argukusa

OK - here is the situation hopefully somebody can shed some light.

I live with my (US citizen) wife and (US citizen) child of 20 months in Argentina and she would like to apply for the I-130 'green card' visa for me (UK citizen) .

We been living together for 4 years and got married 20 months ago in Argentina - we both have permanent residency here in ARG and been living here all the time - her for the past 8 years.

I work for a US company on UK payroll paying UK taxes - she works part-time for a US company on US payroll paying US taxes.

We have no property yet in the US - we visit every year for holidays.

Questions:
1. Can she prove domicile from paying her taxes and work?
2. Can we use my earnings + hers because she alone doesn't make the 125%.
3. Can we apply to the consular services in ARG due to our current physical residency?

From the info above is there any pitfalls or advice anyone could give us?

Marocco

Just a thought - if your wife works for a US company in Argentina you may be eligible to apply for expedited naturalization as a US citizen, under section 319b of the INA. See here. Of course, at the same time you will have to apply for an immigrant visa. This way you could later move to the US as a US citizen rather than a green card holder.

meauxna

You would definitely qualify for what we call 'DCF' or Direct Consular Filing of the I-130 petition. Because your USC is resident without a doubt in ARG, you'll go through the local, faster filing for an Immigrant Visa.

You've correctly identified that 'domicile' will be the issue. If you follow the link in my signature, I've included all the best links I could find on the I-864 & domicile. Very, very loosely, I'd say your wife does not have a US domicile but may be able to show easily that she is prepared to *reestablish* her domicile in the US. You two should both read that information to see what conclusions you draw (you're the ones who will be 'making the case' to the Consular Officer & it's better if you figure it out first and check in w/us here, like you are doing so far).

Your wages may be included with hers IF your work & pay will continue when you are relocated to the US.
Her wages will only 'count' as income if the same is true for her.. is she going to work for the same company/contract when she moves to the US.

Her income tax returns need to be current (reporting all worldwide income).

It sounds like you're off to a good start; I look forward to hearing the rest of your story!

meauxna

BA has a very nice Immigrant Visa section on their website! (wish they would standardize these around the world..)

Here is the requirements & instructions for filing in BA:
http://argentina.usembassy.gov/immig...ng-package.pdf

JAJ

Slightly related to the topic, make sure the child has all the relevant civil paperwork.

- Child is an Argentine citizen (anyone born in Argentina is Argentine), so may need an Argentine passport;

- Child should have a US Consular Report of Birth Abroad and a US passport;

- If child is a British citizen (were you born in UK) then child should have a British consular birth certificate and British passport;

argukusa

Thanks for the replies.

meauxna - your link has very usefull info - thankyou.

The support I myself can clear without a problem.

It seems that the most pressing issue is 'domicile' or show intent to 'domicile'.

My wife has voted in the past, paid her taxes upto date, has running bank account in the US.

What we don't have is an address that we own or rent - is this a big deal?

We have all the kids papers in order - crazy bureacracy is a daily event in Argentina!

Noorah101

That shouldn't be a big deal. You don't need to already own or rent in the USA, just show intent to do so. You can show proof that you are apartment or house-hunting, you are in contact with a real estate agent, leasing agent, etc. If you will be living with family when you first arrive, you can get a letter from them stating so.

Since you have kids, this is an excellent way to show intent to domicile. Getting the kids registered in school, communication between school and you, etc.

Rene

meauxna

Thanks, JAJ, for adding the childrens' info.. very important!

argukusa, glad it's getting you started. You will want to have a back-up plan regarding the income, I think.
Domicile is a very pressing issue. A place to live is indeed a part of this.

We don't get so many reports from the Consulate in Argentina so we can't say from what others have experienced. However, in London, domicile has become the topic of the day and we've had several cases this past year where the petitioner was indeed required to rent a place to live in the US before a visa would be issued.

Rete

What some of those couples have done is to file at the US Consulate and then the US Citizen will return to the US and take up residency there, i.e. get an apartment, look for employment, get a driver's license, etc. to prove that they are domiciled in the US which will help the foreign spouse at the time of their interview at the US Consulate.

jeffreyhy

auu,

9 FAM 40.41 Notes discusses these issues, and more. N5 addresses the financial aspects of the I-864 and N6 addresses the issue of domicile.

Each consulate may have its own idiosyncrasies with respect to how it applies these guidelines.

Regards, JEff