Domicile questions (split topic)

[Eastyo 100]

1. A copy should be fine.

2. It's a little more complicated than that. He's going to need to show he actually has a US domicile or has made a good faith effort to reestablish one, since he has been resident abroad for so long. This can be done in a variety of ways, like securing a place to live, a job offer, having a voting record, state driving licence etc. Take a look at the instruction PDF for the I-864 - it explains a bit about domicile requirements for sponsors. The stuff you listed may be enough already. So he should probably be listing his domicile address on that form as the US one.

Related to domicile: have US tax returns been filed for the years abroad?

I also have a similar question if you can help.

My wife, the US citizen, worked for an American firm for 6 years before being asked to manage their hong kong office. She lived in Hong Kong for 3.5 years and all this time was employed under a US contract, was paid in the US in USD and has been saving for her 401k etc. She still uses her US bank account and credit cards. Her contract in Hong Kong was a standard expat one, meaning it had an end date (thus was temporary). She has also filed and paid taxes every year since she was 16 (including while she was in Hong Kong). The only thing she gave up was her home (as they provided one for her) and her car (as she didn't need it).

In September 2013 we came to the UK to study for a year (she has a tier 4 visa) before we return to the US to get jobs and start our lives.... (n.b: We don't have jobs yet, we will look when we get to the US and will be living with her mum)

While I realise we need a joint sponsor, I am concerned the visa unit in London may think she broke residency due to her being away from the US for 4.5 years, even thought she has maintained all the above (bank, credit card, driving licence, taxes etc).

Also just to clarify, she did not get any permanent residency status in Hong Kong, just a temporary work permit (1 x 12 and 1 x 24), so again i am not sure how they can define this as anything other than temporary..

What do you think, we should be ok?

[Eastyo 100]

I also have a similar question if you can help.

My wife, the US citizen, worked for an American firm for 6 years before being asked to manage their hong kong office. She lived in Hong Kong for 3.5 years and all this time was employed under a US contract, was paid in the US in USD and has been saving for her 401k etc. She still uses her US bank account and credit cards. Her contract in Hong Kong was a standard expat one, meaning it had an end date (thus was temporary). She has also filed and paid taxes every year since she was 16 (including while she was in Hong Kong). The only thing she gave up was her home (as they provided one for her) and her car (as she didn't need it).

In September 2013 we came to the UK to study for a year (she has a tier 4 visa) before we return to the US to get jobs and start our lives.... (n.b: We don't have jobs yet, we will look when we get to the US and will be living with her mum)

While I realise we need a joint sponsor, I am concerned the visa unit in London may think she broke residency due to her being away from the US for 4.5 years, even thought she has maintained all the above (bank, credit card, driving licence, taxes etc).

Also just to clarify, she did not get any permanent residency status in Hong Kong, just a temporary work permit (1 x 12 and 1 x 24), so again i am not sure how they can define this as anything other than temporary..

What do you think, we should be ok?

Actually she still has the car registered in her own name at her mums address, and is still on the Auto insurance.

[Ryan H 3,897]

Posts split into separate thread as poster is posting about their own situation and not replying to the OP of the other thread.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

She sounds fine. Domicile isn't that difficult at a London interview. It's not like you are building a case for the Supreme court. She has maintained her ties.

[Eastyo 100]

She sounds fine. Domicile isn't that difficult at a London interview. It's not like you are building a case for the Supreme court. She has maintained her ties.

Everything but her house! So I think we will submit;

1) Last 3 years tax filed (W2)

2) Previous work contact to show she was paid in the US and was actually a US employee of a US based firm, who was temporally located in Hong Kong for 3 years (contract length)

3) Copy of her HK visa showing it was a temporary residence visa not permanent

4) Copy of her auto insurance which was continuous while she was in HK and now in the UK (she still insured her car as she came back a lot)

5) Copy of her valid state drivers licence

6) Copy of her valid SSN

7) Title to her car showing she still owns it in the US

8) Copy of the last 12 months bank statements from our US bank (open and used for 14 years, and in both our names, although only mine for 1 year)

9) Copy of her credit card statement (last 12 months)

10) Copy of the last 3 years pay stubs (showing payment in the US while she was in HK)

11) Letter from the university showing she was a student in the UK (this is ok for the US for keeping domicile)

12) Letter from our solicitor showing my London flat was sold (we did this so that we/I had no more ties in the UK)

13) Email correspondance showing I have been interviewed for jobs in the US

14) Email from our movers with a quote for moving our goods to the US

15) Copy of e-mails between her and recruiters about prospective jobs and phone interviews scheduled

16) Rental agreement between us and her parents for the basement flat in their house

Do you think this is enough?

Also why do you say London is not difficult with proving domicile. The thing is, i don't think she actually broke domicile, but do we just write a general letter with the above info?

[Eastyo 100]

Posts split into separate thread as poster is posting about their own situation and not replying to the OP of the other thread.

How do i see my other thread?

[Ryan H 3,897]

How do i see my other thread?

~~~It's not "your thread," the thread you originally made these posts in was started by another member asking questions about their case. Your posts are questions about your case; however, by posting them in another member's thread, you hijacked the thread which is why I split off your posts into a thread of their own.~~~

~~To view posts you make and threads you start, click on your username on the upper right corner of the screen and click "My Content." You will then see all the threads you started and posted in.~~

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Do you think this is enough?

Also why do you say London is not difficult with proving domicile. The thing is, i don't think she actually broke domicile, but do we just write a general letter with the above info?

I say not difficult because people have showed a few email discussions with an apartment locator and that was enough to show intent to re-establish domicile at a London interview. Just a plan to go back is allowed. Sometimes people aren't even asked in London.

[Eastyo 100]

I say not difficult because people have showed a few email discussions with an apartment locator and that was enough to show intent to re-establish domicile at a London interview. Just a plan to go back is allowed. Sometimes people aren't even asked in London.

Ok great, sounds like i shouldn't worry, especially with my list.

Is an agreement to stay with her parents ok/good, twinned with a conversation with a realtor? Or if we have a letter from her mother (who is also our second sponsor at the same address) enough.

My other question was if we hold alot of cash in the US ($85k cash and $250k in investments 401k etc) do we need a sponsor, plus surely this shows she "intends" to return to the US.... We didn't transfer anything to HK or the UK

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

If 125% of the poverty level is $20,000 for family size, then if a spouse can show 3 times that amount ($60k) in assets they qualify as the sole sponsor. Read the intructions of the I-864 (page 7, using assets) and look up the specific poverty guidelines on the I-864P. That was only an example figure. Both found at USCIS.gov/forms.

As far as the domicile, nobody knows who will interview you or what they might ask for. We only know what others have reported. So read the i-864 instructions on domicile and what the London embassy says on their website about it. Then take whatever you want. My only comment is you have a LOT and are still grasping for more...letter from Mom and realtor.

Read the instructions. I had to read them 3 or 4 times before they started making sense. Don't believe a stranger on a forum in lieu of the official word.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Nich-Nick