trailmix

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

Hi there,
That looks pretty darn good. If you want to include 1 more thing that is free to obtain, why not include a moving estimate? Just go to http://www.upack.com/ - fill in your details and they will email you one, which you can then print off - and they won't even send you any junk mail

Actually, for the I-864, technically they will accept proof of an extension to file. link
"The sponsor must submit with the Form I-864 the sponsor’s U.S. Federal income tax return for the most recent tax year (that is, the completed tax year immediately preceding the date the sponsor signs the Form I-864). USCIS may generally expect a sponsor, after April 15 of any given year (or April 16 or 17, in a year in which April 15 is on a Saturday or Sunday), to have completed his or her tax return for the previous year. If the sponsor requested an extension, the sponsor should provide proof of filing for the extension".
Example 3
Sponsor signs the Form I-864 on May 5, 2006. However, the sponsor also filed with IRS a Form 4868, obtaining an extension of the 2005 income tax filing deadline. The sponsor must submit his or her 2004 U.S. Federal income tax return.
I say technically, because it doesn't really seem like a good idea, generally - however, you have the draft copy, you are going to include the proof of extension and you have all your other proof in place, seems reasonable in your situation.
Just one question. I'm not familiar with U.S. business tax returns (if that is what you have filed an extension for), but i'm wondering why you are not able to file your personal 1040? Since a business cannot sponsor someone, i'm not sure how the business return affects you filing/sending your personal return.

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

In the Montreal timeline to interview thread we are having a discussion about proving domicile when both the sponsor and the intending immigrant are living in Canada. I know i'm not the only one who has done this and I decided to start a new thread so the information would not be lost in the other thread. Here is an excerpt:
You are very welcome! No, he didn't have to leave and your immigration lawyer is ..... wrong, but that's not surprising as many people have experienced that. I am sure there are good lawyers out there though.
I was born in Canada, I have dual citizenship through my parents, I have never lived in the United States before now - however I proved domicile. I know this information doesn't help you one iota at this point, however if someone else is reading this for the first time I hope they see it before their Husband or Wife actually leaves the country.
Good luck to you!
to_hope, congrats on getting out of NVC!!

I dealt with Ford, basically they sent me a letter on company letterhead stating the vin etc and that it had a recall - which we had taken care of and that it currently did not meet the U.S. standard with regards to the running lights.
That was basically it - we had no problem importing the car with that letter. I was going to scan that and the import forms I had to fill out at the border and post them here, I will try to do that shortly.

You are reading this correctly ratfin - that is the intent of what they are saying and it goes back to the things I wrote about proving you are moving back.

No, I personally don't think it's a valid concern, the new PR issue. I don't really see why it would be? Your Husband applying for you to immigrate to the U.S. should have nothing to do with him being a PR of Canada - new or not.
I can't pretend to know what your lawyer was thinking or why she advised him to move back to the U.S. - at a guess I would say she is just not really familiar with domicile. The 'you must be physically present in the U.S. to prove domicile' thing is a mistake people make when skimming over the instructions for the
I-864 - not a mistake a well informed lawyer should have made - in my opinion.
At the VERY least, a good lawyer would have explained all your options, as in - well he can move back to the U.S. before you and proving domicile will be simple - however if he wishes to stay with you in Canada while your application is being processed - here is what you need to do.
If you and your Husband decide that he will move back to Canada to wait, please let us know, there are no doubt items he can bring and things he can do while he is still in the U.S. to ensure his domicile is not an issue.
Adjudicator's Field Manual - Redacted Public Version \ Chapter 20 Immigrants in General \ Enforceable Affidavits of Support.[Revised as of 06/27/2006].
If the sponsor is not domiciled in the United States, the sponsor can still sign and submit a Form I-864 so long as the sponsor satisfies the Department of State officer, immigration officer, or immigration judge, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the sponsor will establish a domicile in the United States on or before the date of the principal intending immigrant’s admission or adjustment of status. The intending immigrant will be inadmissible under section 212(a)(4) of the Act, and the intending immigrant’s application for admission or adjustment of status must be denied, if the sponsor has not, in fact, established a domicile in the United States on or before the date of the decision on the principal application for admission at a U.S. port of entry on an immigrant visa or adjustment of status.
In the case of a sponsor who comes to the United States intending to establish his or her principal residence in the United States at the same time as the principal intending immigrant’s arrival and application for admission at a port-of-entry, the sponsor shall be deemed to have established a domicile in the United States for purposes of this paragraph.

