Domicile Advice

[ohman 5]

I just had an interview and was told that "petitioner does not qualify because you are living outside the US. You need to submit a month by month 6 mos. plan for your planned return to the US, along with home mortgages, rental agmts in US, job offer and job search letters, voting registrations records etc."

It seems when I read the literature on how to apply, that you can establish domicile without a job offer. Does this mean that this option is now unavailable to me? I don't really understand fully, are they saying I MUST do these things, outlined above, or could I say have a person co-sponsor with me still, or what about simply moving to the US and actually establishing residence. Would moving back in this manner clear all this up, or would I need to actually have a job. I guess the crux of my question is do I need to do exactly as they told me, or are the options that were present in the forms still available to me? I am very confused, and since I was not in the interview it makes it even more confusing.

Oddly I thought (I am not sure if those requirements above are tailored to my exact case), they mentioned home mortgages and rental agreements, yet I sent them a letter with my father's signature and he outlined his willingness to let me stay there. Does this not qualify? Are they ignoring it? Are they asking for a rental agreement from my father? Was this signed letter not proof enough for them?

I would really rather stay with my wife, and fly over with her. Maybe this is off the table now since they are asking me to have a job, and I can't get a job without a flight and a start date, don't want a flight without a visa. I would think living (flying back) in the US would satisfy this domicile requirement, but am unsure. I don't really understand why they tell you that you can do things on these forms, and then you can't. I am not currently working, but I had plenty of wiggle room to satisfy their financial requirements via assets. If this is not going to satisfy them, why put it as an option on the forms? I just don't get it at all. I would have taken another path if I knew this option, was not going to work.

I would appreciate any and all advice on this, thank you very much.

Edited July 10, 2014 by ohman

[B & G 200]

To better help you, can you list what you did send as proof of establishing domicile in the US. Also look at the link below. There is a whole section that for proving domicile.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Edited July 10, 2014 by B & G

[ohman 5]

To better help you, can you list what you did send as proof of establishing domicile in the US. Also look at the link below. There is a whole section that for proving domicile.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

First of all, thank you.

I noticed when reading your link that it says to bring the proof of establishing domicile to the interview. I believe this may be the problem in my case. It said explicitly in the directions I followed, "Original documents that were not submitted earlier MUST be presented at the interview. You do NOT have to provide duplicate copies or original of documents that you have already submitted to the IV Unit at an earlier stage." So, I did not submit the domicile documents again. I have no idea at this point if that was correct or not, or if I misinterpreted something. I really wish they would clear this stuff up though.

The proof that I did submit by mail before the interview consisted of:

-a signed letter from my father stating that I would be staying at his residence and paying utulity bills until I could find a job

-forms showing that we had sold about 90% of our mutual fund positions in the foreign country in preparation to have cash on hand for the move

-a foreign bank account showing the cash with a letter from the bank confirming it

-a letter showing a banking account and the ability to move the funds internationally online

-a print of my monthly statement from my maintained US bank account

-a copy of my form that i registered to vote with (the copy that i got in the mail in the US I had my dad send to me, but it never got here:()

I also included a signed letter, as outlined in your link, or similar anyway.

As I was saying above, their text to me in their explanation letter seemed to indicate that they did not even look at any of this. Again, I am not sure if that was just verbatim text they send to all denied applicants, or if it is tailored. If it was tailored to me, it seems they did not even look at the forms I sent, and further my wife told me they did ask about a lease agreement of some sort, and she had no idea (why would she, I prepared all the forms.... I think the whole process is rather absurd, my wife does not even speak English).

Is there possibly a way I could ask them if they even considered my domicile paperwork, and if not, if they could reconsider. I find they have precluded any sort of meaningful communication with them.

Again, thanks for ant help or suggestions. Alas, perhaps this is for another thread, but there was a very rude and obnoxious comment made toward my wife completely out of left field. My wife is very polite, but at this point I am seriously considering filing a formal complaint, but don't really want to hurt my chances obviously.

Edited July 10, 2014 by ohman

[ohman 5]

I just saw this text from your link "This [proof of US domicile] is NOT needed if the petitioner is living in the US".

This gets back to my original question if I can simply move to the US to satisfy their requirement. Is living in the US domiciled enough? This is what I am finding frustrating, forgive me if my tone is too strong, but I have followed all of their instructions as closely as I possibly can, spending hours on their forms, and it seems to be turning out that many of the directions they give are flat out wrong, or very misleading at best. What is domicile? I need to know. If i hop on a place and land in the US, am I domiciled? Would I need a job to be domiciled. There could be potentially months of difference between those two, so it would help if it was clear.

Further, what would they accept as proof of this? A stamp in my passport? A utility bill in my name? A picture of me with today's new york times standing iin front of the white house? It just seems they need to lay out what they will accept before we go run out and do any of it (and then fail)!

Edited July 10, 2014 by ohman

[Confusedtinybird 41]

What country did you have the interview in?

How long have you been out of the United States for?

Edited July 10, 2014 by Confusedtinybird

[ohman 5]

What country did you have the interview in?

How long have you been out of the United States for?

Thailand.

About 4 years.

Thanks for your reply.

[ohman 5]

I am currently writing the above requested "month by month 6 mos. plan".

July 2014 - apply for and get a job before embarking to the US. Apply for voter registration in the state of employment. Secure living arrangements.

August 2014 - work the job, pay the bills, pay tax, vote

Sept 2014 - work some more, pay more bills, make sure to pay tax. Vote again

Oct 2014 - maybe work some more? go lobster fishing after the first monday of the month?

Nov 2014 - work some more, pay some bills

Dec 2014 -????!! lol

I mean are they really serious? What am I supposed to say, like no kidding. What am I supposed to say for each of these months without sounding like a wise ###? It is more difficult than you think, try it.

[Confusedtinybird 41]

Ok so you really were not out of the USA that long.

Here is a list I looked at it was helpful for me http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/445020-i-864-re-establishing-domicile/

I would perhaps speak to whoever is on your case as it seems you have already provided an intent to re-establish domicile before your interview.