I-864 is turning my brain to mush

[Abby&Mario 100]

NVC hasn't received our case yet, but I'm scrambling to get everything together sooner rather than later. I have a few questions about the I-864 form itself:

Part 2, 2.a. (mailing address for principal immigrant): We had to move from Bogotá to Buenos Aires very suddenly shortly after sending the I-130. I called USCIS and changed our mailing address to my parents' house in the U.S. Should I put this new address as the immigrant's mailing address? Or should I put our new apartment in Buenos Aires, the address for which is not on file anywhere? We don't want to have them send us anything down here because of the crappy Argentine mail system. Can the principal immigrant have a mailing address in the U.S.? There's a chance we will still be in Buenos Aires when it comes time for the interview, so at some point before they transfer the case we may need to tell NVC that it can't be done in Bogotá.

Part 4, 2.a. and 3.a. For the sponsor (me), there is mailing address and place of residence, so I should put my parents' house for mailing address and our Buenos Aires apartment for place of residence, I assume. But again, this new address is going to look like it's totally random so I'm wondering if I need to call NVC or something to explain what the deal is. Or do they just take it at face value and not question these things?

Other Information, 5. Do I put my country of domicile as the U.S. even though I have to include evidence of re-establishing domicile?

Part 6, Sponsor's Income/Employment, 4. I am not 100% sure of my "unemployed since" date. Month and year, no problem, but the exact date? I can make a very educated guess (I know it was a Thursday), but if it's wrong will it bite me in the #### later?

Part 6, 13. I have not filed for the three most recent years, just one of those years. I leave this box blank, correct?

Now a more general problem. I worked in Buenos Aires in 2011 but made way below the limit and didn't file taxes. However, I never had a bank account in Argentina and was paid a wad of cash each month. So while I did have a steady monthly salary, it would be very difficult if not impossible for me to prove what I made that year. I know I'm going to have to write a statement explaining why I haven't filed consistently for the past three years--do they require proof of low salary abroad? Or will me just stating it be enough?

[bkghosh 121]

NVC hasn't received our case yet, but I'm scrambling to get everything together sooner rather than later. I have a few questions about the I-864 form itself:

Part 2, 2.a. (mailing address for principal immigrant): We had to move from Bogotá to Buenos Aires very suddenly shortly after sending the I-130. I called USCIS and changed our mailing address to my parents' house in the U.S. Should I put this new address as the immigrant's mailing address? Or should I put our new apartment in Buenos Aires, the address for which is not on file anywhere? We don't want to have them send us anything down here because of the crappy Argentine mail system. Can the principal immigrant have a mailing address in the U.S.? There's a chance we will still be in Buenos Aires when it comes time for the interview, so at some point before they transfer the case we may need to tell NVC that it can't be done in Bogotá.

Part 4, 2.a. and 3.a. For the sponsor (me), there is mailing address and place of residence, so I should put my parents' house for mailing address and our Buenos Aires apartment for place of residence, I assume. But again, this new address is going to look like it's totally random so I'm wondering if I need to call NVC or something to explain what the deal is. Or do they just take it at face value and not question these things?

Other Information, 5. Do I put my country of domicile as the U.S. even though I have to include evidence of re-establishing domicile?

Part 6, Sponsor's Income/Employment, 4. I am not 100% sure of my "unemployed since" date. Month and year, no problem, but the exact date? I can make a very educated guess (I know it was a Thursday), but if it's wrong will it bite me in the #### later?

Part 6, 13. I have not filed for the three most recent years, just one of those years. I leave this box blank, correct?

Now a more general problem. I worked in Buenos Aires in 2011 but made way below the limit and didn't file taxes. However, I never had a bank account in Argentina and was paid a wad of cash each month. So while I did have a steady monthly salary, it would be very difficult if not impossible for me to prove what I made that year. I know I'm going to have to write a statement explaining why I haven't filed consistently for the past three years--do they require proof of low salary abroad? Or will me just stating it be enough?

