Dan

Hello,
I am filing a I130 for the first time.
I am a US citizen, my wife French, we live in France but want to
relocate to Oregon soon, we got married in April and have lived
together for 4 years now.
We are going to file at the US consulate in paris through DCF (direct
consular filing).

Question B 13:
It's not clear to me.
I was born in France from my US citizen moither and French father who
still live in France.
What do I answer?

Question C15:
She is unemployed -
Should I write "unemployed"?
Should I write the date from which unemployement started below?

Question C17:
Should I list myself there although I am listed in the form above
(section B)?

Question C18:
We don't have our address yet, we'll only have it until after the
petition gets my wife her permanent resident status.
what to put here then?

Question C21:
Our last adress together is our current address (house we bought three
months ago in France). Previously, we lived together also but in paris
(for 3 years and 1/2).
Should we put the current address?
If YES, then there is no end date, how to specify this? with the word
"current"?

Thanks in advance.
daniel

ian-mstm

Parents. No.


None.


No.


Unknown.


Current address. From? to Present.

Ian

meauxna

hi Dan,
We filed DCF (in Athens) and also now live in Oregon--welcome!

Via your mother.

My husband was retired at the time I filed; I filled it in similar to what you suggest.

I guess you mean 16 (or I have an old form--more likely). Yes, list yourself again as 'spouse'.

The petition alone will not get your wife her status.
You might want to start looking into the concept of 'domicile' (different from residency) as this will be required of you for form I-864.
There are several links to info on domicile here:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/in...ustom&page=dcf

Yes, yes.

The DCF Guide link I posted should help yoiu with some of your future questions; and I think you'll find some recent Paris experiences posted at that site as well.
Several of us here have filed via DCF as well and will be happy to help out. Let me know if you need any Oregon resources too---what brings you this way?

Dan

Thanks Ian.
Can you be more precise as to what questions get what answer please...
Thanks,
Daniel

Noorah101

Hi Daniel,

Since you're posting from usenet, you might not see that he quoted you on each of your questions. Ian answered them in the order you asked. You asked 5 questions, Ian gave you 5 answers in the same order you asked them. So did meauxna, and she also quoted you on each one.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Dan

Thanks meauxna,
No I mean 17, my form is marked as being valid through 2007 so I don't
think it's old - I got it here:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsf...iles/i-130.pdf

Thanks for the info though. Is "Yes, yes" an answer or answers to my
questions? number?

Did you use a lawyer to get this done at all? Do you think it's
useful?

I have relatives in oregon. I lived in Sa Francisco for 10 years and
got tired of California. I like the quaint and relaxed athmosphere of
Portland better.

Thanks again
Daniel

Noorah101

Should we put the current address? <---- yes
If YES, then there is no end date, how to specify this? with the word
"current"? <------ yes

Rene

snowbunny

The paperwork itself, though rather time-consuming, isn't too difficult. However, depending on your personal circumstances, some of the questions are difficult to answer accurately.

You can certainly ask those of us who filed DCF what *we* put but you may have trouble on questions where we did not.

I did use lawyers on consultation and found it to be worth every penny. I also did extensive research and read others' experiences.

However, if I were you, I wouldn't agonise too much over the answers. I'd get the petition submitted, unless you can wait and live indefinitely in France. The process can take more, or less time than you'd planned for. From the time your wife's visa is issued, you have six months to take up residency in the US -- and that means to move here for the indefinite future, or at least a considerable time. You can't just "validate" by entering and then leave again for France. You can only get the visa and keep it by living here; only if your wife acquires citizenship can you relax about leaving the US for an extended time and having your wife be re-admitted.

meauxna

QUOTE=Dan Thanks meauxna,
No I mean 17, my form is marked as being valid through 2007 so I don't
think it's old - I got it here:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsf...iles/i-130.pdf

Thanks for the info though. Is "Yes, yes" an answer or answers to my
questions? number?

Did you use a lawyer to get this done at all? Do you think it's
useful?

I have relatives in oregon. I lived in Sa Francisco for 10 years and
got tired of California. I like the quaint and relaxed athmosphere of
Portland better.

Thanks again
Daniel /QUOTE

Daniel,
many of us use this website to access the NG; it's reliable, fast and friendly most of the time You do not need to be British to join or participate here.:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374352

You'll see the quoting properly here; you can also drop by just to read if you prefer.

btw, I meant that *I* have an old version of the form.. we were talking about the same question though.

I did not use a lawyer; I had no idea at the time that one might even be necessary. However, I've learned a lot in the last 4 years and am not so naive now, lol. I had a lot of time and interest to devote to the topic that not everyone has. I helped put that Guide together to cover the basics, but everyone's case is so unique that *consulting* with an attorney is always a smart suggestion, and should be a requirement if there are any "issues", red flags or immigration history.
The major issue I see pop up in your situation so far is related to domicile, which is a very individual thing, and can be difficult to describe. The length of time you've been out of the US, what ties you've maintained etc all factor in. I really recommend you follow the links in the Guide I posted for you--they are the official sources on the topic and a good start.

