london2014

Has anyone else had any issues? We don't leave until next Tuesday and went on the USCIS site did the registration and it asked for the Alien Registration # which is says to add a 0 after the A which we did. We also entered the DOS Case ID (LND) which we entered it EXACTLY as it shows on the payment form and it didn't accept it and just said the A# or dos # was incorrect. When pulling the visa out it has a 01 added to the end of the LND # but would only let us re enter with 1 additional number so we tried the 0 still not accepting it. It said if the visa was issued less than 5 days ago (which it wasn't ) it was issued jan 22 that we should try again February 28.

Anyone else having this issue? I think we might try to call uscis in the us later.

Congratulations.

So can you elaborate on the domicile discussion. Any issues there?

And what about your Affidavit of Support? Did you try with just your settlement or did you use your sister?

The photocopies of the personal documents you want back make sense to me. I have no idea why a few people said they were told not needed. I would have taken them too since their website says so.

To be honest I think they just went off my sisters I-864 and her husbands I-864 A. When I went in they asked for the affidavit of support I initially gave them mine. They then asked is there a joint sponsor and I said if I dont meet the US domicile requirements I have a joint sponsor. He then asked for my tax return (1 yr - I had 3 they didnt want to know) then asked for my sisters I-864 and 1 yr tax return (again had 3 yrs) only wanted 1.I then said they are married so I had her husband sign an I -864A which he took. So to be honest I dont know which they accepted but I am thinking my sisters. He didnt ask for any of the proof of residence (Florida drivers license, voters regis or social secuirty card w US address). All this was at the first window he did ask how long we had been married and asked for copies and originals of important doc's. Marriage cert, any divorce decrees, police cert & birth cert of husband and sister along with sisters spouse.

The second window they asked where we met, how long ago , re: medication my spouse was taking , who we were staying with etc. I did say I had my settlement agreement showing my payout and that I had emails showing I was actively looking within the US at my current firm but he didn't want to know. Also a letter from my aunt /uncle saying we would be staying with them until I found a job and place to live again wasnt concerned.

I hope this helps...as you guys have helped me to no end. If there is anything else I can answer just ask.

Yes, self employed have schedules like C and SE included as part of their personal tax returns, but the deciding amount is still Line 22 on the 1040. I thought you meant a business tax return like "XYZ Inc."

Intent to domicile is as good as having domicile. Did you read the I-864 FAQs on the London website?

Click all the topics, especially Domicile. http://london.usembassy.gov/faqs-i864.html. The fact that you have terminated your job or given notice, or listed your UK property for sale, or given written notice on a lease is evidence of intent.

Yes, people have said they don't want copies of documents anymore and give back the originals, but I would hate to have them accidentally keep something I hadn't copied first.

We were APPROVED!!!! Thank you soooooo much for your help. Also, they still require copies and asked for ours so I don't know why that part isn't consistent. It seemed that the copies they wanted were for police cert, marriage, birth cert etc and not for the tax returns.

I have already completed one and was just asking if you thought they may except it on the basis of me moving back with the current backup. I will clip all of my stuff together for him to hand over at the window. As you said he can keep the I-864 and I-864A my sister & her husband completed along with their taxes, marriage cert & birth certs etc just in case they wont accept mine.

I still have my Florida drivers license which doesnt expire until 2017, voters registration card & bank statement all with my moms address. I just wasnt sure if they classified any of that towards the domicile part as its my moms address.

We were APPROVED!!!! Thank you soooooo much for your help. Also, they still require copies and asked for ours so I don't know why that part isn't consistent. It seemed that the copies they wanted were for police cert, marriage, birth cert etc and not for the tax returns.

You as the petitioner are REQUIRED to do an I-864 even with zero money, so get on it! You are the primary sponsor. It's all in the instructions of the I-864.

The whole point of domicile is wrapped in the requirement stated in the immigration law.

You must be primary sponsor as spouse.

A sponsor must be a USA domiciled person (citizen or permanent resident).

Therefore in order to sponsor you must be domiciled in the US.

That doesn't work so well for folks living abroad with their spouse. So they explain ways to show you never gave up domicile and were abroad temporarily...US driver license, US bank accounts, voter registration, etc, etc.

