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Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Old Jul 4th 2016, 5:01 pm
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Default Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Hello all,

Firstly thank you for all of the help that this forum has provided already, a bit of background on me.

UK Born Citizen, been married to my US born Wife for 18 months and she has been a UK permanent resident for the same amount of time through a UK spousal visa (married in the UK).

We are moving to the USA, I have a job lined up for me with my company's branch in NYC with a start date of September 5th (minus labor day!). My wife may have employment there, but will be employed remotely by her company if they cannot transfer her, for a few months while she looks for one. In either case she will be re-establishing domicile in the USA.

Timeline:
We submitted the I-130 on May 25th and it was filed June 1st.

We have the ACRO, I-864 filled out and vaccination record ready, as well as all the proof of marriage and other documents we need, and we are building a "preponderance of evidence" for her to re-establish domicile.

So I have 2 questions:
1.
Is this timeline possible?

As of the last update they were processing May 4th I-130 applications, on June 24th, there has been no update since then.

I have always known this timeline would be tight, but is there any way that I'll be able to get this processed, LND number received, medical done and interview booked by August 20th with enough time for a flight on August 31st?

Or should I really start planning to be here a bit/lot longer? My company are happy for me to work in London until I can move if needs be but I want to get a good timeline in my head. My wife is going to go with our cat and meet her family there on August 31st in either case so it's just me that we have to worry about.

I feel that it would be fine but the LND letter can take a long time - is there any way to get this number earlier?

2.
What is best for a preponderance of evidence to re-establish domicile? We have letters with our sublet in NYC, we have the record for moving our cat to the USA and his flight, we have written letters from my work and hers that we are transferring or moving, is this enough?

I know it will be ok in the end and I will get there, but the unknown is making me so anxious and it's really hard to think of anything else. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

David
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 5:09 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

You really don't need "evidence" that she will be returning to the US to set up domicile. A letter from her company stating that she can continue working for them remotely from the US is good. The fact that you have employment when you enter the US as a permanent resident is another good thing. Other than that there is nothing else that you need.

Just you are cutting it very very short. You have yet to have your medical nor have you made your interview date at the US Embassy. Plus the fact that it can take up to 10 days to get your passport back after approval. On those things, I would not make any flight reservations at this time. Once you have set up the interview date and been interviewed and there are no hick-ups, you can make those reservations. I know the cost will be much higher but really unless you either book refundable tickets or want to pay the charge to reschedule the flight, don't make them until you are sure that you are free to travel. Remember it is summer and personnel at the Embassy do take vacations and appointments will be hard to come by and ones scheduled might be cancelled with little notice.

What has your wife done about filing her taxes in the US? Is she current? What about the affidavit of support? Will she be continuing to make enough to sponsor you without the need for a joint sponsor?
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 5:09 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Originally Posted by thisdedwards
Is this timeline possible?
Honestly... I don't think so.


... is there any way that I'll be able to get this processed, LND number received, medical done and interview booked by August 20th with enough time for a flight on August 31st?
Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No.


Or should I really start planning to be here a bit/lot longer?
At best, the process takes a minimum of 4 months if the I-130 was filed to London. Usually, it's 5-6 months.


... is there any way to get this number earlier?
Not that I'm aware, no.


... is this enough?
Intent to domicile is two-fold... starting a new life in the US, and wrapping up your life in the UK. How about evidence of house hunting in the US, schools for any children, estate agent valuations of your current home, and/or moving company info on both ends of the journey.

Ian
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 5:42 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Hi, I know that every journey is slightly different, but you are asking if it IS possible with your dates, so I thought I'd tell you about our experience so far...

I filed the I-130 petition through DCF for my husband on the 6th April- received 14th April (that's the date on the first email and when credit card charged )

He has his interview on Thursday 7th July which is exactly 12 weeks since date of petition.

Of course we don't know the outcome of the interview or have the visa in hand, but that gives you an idea of our timeline from petition filing til interview.
We had everything ready to go in terms of requesting police certificate, getting medical records/immunisations and also had my parents who are acting as joint sponsors fill out and send us the I-864 pretty much immediately after sending petition so that once we got the LND number we were ready to go!
We also agreed beforehand that he would book the medical at the first available opportunity, and we went through the DS260 sample form beforehand so we knew what info he needed for that.
The day the LND number arrived he completed the DS 260 and submitted notification of readiness, as well as booked medical appointment and interview all on the same day.

