EG3R

First you need to submit the I-130. There's no reason to worry about domicile at this point --  domicile comes into play later in the process. You can list your address and your wife's address as your real address in Mexico. It's probably simplest to do it this way because it will show that you live together, which is evidence of a bonafide marriage. 

Later in the process, you will need an address in the US for your intended domicile. 

When my husband and I applied in 2015, they seemed to be accelerating the process for couples who lived together out of the country. Our I-130 was approved in just 30 days. Perhaps yours will also be approved quickly.

Can he take an Uber to work until he schedules a road test?

My husband and I applied while we were both living outside the US. These issues weren't very serious for us.

First, they seemed to be hurrying the process for couples living outside the country. Our I-130 was processed in a month, and the whole things would have taken less than six months if not for some mistakes we made.

Second, proving domicile wasn't a big deal. How long has he been living in Germany? I still had US bank accounts and US student loan payments. I also sent a print out of an email saying that I would be attending grad school in the US in the Fall. Of course we didn't yet know where we would be living in the US, so I used my parents address. It wasn't an issue at all.

If you are still concerned about proving domicile, I would recommend having him return to the US to visit. He could set up bank accounts and make sure he is registered to vote. Make sure to use a US address (possibly his parents address?) for this.

Finally, a job is not a requirement for sponsoring a spouse. If you have a joint sponsor, you're all set. 

We relied on the guides on this website for the basic steps and forms we would need.

We mostly communicated with NVC through email, and we didn't need to communicate with USCIS at all after we sent in the I-130. But USCIS and NVC also have web portals where you can log in and check the progress. We also called NVC a lot.

My husband and I applied from Nepal where there also aren't real addresses.

USCIS knows that countries have different standards for addresses, so we just did our best to "guess" the address of the house. We found the name of the street, counted the number of houses to get a house number, etc.

Instead of getting a physical package, we did everything online at the USCIS and NVC stages. But when they set up an interview date, they did send us actual mail! I can't believe they found our house, but somehow a letter arrived notifying us about the interview.

Are you planning on traveling home to visit? You could renew the drivers license and open a new bank account.

We applied from Nepal, and it wasn't a big deal at all. I printed out an email saying that I had a place in a master's program and a scholarship. I did have a bank account and a drivers license, but no income at the time.

I had so much trouble with this, too, when I was working on the I-864. What I had to do was download the form again, and then ONLY open it in Acrobat Reader. If you're using an Apple computer, for example, don't open it in Preview for even a minute. Then (hopefully) the big barcodes will appear at the bottom and the text will work correctly. So download a whole new I-864 from the website, open it Acrobat Reader, and save it with a new name so it doesn't get mixed up with the old form.

I really hope that helps. I had so much computer trouble with the form.

If you are sponsoring your husband, you really do put a zero in that box. If you read the directions carefully, it explains.

I promise it's correct to put a "0". We finished the affidavit a few months ago, and that's what we did. My husband just had his interview and the whole process has been moving along nicely.

Check the heading--it should say "Persons NOT sponsored in this affidavit." That means that you only put a "1" in the box for spouse if you're not sponsoring your spouse.

Specifically,

For the first box, "Provide the number you entered in Part 3., Item Number 28." you should put a "1" because you are sponsoring one person.

For the second box, "Yourself", you should have a "1".

And for for third box, "If you are currently married, enter "1" for your spouse." write "0". It's counterintuitive but correct.

Then the final count should be "2".

Are the bar codes at the top and bottom of each page visible? If you can see bar codes all the way across each page, you know it's working right.

You'll need to get a cosponsor or a second job for the affidavit of support.

The K1 visa can be really hard for people because the immigrant spouse doesn't get work authorization until months after the wedding. My husband and I did the CR1 visa, and it's really reassuring to know he'll be able to get a job right away.

This year they've been moving the CR-1 visas really quickly this year for couples who both live overseas. Normally the I-130 takes five months, but they approved ours in just a month. So if living in Brazil is an option, that's one way to speed up the process.