The usual expat "I forgot" is that you must file US income tax returns every year even if you did not work/live in the US. You'll need to get on 2005's return if you have not already done so. There may be an IRS office at the Embassy in Paris and they're usually pretty helpful.

I'm ex San Fran too---small world. Funny to think of Portland as quaint these days, but I suppose compared to an actual big city, we're pretty small town. Which is, as you say, one of its charms! I def. recommend the site portland.craigslist.org as a good resource for everything/anything you can imagine (look for a paris one for offloading anything you're not bringing over). The alt weekly is online at www.wweek.com and the daily paper is at www.oregonlive.com . Between those three, we'll expect you to have a job, place to live and all utilities hooked up and on by the time you get here. If you want to email me any Qs or references for services here, use my nick from here at yahoo dot com

To follow up on snowbunny's comment about using the immigrant visa to enter the US and turn around and leave, actually that is OK if needs must. From the moment your wife enters with the IV, she becomes a Permanent Resident (green card holder). PRs are expected to have their primary residence in the US.

I look forward to reading about your visa & re-pat adventure! We've been back for about 2.5 years now, and I'm just about back to US standards, lol.

snowbunny

Yep. What I should have said is that one cannot enter then turn right round and go back to France to *live* indefinitely.... all the tricky stuff about establishing domicile and not "abandoning" permanent residency (as if it were a bird's nest!).

Dan

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your answers.
Meauxna,
Thanks much for your detailed tips.
Well in fact, I have lived ten years in california and have a relative
in Oregon. My wife and I have been to Portland and its surrounding
area twice on vacation and we like it a lot. After Paris, believe me,
Portland is quaint!
We have no intention to turn around and leave after we get back to the
US but I guess I'll read about domicile anyway. The topic on DCF on
"visajourneys" is very good. thanks!
I'll keep you posted through email on the next steps and maybe we'll
have a beer in Portland in some months :)
Daniel

Folinskyinla

Question B 13:
It's not clear to me.
I was born in France from my US citizen moither and French father who
still live in France.
What do I answer?

ANSWER: Birth in the United States is not correct since you were born in France. You don't say HOW you obtained US citizenship -- the information you give indicates it was either via naturalization OR directly via your mother. So the question can't really be answered at this point.

Question C15:
She is unemployed -
Should I write "unemployed"?
Should I write the date from which unemployement started below?

ANSWER: "unemployed" or "none" is just fine. No harm, no foul in writing the date but "not applicable" is just fine also.

Question C17:
Should I list myself there although I am listed in the form above
(section B)?

ANSWER: Yes, you should. However, no harm, no foul if not listed. It pays to remember that this form is a generic form for ALL family immigrant categories -- the question is there for categories OTHER than "immediate relative" to identify "derivative beneficiaries" -- an issue not relevant here. If you left it blank or said "none" -- all of the other information would show the marriage, no?


Question C18:
We don't have our address yet, we'll only have it until after the
petition gets my wife her permanent resident status.
what to put here then?

ANSWER: In these situations, I just put in the City and State -- I have used "Los Angeles Metropolitan Area" quite often and have had no problem. As you note, you are talking about FUTURE residence.


Question C21:
Our last adress together is our current address (house we bought three
months ago in France). Previously, we lived together also but in paris
(for 3 years and 1/2).
Should we put the current address?
If YES, then there is no end date, how to specify this? with the word
"current"?

ANSWER: Again, the form is generic and includes the situation where AmCit spouse is in the US and spouse is abroad AND where they are currently living together. So put in your CURRENT address with "now" or "present" as the "to" date. Or, if you put in "May 2006" -- that is just as correct.

BTW, although you don't ask it -- look into the I-864 issues. Remember that YOU have to do an I-864 and ONLY US **RESIDENTS** can do an I-864.

Good luck.

mmdan

Folinskyinla,
Thanks for your detailed answer. Very helpful really.
Here are some missing bits you pointed out and a question:



I got my citizenship by birth from my US citizen mother. I was born in France and declared at the French consulate shortly after. Therefore, I have a US birth certificate from the US consulate in France and have had my US passport since I was very young. I must add that I also lived, studied and worked in the US for about 10 years (northern CA) until 2002 when I returned to France.

Really!? That would make things easier. Surprising but I will get a chance to check that with the USCIS officer when I'll submit at the consulate I guess...
But what about a mailing address then. My only relative in the US is not very stable and moves all the time and I understand the address must bein the US to "show domicile"...

What do you mean by **Resident**. I am a US citizen but I don't currently reside there...
I heard that if my assets and revenue put us above the poverty line for 40 quarters, that was all that counted...

Cheers and thx again.
Daniel

Folinskyinla

Hi:

If you have over 40 quarters of Social Security earnings, then the I-864 is NOT required at all. Note that the earnings need not be above poverty line. If you have ten years of work in the US with earnings reported to SSA, be preared to prove that. However, you will then have to meet the general "public charge" requirements.

hcj1440

MrF -- I think the poster is a USC born in France, and his French wife is the intending immigrant... isn't she the one who needs 40 quarters of work in the US for no affidavit of support to be required? His ten years of work doesn't exempt them from the affidavit of support requirement for her?