Aditional proof of US domicile - RFE at interview

[RedAndChile 7]

Hello everybody!, I'm posting this because we're in search of words of wisdom.

 

I had my interview at the Chilean embassy for the CR-1 visa, and got RFE by the CO asking for more proof of domicile, since my wife (the USC) has been living here for 4 years already. I brought to the interview just a bank statement and quotation for shipping our goods to the US. Now I realize how little we brought, considering the time she's been abroad. 

 

We had no issue in the whole process until now, NVC DQ'd us without any other observation. Anyway, now we are gathering these items to send by mail here so we can finally end this painful feeling of being rejected:

 

- Letter from the petitioner, listing all items and speaking about the missing documentation.

- Job offers and job applications from the petitioner.

- Signed agreement for lease at her parents house (they are our joint sponsor+HH member)

- Letter from the sponsors indicating full support and formalizing the lease.

- Voting registration status of the petitioner, the document has her address which we think it could help.

- Copy of the money transfer from her bank in Chile to her US bank account.

- Updated bank statement.

- Official resignation letter to her Chilean job.

- SSN card, which we didn't bring to the embassy.

- Amended tax return for 2020 (there was a mistake which the CO pointed out and got really mad about).

 

We're gathering the job offers, job applications and the receipt of the money transfer. We already have the rest of the documentation.

 

Our questions are:

- Do you think this is enough?.

- Does this mean the petitioner might have to travel before me to establish more evidence, if the prior list is not enough? is that travel allowed?

- The interview was december 19th and the CO didn't give any time to send our proof, except a paper saying that if we don't respond in a year our case is closed. What is the time limit we have to send our documents?.

 

Thank you very much for taking the time for reading this.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas!

[Lil bear 4,252]

28 minutes ago, RedAndChile said:

Hello everybody!, I'm posting this because we're in search of words of wisdom.

 

I had my interview at the Chilean embassy for the CR-1 visa, and got RFE by the CO asking for more proof of domicile, since my wife (the USC) has been living here for 4 years already. I brought to the interview just a bank statement and quotation for shipping our goods to the US. Now I realize how little we brought, considering the time she's been abroad. 

 

We had no issue in the whole process until now, NVC DQ'd us without any other observation. Anyway, now we are gathering these items to send by mail here so we can finally end this painful feeling of being rejected:

 

- Letter from the petitioner, listing all items and speaking about the missing documentation.

- Job offers and job applications from the petitioner.

- Signed agreement for lease at her parents house (they are our joint sponsor+HH member)

- Letter from the sponsors indicating full support and formalizing the lease.

- Voting registration status of the petitioner, the document has her address which we think it could help.

- Copy of the money transfer from her bank in Chile to her US bank account.

- Updated bank statement.

- Official resignation letter to her Chilean job.

- SSN card, which we didn't bring to the embassy.

- Amended tax return for 2020 (there was a mistake which the CO pointed out and got really mad about).

 

We're gathering the job offers, job applications and the receipt of the money transfer. We already have the rest of the documentation.

 

Our questions are:

- Do you think this is enough?.

- Does this mean the petitioner might have to travel before me to establish more evidence, if the prior list is not enough? is that travel allowed?

- The interview was december 19th and the CO didn't give any time to send our proof, except a paper saying that if we don't respond in a year our case is closed. What is the time limit we have to send our documents?.

 

Thank you very much for taking the time for reading this.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas!

1 It looks much stronger evidence, yes. Are you selling property / closing out a lease? Evidence of that would help

too 

2. IO could require your USC spouse actually establish herself in the US, yes , but my sense is that if this was going to be required then it would have been  part of the rfe. However, her returning now and being able to gather further evidence such as state ID or drivers license, cell phone contract , employment letter etc would certainly be the best documentation 

3 many spouses return for the 3-6 months before the beneficiary’s interview for this reason. Some consulates require it 

4 the time limit is as stated in the letter you were given  

5. dont delay.. gather and send assp 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Lil bear

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Completely agree with @Lil bear but I have a question: why the SSN card?

[Lil bear 4,252]

1 minute ago, Rocio0010 said:

Completely agree with @Lil bear but I have a question: why the SSN card?

Agree. Include it  because she has it but lots of non residents have a SSN for lots of reasons. Does not show anything regarding domicile.  

