S.M.

Hi

I have a question regarding the completion of the I-864. My wife is currently
living with me in the UK, but obviously we plan to move to the US as soon as the
visa is issued.

Should she put the US address that we live initially (her mothers) for the mailing
address in Part 1 of the form or her UK address?

Also the same question applies for Place of residence should this be the Uk address
or the US address?

Thanks S.M.

L D Jones

"S.M." wrote:
    >
    > Hi
    >
    > I have a question regarding the completion of the I-864. My wife is currently
    > living with me in the UK, but obviously we plan to move to the US as soon as the
    > visa is issued.
    >
    > Should she put the US address that we live initially (her mothers) for the mailing
    > address in Part 1 of the form or her UK address?

I used my US mailing address (my parent's home) here when I filed the I-864
in London.

rogerpenycate

Hi,
Similar circumstances, this is what we did.
First of all I assume you know that before you can file the I-130
in London, your wife must have been a resident in the UK for
6 months.
For her US address we put her sisters in Virginia.
If she is in the UK when you file, then yes put her UK address.
Hopefully some one else will clarify the next point, which is extremely important.
I was advised, that for the process to be successful, my wife had to go back to the US and "set up domicile".
She went back on the 6th May to find us somewhere to live, get a job (to help with the I-864) buy a car etc....
Unfortunately it meant us being apart for 3 months, but in the overall scheme of things, that is a short time.
Hopefully someone else will clarify this, suffice it to say, it worked for us.
Good luck to you both.
Roger (+ Ida)

L D Jones

rogerpenycate wrote:
    >
    > Hi, Similar circumstances, this is what we did. First of all I assume you know that
    > before you can file the I-130 in London, your wife must have been a resident in the
    > UK for 6 months. For her US address we put

I don't believe a defined length of time one must have lived in the UK to file I-130
is mentioned on the US Embassy's UK website. It is known DCF cannot be filed while in
the UK on a tourist visa but some more permanent status is required (work permit,
Indefinite Leave to Remain). I only mention this because this is the first I've heard
of the 6 month time period.

    > her sisters in Virginia. If she is in the UK when you file, then yes put her UK
    > address. Hopefully some one else will clarify the next point, which is extremely
    > important. I was advised, that for the process to be successful, my wife had to go
    > back to the US and "set up domicile". She

I filed the I-130 via DCF in London after living there for almost 4 years. I never
determined what domicile actually meant, even after reading the instructions the
Embassy provided with the I-864. I simply listed the US address I had always used
while abroad and it was never questioned. I did not keep a home while abroad and was
actually in the process of finding a new job when my wife's visa was approved. They
must have assumed we were going to live at the address I listed and we would have if
I wasn't able to find my current position in another state.

The interviewing officer seemed much more interested about my employment and whether
this would continue once we reached the US.

So, I unfortunately cannot clarify the domicile question. Roger, was your wife told
that she must enter the US before you to "establish domicile?" Perhaps our cases
differ since I was able to show that I had a job to go to in the US (I'm the US
citizen sponsor) while in your case, if I recall correctly, your wife was working in
the UK but did not have a job to return to once you reached the US.

LD

Ameriscot

Indeed. There is no time limit, AFAIK. In fact, I know a couple personally who this year successfully DCF'd in London with no more than a few weeks of residency. The USC applied for a fiancé visa from the British Consulate in the US. She moved to the UK Christmastime and married at the end of January. They went on a short honeymoon before upgrading the settlement visa. Only then did she file the I-130 in London (say mid - end Feb). The US visa interview took place end May and it was a success.

I think the key factor for submitting the I-130 in London is whether you are a tourist or not. Any other visa (student included) seems to work. There is no legal requirement to be resident in the UK - it seems that this is just a way to reduce workload, IMO.

Ameriscot

You do not have to do this for London. They recognise that you have to be resident in the UK to file the petition, and that it would be unreasonable to split up a family in order for the USC to establish domicile in the US. The only requirement is that you take reasonable steps towards establishing domicile, which is not the same thing as finalising the domicile. Basically, they want to know what your intentions are so that you don't mess them about by applying for a visa then not using it (as if!)

The FAQ in the visa section of http://www.usembassy.org.uk is very clear on this and helpful.

I don't deny that it can be very useful for the USC to go on ahead to the US for many reasons, but it is not a *requirement* for the visa.

rogerpenycate

Having read all of the postings above, I can only comment on my experience (and the advise of folks on here and other ng's, and their relevance to my circumstances.
1/. LD Jones - back to an earlier posting, you were right, I did not get my passport stamped, i recieved a visa attached to the MYE, and was told that when I arrive at the POE (Dulles) I will have the I-551 stamped into my passport.

2/. Ameriscot, I agree however they do ask for a current letter of employment for my US spouse, (this is clearly stated in the requirements) which could only have been done by her reutring to the US and going back to work, however as you have has said, it sur hepled our case that Ida was back there
with somewhere for us to live, job, car etc.....

3/. I certainly read somewhere that the USC has to be resident in the UK for a minimum of 6 months before filing in London.
Indeed at both interviews I was questioned about how long Ida had lived here, did she work, did she have as UKSS number etc.
In fact another lawyer on the alta vista site said that if she did not stay here for at least 6 months and then reutrn to set up domicile "the whole process would grind to a halt"

4/. At my interview(s) the consulate officer showed no sign (or even mentioned) what my employment opportunities were.
As I'm self-employed I even toook a list of emails and letters from potential "clients" and contacts I had made, and a business plan.
This was never mentioned.

5/. My wife was able to return to her old job in the US, and yes she was working in the UK, but again her UK employment was never discussed at the interview.