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

I personally think it's a good idea to add his letter, in fact I think it is imperative. As mentioned yesterday, since Montreal is so....so - anyway, I think it is also important to include a cover letter of exactly what you are trying to prove and make that part of the cover letter unmistakable ie:
Enclosed please find proof of resident domicile for <Husband's name> U.S. citizen with regard to the I-864 for my wife and children, Montreal case numbers MTL2009xxxxxxx etc etc.
Then I would list their guidelines and what you have included that pertains to those guidelines, then list all the other stuff you are including.
So let's see how that matches up! (the lease of course is key!)
(1) Opening a bank account; (has he opened a new bank account?)
(2) Transferring funds to the United States; (transferred any money to the U.S. lately?)
(3) Making investments in the United States;
(4) Seeking employment in the United States; check!
(5) Registering children in U.S. schools; check!
(6) Applying for a social security number; and n/a
(7) Voting in local, state or federal elections. (has he registered to vote if he isn't already registered in New Jersey?)

Kailey I think it's great that you can navigate through this thread when I think at least a few people misunderstood your intention (or maybe I did). My understanding of what you want to do:
1. Go to the U.S., using your B1/B2 visa and marry your fiance.
2. Apply for either a K3 or CR1 visa.
3. Wait as long as you can in the U.S. while this visa is being processed (again, using the B1/B2 visa to stay legally)
4. If the visa has not finished processing and your B1 runs out, you will return to your home country and wait for your interview there?
Plus folks, never once did she say that she wanted to get married in the U.S. and adjust status there.
As long as you don't overstay your B1/B2 and you keep in mind that you will have to return to your home country for your interview, that shouldn't be a problem.

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

Absolutely not, your lawyer is just wrong, she doesn't know what she is talking about.
Yes, the letters/application forms are all great evidence of domicile. It's kind of a moot point now since he will actually be physically living there, so I assume he will have his driver's license, car insurance, maybe a bill or two in his name with his U.S. address etc etc.
Proving domicile when he is actually living there should be a piece of cake really.
I wasn't going to bother posting the whole domicile information thing - since it won't really help you at this point, however, I can see that you are questioning the validity of what your lawyer told you and you will probably find this information useful - so here goes.
If you look at the instructions for the I-864, although they are not easy to interpret, they do outline the basics of proving domicile:
15. Country of Domicile. This question is asking you to indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future. If your mailing address and/or place of residence is not in the United States, but your country of domicile is the United States, you must attach a written explanation and documentary evidence indicating how you meet the domicile requirement. If you are not currently living in the United States, you may meet the domicile requirement if you can submit evidence to establish that any of the following conditions apply:
A. You are employed by a certain organization. (lists organizations on the I-864)
B. You are living abroad temporarily. If you are not currently living in the United States, you must show that your trip abroad is temporary and that you have maintained your domicile in the United States. You can show this by providing proof of your voting record in the United States, proof of paying U.S. State or local taxes, proof of having property in the United States, proof of maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, or proof of having a permanent mailing address in the United States. Other proof could be evidence that you are a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay.
C. You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. You must submit proof that you have taken concrete steps to establish you will be domiciled in the United States at a time no later than the date of the intending immigrant's admission or adjustment of status. Concrete steps might include accepting a job in the United States, signing a lease or purchasing a residence in the United States, or registering children in U.S. schools. Please attach proof of the steps you have taken to establish domicile as described above.
So what does all this mean?
When you look at the instructions above it makes it obvious that the sponsor can prove domicile even if they are not physically residing in the United States.
For most people who are temporarily abroad and fall under category B - it's pretty transparent - should not be too hard to prove domicile if you have only been out of the U.S. for a few months for example.
However, what if you and your spouse are living together in another country, like Canada - this is where Item C comes in.
All they are asking under this category is that you intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the U.S. - basically, at the same time as, or before the immigrant.
This applies equally to sponsors who have never lived in the U.S. - which is where it can be misleading - how can you 'reestablish' something that you never physically established in the first place?
The bottom line is domicile, for U.S. immigration purposes, does not mean that you have to physically be in the U.S.
So how do you go about proving C?
All I can tell you is what we did (and neither one of us had lived in the U.S. prior to immigrating). Really you just have to think through what would prove that you are intending to move to the U.S. with the new immigrant. This will mean different documentation for different situations, but basically this is what we sent in (in total - initially we did not send enough proof of reestablishing domicile and received an RFE from NVC for more):
- A letter from my Sister in Nebraska, stating that we would be living in the U.S. with them after my Husband received his visa and that we had come to an agreement regarding money for accommodation. She also stated that they should feel free to call her if they had any questions.
- I opened a U.S. bank account with my Sister in Nebraska and deposited a small sum of money there. I sent along a bank statement from them.
- We opened a U.S. dollar account with a Canadian bank and moved most of our funds there.
- We applied in March of 2007. We sold our rental property in January of 2007 - we sent letters from our lawyer stating we had sold that house.
- An online quote from Upack for shipping our goods from Calgary to Nebraska.
- A copy of the letter of acknowlegement from the SS office, stating I had applied for my SSN in March 2007 and the card should arrive in 2 weeks.
That's about all I can think of. There may have been a couple of other documents.
So you can see how this all goes back to putting yourself in the mindset to figure out what might prove domicle in your situation - a voting record, applications to schools etc. I believe it would be much easier to prove if the sponsor had actually lived there before and already had established bank accounts etc.
It's all about saying...hey, we are moving! - then documenting everything required for that move, as well as providing documentation of ties to the U.S.

