Sponsoring Spouse while living Outside the USA

[Kathryn Baer 1]

My husband & I live in Canada and are awaiting Permanent Residency to be granted to my US citizen husband, which should be sometime in February/March 2019 (I am a Canadian Citizen & am sponsoring him here). 

 

So here are our questions.

1. it is possible for him (US Citizen) to sponsor me (Canadian Citizen) while living in Canada? 

2. Does his income have to be US based or can it be Canadian based? (in regards to meeting the minimum income requirement necessary)

3. We will be having our first child in July of this year. As soon as we have his/her birth certificate, we will be working on transmitting his US citizenship to our baby. With that, our baby, if they obtain US citizenship through birth/transmission of citizenship, my husband would not need to sponsor them as well, correct? But would need to meet the minimum income required for a household of 3?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

*Just a note, we did begin the K-1 process in 2016. We decided to withdraw it and instead bring him to Canada as it seemed easier & faster*

[Roel 7,191]

Read about the domicile requirement.

[Kathryn Baer 1]

1 minute ago, Roel said:

Read about the domicile requirement.

Another person mentioned this. Would I find this on the website here? 

Thing is he will always call the US his home, even if he is living somewhere else. He's in Canada because of me, not because he doesn't want to be in the US. 

[Crazy Cat 39,253]

9 minutes ago, Kathryn Baer said:

My husband & I live in Canada and are awaiting Permanent Residency to be granted to my US citizen husband, which should be sometime in February/March 2019 (I am a Canadian Citizen & am sponsoring him here). 

 

So here are our questions.

1. it is possible for him (US Citizen) to sponsor me (Canadian Citizen) while living in Canada? 

2. Does his income have to be US based or can it be Canadian based? (in regards to meeting the minimum income requirement necessary)

3. We will be having our first child in July of this year. As soon as we have his/her birth certificate, we will be working on transmitting his US citizenship to our baby. With that, our baby, if they obtain US citizenship through birth/transmission of citizenship, my husband would not need to sponsor them as well, correct? But would need to meet the minimum income required for a household of 3?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

*Just a note, we did begin the K-1 process in 2016. We decided to withdraw it and instead bring him to Canada as it seemed easier & faster*

1.  No......unless he can prove that you intend to live in the US. Montreal is very strict.........Green Cards are for living in the US.

2.  US based since, the requirement is that you are going to reside inside the US.

What is your purpose for wanting a Green Card?  If the purpose is for anything other than living in the US, you do not qualify.

Edited May 7, 2018 by missileman

[Roel 7,191]

4 minutes ago, Kathryn Baer said:

Another person mentioned this. Would I find this on the website here? 

Thing is he will always call the US his home, even if he is living somewhere else. He's in Canada because of me, not because he doesn't want to be in the US. 

He needs to show actual ties to the US, not just calling it home...

Like a place to live, job, investments, etc etc.

[Crazy Cat 39,253]

OP, what is the purpose of your becoming a Green Card holder?

[Kathryn Baer 1]

1 minute ago, missileman said:

1.  No......unless he can prove that you intend to live in the US. Montreal is very strict.........Green Cards are for living in the US.

2.  US based since, the requirement is that you are going to reside inside the US.

What is your purpose for wanting a Green Card?  If the purpose is for anything other than living in the US, you do not qualify.

I definitely intend to live in the US. That was our original plan with the K-1 Visa but due to him losing his job during the process & not having significant income, we decided I would sponsor him to come to Canada first since my employment situation was more favorable than his.

The purpose is that we want to live & make the US our home. Our dream is to own a home on the Oregon coast and grow old there. 

[Kathryn Baer 1]

1 minute ago, missileman said:

OP, what is the purpose of your becoming a Green Card holder?

Purpose, as mentioned, is to live in the US with our family & hopefully grow old there together. 

[Crazy Cat 39,253]

Just now, Kathryn Baer said:

Purpose, as mentioned, is to live in the US with our family & hopefully grow old there together. 

Nice!!  I wish you the best.  It is generally easier to prove domicile when the US citizen has relocated to the US.  At minimum (and it depends on what the consulate wants), he will have to prove ties to the US such @Roel stated.  Your husband's Affidavit of Support will have to show income which will be continuing after relocating to the US.

[Kathryn Baer 1]

1 hour ago, missileman said:

Nice!!  I wish you the best.  It is generally easier to prove domicile when the US citizen has relocated to the US.  At minimum (and it depends on what the consulate wants), he will have to prove ties to the US such @Roel stated.  Your husband's Affidavit of Support will have to show income which will be continuing after relocating to the US.

Thanks! We're anxious to begin the process haha. Most of our family & friends are in the US so it would be nice to be able to live there. 

He does still have a US bank account and receives mail there at his old address (parents home) so that would count as ties to the US right? If we were to, for example, purchase a home there and rent it out when we are not in the US, would that be something he could use to prove his ties to the US as well? We do own a vintage Winnebago RV but have yet to register it as we got it when everything was really up in the air. If we registered it it would also count as a tie right? Sorry for so many questions lol.

 

What is he were to, say, a few months before we begin the sponsorship process move back to the US and obtain employment? Or how would he be able to show that his income would continue after relocating to the US? Through a job offer perhaps?

[Lemonslice 4,555]

If you're in Canada, this is the thread you'll want to read

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/164618-proving-domicile-when-not-living-in-the-us/

[Kathryn Baer 1]

59 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

If you're in Canada, this is the thread you'll want to read

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/164618-proving-domicile-when-not-living-in-the-us/

Thanks! I've read through a bunch of the tread and I think I know what we can do  Now to just figure out the whole minimum income thing. Are we allowed to have a cosponsor, such as his parents? If so, what is the minimum income requirement they must meet in order to qualify? (They're a family of 7, 3 are now over 18 so a total of 5 at home) and we will be a family of 3 in July of this year. 

