Delaying getting the visa

[theobvious89 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to start applying for a Spousal visa. My wife is the US citizen and I am from Australia. Right now we are living in Malaysia. One question that I had is, is there any point the process of getting the visa that you can delay it? The reason I am asking is because I know that you have to enter the US within 6 months of getting the visa. Our plan is to move to the US in June 2017. If I start applying now and for some reason the application goes quicker than expected, can I somewhere slow the process so that I do not get the visa before January 2017?

Thanks a lot for you help,

Joel

[JFH 12,191]

It's taking about a year at the moment anyway. If your wife files the petition (note that the first step is for the US citizen to file the I-130 petition before you can apply for anything) now, it'll be around a year before you get the visa.

She also needs to re-establish domicile in the USA - something else that may take you some time to organise. To be absolutely certain on the time frame, don't file the petition for another few months.

[theobvious89 0]

Thanks for the info. What do you mean by re-establishing domicile in the US?

[Anh map 2,098]

Domicile >>>>> https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/support/i-864-frequently-asked-questions.html

Has your wife been filing US tax returns? If not, she may need to get that sorted as well before moving forward with the visa process.

Taxes >>>>> https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Frequently-Asked-Questions-About-International-Individual-Tax-Matters

[theobvious89 0]

So my wife has being filing US tax returns but we recently had a baby boy so now she is not working and staying home with our son. We figured that we would have to get a joint sponsor to fill out the affidavit of support since my wife technically has no income.

So if I understand correctly, my wife as the petitioner has to show evidence of residence in the United States. I'm not sure how she can do this as she has being living overseas for 5 and half a years now. Does this mean she would have to go to live in the States well before I would be able to move there?

Thanks,

Joel

[JFH 12,191]

Does this mean she would have to go to live in the States well before I would be able to move there?

Thanks,

Joel

Potentially yes. Unless she has maintained an existence in the USA whilst overseas.

[theobvious89 0]

She does have a US bank account and US driver's license. Would that count towards anything?

[JFH 12,191]

That's not enough, I'm afraid. Does she have a job to go to there? Does she own a home there? When she left to go to Malaysia, was it for a specified time period or did she leave with no concrete date for returning to the US? Was she sent there with her job?

[theobvious89 0]

No, she doesn't have a job to go to there and she doesn't own a home. When she left there was no concrete date for returning to the US. She left the US to work as a teacher at an international school here in Malaysia. That's where I met her.

[JFH 12,191]

She will need to re-establish domicile then. Has she started looking into where you will live?

[dwheels76 5,477]

No, she doesn't have a job to go to there and she doesn't own a home. When she left there was no concrete date for returning to the US. She left the US to work as a teacher at an international school here in Malaysia. That's where I met her.

Here is the NVC Process wiki that was written up I have attached the section that talks about things you can get to show domicile re-establish.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process#Step_6_-_Gather_AOS_Package

[mallafri76 1,012]

You can delay the process at NVC, if you want or need it. There are several steps at NVC, where you can basically wait up to a year between each step.

You don't need to prove domicile until the NVC phase, where you do the i-864. The instructions for the i-864 explains when and what you can do to reestablish a domicile in the US. It can be accepting a job offer, signing a lease or buying property in the US etc.

Link to the i-864, so you can see what's needed financially to have your wife immigrate to the US as well as for you to reestablish a domicile.

http://www.uscis.gov/i-864

[Michael and Ganna 104]

One other thing to research is filing your petition from abroad can expedite your case

[NikLR 13,232]

You can delay the process at NVC, if you want or need it. There are several steps at NVC, where you can basically wait up to a year between each step.

You don't need to prove domicile until the NVC phase, where you do the i-864. The instructions for the i-864 explains when and what you can do to reestablish a domicile in the US. It can be accepting a job offer, signing a lease or buying property in the US etc.

Link to the i-864, so you can see what's needed financially to have your wife immigrate to the US as well as for you to reestablish a domicile.

http://www.uscis.gov/i-864

thank you for posting an answer to the OP's question.

[RobertM54 36]

Is this a situation for a Direct Counselor Filing (DCF)?

http://www.visajourney.com/content/dcf

Important Note: A US Citizen living overseas that wishes to complete the I-864, Affidavit of Support, for their spouse (as part of the DCF process to get an Immigrant Visa) will be required to have U.S. domicile/intent to reestablish domicile to qualify as a Sponsor for the I-864. In addition to having a US domicile/reestablishing domicile the US Citizen must either have employment that will continue (from the same source) when they move/return to the US, or, per the instructions on the I-864, the US Citizen and their spouse may use assets to qualify if the income requirement is not met. In many cases however a couple may need to get a joint sponsor to successfully fulfill the requirements on the I-864.

How long does the DCF Process Take

Every consulate is different however in many cases the processing time frame can be measured in weeks. For consulates with a higher case load or instance of fraud the processing time could be months. Regardless, DCF will almost always be faster than filing with the USCIS in the US. Additionally when you enter the US your spouse will immediately become a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) and their Green Card will be mailed to them shortly after arriving.