Living abroad: domicile

[Jeniafrench 8]

Hello everyone,

Apologies in advance if similar threads are out there. But I was hoping to get some more personalized answers, if possible.

both me and my husband (US citizen) legally reside and work in Singapore. I understand that there are 2 ways to prove domicile;

1. Prove that he maintained it

2. Prove that he is taking steps to move back and establish domicile.

I'm quite confused on which path to take that would give us better chances.

My husband has been living overseas for about 2 years, he only had income from a Singapore company, no US income. He filed taxes in the US. We maintain our main bank account in the US, he has a valid drivers license. We have a car there but had to pass the ownership to his father, otherwise it was impossible to renew the registration. We don't own property or have rental agreements in the US. We both have SSNs.

Once we move we are planning on staying at my in-laws house. We could sign a lease with them but I'm afraid that might look suspicious (lease with your own parents?). My husband was planning on moving back to the US a month or 2 before my expected interview date and look for a new job. But obviously there is no way to prove that while submitting documents to the NVC.

Another thing is that I actually had a valid CR-1 before (through the same husband). I renounced it volunteerly a couple years ago when we decided to move overseas for a few years. I wonder if this will be a factor towards the fact that my husband didn't maintain his domicile. Or maybe this is irrelevant, I'm not sure...

I would appreciate any insight on which path would be better in our situation.

Thank you!

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

You don't actually need to specify which path you are taking, but considering it's only been two years and he still has a valid bank account and DL, I'd concentrate on "maintained domicile". Did you visit the USA during the two years? That would help too.

If you will pay rent, you should have a lease. If not, a letter from your father-in-law, stating you guys will live there for a time and he is looking forward to you coming will be fine.

[Jeniafrench 8]

Thanks for a quick answer!

We went to the US only once for a short 2-week vacation. I'm not sure if that's enough.

So if we try to say that my husband maintained the domicile, should he write his US address in the documents? Or will the Singapore address be ok?

You don't actually need to specify which path you are taking, but considering it's only been two years and he still has a valid bank account and DL, I'd concentrate on "maintained domicile". Did you visit the USA during the two years? That would help too.

If you will pay rent, you should have a lease. If not, a letter from your father-in-law, stating you guys will live there for a time and he is looking forward to you coming will be fine.