[Lemonslice 4,555]

9 minutes ago, Kathryn Baer said:

Thanks! I've read through a bunch of the tread and I think I know what we can do  Now to just figure out the whole minimum income thing. Are we allowed to have a cosponsor, such as his parents? If so, what is the minimum income requirement they must meet in order to qualify? (They're a family of 7, 3 are now over 18 so a total of 5 at home) and we will be a family of 3 in July of this year. 

You'll need to read the instructions for the I864.

[geowrian 22,335]

10 hours ago, Kathryn Baer said:

1. it is possible for him (US Citizen) to sponsor me (Canadian Citizen) while living in Canada? 

Yes, he can petition you from anywhere. He must be a financial sponsor via an I-864. If he doesn't meet the requirements, he will also need a joint sponsor to file an I-864.

As noted above, Montreal is very strict on US domicile. But I don't want to beat a dead horse as that has been well covered already.

 

Quote

2. Does his income have to be US based or can it be Canadian based? (in regards to meeting the minimum income requirement necessary)

Where it is based doesn't really matter, but it must be income from a source that will continue upon return to the US. Generally, foreign-based jobs won't meet this requirement (but obviously some do, such as those engaging in border living as one example).

 

I'll just note that he must be filing US federal income tax returns even when working abroad...USCs and LPRs are taxed on worldwide income.

 

Quote

3. We will be having our first child in July of this year. As soon as we have his/her birth certificate, we will be working on transmitting his US citizenship to our baby. With that, our baby, if they obtain US citizenship through birth/transmission of citizenship, my husband would not need to sponsor them as well, correct? But would need to meet the minimum income required for a household of 3?

Correct. If born abroad and he qualifies to transmit citizenship to his child, then a CRBA is necessary to recognize the child's citizenship. Then they can get a passport.

If born before the visa is issued, he must include the child in his household size.

 

Congrats on the pregnancy.

 

5 hours ago, Kathryn Baer said:

Are we allowed to have a cosponsor, such as his parents? If so, what is the minimum income requirement they must meet in order to qualify? (They're a family of 7, 3 are now over 18 so a total of 5 at home) and we will be a family of 3 in July of this year. 

Joint sponsor* And yes, a joint sponsor are permitted for an immigrant visa. A joint sponsor must be a USC or LPR domiciled in the US. One parent would be a joint sponsor and use an I-864, while the other should complete an I-864A as a household member.

 

As for income, they follow the same rules. There's no way to determine their household size based on the info provided. In a more general sense, they need to include:

• Himself/Herself
• Their spouse
• Any under-21 children
• Any other dependents they claimed on their most recent tax returns, if any
• Any other immigrants still sponsored by a different, executed I-864, if any.

Do NOT include the petitioner or the petitioner's family (except as noted above).

The exact rules are in the I-864 instructions.

Edited May 8, 2018 by geowrian

[Kathryn Baer 1]

12 hours ago, geowrian said:

Yes, he can petition you from anywhere. He must be a financial sponsor via an I-864. If he doesn't meet the requirements, he will also need a joint sponsor to file an I-864.

As noted above, Montreal is very strict on US domicile. But I don't want to beat a dead horse as that has been well covered already.

 

Where it is based doesn't really matter, but it must be income from a source that will continue upon return to the US. Generally, foreign-based jobs won't meet this requirement (but obviously some do, such as those engaging in border living as one example).

 

I'll just note that he must be filing US federal income tax returns even when working abroad...USCs and LPRs are taxed on worldwide income.

 

Correct. If born abroad and he qualifies to transmit citizenship to his child, then a CRBA is necessary to recognize the child's citizenship. Then they can get a passport.

If born before the visa is issued, he must include the child in his household size.

 

Congrats on the pregnancy.

 

Joint sponsor* And yes, a joint sponsor are permitted for an immigrant visa. A joint sponsor must be a USC or LPR domiciled in the US. One parent would be a joint sponsor and use an I-864, while the other should complete an I-864A as a household member.

 

As for income, they follow the same rules. There's no way to determine their household size based on the info provided. In a more general sense, they need to include:

• Himself/Herself
• Their spouse
• Any under-21 children
• Any other dependents they claimed on their most recent tax returns, if any
• Any other immigrants still sponsored by a different, executed I-864, if any.

Do NOT include the petitioner or the petitioner's family (except as noted above).

The exact rules are in the I-864 instructions.

I hadn't even thought of border living until you mentioned it, and it might be the perfect solution for us. He has family in Bellingham, WA so we could live in BC near the border and he could potentially work in Bellingham. This would have his income as US-based and help with the domicile aspect, right? If he had a rental agreement with a family member there it would also help with the domicile part.

 

My husband will have been here in Canada for just over a year when our baby arrives. The rest of his life he has been in the USA, so, from what I understand from this site(https://ca.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/child-family-matters/birth/), my husband qualifies to transmit citizenship and our baby would obtain a CRBA. So, since our baby would obtain a CRBA & passport before we even start the process of obtaining a visa for me, we wouldn't need to include our baby in the sponsorship right?

 

His parents have agreed to be joint sponsors when the time comes. I believe the household size would be 8 (their household with individuals under 21, and then my husband & I and our baby). His dad is an engineer and I'm pretty sure he makes the income requirement for a household that size on his own. So, his father would fill out I-864 and his mother would fill out I-864A, correct? And my husband would also fill out I-864?

 

So, if he had a job here in Canada and made money strictly in Canada for the 2018 tax year, he would have to file his taxes here in Canada and also in the US?

 

Petitioner would be my husband, right? Sorry for so many questions, just needing clarification  

 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Kathryn Baer
forgot a part