RobK10

Hi All,

Firstly, apologies if this topic has ben covered before, i did look.

Anyway, I am a UK citizen living in London with my wife - my wife has dual US/UK citizenship, we also have 2 young children - both US citizens. We were looking at relocating but the one stumbling block I can see is the requirement for the Sponsor to be living (or domicilled) in the US - my wife hasnt lived in the US since she was a teenager so has never owned a property. We both live in London and were planning on moving together. We have a fair bit of equity in our house so showing we have enough money to support ourselves etc shouldnt be too difficult.

Does anyone know how much of an issue it is likely to be that my wife lives here, and has done so consistently for the past 15 years or so. Does our VISA application have any chance of sucess?

Thanks in advance, Rob

Noorah101

It won't be an issue. At the time of the interview bring proof of her INTENT to domicile in the USA. This can be any kind if paper proof showing intent to cut ties in the UK and establish ties in the USA.

Look carefully at using assets for a family of 4. Www.uscis.gov, I-864P. Assets need to be 3x the amount lacking in income.

Rene

Rete

Look up posts containing the words "direct consular filing"

It is done all the time.

There are some ins and outs in regards to the affidavit of support and the need for your spouse to complete the last three years of her US tax returns if she had income. As a USC she needs to file a US tax return annually, if she has income on all worldwide earned monies.

md95065

That is not the requirement.

The requirement is for the US spouse (the sponsor) to have the *intent* to establish domicile in the US *not* that they actually be *currently* domiciled in the US.

As others have already indicated, your situation is extremely common and should not be an issue.

S Folinsky

The best evidence for showing home equity, absent an actual sale, is a formal appraisal such as that used for mortgage financing. I believe that in the UK these are called "land valuations" and are performed by "Chartered Surveyors."

scrubbedexpat099

Varies by Consulate, London seems to be pretty flexible, Canada is very different.

Blobstopher

I'm applying on the same basis as you. 2 kids, wife us citizen, using equity from home.

For equity: I'm using mouse price appraisal plus evaluation from estate agents (formal letter on letterhead) + mortgage statement. All i184 evidence must be no more than 6 months old. Be sure to take copy of legal papers showing ownership of property in question.

Reading rules, above should suffice.

Will post something on sponsor domicile in a bit. I'm doing same as suggested by other responses above but understand that a solid argument needs to be presented and this can be accepted or rejected. The "good faith" basis of argument will allow the consular officer to accept or deny as they see fit.

Blobstopher

My to do list:

• Proof to establish domicile in US (I-864)
o Voting record
o Bank account details in US
o Permanent mailing address in US
o Other
o Proof of establishing domicile in US: lease, registering children for schools, accepting a job, etc.
o Apply for credit card
o Letter from family r.e. where we’re staying

The "other" aspect of this is very open ended. For example, I'll be taking my childrens US passports and social security numbers with me to make the argument that we wouldnt have gone through the additional expense and hassle both times if my wife regarded her stay in the UK as permanent.

Use what you can and build a complete file. FYI I havent gone for the interview yet but from reading various sources it appears that your wife and mine both fall in the category of citizens that are no longer considered domiciled in the US.

Noorah101

I don't understand the paragraph above. If the OP qualifies using assets, he can't have a joint sponsor. And a family member can't sponsor him outright.

And you have way more than enough evidence of intent to domicile.

Rene

Blobstopher

My apologies, I've confused the issue of domicile and minimum income requirements and rolled them into one. Will edit that part of the post out to make sure no one else will be confused by it.