AND furthermore, just showing you INTEND to reestablish domicile is a workaround to cover the domicile. Suggestions are in the domicile link I gave you.

Since you haven't read the I-864 instructions, you may have missed the joint sponsor requirements. You need documentation showing they are US domiciled...US birth certificate, US passport, greencard.

When you first get called up to a window at the embassy, the person is a clerical worker collecting documents you bring. I would hand over only your I-864, proof of settlement, US tax return and anything to do with domicile. Clamp it all together so hubby gets it right. They know what they are looking at and need no play-by-play of each sheet of paper. That person has no authority to make a decision so no need to explain your life to them.

When he is called back to a window a second time, that is the interview with the consulate officer. If the officer says what he has been handed isn't sufficient, then hubby can say "I have a joint sponsor lined up" and pull out the other I-864 packet to hand over.

Well the day is here and everything is packed and ready. Thanks again for all your help - fingers crossed. We did get an email from them the next day saying they would add me to the list. I will let you guys know what the outcome is. What a stressful experience. Thank you again!

You as the petitioner are REQUIRED to do an I-864 even with zero money, so get on it! You are the primary sponsor. It's all in the instructions of the I-864.

The whole point of domicile is wrapped in the requirement stated in the immigration law.

You must be primary sponsor as spouse.

A sponsor must be a USA domiciled person (citizen or permanent resident).

Therefore in order to sponsor you must be domiciled in the US.

That doesn't work so well for folks living abroad with their spouse. So they explain ways to show you never gave up domicile and were abroad temporarily...US driver license, US bank accounts, voter registration, etc, etc.

AND furthermore, just showing you INTEND to reestablish domicile is a workaround to cover the domicile. Suggestions are in the domicile link I gave you.

Since you haven't read the I-864 instructions, you may have missed the joint sponsor requirements. You need documentation showing they are US domiciled...US birth certificate, US passport, greencard.

When you first get called up to a window at the embassy, the person is a clerical worker collecting documents you bring. I would hand over only your I-864, proof of settlement, US tax return and anything to do with domicile. Clamp it all together so hubby gets it right. They know what they are looking at and need no play-by-play of each sheet of paper. That person has no authority to make a decision so no need to explain your life to them.

When he is called back to a window a second time, that is the interview with the consulate officer. If the officer says what he has been handed isn't sufficient, then hubby can say "I have a joint sponsor lined up" and pull out the other I-864 packet to hand over.

I have already completed one and was just asking if you thought they may except it on the basis of me moving back with the current backup. I will clip all of my stuff together for him to hand over at the window. As you said he can keep the I-864 and I-864A my sister & her husband completed along with their taxes, marriage cert & birth certs etc just in case they wont accept mine.

I still have my Florida drivers license which doesnt expire until 2017, voters registration card & bank statement all with my moms address. I just wasnt sure if they classified any of that towards the domicile part as its my moms address.

Yes, self employed have schedules like C and SE included as part of their personal tax returns, but the deciding amount is still Line 22 on the 1040. I thought you meant a business tax return like "XYZ Inc."

Intent to domicile is as good as having domicile. Did you read the I-864 FAQs on the London website?

Click all the topics, especially Domicile. http://london.usembassy.gov/faqs-i864.html. The fact that you have terminated your job or given notice, or listed your UK property for sale, or given written notice on a lease is evidence of intent.

Yes, people have said they don't want copies of documents anymore and give back the originals, but I would hate to have them accidentally keep something I hadn't copied first.

If this were you would you do another I-864 with yourself as the sponsor and keep it on hand in case they will allow me to be the sponsor. I really only had my sister fill one out due to the residency issue. If they accept the fact I am moving back and will have no job in a week, and also the fact that I will have more than enough in my account in less than 30 days time I think it would be much easier. What would you do?

Thanks again for your help.

If you have $60,000 to show in cash then they probably don't even care about the rest. It's probably not going to be as difficult as you are envisioning.

As far as the joint sponsor, they want to see Line 22 of the 1040 shows enough to support. If a joint return, then I-864a would be appropriate so her income plus his are pooled together for consideration. Line 22 of their 1040 does not indicate who earned what portion so she needs to clearly show her own income with documentation or include his income on her form and he signs I-864A.

