HUGOC9999

Hey everyone,

I’m a derived US citizen. My parents applied for my passport at a local post office after I had became a permanent resident at age 14. My father was a naturalized US citizen and was and still is married to my mother. I fall under the child citizenship act of 2000 INA 320. I have been using US passports so far as proof of citizenship and am now 31 years old. My parents never applied for my certificate of citizenship and I want proof other than my passport of my US citizenship. So I decided to apply form N600 in January, had a biometrics appointment in March and today I received an RFE requesting evidence of my dads physical custody of me from age 14 till 18. I have a few questions because I am really freaking out:
 

1. I can’t find any sort of records that would allow me demostrare I was living with my father during that time. I left my house and started living with an aunt right before turning 17. Would that be an issue ? Even though I was already a U.S. citizen at that time. My parents and sister were still living together. 
 

2. What would happen if my N600 be denied? Would I “lose” my citizenship or would I still be able to use my us passport. I also got my daughter a CRBA and US passport while living abroad, what would happen to her status? 
 

3. I am also petitioning for my wife a CR1 visa who lives abroad and we just got the interview letter. We were really happy until I saw the N600 RFE. The only reason I applied for it was because I heard it might be needed during my wife’s visa process. Would this be an issue? If the consular officer were to ask for it during the interview, would I be able to submit some sort of explanation letter stating how I obtained my citizenship and that the N600 is in progress ? 
 

i would really appreciate any advice. Thank you!!! 

Thanks for answering, yes my father's naturalization certificate and my Ecuadorian birth certificate are readily available. Hopefully that will be enough. 

Hello visa journey community,

So I am filing CR1 for my spouse and am still at USCIS stage. I had a consultation with an immigration attorney and am dumbfounded. I became a US citizen though my father after he was naturalized. I don't have any evidence of us citizenship besides my us passport. I know the instructions say that it is enough for citizenship evidence but the attorney told me that it could be real problem once the interview comes. She says that there's a 50/50 chance that it could be approved and in case it gets denied that I would have to start all over again after I get my certificate of citizenship. Is this true? Anyone have experience in this, specifically in Ecuador? Any info would be appreciated. 

Thanks all of you for answering. I honestly didn’t  file taxes the whole time I was abroad. I went there after high school and later on attended university and graduated as a dentist. I have a year of experience working as a dentist abroad and right after started working as a dental assistant in the US. 

So I have a question regarding the affidavit of support. Backstory I am a US citizen filing CR1 for my wife, filed Feb 10th of this year. I’ve lived in Ecuador for the last ten years. I moved back in April to the US and have been working since then. My question is, would my income be sufficient enough or would I need a cosponsor. I’ll be making well over the poverty line but won’t be filing taxes until next year. Let’s say my wife gets approved soon, maybe October or November of this year, and we move on to the NVC stage, what document would I need as a tax return or as a supporting document. Would I be obligated to have a cosponsor ? 

Hi everyone,

Im a US citizen currently living abroad. I´ve gathered all the documents necessary for online filing. I have a few doubts regarding de address. What address should I put in Mailing Address if I don´t have a current address in the US? Is it ok to put down my foreign address? Also, in form I130 it asks for address where the spouse intends to live once in the US. I plan on moving to the US in a few months to get things started, such as getting a US domicile, work and also taking the national boards to begin the process of obtaing a DDS as I´m a dentist in my current country.

Hello, so I got US citizenship through my father when I was a kid (9 at the time), he was a permanent resident then became a naturalized US citizen. Problem is I never received a naturalization certificate, I've always had a US passport as proof of citizenship. Would this be enough to prove US citizenship ? or is it necessary to file form N 565, pay $555 fee and obtain a certificate this way?

22 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

The joint sponsor has to submit everything that you, as the primary sponsor, submit.  This includes the I-864 with all the supporting wage/tax documentation, etc.  It is pretty well spelled out in the instructions.

 

The joint sponsor would be signing a contract with the US government that if the sponsored immigrant were to use any means-tested benefits they are not eligible for, sponsor is on the hook for that money.  So, it is kind of a big deal, and not some casual "signature only" situation.

 

If the joint sponsor is not a close family member, or very close friend, and does not know the immigrant personally, expect scrutiny at the consular level.

 

If it were me, I would do everything in my power to increase my own income before asking anyone other than my mom, for example.

Unfortunately I’ve been living abroad for quite a while and I don’t see any way around it. I have a wife and daughter and wouldn’t want to be apart from them for too long. I don’t really have any family members in the US except for a few friends, so joint sponsor it is. I just want to know exactly what forms are necessary so I can go ahead and present my case and, hopefully, they’ll be willing to help. Thanks.

I'm pretty sure you both, petitioner and joint sponsor, have to file I864.

