TeacherJeff

so i guess the best thing to do is to be completely honest when we moved and just hope that USCIS does not use my mistake against my wife. correct?

My wife and I moved to a new address and I forgot to do the ar-11 form. I have downloaded the application and I will have my wife fill it out this evening and mail it tomorrow and I was going to stick the following type up note in the same envelope that contains the ar-11:

Dear USCIS

I would like to apologize for not submitting the change of address form in a timely manner as prescribed by law. We moved to our new address in November and due to the holidays and an accident that totaled our car in West Virginia we completely forgot to fulfil our legal obligation. I, AA BB, take full responsibility for this oversight and will gladly do any remedial actions to insure that this never happens again.

Warmest regards,

AA BB

Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

I got the aos from the joint sponsor last week and my wife will be going to the embassy tomorrow to pick up her police clearance. Should she prepare to take the civics test during the interview?

Do I have to have the letter notorized?

What about my taxes? I did not file for taxes this year because I earned under $9,000 usd while teaching in Thailand during the 2012 fiscal year.

and both of us will tick 'joint sponsors"? I have taught in Thailand for the past seven years with a Thai government school and this is the first year that I have not filed taxes back in America. My monthly salary is relatively small and I do not meet the poverty level threshold by American standards. Should I go ahead and file for this year even though I know that I do not owe anything?

Jeff - I'm sorry - I'm stuck with answering further questions for you.

It's painful, each time.

I want you to do two things, nowish.

1. change your profile settings to show:

--exactly what thing you are chasing

--exactly which US Embassy Country yer lass is in

2. fill out your timeline, over at http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=89054

ping back when you have completed that stuff, and thanks in advance !

That is a reasonable request. Apologies for not doing so sooner. I have filled out the timeline and updated my profile as requested.

FYI: Joint Sponsor is the proper term when referencing the I-864.

I-864

So an i-864 for me and an i-864 for the joint sponsor?

Yikes.....the quote button did not work out as I had expected it. Anyway here was my follow up question.

"What form should the join sponsor fill out? Would there be one for him and one for me or would we use the same form? I am filing directly with the consular so I am uncertain if the packages would go through nvc. The lady who I submitted the I-130 form to in Bangkok said that the processing time was 3-6 months which is sufficently shorter than the 8-12 months through nvc."

sorry about that

you are the primary sponser, so you fill out the I-864 showing 0 dollars.

anyone else is a co-sponser or joint-sponser - i can never get that label right,

but

it's the 2nd person, the one with income and/or assets ...

the 2nd person fills out a seperate I-864.

if you can't get the pcc into nvc, then by all means bring it into the interview.

What form should the join sponsor fill out? Would there be one for him and one for me or would we use the same form? I am filing directly with the consular so I am uncertain if the packages would go through nvc. The lady who I submitted the I-130 form to in Bangkok said that the processing time was 3-6 months which is sufficently shorter than the 8-12 months through nvc.

Is there a difference between a co sponsor and a joint sponsor? Can his assets completely cover my wife since I currently have no active income within America and no savings? Does that mean that I would have to file out an i-864 form as well? If so would I have to put "$0" on all income and assets on my part? Lastly should we bring the police clearance to the interview meeting?

So we can bring the Filipino police clearance on the interview date then? Obtaining the Thai police clearance is not a problem since we live a stone throw away from the police station in hatyai. My uncle, who agreed to sponsor my wife, and I are having an argument of sorts. He thinks that it is best that he sponsors her by himself while I believe that I should be the joint sponsor. I must add that he has sponsored two other Filipinos in the past. Should I defer to his judgment?

Thanks a million

Jeff

Thanks to the people who have assisted me I am nearly ready submit the second package to the embassy. However, there is one minor problem that we completely overlooked whilst I was in Bangkok. Three years ago my wife went to her embassy (She's a Filipino) in Bangkok to get her police clearance from the Philippines which was dated nov 3, 2010. Due to the lack of a co-sponsor at that time we were unable to proceed with her visa but we still kept the police clearance. Is it possible to still use that police clearance that we received 2 1/2 years ago or do we need to get a new one in addition to the Thai police clearance? We have tried emailing visasbkk@gov.state two weeks ago with this question but we have not received a reply from them. The police clearance is relatively easy to get but the 12 hour bus trip is highly inconvenient to us as we are both teaching.

