Sadi Shah

Hi everyone, 

I posted a topic a few months ago on my husband receiving a 221g form for "domicile evidence," you can read about it here:

I feel compelled to write this post now because it seems there are people on this forum who give advice based on how they've "never come across anything like your case after seeing hundreds of discussions over more than 10 years" and assume the worst case scenario and basically make you feel horrible. I want my situation to be a reminder to anyone reading this in a similar situation that:

1. the majority of people in the world going through immigration are not sharing their unique stories on here;

2. if your case is taking longer than any other case ever discussed on here, it does NOT mean something has gone horribly wrong;

3. we live in unprecedented times with the covid pandemic impacting immigration operations across the world so if anything, expect the unexpected. 

With that said, this is what happened with my husband's case:

March 2021: Interview at London embassy, got 221g form 

March 2021: Sent requested documents via courier 

May 2021: Followed up with embassy, asked to upload documents to CEAC (I'm assuming they ignored or lost the copies we sent via courier) 

May 2021: Uploaded same documents to CEAC along with some affidavits as suggested by lawyer

July 2021: Got in touch with my home state Senator, who sent out an inquiry on my behalf. 

July 2021: Visa approved the very next day! Issued and mailed to us in no time. Entered the US together, thank God. 

So, the process basically took 4 months, and the visa got approved literally 1 month before my husband's medical was going to expire! I have searched the internet far and wide and have yet to come across a situation like ours. One tip I would definitely give after this is to be proactive about your case (consult lawyers, contact your senator, keep emailing the embassy every few weeks - pro tip: check for contact information they only give out on forms at the interview).

I hope this was helpful. 

I sent them my latest US tax return forms, my latest US bank statements, my US bank account activity, my recently renewed driver's license from my home state (all of which list my US home address) and my temporary student visa in the UK. I think I've provided enough evidence? Again, we had emailed the embassy after the interview and they said they need to see my domicile status evidence and will let us know if they require more info on that. So I don't think there is any other issue..

In any case, is there anything I can do at this point besides waiting? Maybe I should give it another month? They don't reply to emails about application updates it seems. 

5 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

She can have a US domicile.  Anyone living abroad can maintain a US domicile.  The specifics of her situation matters.

I know plenty of people who have gone to graduate school in the US and abroad who have maintained their domicile.  

Yes, this is why I went ahead and applied for my husband.. We have no intention of being here in the UK permanently. 

9 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

It’s unusual for London to even dwell on domicile so there may be more to the delay than that. Also most cases that are lacking some kind of documentation are reviewed within the week of receiving the documentation. Is there anything else in the area of security that could be a reason for delaying your spouse? Country of birth, relatives in  or frequent visits to know terrorist countries, certain scientific skills...

Thanks for your reply. No nothing like that at all... He was born in the UK, has clean police records, no visits to any such countries.. 😕

Hi everyone, 

I am a US citizen petitioning for my husband's IR1 visa. He had his interview on March 22nd but was given a green 221(g) form because the officer wasn't convinced that we intend to domicile in the US. This was a bit confusing because the NVC already documentarily approved my domicile status. I am currently in the UK only temporarily on a student visa for my PhD but have continuous ties with the US (frequent visits back, banking, mailing address, etc).

So, we emailed the embassy through their online form and they basically said to submit evidence for my domicile status (even though I already had done so to the NVC). We used the DX courier service to send the requested documents and they confirmed that the embassy received them a month ago (end of March). I have been trying to ask them for updates since but they don't reply.

The status on the visa appointment service website still says "Send documents" and the status on the CEAC has been "refused" since March 25th. 

Was anyone here in a similar situation?