US Immigration from New Zealand

Hi VisaJourney friends,

Wondering if it's possible to transfer a case to DCF after having already submitted the 1-130 petition online?

Some background info:

My husband and I live in New Zealand together, I'm a USC (petitioner) and he's a kiwi (beneficiary). We got married in January of this year and filed our 1-130 online through USCIS website on Feb 9th 2021 and as far as I am aware it's being processed at Nebraska Service Center. As of April 9th 2021 the status online switched from 'received' to 'case is being actively reviewed by USCIS' but have heard no further info since.

After spending more time on this forum I've learned most couples who live overseas apply for their IR1 through direct consular filing... So I'm wondering if anyone has switched to this after already submitting their petition to a U.S. Service Center. I'm just thinking it would potentially be quicker if we could transfer to a local consulate as NZ hasn't had too many shut downs or delays from Covid so I imagine processing times are potentially quicker than going through the U.S. Service Centers.

If you have any experience with this, or how to do this, please let me know! Also if you know if this would speed things up or not and if it would require more fees.

Cheers

Hi all,

My husband and I have lived together abroad for 10 years and we are at the NVC stage. We are working on the I-864 form where it asks 'Country of Domicile.' It is my understanding that I (as the USC) can put United States as my country of domicile because I can show intention to reestablish domicile even though I am not currently there. Our lawyers are saying that we must put the foreign country as our country of domicile on the I-864 because that is where we live and work.

My questions are:

Has anyone listed a foreign country as their country of domicile on the I-864 form and been approved?

If we list a foreign country as our country of domicile, will the NVC then ask us to prove intention to reestablish domicile or will the form just be rejected?

I have no issues proving intent to reestablish domicile, I just want to be sure we are putting the right info on the form because it is a bit confusing and we definitely don't want to cause any delays.

Thanks!!

I sent in the I-129F with form to pay via credit card. Unbeknownst to us, our credit card company has reformatted their card system and sent out new cards; the old one which is attached to the application will instantly be declined.
My questions are...

I ve attempted to contact USCIS in order to ask what exactly happens to our application now, to no avail. I ve read they return the whole packet- anyone know?

If that s the case I should be able to supply a new form of payment- NOT the card used previously, which needless to say I d like to cancel- and simply resend the whole thing as is.
How long does it take a rejected application to be returned?

Or, am I better off reprinting and collating the whole package again, and send as new? I do have copies of almost everything that was sent. Keeping in mind I m currently overseas, not in the US, the mailing time is lengthy.
(My return mailing address is in the US, so I assume that is where they will send it, if they do so.)
Feeling pretty dejected, but gotta move forward.
Thanks

Does anyone have a link to the current processing times for the I-90 form please? Or can anyone that has applied this year able to weigh in with their experience please?

Thank you!

I sent my 2020 tax return on March 17th from New Zealand. I had to file via mail because I filed MFS as my wife is currently a Non-resident Alien (but hopefully not for much longer!).

Unfortunately, the IRS has not yet received my return according to the "Where's My Refund?" tool on their website, so I can't apply for a tax transcript, also because I didn't file taxes in 2018 or 2019 as my income was below the threshold.

If, by the time I send my I-864 form, the IRS still hasn't received my tax return, can I just submit my copies of the 1040 and 2555 forms? I'm not as concerned about not having the transcript; I know they are preferred but if I can't get one I can't get one. My bigger concern is that they see that my tax return hasn't been received. Because obviously anyone can fill out tax information through TurboTax and not actually send the return... I guess I'm probably being paranoid but I just want to make sure we won't get an RFE.

Also, I have two forms of income in NZ. I work part time, and I receive a "student allowance" from the government which is a program for students studying full-time in NZ. For my financial evidence, I plan to have my employer write a letter stating my dates of employment, wages paid and type of work performed. Would I need evidence of my student allowance also? If so, would a generic letter from the allowance provider stating my student allowance income suffice?

Thanks.