Petitioner's Domicile

[Zin-Zin 21]

My wife and I have lived outside the US for a decade. 

She is immigrating and we are setting up our life in America. 

I'm filling out the I-864, but my dad will also be a joint sponsor. 

On I-864, it asks me where my domicile is. We are currently in France so I am claiming that as my domicile, but I don't have legal residency here at the moment. I currently have legal residency in Taiwan, but we are not currently living there and won't be for the foreseeable future. I'm not claiming Taiwan b/c I don't live there and I want my address to match up with my wives b/c I also need to prove that I intend to make my domicile in the USA when she immigrates and I think it will look better this way. 

Or am I endangering her application this way?

About proving my domicile....I have a bank account, an LLC (though I am hidden from public view). What else can I provide to prove that I want to move back to the USA?

[pushbrk 12,294]

I would state your domicile as USA, regardless of where you say you are living  now.  If you are just visiting France, you don't "live there".

[Zin-Zin 21]

18 hours ago, pushbrk said:

I would state your domicile as USA, regardless of where you say you are living  now.  If you are just visiting France, you don't "live there".

Even though I have not lived in the USA for 18 years? 

[pushbrk 12,294]

3 hours ago, Zin-Zin said:

Even though I have not lived in the USA for 18 years? 

Yes.  You don't live in France, and you live anywhere else either.  In the present tense, you are not domiciled anywhere else besides the USA.  Domiciled does NOT mean "living there".

[Zin-Zin 21]

27 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Yes.  You don't live in France, and you live anywhere else either.  In the present tense, you are not domiciled anywhere else besides the USA.  Domiciled does NOT mean "living there".

Thank you!

[Zin-Zin 21]

On 1/28/2022 at 10:39 PM, pushbrk said:

Yes.  You don't live in France, and you live anywhere else either.  In the present tense, you are not domiciled anywhere else besides the USA.  Domiciled does NOT mean "living there".

Understood. 

We are traveling in the Balkans now. 

I put my parents' address for the mailing address. We will stay there when we get to the USA. 

For the following question "Is your current mailing address the same as your physical address?", I should put 'Yes' b/c the instructions say that I need to "provide the physical address where you (the sponsor) live, if different from your mailing address." And since I don't technically live anywhere right now, it follows the same logic that you used for the domicile. 

Or am I missing something?

[pushbrk 12,294]

6 hours ago, Zin-Zin said:

Understood. 

We are traveling in the Balkans now. 

I put my parents' address for the mailing address. We will stay there when we get to the USA. 

For the following question "Is your current mailing address the same as your physical address?", I should put 'Yes' b/c the instructions say that I need to "provide the physical address where you (the sponsor) live, if different from your mailing address." And since I don't technically live anywhere right now, it follows the same logic that you used for the domicile. 

Or am I missing something?

No.

[Zin-Zin 21]

On 2/24/2022 at 11:08 PM, pushbrk said:

No.

Pushbrk, I'm reading through the I-864 instructions, being a student of them, as you rightly said. 

And about calling the USA my domicile seems like I'm lying! And that freaks me out a bit like it's going to get the whole thing denied. 

Here's my train of thought. If you'd point out where I've gone wrong, I'd really appreciate it. 

The instructions say, "If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:" 

And that's clearly me. I haven't been physically present in the USA for 4 years and have not resided there since 2004. 

So if I'm going to claim the USA as domicile, then I'm assuming you mean under this clause: "2. You are living abroad temporarily."

This is the part where it seems like I'm lying. The instructions say, "you must provide proof that your trip abroad is temporary." I've had residence in Taiwan for 10 years. We sold all of our things and left Taiwan, but the only proof I have of that would be FB posts and *perhaps* a DHL receipt. I still have PR in Taiwan. I can be out of the country for 4 years 364 days before I lose it.  Maybe I don't have the immigration understanding of temporary? 

But I do have some of the evidence. 

• Your voting record in the United States; - I've voted while abroad in the past two federal elections, but I have no record of that. 
• Records of paying U.S. state or local taxes; Yep, I've got tax documents for the previous 7 years. 
• Maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States; Yep, I've got 1 bank account in my name, 1 LLC with me as the single member--though it is anonymous--and 1 bank account with my LLC, but I have a bank letter that clearly states my name as the approved agent of that account. 
• Having a permanent mailing address in the United States; Not sure about this one. I've always used my parent's address as my permanent address. It was the same for the previous years, but they just moved and so my permanent address is now that one. 
• I have recently set up a T-mobile account in my name with my permanent address. 

I could also potentially add a lease from my parents that we are going to live there for 6 months and pay $XXX per month for rent. 

Where is my logic faulty? I've sold all my things in Taiwan and left and I don't live anywhere (we are slow traveling through the Balkans at the moment), but I don't understand how that means I'm now domiciled in the USA. 

Appreciate your time and attention!

[pushbrk 12,294]

48 minutes ago, Zin-Zin said:

Pushbrk, I'm reading through the I-864 instructions, being a student of them, as you rightly said. 

And about calling the USA my domicile seems like I'm lying! And that freaks me out a bit like it's going to get the whole thing denied. 

Here's my train of thought. If you'd point out where I've gone wrong, I'd really appreciate it. 

The instructions say, "If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:" 

And that's clearly me. I haven't been physically present in the USA for 4 years and have not resided there since 2004. 

So if I'm going to claim the USA as domicile, then I'm assuming you mean under this clause: "2. You are living abroad temporarily."