Bump: would it be better if I start a new thread with my question?

Wow i finally took the 12 hour bus ride from Hatyai to Bangkok and submitted the I-130 package. They told me that they will call within 2 weeks if there were any additional requirements and that the processing time is usually 4=6 months. Provided that everything goes well during this interview at the end of the 4-6 months, how long does my wife have to move back to the states? We were thinking about having our first child here in thailand before heading back to the states and finding employment to keep us tied down here would be relatively easy. Thanks again to everyone above who told me to chill out and stop trying to be perfect. Even the embassy personal were clueless for the most part lol.

Jeff

bump

Also I noticed a place on this g25 a form that asks for the last address outside for more than 1 year. What if that address is the one that I am currently at? would write the address down twice?

Is it advisable to send the files in a folder with sub dividers that are clearly labeled? Would a western union money order be an acceptable form of payment? My bank account was closed due to inactivity and I am uncertain if I would be able to get a travelers check

Yes, provided she is a legal resident of Thailand.

Is there a clear cut definition of legal resident? My wife is legally able to work in Thailand, as I am, but I dont know if we are considered legal residents. She is a Filipina who has lived in Thailand for the past seven or eight years.

My husband and I both resided in Kuwait until the visa was in his passport. Neither the NVC nor the embassy in Kuwait ever asked me to prove intent to re-establish domicile. At the USCIS stage, I provided our addresses in Kuwait, but once we hit the NVC, I had our address changed to my parents in the USA (because they asked me to). I think that is why the NVC did not ask for any proof of domicile (but that was an unintended side effect). However, I did show up for my husband's interview with letters from the university I will attend here in the USA and my USA driver's license. That was it. And it wasn't even asked for.

The whole point of telling you this is to encourage you to relax. You are going to have to make your own decisions, and I would encourage you to make decisions that are in the best interest of your family, and NOT what is best for immigration purposes. If it's best for you to stay in Thailand and you can prove intent with things like a driver's license, canceled Thai work visa, job search efforts, etc then stay in Thailand until everything is finalized.

One thing I learned throughout this process is that it is impossible to be 100% prepared for every little detail. Stop trying to be. Take care of the big stuff, and then everything else will fall into place. It may not fall into place in a way you like it, but it will work itself out. Welcome to the roller coaster ride!

Good Luck!

Aint life one big roller coaster ride. lol. This is perhaps the best advice that I have received in a long long time. I've been trying to plan every possible eventuality. The Thais are always telling me "Mai pen rai". I am officially unemployed due to the fact that I was quite sick last month that required me to stay in the hospital for a week. Would that work in my favor? Did you file DCF?

Proving up intent to re-establish domicile, would have a sheaf of letters and documents that might (emphasis on might) show:

1. address of a place in USA that you intend to live

2. receipts for deposits paid for utilities on a domicile

3. signed lease of a rental property

4. signed (perhaps sworn also) letter from parents that they intend for you and your wife to live with them when you two return to USA.

4. Offer of Employment letter from a new employer.

What you can show always depends on what you have and how you will live - IMO is huge difference between moving in with your parents vs having a new lease on a rental property, so 'what you can show' will vary based on what path you choose.

DCF filers have had this issue, as well - but one thing that I've learned (on DCF filers) is that

RIGHT AFTER the I-130 is approved, is perfectly fine for the USCitizen Spouse to get into the USA and actually 'get all done' to secure new job and new domicile, then show that proof on interview day. You aren't a DCF casetype, but in the same breath , you have lived overseas all this time, and IMO you are 'safe to travel to USA' after I-130 is approved at USCIS.