I don't think his business tax return is necessary. A business can not sponsor in your case. It has to be income shown on the personal 1040.

The issue with the $60,000 is the fact that the payout date is in 30 days time. I have the settlement agreement giving the breakdown and when it will be paid signed off by HR and also myself and my solicitor. As their tax return is tied to the company I've had to include all the schedules. Even if they are okay with the fact that the payout wont be until 60 days as I dont have the US residency bit I have had my sister sponsor him with me as the petitioner. Thoughts? I also just read that the Embassy doesnt require copies but I am too afarid to not bring them and they are all packaged up and ready to go.

He would have no reason to know about this contact form or use it. There is nothing in his procedure that I know of where he would have a chance to list you. Maybe in some of the communications and instructions there is info on if you need a personal assistant or interpreter, which he doesn't. Spouses don't routinely attend London interviews. If either of you wanted to contact the embassy and ask if it was possible, there is a "contact us" area on their website where a drill down finally gets you to the actual form.

If you don't get an email confirmation, then take your US passport and try to beg your way in. One of the guys last year was refused, but when his fiancé got inside and asked again, they called the guards and said to admit her fiancé. So if your husband is willing to go that far to ask again inside, then hang close so he can get your attention. At least mobile phones are now allowed inside.

I talked my way in, but that was 2008. I told the guard at the head of the line just before the security booth "I'm an American, this is my passport, and I would like to go inside the embassy with my fiancé."

I really hope the let me in. My sister is the sponsor and the only reason I am using her is that the only ties I have left in the US is my Drivers license and small bank account. Where it gets complicated is that I had to do the I-864A for her husband as I was told as shes married they might want it. Due to that I know have 3 yrs of tax returns for them AND his company as they are all tied together.

I have my official settlement agreement reflecting that I more have more than enough to meet their criteria for me supporting us (signed by HR and my solicitor) along with my 3 yrs of tax returns. The amount of paper is incredible and I know more about what I put together for that lot then he does.

Do you mean your US citizen spouse?

No I am the US citizen and he is British. It's my fault as I should have just done it myself and MADE sure it was done. Our appt is this Thursday and I am hoping I'm on the list. I just received the contact details and emailed them but I think it might be too late.

This is the contact form http://london.usembassy.gov/niv/visa_contact_form.html. There is a place to tick request the spouse attend interview.

The embassy is closed Monday and sometimes take several days to respond.

#######! I thought that this would be on the online form that we just completed confirming the appointment and where the doc's should be returned. I am seriously going to kill my husband. He was sure he went online and completed this and lo and behold he didnt! I hope this won't cause an issue as our appt is this Thursday! :angry:

Does anyone know how to get your spouse added to the list to attend? We just completed the registration online with our appt this Thursday and to have the doc's delivered to our house. I did not see anywhere on there where is asks to add the spouse to attend the interview. Please help.

My wife had one and was already an LPR when she got coverage. If your spouse is not an LPR yet, you can't sign up. (I am fairly sure of that ) Anyone ?

Now I get some BS answer about that we will have to wait 6 months for coverage as they dont want us to move there get coverage, have an operation and leave. Are they serious with this? I dont think I have heard anyone else say they had to wait 6 months?????

It's amazing. They messed up my wife's Birthday. Of course no claims were getting paid. I call BCBS and get passed around like a drunk girl at a frat party. I get told it's fixed when it isn't. Then I get passed off to the exchange because BCBS says they can't fix it.

After 2 months and repeated promises by the exchange to fix it, included being told it had been sent to escalated support and a promise to fix it within a week. A McDonalds reject deleted her application, put us in special period enrollment. My deductible went up, my premium went up and my deductible reset. When i complained. The answer was- It jsut do that sometimes, we's don't know why. That was that. Nothing I could do.

I did switch since I was in open enrollment from the BCBS HMO, because it had no doctors and covered nothing. Humuna is better,

When you completed the application online I am assuming you used the SS# number or did you spouse get a temporary A number or something? I am on the Healthcare.gov site and was trying to get info but they are asking for his social which clearly I dont have.

If you are legal you are eligible. All you have to do is sign up on the website.