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 minute ago, Lil bear said:

Agree. Include it  because she has it but lots of non residents have a SSN for lots of reasons. Does not show anything regarding domicile.  

Not sure I understand your message, but to me it is completely used because like you said, it does not prove domicile. 

[Lil bear 4,252]

3 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

Not sure I understand your message, but to me it is completely used because like you said, it does not prove domicile. 

It wont help including it but it wont hurt either 

[iwannaplay54 985]

3 hours ago, RedAndChile said:

Hello everybody!, I'm posting this because we're in search of words of wisdom.

 

I had my interview at the Chilean embassy for the CR-1 visa, and got RFE by the CO asking for more proof of domicile, since my wife (the USC) has been living here for 4 years already. I brought to the interview just a bank statement and quotation for shipping our goods to the US. Now I realize how little we brought, considering the time she's been abroad. 

 

We had no issue in the whole process until now, NVC DQ'd us without any other observation. Anyway, now we are gathering these items to send by mail here so we can finally end this painful feeling of being rejected:

 

- Letter from the petitioner, listing all items and speaking about the missing documentation.

- Job offers and job applications from the petitioner.

- Signed agreement for lease at her parents house (they are our joint sponsor+HH member)

- Letter from the sponsors indicating full support and formalizing the lease.

- Voting registration status of the petitioner, the document has her address which we think it could help.

- Copy of the money transfer from her bank in Chile to her US bank account.

- Updated bank statement.

- Official resignation letter to her Chilean job.

- SSN card, which we didn't bring to the embassy.

- Amended tax return for 2020 (there was a mistake which the CO pointed out and got really mad about).

 

We're gathering the job offers, job applications and the receipt of the money transfer. We already have the rest of the documentation.

 

Our questions are:

- Do you think this is enough?.

- Does this mean the petitioner might have to travel before me to establish more evidence, if the prior list is not enough? is that travel allowed?

- The interview was december 19th and the CO didn't give any time to send our proof, except a paper saying that if we don't respond in a year our case is closed. What is the time limit we have to send our documents?.

 

Thank you very much for taking the time for reading this.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas!

I did this twice from overseas.  You have enough.  She does not have to travel ahead of you but she must at a minimum accompany you.

The standard is “show intent to domicile”.  Had you asked I would have advised step one is transfer your assets (bank account) to the US. 
You have lots of time to get this done.

 

SS number’s on the tax return.  They know she has one.

 

What mistake on the tax return may I know?  Advise if it is filing status?

Edited December 27, 2022 by iwannaplay54

[Lil bear 4,252]

37 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

 

 

What mistake on the tax return may I know?  Advise if it is filing status?

@iwannaplay54  good catch!! Would be v intetesting if it was .. and timely !! 🤪

[RedAndChile 7]

8 hours ago, Lil bear said:

1 It looks much stronger evidence, yes. Are you selling property / closing out a lease? Evidence of that would help

too 

2. IO could require your USC spouse actually establish herself in the US, yes , but my sense is that if this was going to be required then it would have been  part of the rfe. However, her returning now and being able to gather further evidence such as state ID or drivers license, cell phone contract , employment letter etc would certainly be the best documentation 

3 many spouses return for the 3-6 months before the beneficiary’s interview for this reason. Some consulates require it 

4 the time limit is as stated in the letter you were given  

5. dont delay.. gather and send assp 

That's great to know. Sadly no, we're at my parents here in Chile so no rental  . If getting a job from here gets hard, the petitioner will have to travel before me. I hope this is not a problem at the port of entry when I, the beneficiary get there. We wish we knew about returning from 3 to 6 months before the interview.

 

 

7 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Not sure I understand your message, but to me it is completely used because like you said, it does not prove domicile. 

Well, before posting this, I did some research on VJ and found it on a list of documents that could help. You're right, it doesnt prove domicile, but it proves ties with the US, which the CO mixed in the pot while explaining me why she was doing a RFE for our case.

 

6 hours ago, iwannaplay54 said:

I did this twice from overseas.  You have enough.  She does not have to travel ahead of you but she must at a minimum accompany you.

The standard is “show intent to domicile”.  Had you asked I would have advised step one is transfer your assets (bank account) to the US. 
You have lots of time to get this done.

 

SS number’s on the tax return.  They know she has one.

 

What mistake on the tax return may I know?  Advise if it is filing status?

That's great to hear!, in fact, we're transfering money from her foreign bank acct to her US bank acct.