Hey everyone, so I've done a ton of reading and I'm in the process of convincing someone to be my joint sponsor. From what I'm aware a joint sponsor is someone who doesn't live in the same household you intend to live in with your spouse, you don't necessarily have to live with them once you arrive in the US, and it could even be someone from a state other than the one you plan to live in. Am I correct? Problem is my joint sponsor is a little doubtful about the whole process at the moment, what risks exactly would a joint sponsor be undertaking ? and what documents would he/she have to file, other than form I864? What other documents would be necessary to become a joint sponsor? Is this information available somewhere that I'm not aware of

What documents are necessary for the online application? Is wife's birth certificate no longer needed?

I meant the petitioner also abroad, both.

1 hour ago, mam521 said:

 It can put a lot of strain on a relationship and I don't know what it looks like for you to get your DDS licensure stated in the US.  She may be the bridging income if you have to write a board exam.  Just something to keep in mind. 

You read my mind, I've thought about actually going for the DDS and it's a long and gruesome process much like de CR1. Thanks for the help.

Has anyone in this thread filed online while living abroad?

6 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

Paging @Crazy Cat on this one. He has a pros and cons list that is really easy to understad.

Yeah thanks I read the list, really informative. I was doubtful more in the the sense that I've been living abroad for over 10 years, and didn't know which would be more convenient in my case. 

48 minutes ago, CJPinEcuador said:

I lived in Ecuador the past 10 years and my fiance is Ecuadorian. We have gone the K1 route and are at 8 months waiting for approval of the first part (NOA2). We chose K1 as we did want to marry in the US and hoped it would be quicker (doubtful). Both are about the same right now time wise. CR1 seems to be slightly longer with the NVC stage, but it does have work advantages once in the US. I moved back to the US a few months ago to get resettled in preparation for him to be here and to make sure my domicile case was strong, but we know the wait for us is still going to be about 4-6 months if not more. We probably still would have gone with K1 vs CR1 as we want to be married in the US with my family and had just gotten engaged when we applied. We agreed to do "engaged time" separated as opposed to "married time" so it would be an easier transition for our children. Time wise, both options are about the same right now, but since we agreed that once we got married we wanted to always go be able to return home to the same place each day and live a normal life, we ultimately decided to do the K1. It has been a strain being apart, but I was still in Ecuador for the first 5 months of the wait so we would only be apart for about 6-8 months out of the 12 month plus process.  

 

With the deteriorating economic situation in Ecuador and my school year over half over when we filed (I was a teacher), we both decided it was better for me to come back a bit sooner and wait out the last part. 

 

Additionally, while I have permanent residency in Ecuador through my son, since I am a US citizen and COVID was in full swing, we would have had to wait much longer to file while I gathered all the paperwork for the registro civil in order to get married since the embassy stopped giving out the "single" declaration and I would have had to have gotten it from my local US county (there were no guarantees for us at the time that it wouldn't take many more months before we could get married as it was pre-mass vaccination), and we wanted to get our "place in line" as quickly as possible when we filed.  This part sounds like it wouldn't be an issue for you and it would be much easier and faster to get married and get your application in. 

 

Good luck with whatever you choose! My only advice would be to get paperwork in ASAP so it can all get started! 

Really enjoyed reading your story. If you don't mind me asking, did you file taxes during those 10 years in Ecuador ? 

55 minutes ago, millefleur said:

You don't need to move back to prove domicile, plenty of people just do "intent to re-establish domicile" while they are still living abroad. However, it seems you've been living outside the States for quite some time so it might be harder in your case. Domicile is still way down the road, it comes after the petition approval so no need to worry about it right now. You can still probably be together to wait out the processing, just go back at the tail end if needed to get domicile in order.

 

CR-1 is now considered the better visa because processing times for K-1's have slowed down a lot. Before Covid, it was different because K-1's were a lot faster. CR-1 has always been considered the "better" visa and now that wait times for K-1's have slowed, they're generally not recommended unless you have some difficulty getting married prior to starting the petition.

 

Thanks for the response, why do you think it'll be a bit harder in my case, do you mean domicile wise? Do you think  I'd be better off filing for the CR1 online or having a friend from the states send it directly by mail?

8 minutes ago, Boiler said:

CR1 not even close.

Explain 

Hello, everyone newbie here. I would really like to know your opinion on this matter. First off I'm a 29 year old US citizen living in Ecuador. I'm also ecuadorian as I was born here and got US citizenship through my father as a kid. I lived in the US since I was 6 and came back to Ecuador when I was 19. While here I went to university and became a dentist, I also met my future wife and we have a 6 year old daughter together. Things are becoming really tough in Ecuador are we are seriously considering moving to the US permanently. My daughter has US citizenship through a CRBA and also has a US passport. We haven't gotten married yet but have been living together for 2 years. I'm really indecisive about whether or not applying for K1 visa or getting married and applying for CR1 instead. What would you recommend in my case?  I really want an option with the less waiting time possible, can't really stand the thought of being away from my partner and daughter for so long. I'm planning on filing for k1 visa then travel to the US to reestablish domicile and get a job. I also have an aunt who could possibly be a co-sponsor. I'm aware of the different costs each option implies. Which option would be the surest way to get approved and have all 3 of us travel together to start a new life in the states? Would really appreciate any insight. TIA