tobben15

Natalie -- That's exactly what we did. My mom and dad file jointly, but only my mom was a joint sponsor. She attached her W-2s only to show what she made, and we didn't need to tease out on the I-864 exactly what was her part of the joint income reported as the W-2s did that for her. No need for my dad to do an I-864A.

I remember when I was trying to figure this out last year, I had NO idea what I was doing! But with a little steering from a veteran VJer I sat down and really, and I mean REALLY read the I-864 again and again and again... and then it all became a lot clearer. Good luck!

We did the exact same thing too. As long as you have the transcripts and the W-2s, you are good to go.

I don't even know where to begin, except to ask your forgiveness for the 5am-smush of brains that is typing these questions. I've been swimming in Visa information for about the past three hours (with plenty of distractions along the way), trying to find an exact list of paperwork and fees that need to be filed, as well as much info as I can gather on the AOS requirements.

So far, just reading some of the success stories (closed the damn tab, not sure where they were now) helped me outline a required-paperwork-and-money list, so mainly I just have questions on this affidavit of support and a totally new phrase to me, 'establishing domicile. First of all, suppose I should go into the case a bit.

I'm a USC resident in the Netherlands since November of '06, filed immediately for the permanent resident permit and was approved in March, will be getting married to my Dutchie here within a couple of months (basically just need to send for his birth certificate, we already have my apostilled copy here), and pretty much going straight to the consulate to file for the petition.

Now, my income has been nil here for the past year (found out the day I picked up my permit that we were pregnant, and so I haven't gotten work), and so my father will be the only joint sponsor. His income will be more than sufficient, but since he's in the States, what exactly does he need to do to file as a joint sponsor?

As far as my own AOS that I file, the only tax info I have is for '06, which was filed overseas via H&R Block Online. The AOS itself says that I have to either provide my tax information, or a statement/evidence declaring that I don't have to file. Will my unemployment for the year of '07 be sufficient for that?

And now for the icing on the cake: Establishing domicile. We'll be living with my father on his farm when we go back, and I'll be job hunting right away, but most likely will only be able to grab a job via a temp agency in the beginning. This cuts out any employer contract or lease-signing that might help the process. I also currently own no property in the states. Is there another way to do this? Suggestions?

And on the hopes that I don't sound like a complete babbling fool, I'm gonna submit. Thanks in advance for reading through this mess, and any advice/experiences you can share that might be of help.

First, from what I understand, you must be married before you can file for DCF.

As far as a cosponsor, your father is fine. He just needs to fill out an I-864 as do you.

You will have to file some form with IRS for your 07 year, but as you know not until April of 08. Sorry I'm not sure what the form is. When they are needed at the interview, you should call IRS and get transcripts. Your father can get these too and they are free.

As for establishing domicile, do you have any bank statements or investment accounts that you still have in the States? These should all help. Anything you can prove you still have connection to the States will help.

Hope this helps,

Jill

My father and my step mother have both agree'd to be co-sponsors, but recently she has left the house on bad terms and I'm currently waiting on my NOA2. I'm waiting until after the new tax season to send in my request for tax information, my question is:

If they filed jointly on their past tax's then do I need both of them to sign the I-130? And both give W-2's + Tax return info? Or can we simply state somewhere that he is going to be the sole co-sponsor and then write down his half of what he made on the I-130? My SO is urging me to get her signature too, but this lady is a little flaky and I'd rather her not be a part of the process at all

Your father can be the sole co-sponsor but along with the tax transcripts you will need to have copies of his W-2s so that they can see how much of the income he is responsible for. For example on the tax transcripts is your fathers and stepmothers income combined, so the W-2 will distinguish how much of that is your fathers. I am pretty sure you need the I-864 and yourself (the sponsor) and your father (the cosponsor) will need to fill one out.

Hi,

My husband recieved his visa today yeah!!!

I added my review of the warsaw embassy in the reviews section if anyone is interested.

We applied by DCF.