Very informative as usual. 5 stars to you. The links that you gave me do in fact work. My internet was apparently acting up earlier today. Would filing to the Chicago lockbox give my wife and I more flexibility when it comes to moving back to America as opposed filing dcf? Would my wife be able to process in Bangkok even though she is not a Thai national?

We have a relative back in the states who will help us get back on our feet though she is not the co-sponsor. Would it be better that I remain in Thailand until this process is finalized or should I move back to the state side as soon as possible?

Again, thank you so much.

Jeff

For YOUR G325a, you are are the applicant. For your wife's form, she is the applicant. Other than the G325a, you are the petitioner and she is either the beneficiary (now) and applicant later on an actual visa application.

Enter what you DO know and indicate Unknown for the rest.

There is no specific number of photos to use but photos are evidence of relationship, not evidence you live together. Evidence you live together would be more direct, like lease, official registration, business mail at the same address, etc.

Would we leave the Alien Registration number blank?

I am also enclosing a photo copy of my visa stamps, my thai work permit, and a letter from my Thai landlord though I am unsure how to get something like that notarized in Thailand and/or if immigration in America would accept such documents. I have business correspondence from various places and my wife has personal correspondence Would a scanned copy of these documents be sufficient?

Jeff

Thanks for your prompt reply Darnell and thanks for helping me two years ago. How have you been? Formulating a plan too prove my intent of re-establishing myself is kinda scaring me. What steps should I be taking now to show this intent? Two of the travel links that you posted are coming up dead. As my wife and I are assembling the i-130 package today we stumbled across a couple additional questions.

1: On the G-325A form there is a box that is directed towards the "applicant". Would I be the applicant or is my wife considered the applicant? What number would we use for the "Alien Registration Number"?

2: What if I do not know my biological father birth details? Would I leave that blank or would I write in "unknown"?

3: How many photos should I include that demonstrates that we have lived together for the past five years in Thailand? My wife has put 3 to 4 colored photos on a single sheet of a4 paper. We have 25 such photos including the ones that were taken at our wedding. Is this adequate?

Jeff

I am merely trying to prepare for the future now. Last quick question. On my work history for the g-325 form I need to put down the places, and addresses, that I have worked for the past five years. Can I transliterate that information into english or must I use the Thai alphabet?

Carefully STUDY the I-864 instructions. The domicile issue is discussed there. I see why you would want to secure a commitment from a joint sponsor but if you're filing now, you'll need a current I-864 and current evidence of income probably sometime in 2013, so an I-864 executed now will be useless.

Can you point to me exactly where the i-864 form / instruction manual discusses the domicile issue? I have read the instruction manual and it very briefly mentions domicile. http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864instr.pdf This is what I have found at my embassy website about domicile. http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas/domicile.html. So do I need to have an driver license and an american bank account as you previously stated?

Not necessarily. Why not do some specific study on the domicile issue using the search function.

Including an I-134, is more than one mistake. It's two big ones. Including ANY affidavit of support at this stage AND using the wrong one for the kind of visa you're seeking for your spouse. The bigger mistakes were not studying the guide and not studying the I-130 instructions.

I never intended to put the affidavit of support at this stage. I know quite well that the AOS is required after the I-130 application has been processed which typically takes between 3-6 months. I started to go down this road two years ago and my god parents decided not to sponsor my wife at the last second. Had I submitted the paperwork then I would had been up the creek without a paddle. That is why I want to secure all the documents prior to me submitting anything to the government. Lastly I do have a co-sponsor who does have domicile within America and that's why I was confused when you said that I had to have a driver license and a bank account. I've been abroad uninterrupted for the past five years in Thailand and thus am not considered to be domicile. So the question still remains: do I need to establish a bank account and/or driver licenses if I have a co-sponsor?

kindest regards,

Jeff

Later, yes. Start with the guides. There's no affidavit of support in the I-130 package. Study, really.

yeah, i made a mistake. I believe that was my only mistake anyway, My bank account was closed due to inactivity and my driver license has expired. Do I need to have those activated before she comes to america with me?