awaywego

I felt bad that I couldn't give a more solid answer, so I did a bit more poking and found this link on the USCIS site that looks like it might have the info you're after.

It is up to you what you wear. I cannot imagine that there is a requirement of certain clothing to legally marry in your state/county/town, and clothing is not going to disprove your claim to immigration of bona fide marriage.

*prove or disprove

(I shouldn't post before coffee...)

I am unaware of any aide that pays for prior classes.

Yes, not retroactive.

To clarify what I posted above for LisaBrian, if asking the school, it would be a question about the current semester, during which the residency status changed. If he is now eligible for financial aid for the current term, and if they will grant it to him, it would not be retroactive but rather applied to the current semester's bills.

A glass of wine fixes many troubles!

My understanding that the ELIS fee can be paid either before or after entry, but the green card isn't produced until the fee is paid. Not sure how to turn your MNL# into a number that they like, sorry. There might a recent post on the topic, or perhaps the packet will come today with the answer.

The answer might well depend on the particular school's policies. The school's financial aid office would be a good place to ask.

You would file I-864, and your brother would also file I-864. You'd each provide at least the tax transcript/full return from the most recent tax year (2015 starting April 15).

Your parents wouldn't be involved.

As others have said, google your county (or town) clerk's office. This is not necessarily located at the courthouse; it's the office in charge of records.

Each state/county/town has its own rules and regulations. Some require you to wait to marry after obtaining the license (though it sounds CT does not). Some will not take walk-ins. Some will only offer or schedule JP weddings on/at certain days/times. Once you have the marriage license, anyone allowed by the state/county/town to legally perform the ceremony can. This might be the JP, might be the pastor you mention, might be a friend, etc. Hopefully all of this information is provided on the clerk's website.

An ID will likely be required, but SSN should not be. Not everyone who marries in the US – for example, international tourists – has a SSN.

It is up to you what you wear. I cannot imagine that there is a requirement of certain clothing to legally marry in your state/county/town, and clothing is not going to disprove your claim to immigration of bona fide marriage.

I think that this is the link, but double-check. This fee is the same process as for those who don't DCF. I imagine the info will be in her visa packet, which you'll have soon (yea).

This $165 is the green card production, etc fee, while the $325 was the DS-260, etc. fee, and the $420 was the I-130, etc. fee. Everything its own fee

Because the Philippines and Peru (and Germany) have USCIS field offices, they offer DCF to USCs meeting the residency requirements. In the case that a USC lives in a country without a USCIS field office, the papers are instead sent to the Chicago lockbox. However, if there are exceptional circumstances that merit speedier processing, that person can request to be allowed to DCF.

I'm sorry that I don't know much about those circumstances, so can't actually answer the question, but hopefully this bit of clarification helps moving forward.

For the domicile issue with the I-864 (at the NVC stage), you'll either show that you have maintained US domicile or that you intend to reestablish US domicile no later than the date your spouse enters. There is information on this in the I-864 instructions, and there's a nice example letter in the NVC Process FAQ. The letter lists example evidence for both paths, but likely one or the other will better fit your situation. (Not in the letter is working abroad for certain employers; see I-864 instructions if that might apply to you.)

There are threads in the taxes forum about filing from abroad, if you need to get that sorted. (I couldn't tell from the posts.)

Also, there exists a thread of people who live abroad with their spouse in countries that do no offer DCF, which you might find useful.

Thanks so much for the reply! I will certainly look into the links you have given me (although they may be ones I have already read through) Do you think I would be better off re-establishing (but I am not sure if it would of lived there long enough to have it counted as my domicile to begin with, I was there for about 5 months travelling and living with family, though I did get my social security card during this time) or establishing it straight off?

I am finding the domicile thing so tricky! Especially since my husband and myself were planning on travelling around when we first entered the country instead of settling in one place. We are also self-employed so job offers wouldn't work either. I was planning on opening a bank account before we leave, I may try and book some freelance jobs before flying out (we are photographers.), get an estimate for shipping our stuff over eventually, is there anything else I could do? Or do I have to change my plans some what?

I didn't realise each consulate is different, is there a way to find out how the London office is with this?