This is the part where it seems like I'm lying. The instructions say, "you must provide proof that your trip abroad is temporary." I've had residence in Taiwan for 10 years. We sold all of our things and left Taiwan, but the only proof I have of that would be FB posts and *perhaps* a DHL receipt. I still have PR in Taiwan. I can be out of the country for 4 years 364 days before I lose it.  Maybe I don't have the immigration understanding of temporary? 

But I do have some of the evidence. 

• Your voting record in the United States; - I've voted while abroad in the past two federal elections, but I have no record of that. 
• Records of paying U.S. state or local taxes; Yep, I've got tax documents for the previous 7 years. 
• Maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States; Yep, I've got 1 bank account in my name, 1 LLC with me as the single member--though it is anonymous--and 1 bank account with my LLC, but I have a bank letter that clearly states my name as the approved agent of that account. 
• Having a permanent mailing address in the United States; Not sure about this one. I've always used my parent's address as my permanent address. It was the same for the previous years, but they just moved and so my permanent address is now that one. 
• I have recently set up a T-mobile account in my name with my permanent address. 

I could also potentially add a lease from my parents that we are going to live there for 6 months and pay $XXX per month for rent. 

Where is my logic faulty? I've sold all my things in Taiwan and left and I don't live anywhere (we are slow traveling through the Balkans at the moment), but I don't understand how that means I'm now domiciled in the USA. 

Appreciate your time and attention!

You're overthinking it.  Perhaps you were not domiciled in the USA when you "had residency in Taiwan" but you don't have a domicile in the Balkans or anywhere else now, so your CURRENT trip is TEMPORARY.  Domiciled and living are not the same thing.

[Zin-Zin 21]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

You're overthinking it.  Perhaps you were not domiciled in the USA when you "had residency in Taiwan" but you don't have a domicile in the Balkans or anywhere else now, so your CURRENT trip is TEMPORARY.  Domiciled and living are not the same thing.

Ok, wouldn't be the first time I overthought something. 

Then, do I need to include a letter or something explaining my temporary stay outside of the USA? 

[pushbrk 12,294]

1 minute ago, Zin-Zin said:

Ok, wouldn't be the first time I overthought something. 

Then, do I need to include a letter or something explaining my temporary stay outside of the USA? 

Not required but that might be helpful.  Also include a description of your future plans in the US.

[Zin-Zin 21]

Just now, pushbrk said:

Not required but that might be helpful.  Also include a description of your future plans in the US.

Ok, do I include the documentary evidence that I listed above as well, e.g., the voter registration, bank accounts, etc? I am actually going to pay my parents some rent so a lease is no problem. 

[pushbrk 12,294]

5 minutes ago, Zin-Zin said:

Ok, do I include the documentary evidence that I listed above as well, e.g., the voter registration, bank accounts, etc? I am actually going to pay my parents some rent so a lease is no problem. 

Yes.

[Zin-Zin 21]

Just now, pushbrk said:

Yes.

Roger that. 

Thanks again, for all of your help, Pushbrk. Be well!

 

[Redro 4,602]

5 hours ago, Zin-Zin said:

Pushbrk, I'm reading through the I-864 instructions, being a student of them, as you rightly said. 

And about calling the USA my domicile seems like I'm lying! And that freaks me out a bit like it's going to get the whole thing denied. 

Here's my train of thought. If you'd point out where I've gone wrong, I'd really appreciate it. 

The instructions say, "If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:" 

And that's clearly me. I haven't been physically present in the USA for 4 years and have not resided there since 2004. 

So if I'm going to claim the USA as domicile, then I'm assuming you mean under this clause: "2. You are living abroad temporarily."

This is the part where it seems like I'm lying. The instructions say, "you must provide proof that your trip abroad is temporary." I've had residence in Taiwan for 10 years. We sold all of our things and left Taiwan, but the only proof I have of that would be FB posts and *perhaps* a DHL receipt. I still have PR in Taiwan. I can be out of the country for 4 years 364 days before I lose it.  Maybe I don't have the immigration understanding of temporary? 

But I do have some of the evidence. 

• Your voting record in the United States; - I've voted while abroad in the past two federal elections, but I have no record of that. 
• Records of paying U.S. state or local taxes; Yep, I've got tax documents for the previous 7 years. 
• Maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States; Yep, I've got 1 bank account in my name, 1 LLC with me as the single member--though it is anonymous--and 1 bank account with my LLC, but I have a bank letter that clearly states my name as the approved agent of that account. 
• Having a permanent mailing address in the United States; Not sure about this one. I've always used my parent's address as my permanent address. It was the same for the previous years, but they just moved and so my permanent address is now that one. 
• I have recently set up a T-mobile account in my name with my permanent address. 

I could also potentially add a lease from my parents that we are going to live there for 6 months and pay $XXX per month for rent. 

Where is my logic faulty? I've sold all my things in Taiwan and left and I don't live anywhere (we are slow traveling through the Balkans at the moment), but I don't understand how that means I'm now domiciled in the USA. 

Appreciate your time and attention!

When was the last time you were in the USA?

And are you in France on a tourist visa or another visa? 

I would add a lease from your father as proof of domicile.

And if you haven't already... I would make sure the mailing address for your bank account matches your father's address. 

NVC might flag your case and believe you are not actually domiciled in the US if you haven't returned and your tax transcripts show a foreign mailing address. 

You can also write a letter stating all your ties to the US.