Hi,
I'm sorry this is happening to you, certainly a bad situation all around.
You have been given good advice here, but there is just one thing I want to add. Your comment above - unless you believe her intentions were fraudulent (which you don't really seem to) - you should completely try to forget the whole "I don't think she deserves to be in the US".
Just like your marriage vows, you entered in to a contract to bring your wife here. You cannot back out of this just because it is inconvenient for you right now or because you are hurt.
What I am trying to say is that one has nothing to do with the other. This type of thing gets posted here a lot. U.S. citizen sponsors spouse, things don't work out and they want to send them packing.
Stand behind the decision you made originally, in terms of immigration.

Congratulations!
Moving to Canada - even as a Canadian citizen - does have a few requirements. When you move to the U.S. they are very blasé about your goods, although everyone advises everyone to have a list of items they are bringing in (which is a good idea) they rarely, if ever, look at it.
Not so with Canada. Even as a Canadian you absolutely MUST have a list of goods you are bringing in, with values. You need a form for all the goods crossing the border with you and a separate form for items you are shipping separately. You need 2 copies of each. One you keep, one the border officer will keep, you present these forms at your point of entry. The form is here:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/b4-eng.pdf
If you are also going to import your U.S. vehicle, there are lots of hoops to jump through, not like taking your Canadian car to the U.S. at all - there are inspections and inspections - and fees - all that info is here:
http://www.riv.ca/Home.aspx
Also this page has lots of information:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5113-eng.html

Because you allow her to do it! lol

These topics tend to go astray! people are just trying to keep them on track,simple as that! One is always free to start their own post.

Questions (perhaps THE questions) are: What MUST absolutely be said with the use of profanity that CANNOT be said just as strongly WITHOUT the use of profanity? Is our command of the language inadequate to express thoughts strongly without using profanity? Is our self-discipline such that we can't resist lapsing into profanity? Does our use of profanity strengthen or weaken the verbal case that we hope to make?
I'm on the side of antifanity in every instance possible, si man, except of course when discussing the consulate in Guayaquil, Ecuador, grrrrr man.

I agree
I am fat by my own laziness and accept it is my choice.
But someone call me fatty or make a remark and all bets are off trust me I can make a person emotionally feel like they should never had been born
It is rude and unacceptable

As stated before I perform everday activities like any normal person lable eme if you want but when we both are 90 I will ask if you want some bacon or if you will stick to the puree you will be eating
Clinical definition or not I do not have mental problems nor do I blame a compnay producing the foods I eat or drink as a problem.
but again most people who feel they have the best plan to health are the ones I see and read about with the health problems. Where as the fat people are labled fat and not appealing in appearance typically begin to slow down and not do as much as they get older.
but I say to each live your life leave mine alone

Well I suppose that could be true - or, is it possible that the media tried to spin it that way?
I was there, I voted for him, I knew exactly what I was doing and I didn't vote for the "prom king".

I find it funny when people say stuff like this. They normally say it when people don't agree with them. If you agree with the opposing view, you are a 'sheep'. We get this in Western Canada all the time, which is an area that historically votes conservative (not to be confused with being conservative) as opposed to Eastern provinces that vote liberal (not to be confused with being liberal).
Is it not possible that (omg!) there are informed people that just don't agree with it?