CR-1 Visa for couple living abroad (US citizen living abroad for past 10 years)

[Singidudum 0]

Hello everybody! I am new here. My wife (US citizen) and I both live in Serbia and we are planning to move to America and start a new life there. We have read everything about the paperwork needed to be sent for this process but there are still some few things bugging us and we really need help in this so if anyone knows anything or had a case like this ,please help.We need help in these following questions:

1.Field in form I-130 that is asking for the address where I (beneficiary ) will be living once I come to the USA.
(My wife hasn't been living in America for the past 10 years ,Her family nor she don't have any property or an address there)
2.What will we do about the Affidativ of Support form ?
(My wife was in the USA last year (2015) for 6 months and this year (2016) 4 months working some season jobs.. She has been doing her tax return since 2015)

3. And can somebody just please send us what exactly they sent with the I-130 form and in what order?

We've been in a relationship for 2 and half years and we got married 2 months ago and since we lived in the same city ,we were always together,we have a lot of pictures and around 520.000 messages on Facebook.Since we heard that we will need a lot of proof that our marriage is legit ( I don't have worries in that field at all because i have seen that there are couples applying for IR-1 or CR-2 visa and they only saw each other twice over the year and didn't even met in person) so i think that we can cover that part easy.

Our plan is something like this : We are going to start working a season job in the USA that my wife has already been employed at. We won't have any financial problems because my wife has already been there and we know how much we can earn and how much the expenses would be.We would be living at the dorms that that season job provides. Can we put the address of the dorms on the I-130 form field that is asking where I will be living once I get my green card? Do you know if the address of the dorms is acceptable ? And now what we really need help with is what are we going to do with the Affidativ of Support form? She doesn't have 3 years tax returns and we think that she can't file the Affidative of Support at all because of that. But she was employed in the USA and she was earning above 125% poverty level. Do we need a joint sponsor just beacause she does not have a 3 year tax return?

We would really appreciate if someone would help us on this so we can start filling out forms and sending paperwork and have our process on the way
Thank you so much !

[JFH 12,195]

Welcome to the forum.

It's not a problem if you don't have an address yet. The process takes the best part of a year and you are allowed to change your mind or not have concrete plans yet. My husband will be moving out of the place he shares when I arrive and we will be getting our own place (don't want to share with a roommate!) so we put a relative's address. You can also put 'to be decided'. You can amend it later in the process as your plans come together. If the dorms situation is not 100% certain, I wouldn't use the dorms address.

For the affidavit of support, you will need to find a joint sponsor unless you and your wife have substantial savings or assets. Has your wife been filing taxes whilst overseas? Although she may not have earned enough to have to pay taxes to the IRS, she must still file even when she's overseas. If she hasn't filed, she will need to file the back taxes now. She will need to demonstrate her intent to re-establish domicile in the US. If she has been offered a job at that seasonal place that's a good start. Does she have that in writing? Also, has she maintained a bank account there?

I wouldn't worry so much about evidence to send with the I-130. Sure, you have to send stuff but you have the best evidence of all - living together. So focus on that. No need for thousands of little text messages when you are living together. Send a copy of your lease agreement with both names on, utility bills in both names, anything official you have from banks, hospitals, employers, local government, utilities, landlord, credit card, etc that shows you living at the same address. Do you have some form of life or health insurance together? Have you made wills?

[NikLR 13,234]

1) you can write to be determined. By the time you apply for the visa (DS-260) you will need a firm address.

2) Your wife needs to have filed tax returns if she made over the poverty guideline regardless of where she lived in the world. So it doesn't matter that she lived in Serbia. If she made over the USD threshold to file, she was required by US law to file a tax return. The USA is strange in that it requires citizens to file a tax return no matter where they are residing. The AOS will come into play at the NVC stage and interview. She either needs to be making over the poverty guidelines at that time in the USA (or in a job that will continue after moving back), have enough savings to cover 3x the poverty guidelines, or have a joint sponsor who is a citizen or LPR and domiciled in the USA who does meet those requirements. She will also likely have to provide evidence of her intent to reestablish domicile in the USA.

3) I followed the guides exactly. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1 http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

You need 'evidence' not proof that your marriage is genuine. It would be impossible for a CR1 to be obtained without meeting the spouse at least once. You will not be able to live or work in the USA without an appropriate visa.

[millefleur 5,052]

Sounds like if she hasn't lived in the US for 10 years and has no address at all or family there, she will definitely have to provide proof of intent to domicile.

That's later down the road in the CR-1/IR-1, though, isn't it? If I'm not mistaken, the I-130 doesn't need the domicile intent info. Only until after you get approved for that and file the I-864, Affidavit of Support, will you need to send the domicile stuff.

[NikLR 13,234]

Sounds like if she hasn't lived in the US for 10 years and has no address at all or family there, she will definitely have to provide proof of intent to domicile.

That's later down the road in the CR-1/IR-1, though, isn't it? If I'm not mistaken, the I-130 doesn't need the domicile intent info. Only until after you get approved for that and file the I-864, Affidavit of Support, will you need to send the domicile stuff.

Yes that's right. At the NVC stage is when domicile has to be on track and then complete by the interview.