We will be heading to the States at the beginning of 2008.

So exciting.

Jill

what does it exactly mean when people speak for proving domicile? so if i live in germany with my husband who is german then i must keep certain things in america that prove i lived there ? i am confused. and also if i live in germany but do not work and stay home with the children how can i prove income? will that mean they will not let me be a sponser for my husband to get him back to the usa? or will i need to use my parents ?

You have to be the sponsor since you are the one who is married to him. As for proving domicile, if you have property, bank accounts, investment statements, voting records these will all prove domicile. Since you don't make any money you will have to get a joint sponsor for the I-864 affidavit of support.

Hi all. Here is the situation.

I am French. My wife is American (born American) and we married 7 years ago (in the US). My son was born in the US (he's American and also French), and my daughter was born in France (she is also American and French). We have been living in France for the last 6 years.

We are now thinking of relocating to the US to be closer to my wife's family.

I already found a company there wiling to hire me. We anticipate my wife would not be working. So I (ie me, the alien) would be the one earning the income for the household.

I am just at the beginning of understanding the process. Can you give me any advices on what needs to be done in order to get us there as soon as possible? Are we looking at a long process or is there some options to get us there quickly. Thanks!

It sounds like you can file for DCF-direct consular filing. As long as your wife can prove domicile in the US, this is the way to go. Not sure about France, but I think on average DCF takes approximately 6 months. Since you would be filing for an IR-1, you would be able to work upon entering the US. HTH

Thanks!

2. During my interview the only thing they looked at for validity of our relationship was our marriage certificate, but I did bring our leases and joint bank account statements and lots of pictures of us together, I didn't even need them.

So do you mean at your final interview, or your initial I-130 interview? We have LOTS of supporting documents with both of our names, some recent photos, etc. We have also been married over 4 years now, so hopefully that helps.

Both they didn't need this information for either the initial or for THE interview, but like I said it's good to have it. You never know what they will ask for.

3. There are no forms for the taxes, you have to fill in tax information in form I-864 and get tax transcripts and have W-2s. You can get tax transcripts from the US. I don't have the number with me but it's fairly easy you just have to call them and they will send them to you.

Do we provide the I-864 when we file the I-130? Or is the I-864 submitted in the 2nd lot of paperwork?,

I-864 is in the 2nd lot.

Your situation may be a little more difficult or maybe easier since your husband has already had the green card.

The consulate didn't seem to think it would matter either way, but it's a shame we have to do it all over again!!

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! And, congrats on getting your visa!!

Thanks we are both very excited.

Hi Everyone -

My name is Jules and I am an American citizen on a spouse visa living in Oz with my Aussie husband. I've been here since June 2006. My husband used to have a green card, but it expired a year after we moved to Oz (we moved to Oz 2.5 years after getting married in CA) and now we want to move back to the States.

I've read through this forum here and there but the amount of info is a bit overwhelming to me at this point. I am hoping you can help me with a few questions to start off, or refer me to other posts on the site. We are going to file the I-130 in Sydney - we are both living here at the moment and I do not have employment lined up in the US yet. Ok, here are my questions:

1) How much do we have to have in US dollars since we don't have US income at this point? We have several people who will act as joint sponsors for us if we don't have enough $$. I think we will have at least $45K USD by the time we file.

2) Do we have to include affadavits (letters from friends/family) about the authenticity of our relationship when we file the I-130? I see on the checklist that we have to provide "evidence of a valid relationship" and I am not 100% sure what qualifies.

3) Do we have to provide the last 3 years of tax returns, and if so, is that with the paperwork for packet 3, or when we file the I-130?

4) We have a US bank account and US credit card and statements are mailed to my brother in law's address in the US. We also have my 401(k) still based in the States, along with our life insurance policies. Do you think that is enough to establish legal domicile? We will stay at my BIL's house when we first arrive anyhow.

Any other tips or suggestions would be much appreciated. We are so bummed out that we have to go through all of this again and wish my husband's green card had not expired. We will NOT move away from the US again until he has his citizenship!!!!!