It's so easy a caveman can do it.

In fact your odds are better than engaging one of the script readers on the phone.

Example.

Ma'am my wifes Birthday is wrong.

Ok, I just deleted her application, you can now reapply

Ma'am my policy just went up 75 a month and my deductible reset.

It does that sometimes, we don't rightly know why.

No joking-really

1-800-318-2596 The number

Good luck

Thanks will ring them up tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Yes they are trust me. The average person I dealt with, was probably pushing pictures on a McDonald's cash register last year this time

Are there age restrictions for Obamacare - I was looking for a phone # to see if I could contact someone on the healthcare.gov site but cant locate a number. Did you just call the marketplace state site? Was your wife covered immediately or had you guys been a resident for at least 6 mos?

Hi,

I am hoping I can get some help here as I am seriously confused. My husband is 71 and has diabetes but only has to take the pills for it no injections. I have been online and looking for insurance and he wont be eligible to purchase Medicare for 5 yrs as he will be going over on a green card/IR1 visa. I have been speaking to an insurance company in the US and they said he can get private coverage but he will need to be a US resident for 6 months before getting covered. I have been reading on here that LPR can be covered under Obamacare. Are there certain states that choose to partake in Obamacare? Sorry if I sound stupid but I am feeling extremely stupid right now!

If he is eligible for Obamacare who do you contact? I tried to get a quote on the New Mexico marketplace site but it only quotes ages up to 64! I might be able to get him insurance as I am trying to get re-employed by my current employer here but it wont be for at least a month and he will need something.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is seriously doing my head in.

You could have the visa before the end of July if you have the medical exam and submit your online application and Readiness for Interview forms now. So don't submit those things yet.

The date of the medical determines the visa expiration date because components of it are only valid for 6 months. If you have the medical soonish, you will be paying for a re-do closer to your desired interview date in January. That's just a heads up so you don't think you should get the medical exam out of the way now. London issues the visa for six months from the medical date, not six months from the interview date.

Nich-Nick,

Thank you for that! I would have replied sooner but didnt receive an email in my inbox on Gmail. I just happened to log in and check the post. We will postpone the medical then as my husband wanted to lose a bit of weight and wants to get his blood sugar levels a bit better anyways. We should have the I-864 & I-864A from my sister and her husband any day now so that was really the last thing. Its really frustrating as I really want the whole thing done and over but then not being able to do it as you dont want the visa to expire too early. Its not a problem traveling over before it would expire but we are trying to save as much as we can before we move.

Thanks again for all your help. I sincerely appreciate it.

We are trying to estimate the time frame for my husbands IR1 Visa to be approved. We originally started the process April 11, 2014 and we are already towards the final process. The issue being that my firm was taken over by another and I am staying on until the end of the merger. This was originally supposed to be the end of October 2014 to which there was a delay to this and it is now scheduled to complete the end of Jan 2015. This isn't too much of a problem as I will be receiving a retention bonus along with a fairly substantial redundancy payout (which is why I agreed to stay on to Jan 2015).

What we don't want is for the Visa to get approved and for us to run out of time. I know the Visa is valid for 6 months but we are trying to schedule it to where the Visa gets issued and within those 6 months we permanently move to the US. We dont want to take the chance of having it issued and then for us to have to fly to JFK for the POE and stay a few days then fly back to the UK. Then within a few months time pack everything up and then have to do the entire house move and have an issue going thru immigration again. I thought I had read somewhere that the I-130 was only valid for a year as the I-130 was filed 11th Apr 2014 and approved May 21st will this affect anything? We are hoping to get out of here by mid March 2015 at the latest so are trying to plan everything around that. I am trying to add in a month or so in case there is another delay with the merger.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. I also wanted to thank everyone on here for helping with previous questions I had about the process

If you are the USC, then you have already been filing US tax returns every year so that part about reporting foreign income wouldn't be new. I didn't follow that from you.

The issue I am worried about is that with redundancy here the first £30,000 is tax free. I just dont want to wind up getting over taxed when I go to the US for monies I shouldn't be taxed on. As I dont know how long it is going to take me to get another job every bit helps. I think I will probably have to pay someone to do my taxes for 2014 and 2015 over in the US as this part of it is way to complicated for me.