Download it and make sure you're using Acrobat Reader. You can download Acrobat Reader for free. In Acrobat Reader, it will add the fields for you and fill in number 8 automatically.

My husband's birth certificate is from a hospital rather than the government. We were concerned about whether it would be sufficient for the visa process, but we called NVC and they assured us that the hospital birth certificate would be acceptable.

Last week on July 13 he had his interview. At the interview, the official said that his hospital birth certificate was not acceptable and he would need to find and submit a government-issued birth certificate.

While the consular official said the delay would be only 2-4 days, a week has already passed since he submitted the birth certificate without any updates to the application status. It hasn't even changed to administrative processing. It still says that is is ready for interview.

How much longer will this take? I know that it's a short delay so far, but It's frustrating that have no idea how much longer we will have to wait. Will contacting anyone, such as my congressman, help?

Thanks for the reply. He already turned in the birth certificate.

We were hoping we'd see each other in a week. Now it looks like it could be a while.

My husband just had his interview! They just asked a few questions about the college we both attended, and no difficult questions.

But, they told him he needs a different birth certificate. His birth certificate was issued by the hospital, while he needs one issued by the government. (We had called NVC, and they had told him the hospital issued certificate was fine. Sigh.)

After he gets the birth certificate, how long will it take to get a visa? He was asked to drop off his birth certificate and passport once he gets the document.

Will this cause a day of delay? A week? A month? How much longer will it take for my husband to get his passport and visa?

It's time to submit the affidavit of support, and I have a few questions.

My situation: After college, I got a decent job and saved up about $20,000. I also have about $20,000 in stocks given to me by my family (thanks family!). I applied to grad school, got accepted to a master's degree that comes with an $18,000 per year stipend (so my income will be $18,000 per year once I start the program this August). But right now I'm living in Nepal with my husband, getting paid $200 a month in a paid internship.

The affidavit: Luckily, my parents agreed to co-sponsor because I live overseas and don't have any significant income. They have enough income to cover the entire obligation. I still have to fill out an affidavit because I am the petitioner.

My question about the affidavit:

1. Should I list my assets? It's about $40,000. My assets won't matter because my parents will be co-sponsors. I'm concerned about sending in an affidavit saying I have no income and no assets, but I've heard that including assets can slow down the process.

2. Do I need to prove domicile in the US? I've maintained bank accounts there and will move back over the summer to start grad school, but do I need to prove that when I have a co-sponsor?

I'm assuming it will be easier to just say I'm unemployed than to bother explaining the internship and the teeny-tiny monthly income.

Thanks for any advice!

I thought there was important information on the NOA2, such as the A number. Is the NOA2 really unnecessary?

My I-130 has been approved after only one month, but we haven't received and documents in the mail. We were expecting the I-797 receipt notice, but that did not arrive.

The timeline is:

Dec 29: I-130 received at Chicago lockbox and forwarded to California processing center. The message said to expect the receipt notice in the mail by Jan 28.

Jan 27: I-130 approved.

I'm really happy that the I-130 was approved so quickly, but I'm concerned that I haven't received any mail from USCIS. I indicated that my parents' address should be used as our mailing address, but I'm afraid there's a mix-up. I've called USCIS several times asking about the missing notice, but they say that I need to contact the National Visa Center now that the I-130 is approved.

What will happen if I never receive the I-130 approval notice in the mail? What steps can I take to fix this?

We're living in Nepal now and applying for a green card for my husband. We filed the I-130 on Dec. 28, and my parents, who live in the US, mailed it in for us.

Unfortunately, we can't receive mail where we live now because Nepal generally doesn't have mail delivery to houses. Because of this, I wanted all of the mail to go to my parents house in the US. I indicated that my parents address is our preferred mailing address on the cover page, but on the I-130 I used our current address.

We didn't receive the I-797 either in Nepal or at their address in the US. I want to make sure that all future mail goes to my parents house, but the USCIS form for changing addresses can only take US addresses.

How do you change preferred mailing addresses when you're outside the US?