Also, the first appointment for interview we scheduled was on the 2nd August! (That was the first available date) however he kept checking to see when dates became available, and the appointment was moved to the 26th July, and then to the 7th July! I don't know why earlier appointments kept popping up, but once you book it, you can keep checking if any earlier dates are available without losing the date you already have.
I'm hoping he gets his visa approved at the interview, and then we can hopefully go together as a family to Texas in August in time for the kids to start school. We cut things very fine in terms of our timeline, and it has been very very stressful, but the end is in sight now!
I hope everything goes well for you and your family- good luck!
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 7:37 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Wow! Thank you for the fast and amazing responses all and I really appreciate all of your honesty in this.

I will reply to all of you in one go but I think the lessons for me are:
1. Be prepared for this to take longer than I thought
2. Be as prepared as possible to achieve each step as quickly as possible if I want it to go any quicker

Now!
Rete:
Originally Posted by Rete
Once you have set up the interview date and been interviewed and there are no hick-ups, you can make those reservations. I know the cost will be much higher but really unless you either book refundable tickets or want to pay the charge to reschedule the flight, don't make them until you are sure that you are free to travel.
Thank you for the concern. We are paying for our flights with air miles (having been making trips back and forth across the atlantic since we met) so the re-booking is very minimal, but yes, agree I jumped the gun a bit on this one!

Originally Posted by Rete
What has your wife done about filing her taxes in the US? Is she current? What about the affidavit of support? Will she be continuing to make enough to sponsor you without the need for a joint sponsor?
She has been filing taxes as a non-resident with me as a non resident alien. She would be making enough to support both of us, but it would be in GBP unless she gets transferred.

Will this cause an issue? Is it easier to have her parents be joint sponsors as they definitely meet the requirement and are happy to do so?


Ian:
Originally Posted by ian-mstm
Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No.
Really, genuinely, thank you for the honest response. I really needed this and I was going crazy worrying about whether I would hit this timeline or not and it's made me come to terms with the notion that this may well, and is likely, to take longer than expected and to prepare accordingly

Originally Posted by ian-mstm
Intent to domicile is two-fold... starting a new life in the US, and wrapping up your life in the UK. How about evidence of house hunting in the US, schools for any children, estate agent valuations of your current home, and/or moving company info on both ends of the journey.
Great point. We don't have kids, or a house we own, but we have notified our letting agent that we will be terminating our lease (I will stay with my parents if I am unable to go on time) and have engaged a moving company to move furniture, so we have that record as well. We will also be looking at apartments and booking open houses and talking to real estate agents for as soon as my wife arrives. She is also closing out her UK bank accounts and transferring savings and funds to US accounts.

Jackie:
Originally Posted by Jackie3
He has his interview on Thursday 7th July which is exactly 12 weeks since date of petition.
This is so awesome and absolutely fills me with some hope that we may be able to stick to this timeline, but I am also going to be prepared that it won't! But I really hope I have a similar experience as you guys did! And great tip on the interview side of things!

You raise a really great point though, which I asked to Rete above, is getting the joint sponsorship with my wife's parents in the USA going to be the easiest route? (Which I believe is an applicable option for those re-establishing domicile?)

My wife makes enough to cover the poverty limit, but it is in pounds, and she may not have a USD salaried job by the time she moves. If the form takes into account household salary then we're fine, but again I am currently being paid in pounds and won't be in dollars until my job starts.

So should we just get her parents to sign the I-1864 and send it back to us, is that going to be easiest?

All:
Thank you again for all of the help so far. I feel a bit silly being so naive with the timeline and process, my work kept us on tenderhooks about whether I would have a job until very recently and then everything had to move so fast.

But I am confident that we can get this done as quickly as it is possible to get done and will just do some hoping, but to set expectations for my employer and myself as to a more realistic timeline.
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 7:48 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Originally Posted by thisdedwards
Is it easier to have her parents be joint sponsors as they definitely meet the requirement and are happy to do so?
Yes. In order to be your financial sponsor, your wife must either meet the income requirement (she can use UK income only if it will continue from the same source once you're in the US), or assets at 3x the income amount, or some combination thereof. Having one of her parents (there can be only one joint sponsor) act as a joint sponsor is likely easier all around.

Ian
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 8:21 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Originally Posted by ian-mstm
Yes. In order to be your financial sponsor, your wife must either meet the income requirement (she can use UK income only if it will continue from the same source once you're in the US), or assets at 3x the income amount, or some combination thereof. Having one of her parents (there can be only one joint sponsor) act as a joint sponsor is likely easier all around.
Ok great. Thank you again for your quick responses, you're awesome!

If she does get transferred both of us will be employed and getting our salaries from the same companies as the UK.

However, not to tempt fate, I agree that having a joint sponsor will be easiest so we're going to go ahead with that for the I-864.

