IR-1 Visa USA, what specificly does it mean to have a domicile in USA?

Question

Hello and thanks in advance.. The application for IR1 Visa for my husband states that i must have a residence in the usa in order to sponser him....but I have been living in his country for a while, so does this mean I have to go back to usa without him and get an apartment before they will accept the application...and how long do I have to have this residence before it is considered a "domicile"??

Answer 1

Establishing domicile in the US is less tough than the previous answer indicates. Essentially, you certainly can establish it by going back and doing all those  things, or you can establish your intent to go back to the US with your husband once he receives his immigrant visa. It really affects your ability to file an Affidavit of Support, the I-864. The I-864 is a legal requirement for immigrant visa approval, and you need to establish a US domicile to file an acceptible I-864. What it means as much as anything else is that your husband can't go to the US as an immigrant ahead of you. Either you have to go first, or you have to go with him.

Answer 2

Domcile is something that is open to interpretation and something an Immigration Lawyer would better able to help in understanding. What I will do is provide you with my understanding of domicile but it does not mean it is 100% correct. If you want a 100% correct definition an Immigration Attorney licensed in the United States is the correct place to be asking and not Yahoo Answers.

Domicile means you must establish that you live in the United States. If you are a US citizen the domicile hurdle should be fairly easy to overcome. However, if you are not a citizen then getting over the domicile hurdle will be more difficult. It is possible if you have been out of the country 364 days but less than 2 years you may loose your permanent residency. In the event that you have been out of the country for two years then it very likely that you have lost your permanent residency.

Assuming that you are a permanent resident and have not been out of the country for more than 364 days in order to show domicile you will need to probably show the following:

1) You have a job in the US and able to support him

2) You have a place of residence

3) You are able to care for his medical needs

4) Bank account or property in your name and proof of paying taxes in the US for 2007.

I suspect the issue of domicile comes down to the issue of having a residence in your name and having enough resources in the US to care for him. The problem you may encounter is if you are planning to live with family or you are not able to pay for health insurance for him then you may struggle with your application. Also if you cannot establish some type of permanency in the US, such as paying taxes, you will struggle with proving domicile.

My suggestion would be to get a place, make sure you have paid your income taxes in full, have a job, and demonstrate that you can provide for the both of you. Otherwise you will struggle to get your application approved.