Once you give NVC the email addresses of the petitioner and the beneficiary (applicant) all their communication will be by email. They will not send you anything by 'snail' mail.

Since you did not have income in US you will need to find a Co-Sponsor. Your income in Argentina does not count (cash or otherwise). Both you and your co-sponsor will be submitting I-864. Hopefully your cosponsor will be able to submit Tax Transcripts or Tax Returns.

Since you are living in Argentina (now) you will need to re-establish domicile here in USA. Please read up on that topic here in VJ.

Edited April 28, 2014 by bkghosh

[Abby&Mario 100]

Once you give NVC the email addresses of the petitioner and the beneficiary (applicant) all their communication will be by email. They will not send you anything by 'snail' mail.

Since you did not have income in US you will need to find a Co-Sponsor. Your income in Argentina does not count (cash or otherwise). Both you and your co-sponsor will be submitting I-864. Hopefully your cosponsor will be able to submit Tax Transcripts or Tax Returns.

Since you are living in Argentina (now) you will need to re-establish domicile here in USA. Please read up on that topic here in VJ.

I am well aware of the requirements and have a joint sponsor who more than covers things, thankfully. I made this post about the questions I have concerning the I-864 form I have to fill out for myself. I'm sure at some point I will have some questions about the joint sponsor's form, but that moment has not come yet.

I am also well aware that I need to re-establish domicile. I've read up on it plenty.

I am sure you meant well, but you mainly answered questions I didn't ask and already knew the answers to. Can anyone answer the questions I have actually asked?

[TeaCup 65]

NVC hasn't received our case yet, but I'm scrambling to get everything together sooner rather than later. I have a few questions about the I-864 form itself:

Part 2, 2.a. (mailing address for principal immigrant): We had to move from Bogotá to Buenos Aires very suddenly shortly after sending the I-130. I called USCIS and changed our mailing address to my parents' house in the U.S. Should I put this new address as the immigrant's mailing address? Or should I put our new apartment in Buenos Aires, the address for which is not on file anywhere? We don't want to have them send us anything down here because of the crappy Argentine mail system. Can the principal immigrant have a mailing address in the U.S.? There's a chance we will still be in Buenos Aires when it comes time for the interview, so at some point before they transfer the case we may need to tell NVC that it can't be done in Bogotá.

Part 4, 2.a. and 3.a. For the sponsor (me), there is mailing address and place of residence, so I should put my parents' house for mailing address and our Buenos Aires apartment for place of residence, I assume. But again, this new address is going to look like it's totally random so I'm wondering if I need to call NVC or something to explain what the deal is. Or do they just take it at face value and not question these things?

Other Information, 5. Do I put my country of domicile as the U.S. even though I have to include evidence of re-establishing domicile?

Part 6, Sponsor's Income/Employment, 4. I am not 100% sure of my "unemployed since" date. Month and year, no problem, but the exact date? I can make a very educated guess (I know it was a Thursday), but if it's wrong will it bite me in the #### later?

Part 6, 13. I have not filed for the three most recent years, just one of those years. I leave this box blank, correct?

Now a more general problem. I worked in Buenos Aires in 2011 but made way below the limit and didn't file taxes. However, I never had a bank account in Argentina and was paid a wad of cash each month. So while I did have a steady monthly salary, it would be very difficult if not impossible for me to prove what I made that year. I know I'm going to have to write a statement explaining why I haven't filed consistently for the past three years--do they require proof of low salary abroad? Or will me just stating it be enough?

I don't have all the answers, although, my husband lives with me abroad, we are putting his domicile as USA and PLACE OF RESIDENCE as our address here in Ireland even thought he will have to re-establish, USA is his home, car, bank account etc is there, He just resides here temporarily.. My husband made a guess for his unemployment date (11/march/11) he knows it was early march of that year so I would suggest doing the same, I don't think it will really matter

Unfortunately, I can't answer your other questions.