And just so I am double triple sure, we are filing with USCIS in London (which is what a lot of people call DCF right?) which means that I need to take the form with me to the interview, not file it with the DS-260 or at anytime before the interview, correct?
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 8:28 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Originally Posted by thisdedwards
... we are filing with USCIS in London (which is what a lot of people call DCF right?)
Correct - direct consular filing.


... which means that I need to take the form with me to the interview, not file it with the DS-260 or at anytime before the interview, correct?
Correct.

Ian
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 8:31 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

That is correct. It is always easier to have a joint sponsor if you don't have the out and out assets to cover the affidavit of support.

Being paid in pounds is not an issue as you can give the equivalent of what that would be in US Dollars. If you wish, and the wife is continuing employment remotely, be sure to have a letter from her employer stating this and include the required number of wage statements to support past earnings. She does need to submit a completed I-864 at the time of your interview as she will be principal supporter of your immigration and her parent will be the second in line to reimbursement the US government if any means tested funds are collected by you.
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Old Jul 4th 2016, 9:44 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Originally Posted by Rete
That is correct. It is always easier to have a joint sponsor if you don't have the out and out assets to cover the affidavit of support.

Being paid in pounds is not an issue as you can give the equivalent of what that would be in US Dollars. If you wish, and the wife is continuing employment remotely, be sure to have a letter from her employer stating this and include the required number of wage statements to support past earnings. She does need to submit a completed I-864 at the time of your interview as she will be principal supporter of your immigration and her parent will be the second in line to reimbursement the US government if any means tested funds are collected by you.
This is great! Thanks for the additional information. You've all been so great and reassuring!

Wish me luck!
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Old Aug 8th 2016, 3:22 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Hi all,

An update and a couple more questions just to be sure.

So far everything has been going smoothly. I-130 was approved on July 18th and letter received on the 28th. Filled out my DS-260 and had my medical on August 4th, which was fine so long as the blood test and Chest x-ray come back all clear.

Currently have my interview scheduled for August 31st but constantly looking to bring it forward, so am making sure about all of my documents.

Q1:
My wife won't have a job when we move so we're using my father in law as a joint sponsor. In the list of documents to bring it says to bring an original and a photocopy of each document.

So do I need two copies of each Affidavit of support (joint sponsor and sponsor?) And also, my father in law is in the USA so he has sent a scanned version of the signed document. Do we need the original document or is a scan ok?

Q2:
Preponderance of evidence of re-establishing domicile for my wife. For this we have:
- Letter or resignation to her work and communication about trying to get transferred to the USA.
- Documentation for moving our cat to the USA
- Payment and receipt for moving our apartment furniture in her name
- Sublet in her name in NYC and communication with realtors in NYC
- Closing down of UK account
- Communication on opening a US account in both of our names
- CVs and communications for jobs she's applying to in the USA
- Communication closing down accounts in both our names, such as utilities, gas and phone.

Do we feel this is enough to give significant evidence?

Be great to hear any further feedback you have any thanks again for all the help this forum has provided so far.

Cheers,

David

Last edited by thisdedwards; Aug 8th 2016 at 3:26 pm.
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Old Aug 8th 2016, 3:39 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

You have enough evidence there for four people. The sublet lease, furniture removal receipt are more than enough.

As for the originals and copies, yes that is an original and a copy of each document you are submitting. You should always keep a full set of copies of everything from day one. Why? Because as can be attested by several people who have some how managed to lose their not to be opened brown envelopes before they have emigrated. In the envelope is everything you have submitted and is in essence your immigration file. If you are one of those people who lose things like this, these copies will help the US Consulate recomply your file and issue you a new brown envelope.
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Old Aug 8th 2016, 4:20 pm
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Originally Posted by thisdedwards
Do we need the original document or is a scan ok?
Forms must be original; evidence can be photocopies. So - yes, you'll need the original I-864.


Do we feel this is enough to give significant evidence?
IMHO, yes... it's enough - but it's difficult to determine if you feel that way (which is what you asked)!

Ian

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Old Aug 9th 2016, 8:50 am
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Great - thanks all!

We're getting the original signed version sent over and then we'll be good to go!

Thanks again all!

Cheers,

David
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Old Oct 6th 2016, 1:18 am
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Default Re: Is this timeline crazy? And proving "Re-establishment of Domicile"?

Hi, David!

My wife and I are in a very similar situation and we are specially concerned about restablishing domicile since we want to be apart as little as possible.

Has your wife moved ahead of you to restablish domicile or has she gone and come back to wait on the visa with you in England?

Cheers,
Evan
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