THANKS EVERYONE!!!

First off this is just my experience and does by no means you will have the same experience.

1. As long as you have joint sponsors who make enough money above the poverty line, you don't have to worry about how much you make.

2. During my interview the only thing they looked at for validity of our relationship was our marriage certificate, but I did bring our leases and joint bank account statements and lots of pictures of us together, I didn't even need them.

3. There are no forms for the taxes, you have to fill in tax information in form I-864 and get tax transcripts and have W-2s. You can get tax transcripts from the US. I don't have the number with me but it's fairly easy you just have to call them and they will send them to you.

4. The documents that you have should be enough to establish domicile, I only had bank statements, investment accounts and my drivers license that seemed to satisfy them.

Your situation may be a little more difficult or maybe easier since your husband has already had the green card.

Good luck and hope everything turns out for the best.

Just wanted to let you know that I added my review of the Warsaw embassy to the embassy reviews. We received our IR1 visa today. We are very excited.

I've been getting my I-864 ready for our interview aw well. I put down $0 and then wrote my converted amount in dollars with foreign income in parentheses next to it. Although this would never be enough, my mom is our cosponsor. We have the interview on nov. 15th so hopefully they will accept it like this.

Anyone?

I would suggest looking at timelines for Brazil or reposting your question as a new topic.

When I first applied for a K1 visa for my husband (fiance at the time) I got a lawyer too. Paid over 800 dollars for her to get all the papers and documents completed correctly for me. Then I found out through my own research that she had sent the old/expired forms in and we had to fill out new ones. I pretty much cut my losses there because she messed up and I didn't want anything more to go wrong. Well I ended up abandoning that petition and moved to Europe for 3+years and we are now applying for a IR-1 visa. No lawyer this time.

I would recommend telling the lawyer you are not going to pay because he obviously has no idea what he is doing. That you are the one that has been calling the embassies and doing all the work.

Sometimes I really think these lawyers have NO idea what they are doing and just want the money. They don't care about the customer.

Where can I find some information (preferably on a US government website) that states 3rd country nationals, such as myself, cannot have their cases pending in another country? In other words, something official that states cases and interviews for US spousal visas can only be processed in the beneficiaries home country.

I guess the thing is it isn't 'strictly' true that you can only interview in the beneficiaries home country. The truth is that you have to be in the other country legally and need to be able to stay there for at least 6 months and have the documentation to back that up.

I agree with the statement above as this is not truly the case. My husband is from Slovakia and he is have his case processed and his interview in Poland because that's where we have been living for over a year now. We are both in the country legally and have documents that prove it. So you can be in another country to process your case if you follow certain conditions.

We received Packet 4 and have our interview date for November 15.

So exciting!!!

Here is the thing... I know that poland is issuing new ID cards (plastic ones) and they give everybody time to the end of the year to get it changed. As far as I know after that there'll be no way to change your old ID (dowod osobisty).

As far as I know, and I might be wrong, you don't need to have Polish ID (meaning dowod osobisty) if you don't live in Poland. Your passport is enough. I'd check on that if I were you though... What you can do is call the Town Hall that issued your original ID and ask them what you should do.

Will I lose my polish citizenship and will I have to apply for it again when I go back there or how the heck can I get my ID changed into the new one.

No way you're gonna lose your polish citizenship. You don't lose a citizenship only because you don't have an ID... As for how to get a new one (other than going to Poland in person and doing it) I don't know. Again, call the Town Hall or the consulate.

Because as far as I know Poland doesn't tolerate 2 citizenships.

Most countries don't. Including USA. HOWEVER, it means that they don't *recognize* you as a foreign citizen. As far as Poland is concerned you're a Polish citizen and they don't give a ####### about your American citizenship. That's why when you're in Poland you're supposed to use only Polish documents, like passport, and not (for example) American passport. It's against the law. People do that though. I've seen tons on Polish-American citizens coming to Poland and using American passport.