 

About the 2020 tax return mistake. . . well, she filed with 0 income (so didn't include her foreign income, even tho it's below IRS standard deduction). There was miscommunication between her mother (she's an accountant) and my spouse. She learnt that she has to be more on top of these things . . Anyway, we're amending it and the CO gave us the RFE already knowing this. I was completely honest about this of course, but also in a weird position.

 

 Thank you everybody for your input 😁 !!

[iwannaplay54 985]

48 minutes ago, RedAndChile said:

About the 2020 tax return mistake. . . well, she filed with 0 income (so didn't include her foreign income, even tho it's below IRS standard deduction). There was miscommunication between her mother (she's an accountant) and my spouse. She learnt that she has to be more on top of these things . . Anyway, we're amending it and the CO gave us the RFE already knowing this. I was completely honest about this of course, but also in a weird position.

 

 Thank you everybody for your input 😁 !!

I think you probably have enough.

The tax return issue is easily fixed, all of us have to file returns every year if we make below the minimum threshold but overseas income is then “excluded” up to around 110k and you end up owing no taxes to the US anyway.  More of a correction than anything.

Let us know how it goes.  We advise overseas couples all the time, learn something new almost every case. My wife and I “returned to the US” twice so I know what you folks are going through.

 

Best of luck! 

[RedAndChile 7]

2 hours ago, iwannaplay54 said:

I think you probably have enough.

The tax return issue is easily fixed, all of us have to file returns every year if we make below the minimum threshold but overseas income is then “excluded” up to around 110k and you end up owing no taxes to the US anyway.  More of a correction than anything.

Let us know how it goes.  We advise overseas couples all the time, learn something new almost every case. My wife and I “returned to the US” twice so I know what you folks are going through.

 

Best of luck! 

Thank you for your kind words! we'll definitely update our case in this thread and of course in our profile!. We definitely learned something new with this.

 

By returning twice means the USC had to travel twice, to establish US domicile and then enter with the beneficiary to the states, right?

[iwannaplay54 985]

3 hours ago, RedAndChile said:

Thank you for your kind words! we'll definitely update our case in this thread and of course in our profile!. We definitely learned something new with this.

 

By returning twice means the USC had to travel twice, to establish US domicile and then enter with the beneficiary to the states, right?

No we left the US once for 3.5 years and once for 4.5 years and moved back to the US together.  Both times we had to go through getting a new visa and I had to prove intent to domicile and both times we flew out to the US together. So we have done what you guys are doing twice. It’s an old game for us.

[RedAndChile 7]

On 12/27/2022 at 3:44 PM, iwannaplay54 said:

No we left the US once for 3.5 years and once for 4.5 years and moved back to the US together.  Both times we had to go through getting a new visa and I had to prove intent to domicile and both times we flew out to the US together. So we have done what you guys are doing twice. It’s an old game for us.

Wow that's a lot, and I'm glad you were able to do it!

 

So, today the petitioner had a job interview, they're sending an email saying that they want to continue and move onto a second interview with her, this time in person. They will include a date of the interview. Does this count as a job offer (meaning: printing this email and showing it as a job offer)? They even said she was overqualified and really wanted to have her, but needed to go through the normal process.

[iwannaplay54 985]

14 minutes ago, RedAndChile said:

Wow that's a lot, and I'm glad you were able to do it!

 

So, today the petitioner had a job interview, they're sending an email saying that they want to continue and move onto a second interview with her, this time in person. They will include a date of the interview. Does this count as a job offer (meaning: printing this email and showing it as a job offer)? They even said she was overqualified and really wanted to have her, but needed to go through the normal process.

Expat life is lucrative.  What to do.
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/i-864-affidavit-faqs.html#aos23
 

Read the sections on “establishing a petitioner’s domicile” and “maintaining domicile while temporarily abroad”

 

Opening a bank account, transferring funds, seeking employment are all on the list

Edited December 29, 2022 by iwannaplay54

[RedAndChile 7]

Indeed. . . it's lucrative, I agree.

 

I understand, but It's just that the CO wrote on the paper that she gave me "Job offer". I guess this email counts and proves that the USC is seeking job, so hopefully she feels satisfied and convinced.

 

We'll wait for the next job interview (next week's friday) and then we're gonna send what we have. Today's job interview is our strongest "job offer" for now.

 

Thanks again!!!