Is Residence in the U.S. Required for the U.S. Sponsor?

[The Northerner 0]

"Is Residence in the U.S. Required for the U.S. Sponsor?

Yes. As a U.S. sponsor/petitioner, you must maintain your principal residence (also called domicile) in the United States, which is where you plan to live for the foreseeable future. Living in the United States is required for a U.S. sponsor to file the Affidavit of Support, with few exceptions. To learn more, review the Affidavit of Support (I-864 or I-864EZ) Instructions."

My wife, a duel US/Canadian citizen, has never lived in the US. Are we able to apply for the IR-1/CR-1 while she lives in Canada? We can begin establishing domicile (i.e. rental agreement, bank accounts) but she does not actually live in the States. Does she have to physically live there in order for us to submit this application?

If we submit the i-130, petition for alien relative, once that is approved, can a friend/relative who lives in the States be my sponsor for the affidavit of support? Or would my wife HAVE to be my sponsor because she was the one who filed form i-130? Can a friend/relative co-sponsor?

[Harpa Timsah 13,260]

Your wife cannot be the sponsor because she does not live in the US and does not have US income.

You can get a co-sponsor.

Your wife will still need to fill out the sponsor forms and that means she has to show her US taxes. USCs living abroad also need to file US taxes, so if she has not, she should do it now.

She will also need to show proof of her intent to reestablish domicile to get the visa, unrelated to the sponsorship issue. Here is where you can show her rental agreements and new job offer in the US, stuff like that.

[NikLR 13,234]

You can start the process. By the time you get to the second stage of processing and the interview you will need a joint sponsor for the I-864 and your wife needs to prove she's reestablished domicile in the USA. There is a Canadian forum thread dedicated to domicle.