Confused, spouse living outside US

[Maddy13 0]

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for sharing wealth of information here.

I was thinking applying N400 will be straightforward. After going through many of the stories here I am not too sure and wanted to get some advice. I searched the forum and did not find any stories similar, so wanted to see what forummers think about my case.

Here is my story.

Have been in US for the past 15+ years and on GC for the past 5 years. GC recieved in June 2008. So applied for N400 in April, (90 days advance) and send the paperwork in. Finger print done and now waiting in line for the inteview. That is when I came across the forum and reading some stories made me confused and worried.

We (Me + Wife) applied for GC together in 2003, and both of us got the GC in 2008, as mentioned earlier. No problems so far. In 2010 we decided that spouse and kid (US citizen) will leave for the home country for some years and I will keep shuttling back and forth to see how that works out. I will stay in US for about seven months and rest in the home country.

Wife couldn't apply for the reentry permit on time, so after one year, her GC lapsed and we went to the US embassy in 2012 and got her a visting visa to come to US for vaction and all. During these time I have been shuttling back and forth and none of my visits to the home country has been more than six months. And till date total days outside US was something around 500 days and no trips more than 180 days.

We pay taxes, married filing jointly, and kept the apartment for the whole time. Her name is listed in the car insurance and Bank accounts. Currently I have no formal lease arrangment, (since owner is friend for a long), so no lease document for me or for her. But for the past 3 years have been living in the same address. I have been working for the same firm for all these years, so I have all pay stub and tax transcripts for both of us for the past 5 years.

Now here is where I need some help. In N400 application, regarding spouse address, I had given my address in US. (thought was, when she come here, she lives with me. And if the home country address is given, I was thinking it will be something like we are seperated and not living any more togther). So without much thought I filled my address and send it in. Same with the kid address. And in the immigration status of the spouse I gave the answer "non immigrant visa", that is the visa she has now.

Now my question is should I correct it and let the immigration officer know that, I made a mistake. What additional documentation do I need for a spouse living outside US but not seperated. How serious is the problem ?

Please share your thoughts.

[formywife 9]

Its just my thoughts only. I am also curious what other members here will comment on this.

My N-400 Application is also currently pending and I am inline for oath ceremony. I am married and my wife's I-130 petition is currently pending. While filling the form N-400, I had mentioned her address out of USA and during the interview IO simply asked for our marriage certificate only and luckily I had that with me. I had done few mistakes while filling the form ( didn't mention court dismissed Traffic ticket ) and I mentioned that in the interview and IO edited it in the form and told me its not a big deal. IO also told me this is one of the main reason why USCIS takes interview, because they know people make some mistake while filing the form.

In my understanding, this is not a big problem. During your interview, IO generally goes line by line of the form and you can explain how you filled the information about your wife in form and why you filled like that. If IO decides the information is not correct then he/she will edit the form.

In addition, You can take 5 yrs tax transcript which shows you are filing tax as jointly, bank statement, vehicle insurance card, marriage certificate, your children Birth certificate, your wife's or your recent flight itinerary, your wife's previous GC( If you still have it) and skype chat log( if you skype wth your wife ) or phone call log. I guess if you take these documents, it will be more than enough to prove that you guys are not separated but simply living outside US.

Wish you all the best for your N-400 journey.

[Maddy13 0]

Thank you formywife for your reply.

In addition, You can take 5 yrs tax transcript which shows you are filing tax as jointly, bank statement, vehicle insurance card, marriage certificate, your children Birth certificate, your wife's or your recent flight itinerary, your wife's previous GC( If you still have it) and skype chat log( if you skype wth your wife ) or phone call log. I guess if you take these documents, it will be more than enough to prove that you guys are not separated but simply living outside US.

I would have never thought about all these things. Great idea. Thank you.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

You are filing after 5 years on a greencard. You don't have to prove anything about your marriage so it doesn't matter where she lives. Is that what you are worried about?

The stories here about joint ownership of things and marriage are from people applying after only 3 years who must be still married to the US citizen who petitioned for their greencard process based on marriage to a US citizen. They are eligible two years earlier if they remain married to the USC

Edited June 2, 2013 by Nich-Nick

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Now here is where I need some help. In N400 application, regarding spouse address, I had given my address in US. (thought was, when she come here, she lives with me. And if the home country address is given, I was thinking it will be something like we are seperated and not living any more togther). So without much thought I filled my address and send it in. Same with the kid address. And in the immigration status of the spouse I gave the answer "non immigrant visa", that is the visa she has now.

Now my question is should I correct it and let the immigration officer know that, I made a mistake. What additional documentation do I need for a spouse living outside US but not seperated. How serious is the problem ?

So basically you lied on the application and said your wife lives with you in the US, when she lives overseas.

Your marriage is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if you're separated or not because you're not filing based on marriage, so no "additional documentation" is needed.

To fix your problem, at the interview tell the officer you wrote the wrong address, you weren't thinking, this is the actual address. It's not a material misrepresentation so you won't get denied for lying. Just admit you made a mistake and give the correct info.

[Maddy13 0]

Thank you all for the replies and suggestions.

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Here is my do list. (please comment)

- Will need to correct the spouse address and kids address during the interview, tell the IO that I made a mistake, I was thinking more like her address in US when I filled that part and want to correct it now.

----

Should I apply for I-130 on GC, since I am from India I will need a visa number to be available for her to get immigrant visa. Or should I wait for approved N400.? It can be a catch 20 problem.

Thank you all and appreciate all your help.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thank you all for the replies and suggestions.

----

Here is my do list. (please comment)

- Will need to correct the spouse address and kids address during the interview, tell the IO that I made a mistake, I was thinking more like her address in US when I filled that part and want to correct it now.

----

Should I apply for I-130 on GC, since I am from India I will need a visa number to be available for her to get immigrant visa. Or should I wait for approved N400.? It can be a catch 20 problem.

Thank you all and appreciate all your help.

Yep correct at interview

You can if you like. When your N-400 is approved you would upgrade it to a USC filed petition. Otherwise if it's a short time until Oath, just file then. Filing now will place her in line now, and make it quicker than filing later.