Ginblossom

Ok folks, here's my story and wondered if anyone cane offer advice, help, sympathy, beer...

Went today for the immigrant visa interview in London (USC Spouse). I was not immediately successful and walked out with the blue form noting the application has been suspended. Everything I provided, medical, police certs, marriage certs etc all in order but....

The reasons are two fold:

- Domicile requirement - I took with me my wife's federal tax returns ( although showing foreign earned i.e UK income) , her voting records, drivers license, a letter from my inlaws confirming that it was perfectly ok to live with them, and US bank accounts statements (which only had a few hundred dollars in admittedly)

- Minimum Income Level - they now say I need a joint sponsor. My father in law has an incredibly successful medical practice and had provided a letter confirming that my wife had a open /standing job offer paying no less than $40,000. This was rejected on the basis that it was written by her father. She used to work for him back home, so it would not be an issue.

The first thing the CO said to me was that because we have been married for over five years and she had lived here in the UK for a protracted period that she isnt demonstrating domicile and they doubted if she was willing to sever ties.. I explained that she has a voting record, maintained a bank account, kept her drivers licence and would have an immediate job and place to live, but the officer wouldnt have that. They said that basically a letter from an in law was effectively worthless.

They asked me about why i didnt a lease agreement...I said I would be living with my in laws to begin with so therefore I didn't have one. I could immediately tell that didnt go down well.

Obviously this is very upsetting and frustrating. We are going to have to have a rethink about how we reapproach this. Nothing is going to change that.

But I am curious. Over the last couple of years, I have spoken to a good number of people who have been through the process and told us that they ahve exactly the same issues and they had no problem. My wife even spoke to a lawyer way back in the day who suggested there was no issues. So basically, i need to get the support and resend it in for reassessment.

Was I just unlucky or was I naive in assuming that what we had was sufficient?

Any advices would be welcome. After having a really bad morning, please be gentle!!!!

Rete

Yikes, seems as if you have encountered the Consulate's equivalent of the USCIS interviewer from hell.

The support issue should not be a problem for you as you have the blessings of your father-in-law in establishing your domicile in the US with him, at his home, and with his offering his daughter employment and he would probably offer you employment if the needs arises.

Have f-i-l complete an I-864 to be given to the US Consulate. Now that takes care of your financial support problem.

As for the re-establishment of your wife's domicle in the US, probably the best thing for to do is find an apartment in the US, sign a lease, and pay the first month's rent on the place. If f-i-l has an apartment (rather than just giving you two a bedroom in his home), have him give you a lease.

If her father is member of a medical corporation, have the corporation write the employment contract giving a specific starting date with job description.

If it is still denied, then have her move over here before you go to the US Consulate again and then arm yourself with proof that she is living in the US.

meauxna

Shoot.

You haven't detailed what paper you were given at the interview conclusion, but generally, it's a simple matter of providing them with the additional information they need and then you are good to go.
It could be that the amount of time your USC has lived abroad put her over some threshold they have for automatically assuming someone has relinquished their domicile, or it could just have been your lucky day.

The work thing... well, if you look at it through the CO's eyes, you can see how that conclusion makes sense.

Probably the simplest way to solve it is for your wife to return to the US to get everything going. It might not be the most desirable for you, but someone's going to have to go the US eventually. You all just need to do it in two trips this way.

Ginblossom

Thanks Meauxna & Rete. Rete, you are so right, the CO from hell....thanks it felt like it for sure......

I spoke to someone who knows this stuff this afternoon and he reckoned I did indeed get one hell of a crapshoot. But.....even if I did, I cannot change what they want right now.

So...Mex...yes, they were very unhappy about the time my wife had spent in the UK. It was the first thing they said.

Going to take Rete 's advice.

Today is one hellva emotional day and I think I need a fresh head Thursday.

Thank you though for the replies. God its been awful.

YouWantFriesWithThat

Sorry to hear about your experience. Keep going amd know that eventually it will all work out just fine

Dan725

Sorry to hear about the bad luck. I'm sure once you 'sign up' your father in law as co-sponsor, everything will be fine.

Must say I'm kind of flummoxed by this whole "wife severing ties" business. At the end of the day she IS a US citizen - so who cares how long she's lived overseas? Don't understand that bit at all.