Here's what I think.

You will be a US permanent resident by then so your worldwide income is reported on your 2015 tax return which you won't even start on until maybe Feb 2016. The entire amount you get will be reported, not just what you transfer over because it is income paid by an employer and different from savings you already have. Does that make sense? You are a permanent resident of the US, so new Income you earn in a tax year is reported for that tax year, no matter where in the world you earn it.

Some people get a foreign income exclusion, but by 2015 you won't be living in the UK any part of that year so not thinking you would qualify. If you got the money in December (2014 tax year) then maybe. There are all sorts of formulas and I don't have all that memorized.

Not so sure about the HMRC end of things, but there is a form P85 to file to let them know you are leaving the UK. If you have overpaid any taxes they sort it out and refund you. Does this apply to your question? Not sure. But my husband did the P85 and they worked out he got some money back for the year he left and the previous year too. It was a good amount of money.

I am here until the end of Jan and we probably wont be leaving the UK until around March 2015. I was originally supposed to leave earlier (Oct 2014) but they asked me to stay and paid a retention bonus to keep me until Jan 2015. I am actually the US citizen as we are applying for my husbands IR-1 (been married almost 9 yrs). I am also going to assume my P-60/P45 will reflect what tax is taken out so I will go off those figures when contacting HMRC. Did you contact them thru email or just call them to sort out getting the money back? Did they send a cheque for what should have been refund and I am assuming they can just deposit it directly to a UK bank by sort code?

Thanks again for all the help and I'll have a look at the P85.

I am going to be receiving a redundancy package in Jan 2015 for approx. $90,000. My question is when I receive this I will probably just send a cheque for half to the US for my firm to do an FX from GBP to USD. I will eventually do this for the final amount but I am curious with this being redundancy money I think the first £30,000 is not taxed here but the rest will be at various rates. The issue also being that as I will being moving to the states and not getting another job here. Usually when your made redundant and get another job at some point HMRC refunds you back thru your new employer etc. I know that the tax they take on the redundancy will be too much as this has already happened to another collegue.

1. I am assuming I will have to sort this out with my local tax department from the US to get some of the tax back

2. How do I claim the over £30,000 that I will be paid etc on my US tax return as I dont want to be double taxed

Just wondering if anyone else might be able to tell me about their experience on this who have processed thru DCF London. Has anyone not produced their recent 1040 because they requested an extension? I am just wondering if we will get an RFE for the 2013 one and wondered what previous members dealt with when doing DCF thru London. I am going to supply a copy of the extension letter - IRS form 4868 instead. I am planning on doing this but will include the 2013 W2 and/or 1099 forms for my sister and her husband and their previous three tax returns.

Thanks a lot Nich-Nick.

Yes, I did include a self-addressed stamped envelope with my original I-130 package, however I was really worried because I didn't receive an email or a text message (although I had included that information on the official request form along with the I-130). After looking through the forum, I checked my Junk Mail, however still no success. I was relieved however when, after phoning them today, they had told me that the application had been accepted.

I'm trying to be patient, however I'm just so concerned because the embassy haven't contacted me throughout these early stages, so I have no dates to measure my application's progress.

We sent ours off around March 24th 2014 - received the email on April 14th (in the spam/junk folder) saying they received it stating they were:

The Petition(s) for Alien Relative (I-130) that you recently submitted to this office has been

received and filed on April 11, 2014.

Since then we haven't heard anything. We also enclosed a self addressed stamped envelope but nothing has come back yet.

Based on your later question, I take it the above refers to 2012, not 2013. I would include also, any 2013 W2 and/or 1099 forms for each of them along with the form indicating they filed an extension for 2013. It this kind of case, I would include three tax returns instead of just one.

Perfect! I was just drafting an email stating this but anted to confirm before sending it. Yes, this pertains to the 2012 tax return and I have asked her for all of the above. I also have him digging for his business license as I am assuming this should go also? If I can I will see if they might be able to file their 2013 taxes. It wasnt that we werent prepared as I would have made sure this was done if I knew I as going to ask them its that the first sponsor fell thru and I only asked them 2 days ago.

Thanks again - your a life saver