Perhaps it would help to look through the various examples of evidence that are given for each path and see what of that best fits your situation. However, having only been in the US for five months and even then not really lived in a specific place, I doubt you would have a convincing case for having maintained a domicile or being temporarily abroad (which I think is part of the description for that option in the I-864 instructions).

You might need to change pans a bit to show that you intend to live somewhere specific. Many posters initially move in with parents, another relative, or friends, then search for an apartment from that home base.

Think about things you'll need to do to prepare to move. For example, you're both self-employed, but will you need to set up a business in the US for said self-employment? You could look into the steps required for that and perhaps start on those steps.

You can search through embassy reviews here on VJ or through old posts in this board to see what others who have gone through London have reported about what they've offered for domicile and what the officers there have said about it. There is also a London DCF guide in the wiki here. I'm not sure exactly what's in it, but there might be a bit on domicile. (The links to these sections are at the top of the page if on a computer.)

Hopefully this helps!

Oh boy, now I'm really confused.

What you and your fiancee can do:

1) Follow the K-1 path, as you currently plan.

2) She enters on her tourist visa, you marry, she returns to Mexico, and you follow the CR-1 path.

(Since it was brought up, the second is shorter to being married, but longer to living together in the US. The Guides link at the top of the page includes a comparison between these options.)

One can marry as a tourist, no problem. That does not violate any stipulation of the visa. The problem would be entering the US on a tourist visa with the intent to live in the US.

If it helps: They're not asking you to give them any of that money, just to show there are funds sufficient to keep the beneficiary off of means-tested benefits. Using income, one must also show there are funds sufficient to keep the beneficiary off of means-tested benefits. Either way, someone somewhere has to show sufficient funds; they won't let you in if they think you'll hop onto welfare the second you're out of the airport.

You can check London's website and the VJ wiki for information on London's DCF requirements. (Each embassy/consulate that offers DCF differs on details.)

Your list of evidence of a bona fide marriage looks good. Since you live together, add, e.g., joint lease/deed or, if you don't have that, other evidence of shared address/residence. Also, many here will say not to bother with affidavits, as they are considered weak evidence, especially with the other items you have.

If you enter the US after your second anniversary, you will have an IR-1 visa instead of CR-1. This is not subject to the removal of conditions (ROC) in two years, which means less paperwork and fuss.

Dumb question I guess.. but don't you have to "live" in the US to petition someone for immigration?

Also It's my understanding a petitioner must show intent to return to the US, not just domicile to file DCF?

You're referring to "intent to reestablish domicile." This is an option for addressing the domicile requirement of I-864 sponsorship, and it's likely the one that janamaria will one to pursue.

janamaria, check the I-864 instructions for a bit more on domicile, including a starter list of evidence. The letter posted above is another good resource. Note, though, that it shows the two most common paths to addressing domicile – showing one has maintained and showing intent to reestablish – while you only need to go with one. NVC also has a bit on domicile in their I-864 FAQs.

For reestablishing domicile, you basically want to show that you are actively sorting things that need to be sorted in order to move, so finding a place and a job, preparing to ship your belongings, setting up school for any kids, and other things one does when one is preparing to move.

Each embassy/consulate is a bit different in how strict they are on this. There are plenty of posters around who have gone through London, and they might have some info for you on how strict it is.

Hey, you!

Glad to hear that everything is going well for the two of you

I m wondering the same thing, DCF in Frankfurt though. Cant seem to find such a convenient check list as there was for the I-130 :/

Check the last link in my signature

Cheyenne5044, I don't have a link for you, but you will collect the same paperwork requested by NVC. If you want to start preparing before Lima sends their instructions on what to do with those documents (and info on the medical exam and appointment), you can check the NVC pages on the State Department website.

You could try looking through the embassy reviews for Manila. People often post details of their interviews in those, including the steps that you're after.

To add to what others have said: You live in Taiwan with your spouse, correct? (I think I remember your previous posts on filing from abroad.) If so, include evidence that you live together: joint lease, if you have one, or other evidence of a joint address like bills, official documents with that address, mail, etc.

Thanks NLR and awaywego!