An other question is, how can my husband apply for the polish citizenship and would he lose his american if the'd get the polish one?!

Honestly... I'd forget about it. It's not worth it. He'd have to first become a permanent resident and then citizen after spending certain amount of years in Poland. I don't know what happens to his American citizenship though.

Oh, and will I be able to keep my other 2 citizenships when I get the american one (one of these days... )

Probably, but again, I'm not sure.

Here is my situation and maybe it might help with answering your questions but I am not sure. My husband is Slovak and I am American and we live in Poland. I only have American citizenship/passport, my husband has only Slovak citizenship/passport. When we came to live in Poland a year ago. My husband had to fill out a few papers and he was able to get temporary resident card (approx. 5 years) to live and work in Poland since he is from another EU country. Because I am his wife I am also allowed to get a temporary resident permit, I also filled out a few papers and I am also able to live and work in Poland.

Hope this helps.

Jill

Anyone who is using the embassy in Warsaw, how long did it take for them to schedule your interview date after you sent them packet 3? We are waiting on a police certificate from another country and then we will have all necessary documents. We are just wondering how long the wait is after this.

Thanks for anyones help.

Jill

Anyone?

Anyone who is using the embassy in Warsaw, how long did it take for them to schedule your interview date after you sent them packet 3? We are waiting on a police certificate from another country and then we will have all necessary documents. We are just wondering how long the wait is after this.

Thanks for anyones help.

Jill

So to clear up, as you can see from my timeline, we have the Polish one, which is where we live. We are waiting on the Czech Republic and Slovakia police certificates as he applied for them at the embassies here in Warsaw.

Thanks.

Hi,

For anyone who has had to request police certs from other countries than the country you are filing in, how long did it take you to receive them?

What procedure did you do?

Thanks for any responses.

Jill

I filed a K-1 in the US back in '03, I am now applying by DCF. We just didn't follow up on anything. The embassy didn't say anything about it when I applied with the I-130 and it was on the application. We'll see if they say anything about it at the interview. My situation is a little different though. I was tired of waiting and wanted to be with my husband, so I moved to Europe.

My husband is Slovak, but same situation with us. I kept his last name "Vanco" instead of "Vancova". I think it will be easier for you in the US if you keep his last name without the ova. It will probably cause some unneeded hassle if you add the ova.

I also have an another friend who kept off the ova as well.

But keep in mind it's your decision, and do what you want.

I did have to fill out an extra paper in the Czech Republic when we got married though that said I wanted to just be Vanco and not Vancova. But if you get married in the States it won't matter.

Hope this helps.

Jill

At the Slovak embassy they told my husband about 4 weeks and they didn't tell him anything at the Czech embassy.

As for the I-864, my mom had already filled out all information while I was visiting in July, so I justed wanted to double check with some people on here. I'm just hoping it won't be a problem. Since I have the W-2s I don't think it should be, I also have her last 6 months pay stubs too. So I think everything should be covered.

Hoping those police certs come soon, even though we probably won't leave Poland for another 6 months.

Ok, so I filled out the I-864. I have no income for the past two years from the States as I have been living in Europe. My mother is the cosponsor and she has filled out the form. I have her transcripts from the past 3 years plus copies of W-2s and the like. My question is: She files her taxes jointly with my stepdad does he need to fill out I-864a, even though my mom makes more than enough over the poverty guidelines?

My second question is about police certificates. We are waiting for police certs from Czech Rep. and Slovakia, but we live in Poland and applied for one at the embassies. If you have been in a similar situation (applying from another country), how long approximately did you wait?

Thanks for any info you can give us.

Jill

I submitted all photocopies(non certified) of documents when I went to the consulate but they checked the originals. So be sure to have those with you.

My husband is Slovak and I the USC. When we moved to Poland, we had an agency take care of this for us. I think it took maximum 2 weeks. Wasn't difficult at all having the agency take care of it for us. Around $350 though.

Sorry I don't have more info for you.