Hope this helps.

[bkghosh 121]

NVC hasn't received our case yet, but I'm scrambling to get everything together sooner rather than later. I have a few questions about the I-864 form itself:

Part 2, 2.a. (mailing address for principal immigrant): We had to move from Bogotá to Buenos Aires very suddenly shortly after sending the I-130. I called USCIS and changed our mailing address to my parents' house in the U.S. Should I put this new address as the immigrant's mailing address? Or should I put our new apartment in Buenos Aires, the address for which is not on file anywhere? We don't want to have them send us anything down here because of the crappy Argentine mail system. Can the principal immigrant have a mailing address in the U.S.? There's a chance we will still be in Buenos Aires when it comes time for the interview, so at some point before they transfer the case we may need to tell NVC that it can't be done in Bogotá.

The principal immigrant's address in part 2 a should be the address where he/she is living right now.

Part 4, 2.a. and 3.a. For the sponsor (me), there is mailing address and place of residence, so I should put my parents' house for mailing address and our Buenos Aires apartment for place of residence, I assume. But again, this new address is going to look like it's totally random so I'm wondering if I need to call NVC or something to explain what the deal is. Or do they just take it at face value and not question these things?

The Sponsor's mailing address and place of residence will be in Argentina where you are actually living now. It does not matter where you have been living earlier.

Other Information, 5. Do I put my country of domicile as the U.S. even though I have to include evidence of re-establishing domicile?

Country of Domicile would be United States. However, you have to include written and documentary evidence of how you meet the domicile requirement.

Part 6, Sponsor's Income/Employment, 4. I am not 100% sure of my "unemployed since" date. Month and year, no problem, but the exact date? I can make a very educated guess (I know it was a Thursday), but if it's wrong will it bite me in the #### later?

Educated guess about the date should be fine here.

Part 6, 13. I have not filed for the three most recent years, just one of those years. I leave this box blank, correct?

Yes this should be blank. If you are submitting a US Tax Return (or transcript) for any of the past 3 years, explain in an attached letter why you did not submit returns for the other years.

Now a more general problem. I worked in Buenos Aires in 2011 but made way below the limit and didn't file taxes. However, I never had a bank account in Argentina and was paid a wad of cash each month. So while I did have a steady monthly salary, it would be very difficult if not impossible for me to prove what I made that year. I know I'm going to have to write a statement explaining why I haven't filed consistently for the past three years--do they require proof of low salary abroad? Or will me just stating it be enough?

Your income overseas does not count. In any case that income will not continue as you will be establishing domicile in USA again. You can explain that in the attached letter.

[Abby&Mario 100]

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

What I guess I did not make clear is that I know very well that my meager income over the past three years counts for zip and my own personal I-864 will be marked as insufficient. This is why I made sure to get a joint sponsor who could cover us both many times over. My concern with the 2011 income in Argentina was that they might think I was a tax evader for not filing that year and have some grounds to deny the visa or something. Then again, while I can't show any documentation to prove that I made below the limit to file, there's no way in hell they could accuse me of making above the limit. So I can only assume at this point that it won't be an issue, I guess.

If anyone else wants to weigh in on these questions, I'd be happy to read your thoughts.

[pushbrk 13,663]

NVC hasn't received our case yet, but I'm scrambling to get everything together sooner rather than later. I have a few questions about the I-864 form itself:

Part 2, 2.a. (mailing address for principal immigrant): We had to move from Bogotá to Buenos Aires very suddenly shortly after sending the I-130. I called USCIS and changed our mailing address to my parents' house in the U.S. Should I put this new address as the immigrant's mailing address? Or should I put our new apartment in Buenos Aires, the address for which is not on file anywhere? We don't want to have them send us anything down here because of the crappy Argentine mail system. Can the principal immigrant have a mailing address in the U.S.? There's a chance we will still be in Buenos Aires when it comes time for the interview, so at some point before they transfer the case we may need to tell NVC that it can't be done in Bogotá.

