. (US tax returns, proof of current income, "transfer" letter from employer, etc.)

You will also need to establish a US domicile prior to the interview.

The I-864 FAQ link in my signature below may be helpful to you.

[dwheels76 5,484]

Yes you can file as Citizen filing abroad. Ireland doesn't have DCF anymore. It looks like the closest field office would be London for you. But it still puts you in the fast track.

Also just a note the I-864 paperwork will be about 5 to 7 months down the road after you file I-130. So plenty of time to start setting up and establishing domicile and all that.

[Jasontnyc 9]

If your income is continuing from the same source and it meets the requirement for your household then you ought to be ok. You will be submitting the I-864 affidavit of support and all needed documentation. (US tax returns, proof of current income, "transfer" letter from employer, etc.)

You will also need to establish a US domicile prior to the interview.

The I-864 FAQ link in my signature below may be helpful to you.

thanks for the FAQ, very helpful (and thanks to the other poster for timeline)

1.) Am i reading it right that if I sort out domicile, I can get a co-sponsor for the income requirement (parent or sibling USC?). I have two children under 3 so moving over a month earlier than my wife isn't a desirable option.

2.) As far as domicile, is renting or living with a sibling meet the requirement (My work will be setting us up with a rental for when we arrive but not beforehand)

3.) Can anyone explain this from the FAQ as it seems to contradict itself:

If the sponsor establishes U.S. domicile, it is not necessary for the sponsor to go to the United States before the sponsored family members. However, the sponsor must return to the United States to live before the sponsored immigrant may enter the United States. The sponsored immigrant must enter the U.S. with or after the sponsor.

Can we all fly over together which the end seems to indicate or do i need to fly over first?

Thanks Again!!

[Holly2234 66]

You can get a joint sponsor (anybody who lives in the US and meets the income requirements) to sort out the I-864.

Domicile does not have to be established when you live abroad but you do have to show steps you are taking to re-establish domicile and fully intend to do it. What we have done (my husband the USC and I both live in England), is get a letter from his new employer to show he will be going back to work, show bank statements from the account he still has, show his voting card etc.

You can all fly out together, but your wife cannot fly before you.

[Jasontnyc 9]

You can get a joint sponsor (anybody who lives in the US and meets the income requirements) to sort out the I-864.

Domicile does not have to be established when you live abroad but you do have to show steps you are taking to re-establish domicile and fully intend to do it. What we have done (my husband the USC and I both live in England), is get a letter from his new employer to show he will be going back to work, show bank statements from the account he still has, show his voting card etc.

You can all fly out together, but your wife cannot fly before you.

This makes a huge difference - I'm doing my best to get everything straight in my head but this forum helps immensely.

How does the timing work for the I-864? We are planning to move over late April 2013 and I applied for the I-130 at this stage because I saw it could possible take that long. Now that we could potentially be fast-tracked (reading other threads), I'm wondering what will happen it it is approved quickly. It was mentioned needing it in 5 months. Can you easily delay that so we provide it in 7 months and still hit our late April date?

Off to read as much as I can!

Thanks,

Jason

[Penguin_ie 5,999]

You provide the I-864 at NVC stage. Yes, you can delay things by waiting to turn in the next round of paperwork. However, keep in mind the visa is good for 6 months after issuance, so you don;t need to delay that much.

[Holly2234 66]

Im not sure what happens next when you file in the US because i was able to do DCF. I was just approved (I-130) last week in 69 days. So if you get expedited, you may be approved a LOT faster than that, and mine was fast by most timelines. I hear the auto expedite happens when the USC states they are residing abroad.

The I-864 is good for 1 year. So if you decide to use a joint sponsor, they can do that for you at any point from now really. I believe that has to be mailed to the NVC and costs $88 (somebody correct me if im wrong, its completely different for UK DCF)

The thing to remember with making the move after the visa is issued, is the visa is only valid for 6 months from the MEDICAL. So if you have your medical in january, then your interview in march, you must move by july. Of course you can just leave a few weeks between submitting forms.

[Jasontnyc 9]

The I-864 is good for 1 year. So if you decide to use a joint sponsor, they can do that for you at any point from now really. I believe that has to be mailed to the NVC and costs $88 (somebody correct me if im wrong, its completely different for UK DCF)

Each post is helping more and more. Do you need to be past any particular step for the I-864? So could I submit that even though I am just past NOA1? Would I know in advance if it met the requirement so I had time to come up with another way?

My I-864 would be stronger closer to the move time as I would have proof of a deposit where as now I could only get a letter from my employer. Or could my sponsor (Sibling) state that we will be residing at their residence? (We then plan to buy a house within 3-6 months).

[Penguin_ie 5,999]

You submit the I-864 at NVC stage, not before. I think what the previous poster meant is that it would be ok for your co-sponsor to gather the documentation now. The form linked here will show you how much you need, it will depend on if you have any kids etc but at the very basic, you need $19'000/ year for two people living in mainland USA: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=73c63591ec04d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

You should not need your sibling to co-sponsor if your employment continues from the same course once you move back top the USA.

[Jasontnyc 9]

You should not need your sibling to co-sponsor if your employment continues from the same course once you move back top the USA.

How do I show that since my pay is in Euro and the most i can get on the dollar amount is a letter from my employer? Do I fill out the I-864 with my future US Dollar salary or current equivalent and then explain the situation in lieu of a tax return?

[Penguin_ie 5,999]

You should have US tax returns filed- you don't need to PAY any taxes, but a US citizen needs to fill in tax returns for the IRS even if working abroad. Will your salary be the same (converted) once you move to the USA? If so, I'd list both with a short letter of explanation (your situation of keeping working for the same company is relatively rare).

[Holly2234 66]

Yes i meant start gathering the forms now rather than submit now. I sent the forms for my father in law to fill in a couple of weeks after NOA1 but they only just did them for me last week and i received them back in the mail the day before NOA2, then i got my husband to do his last night.

You can file your taxes with the IRS for the last 3 years now if you havent already done so.

For the I-864, my husband has no income right now and hasnt for two years so we wrote a signed statement of why he hasnt filed (not required, no income)and attached his W-2 and tax return from the third year. For the joint sponsor, we have the I-864, his W-2 and tax return for the most recent year and pay stubs. We have about 7 pay stubs, most of them from June and July but a couple from March and May too, simply because they were the ones they could find. All of these documents are photocopies.

Your situation is a bit different, but i hope that outlines what you need to gather with your I-864 so it might be worth starting soon so there is no pressure to find all of these things at the last minute.

[Jasontnyc 9]

You can file your taxes with the IRS for the last 3 years now if you havent already done so.

Yes, this is something I didn't know I needed to do until this thread so I am remedying it right away.

If anyone has any recommendations of tax accountants specializing in this area, feel free to suggest - I would just start filing in 1040's but I am not sure how I handle the fact there is no W-2 abroad, as an example.

Thanks,

Jason

Edited July 30, 2012 by Jasontnyc

[Holly2234 66]

Sorry i cant help on this one. I find US taxes confusing enough at the best of times

If you need help with anything else though, just give me a shout.