I checked the regional forum but couldn't find anything for my embassy on this topic. My embassy used to ve very strict 9 years ago when I requested my first tourist visa, but have loosened up since then. Might not be a good indicator since these are different processes, though.

What we have is a rental contract for the place where we live, which the landlord never bothered to certify so it's basically a piece of paper with several signatures, a letter from the bank stating that we have a joined account, which is also a piece of paper that just states that, and we are gathering affidavits... My biggest fear is that the marriage certificate states that we both have different addresses, because she had her legal domicile somewhere else at the time, and none of these things actually proves we live together and have been since she moved here.

For time spent together we could have a lot of info, should I include that in this stage? We traveled several times to her parent's house for Christmas and New Year's, had our honeymoon, and made other trips. For all of this we have e-receipts, pictures and credit card statements maybe.

Thanks again for all your help!

You can also try embassy reviews for info on how they treat domicile. It's separate from their take on tourist visas. (Cycle through the ratings to get all of the reviews.)

I don't know how leases work in Argentina, so I can't say anything about what the landlord's failure to get it certified means. If you're worried, you can show that you've been paying rent using rent receipts, direct debits from the joint bank account, etc. You can also show the active, joint address using bills, mail, the address on your joint bank account, etc.

The translation of the bank letter can be done by anyone who speaks both languages. The certification is a little block of text that says the person speaks both languages and translated correctly.

Wisdom here is that affidavits don't count for much. Anyone can write anything, and no one ever says something negative. They can be included, but other pieces of evidence have more weight.

I don't know much about suggestions on keeping evidence for later vs sending it all now, as I'm doing a slightly different process where that's not really a thing. I'll let others answer that question.

they have no other contact method?

is calling cards the preferred way of people from visa journey?

If NVC has a toll free number, you can call them for free using Skype. If not, try the Google Hangouts app. I can call US numbers for free with that (on iOS, at least). There might be other VOIP services that call "real" phones without cost.

You don't need to separate. As NLR said, your wife can address the domicile requirement of the I-864 while living abroad so long as she returns to the US no later than when you enter. There are (basically) two options for domicile: she has maintained a US domicile or she intends to reestablish a US domicile. The I-864 instructions go over each option, and the NVC Process wiki here includes a letter with examples of both. The suggestion to check how strict is your embassy is a good one, as they vary.

The USC petitioner living abroad thread addresses filing from abroad when the country does not offer DCF. You might find useful information there.

For evidence of bona fide marriage, focus on evidence of time spent together, then intermingling of lives and planning for the future. You don't need every item on the list of suggestions to make a strong case that your marriage is bona fide. Very few couples, especially if recently married, have every item.

It sounds like your husband will need to obtain a police certificate from Morocco, as he lived in his country of nationality when he was at least 16 years of age for at least 6 months. (See "Police Certificates" on this NVC page for a nifty table of requirements.)

The reciprocity schedule for Morocco has information on how to get the police certificate. You could also check the Middle East and North Africa board to see if anyone has posted a recent experience on obtaining a Moroccan police certificate from abroad.

NVC requests a photocopy of your marriage certificate. This proves that you are married.

If either you or your wife was previously married, you will also send proof that the marriage(s) was terminated: photocopy of the death certificate or final divorce decree.

(See the page on NVC documents if you'd like more information on what to send or how to get it.)

Otherwise, you do not need to obtain certification that, before you were married, you were single.

The I-864 instructions cover sponsoring using assets. Check those out.

Basically, for a spouse, they'll want to see 3 x 125% of poverty level for your household size (see I-864P). Since you have cash in the US, that means no worries on needing to appraise anything or whether the embassy/consulate will accept assets held in a foreign country.

1. This would help show that you actually took the trips, since you no longer have the boarding passes.

4. Personally, I would remove that explanation (starting after the bit on staying with your wife), as the information is repeated in your list of included documents. You can say it twice, but you only need say it once.

5. You might want to check out the thread on filing from abroad. There's a lot of discussion on addresses.

Since you're living with your wife, you can likely add evidence of this, e.g., joint lease, joint bills, or some other evidence of a shared address.