G-325A questions

[aloram 1]

I'm an American living in Hanoi with my Vietnamese wife, and we're planning on sending our I-130 packet early next week. We've been together for almost two years, and married for a short time. I'm going to put my foreign address on the forms, and I have a question about the G-325A. I've maintained an address in the U.S. (San Francisco) since I've been in Vietnam (over two years now). I have my bank, credit card, tax, and all other information go to the San Francisco address; I lived in San Francisco for five years prior to coming to Vietnam, so I also have a driver's license there. My question is: On the G-325A form, I'm not sure what to do under "Applicant's Residence last five years." Because I've been here (in Vietnam) pretty consistently for the last couple years, I haven't LIVED in San Francisco in a while. Basically, this is what I did:

- Came to Asia in May 2010 for a trip

- Came to Vietnam in June 2010, and then started working and living here

- Switched my San Francisco address to a different one where I knew my friend would help me with all my mail

- I've been living with my wife for several months (even though we actually just got married last week), and we have a lease and a joint bank account as evidence that we're living together here.

I'm not sure if it's relevant, but I've never had a work permit or residence card here; I'm an English teacher and I've worked for schools that don't require them. I've just been on B3 visas the whole time. Hopefully this will help towards meeting the domicile requirements, since I've never gone the "official" route of becoming a resident here.

So where on the G-325A form would I even MENTION my San Francisco address? If I don't list it on the G-325A, will it be a problem for me when I need to meet the domicile requirements?

Edited August 23, 2012 by aloram

[jmhull 2]

Hi -- In this question (residency last 5 years) you'll have to list places where you have physically stayed during the last 5 years, whether it includes your permanent domicile (San Francisco right?) or not. It's normal for one to have a domicile (permanent address) and a different residency (temporary address) elsewhere. My husband (USC) has been spending about a year in VN with me, and in his G-325A he listed the VN address as his residency since the time he moved over. We also wrote up an explanatory note in which we explained that he was having two addresses - permanent one in the U.S. and temporary one in VN, which was attached with the I-130.

On another note, I believe defining "residency" does not have much to do with your visa status in VN, as long as you are here legally on a visa and a stay permit.

P.S. Try not to leave gaps between the dates when listing residencies.