Rete

Some additional thoughts:

I hope that in-laws will reconsider on your behalf and sponsor you with an I-864. If they won't, then your wife is going to have to return to the US, find employment and then provide you with a new I-864 from her. If not, she will either have to find someone else to do it for you or return to the US, start employment and you can resubmit a I-864 from her with the updated info.

You can always see if your wife's US political representative's immigration staff is willing to assist. But I have to say, the US Consulate can get their knickers in a twist if they think their call is being questioned by a politican.

One thing I don't know for sure is how long the time period is before the Immediate Relative interview has to be completed before it is permanently closed. Hopefully someone with this info will respond.

Rete

I agree and can't see what difference it makes regarding the immediate relative visa for the foreign spouse. If the spouse succeeds in obtaining it, enters the US and is given the green card and then returns to live in the foreign country, unless they are very careful they have abandoned their status and have to start all over again. So what is the true issue with how long the USC has been outside of the US?

Ginblossom

Thanks everyone - I hope I can get a fix I just loathe all the extra hassles, favour asking etc etc.

But I definitely think I got unlucky, and if nothing else, maybes my story might help others especially if they are hoping for in - law help............

Putting emotions to one side, I can see certainly how it might appear, but then logic and reason tells me that if someone's mother or father who run a successive business has basically guaranteed a person a job, that at least to my mind, is probably about as good as a guarantee as you can get, moreso even than a job transfer it could be argued.

Remembering word for word what was said, they definitely werent happy about the length of time she was in the UK. That was the first thing they said. I mean, did they expect her to stay there and me stay in the UK whilst we all sorted it out? I mean we have been married over 5 years, so hardly a shotgun dodgy deal.

The CO was also very young, so perhaps being real sticklers for the rules.
Anyhow, just have to adjust to the new circumstances and get them what they want. At least, I wasnt turned down flat! (I am now trying positive thinking !)

Funny though, I have seen many other people in my similiar circumstances get through, so who knows.
Just wasnt my day I suppose. Just gotta fix it I guess.

Dan725

Yeah, I think you got the CO from hell. The whole bit about him not being happy with your wife being away so long - quite frankly it has no bearing on proceedings, and all he was doing was expressing his own personal opinion there - completely unprofessional of him.

I hear you about the guaranteed job thing....but I have to say I can also understand their point of view on that one. If it became widely known that your dad could simply write you a letter and that would do.......it would be so open to abuse. That's why the I-864 system is in place, as it is more binding.

jeffreyhy

D,

Perhaps, because as the Sponsor she is first in line as responsible for her immigrant spouse. The longer one has been away the more difficult it becomes to re-establish one's self (unless one has been away on long-term assignment and is now coming back to the USA to continue with the same organization).

Or, maybe there was another little detail or two buried under the usual issues that made this case different somehow, and we're not aware of what that might have been.

Regards, JEff

Rete

Now that I think about it, there is also the case that the CO does not rely on the promise of employment as it is just that ... a promise. They need to see solid evidence that there is someone willing to put their money on the foreigner as a sponsor.

I'm wondering if after 5 years of marriage if you two have assets that would qualify you to sponsor yourself? You would need 3x the amount of the poverty guidelines to do that. Is that a possibility?

meauxna

Yeah, this isn't really something to get all up in a lather about.. it's totally solvable, and the solution fits with the original plan: both parties relocating to the US permanently.
DOS uses the term 'temporarily resident abroad' when USCs maintain their US domicile but have a foreign residence. Whatever was presented in the application tipped the balance from 'temporary' to 'not domiciled in the US'. The US doesn't 'care' how long the USC has been outside, but the I-864 requires the Sponsor to be domiciled in the US. The visa can't be issued until the I-864 is cleared.

And definitely, a promise of a job can weight the 'intent to retake domicile' but it can't count for actual income.
There are some links about domicile in the article in my siggy's first link.

Ginblossom

Rete, I dont believe we have the assets ourselves.

Here is a question we are wondering:

If my father in law had a legal lease drawn up so effectively we are paying rent to live in their house, same as any lease, would that count as one aspect of domicile? Or would we have to be completely out the of in laws orbit...they seemed really hung up about it being the inlaws.

Ginblossom

Thinking about it, I could possibly get assets to self sponsor, theoretically anyhow.

The domicile issue is a bit harder. Ideas, ideas???

All her supporting papers ( bank accounts, voter regs, drivers license etc etc) are tied to her parents address, which is why I am asking the above....