Part 4, 2.a. and 3.a. For the sponsor (me), there is mailing address and place of residence, so I should put my parents' house for mailing address and our Buenos Aires apartment for place of residence, I assume. But again, this new address is going to look like it's totally random so I'm wondering if I need to call NVC or something to explain what the deal is. Or do they just take it at face value and not question these things?

Other Information, 5. Do I put my country of domicile as the U.S. even though I have to include evidence of re-establishing domicile?

Part 6, Sponsor's Income/Employment, 4. I am not 100% sure of my "unemployed since" date. Month and year, no problem, but the exact date? I can make a very educated guess (I know it was a Thursday), but if it's wrong will it bite me in the #### later?

Part 6, 13. I have not filed for the three most recent years, just one of those years. I leave this box blank, correct?

Now a more general problem. I worked in Buenos Aires in 2011 but made way below the limit and didn't file taxes. However, I never had a bank account in Argentina and was paid a wad of cash each month. So while I did have a steady monthly salary, it would be very difficult if not impossible for me to prove what I made that year. I know I'm going to have to write a statement explaining why I haven't filed consistently for the past three years--do they require proof of low salary abroad? Or will me just stating it be enough?

You're overthinking this considerably. Start by reading the instructions for all forms. When the form asks a question, take the question literally. A foreigner's mailing address is never in the USA unless they are already living in the USA. Give his address where he lives. If something needs to be mailed to him, (not likely but possible) he'll actually receive it where he lives. Don't worry about USCIS. You're dealing with NVC now. The first thing you do is make sure they know he's living in Argentina, not Colombia, so they can reassign the case to the correct Consular Unit. THIS call will explain the move, so nothing will be "random".

When asked where you "live" put the address where you live, really.

If checking a box will tell a lie, don't check it.

Apparently, you are NOT domiciled in the USA at this time. Tell the truth, ALWAYS.

Do the best you can with dates. They'll understand. Please apply these concepts FIRST and then come back with any remaining questions.

[Abby&Mario 100]

You're overthinking this considerably. Start by reading the instructions for all forms. When the form asks a question, take the question literally. A foreigner's mailing address is never in the USA unless they are already living in the USA. Give his address where he lives. If something needs to be mailed to him, (not likely but possible) he'll actually receive it where he lives. Don't worry about USCIS. You're dealing with NVC now. The first thing you do is make sure they know he's living in Argentina, not Colombia, so they can reassign the case to the correct Consular Unit. THIS call will explain the move, so nothing will be "random".

When asked where you "live" put the address where you live, really.

If checking a box will tell a lie, don't check it.

Apparently, you are NOT domiciled in the USA at this time. Tell the truth, ALWAYS.

Do the best you can with dates. They'll understand. Please apply these concepts FIRST and then come back with any remaining questions.

Thank you for your reply! I read the instructions as well as the VJ example form before posting but our situation is different from most and it complicates things a bit, so yes, it causes me to overthink everything.

After re-reading that section of the instructions I guess I agree with you about domicile. I suppose as long as I plan to reside in Argentina "for the foreseeable future" with my husband it doesn't matter that my bank accounts, permanent mailing address, etc. are in the U.S. and that I'm here on tourist status...ugh. Really thought for a minute there that I could show that the U.S. is my primary residence, because it is and always has been. Oh well, I will just show intent to re-establish and that's that.

[pushbrk 13,663]

If you are in Argentina as a tourist, you are not "residing" in Argentina. Since you no longer live in Colombia, your domicile is currently in the USA. Tourists don't "domicile" in the country their visiting as tourists.

[Abby&Mario 100]

If you are in Argentina as a tourist, you are not "residing" in Argentina. Since you no longer live in Colombia, your domicile is currently in the USA. Tourists don't "domicile" in the country their visiting as tourists.

Got it. Thanks again!