Keeping US residence while visiting Canada?

[TwoChickies 105]

I'm the USC filing for a spousal visa for my Canadian husband. I am in Canada and have been since May 2014. I currently have a visitor record, and filed for another extension recently, which if accepted would give me another visitor record. Because I am legally here as a visitor, I cannot work or go to school, it's just "visiting/tourism."

When we filed the I-130, it asked for the last address we lived together at, which was here in Canada.

On the I-864 for NVC, it simply asks for the mailing address and the place of residency. I put my US address for both of these, as that was my understanding of residency. I thought since I was in Canada on a visitor visa and not living here but visiting, that my residence was still in the US.

However, when I filed for my visitor extension in Canada, the online form automatically filled in Canada as the country of my residence currently.

This has totally freak me out, caused a lot of stress, and I don't know what to do next. I'm so afraid of doing something wrong, just like everyone else here, that I don't want them to look at my passport and see that I'm still in Canada and think I was lying to avoid domicile issues (or for any reason at all).

Proving domicile would not be hard at all, as I truly am just visiting. I wasn't trying to avoid proving domicile, I simply didn't realize or understand I could be doing something wrong by listing my residence as my US address.

Does anyone know if this even matters? If I just need to take domicile proof to my husband's interview just in case, or resubmit our AOS packet now?

The other problem is that if my visitor extension is denied, I will be going home to the US and then my residence will be back in the US. Then it would seem all these worries wouldn't matter whatsoever. Hopefully I will be staying though.

Any advice or experience is greatly appreciated.

[Ms Hogan 295]

I believe the magic number of days is 180... for either country. So since you've been in Canada longer than that you're considered a resident of Canada at the moment and certainly not the U.S. I'm thinking you're considered to be "abroad" right now and you'll have to jump through the hoops to prove domicile is all. You said you're prepared for that so I would not worry too much however I'm sure someone with more similar experience to yours will be able to share. Is someone retrieving your mail for you at your American residence though? Where are you having documentation sent?

[TwoChickies 105]

Yeah that makes sense. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me or even cross my mind. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Proving domicile won't be hard at all, everything is still sent to my US address, all my accounts are there, my driver's license, etc. It's my dad's house and he, my brother and sister-in-law are all living there, so someone is always around to tell me if I have any mail.

I guess I will call NVC and try to sort it out with them. I'm just wondering what to do from here? Resubmit or wait and see if there would even be a checklist?

[TwoChickies 105]

Just got off the phone with a nice lady at NVC. She said to just send all the proof of US domicile in an email with my case number and it'll be added to the documents.

Let's hope she's right.