Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Newbie.. I130 form	It's all on the USCIS page for the I-130. Also check out this great wiki: http://www.visajourn..._United_States? Hope this helps. Don't hesitate to post any specific questions and issues. Best of luck!	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-03-19 19:44:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Police certificates	Will you be in Russia long enough to collect it while you're there? If not, the only choice is to get it outside Russia through a service. Is it possible for a family member or other person in Russia to file for it on your behalf so that you can collect it while you're there? Otherwise, it may be worth extending your stay in Russia to get while you're there if there is little/no cost involved in doing that. Police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date the certificate is issued. Assuming your case does not get delayed as they sometimes do, you could apply for i now. The worst thing that could happen in the event that your case gets delayed somewhere is you have to get another one in a year if you haven't submitted it yet. If I were in your situation, I would get started now on the Russian certificate. You could apply for the UK one when the Russian one arrives or just before you expect it will arrive. Edited by BBCC, 19 March 2012 - 07:59 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-03-19 19:51:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Travel Restrictions After Getting CR-1 Visa?	She can leave the US on the day of her POE using the temp green card in her passport. As those have already said, if she is gone less than six months then the border officer will not question her status upon her return to the US. We know this ourselves as we did just that...departed the US on the same day as our POE and have returned twice in the five weeks we have had our CR-1. We come and go as we please and haven't had any problems. You'll be fine. If you're gone more than six months but less than 12 months, you raise the risk of scrutiny by the arriving officer. It begins to become a gamble at this point. Many people have not had a problem when gone this long, some have been questioned by allowed to continue. It is when you're gone longer than 12 months that it begins to become a problem. You are supposed to apply for Advance Parole prior to departure if you know ahead of time you need to be gone for more than 12 months.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-03-19 20:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	i-130 cover sheet (address question)	We filed our I-130 in September. We live together outside US in an apartment. I own a home in US. On the I-130, I put our address outside the US. This made it easier as the USCIS does most of it's work by mail. When they approved the petition and passed it all on to the NVC, it came time to file I-864 and the visa application itself. Since the I-864 sponsor needs to reside in the US, I put our US address on the I-864 and everything else we submitted to NVC from that point forward. Since in many cases you can optin for electronic processing with the NVC, we submitted everything to them electronically by email (scan to pdf) and they always contacted us by email so we never had to worry about having mail forwarded by friends in US to us abroad. That should work. Good luck!	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-03-21 09:54:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Address History for i-130	I've had that problem several years ago and had to list my prior address on an application (non visa related but maybe this will help you). Since the paper history of so many address is so complex, it is unlikely they would or even could verify such a history. What I have done in the past is consolidate as much as possible. If I lived in one city and moved twice (had 3 addresses) before moving to another city, I put down only one address for that city. In my case, I never changed the address on my driver license while in the city with 3 address so it really didn't matter if I put down all three addresses for my time during my stay in that city. Does that make sense? Hope it helps.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-03-21 09:59:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Traveling to the US possible while waiting for CR-1?	I have a friend who is not from a visa waiver country but living in Canada, currently in process for a CR-1 with the same problem. She booked an air ticket from Canada to Mexico over the christmas holiday with a 36-hour stopover in southern California. She then applied at the local US consulate for a TRANSIT visa. APPROVED after a 30 minute interview. She was shocked. Better than nothing. She'll have xmas dinner with family in California and then head to sunny beaches in Mexico with her husband with the CR-1 app still pending. No guarantee. Your mileage may vary, but maybe that's an option? She booked her ticket first. It was a risk. My advice: Do NOT volunteer the fact that you have an immigrant visa application in process, at any point in the application, interview or point of entry. Do not lie if they ask you directly, but don't volunteer the information. So, no, do not offer your NOA1/NOA2 or any other documentation or information concerning the immigrant visa app. Of course, don't lie if asked directly either. Edited by BBCC, 16 December 2011 - 12:33 AM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2011-12-16 00:30:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	USC living abroad question	I am having issues getting a money order in US currency as I stated in another post.. I am going to send my mother the money so she can get me a cashiers check in the US... BUT I was thinking it would be easier if I just sent her the whole package and the money together she gets the package and puts the cashiers check in it and then mails it to the chicago lock box... will that make any difference in our case because of it being mailed from the US and me (the USC) lives in England... after reading all of this stuff I am so scared of being accused of any kind of fraud.. also I keep hearing about this auto expedite thing... so of course I don't wanna jeapordize our chances for that. sorry to keep on you all the time with all of these questions Yes, this was my first thought when I read your post. Fastest way is to get the whole package to your mother and let her mail it off with a US check. That way, you're not waiting first for a check to arrive outisde hte US before mailing it all back to USCIS.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-03-18 13:02:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Change of Address and other future preperations	Hi, I have no idea, I need my question answered before I can look at the document... Do you have an answer to my question? "Ok This might be a very ridiculous question but my husband, whom is in on a CR1 Visa.... is he considered a US Citizen or not? I need to choose that to be able to fill in the application and I know he is considered a permanent resident, does that make him a US citizen?" No, a permanent resident is not considered a US citizen.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-21 19:44:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Change of Address and other future preperations	We were trying to file our AR11 last night on the web site. The form would not allow us to leave the NON-MANDATORY fields blank. Even fields not relevant to our circumstances such as: If "Other" please specify (this in reference to the question preceding it "I am in the US as a") "If Above Address is temporary, specify Years Months " "If not a Permanent Resident, my stay in the US expires on (month/day/year)" Do we just N/A these fields? In case it matters, we are using FireFox. Thanks. Edited by BBCC, 21 June 2012 - 02:45 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-21 14:44:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	NVC visa application	Check the internet and anyone you know who is ahead of you in the process also using your local embassy to see if you can get the local document list being used there. You might find additional document requirements you can get started on ahead of time. This worked for us. If you don't have access to that list, don't worry about it. But the earlier the better.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-27 09:21:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Stamp of first entry on CR1 visa	Anyway, can my wife use this combo to reenter US before receiving the 'real' green card? We are planning a trip soon.... thanks a lot! Yes. the stamp just shows you've activated the temporary CR-1. It will let her re-enter the US as many times as she wants. It worked for us. Welcome!	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-27 09:24:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	DS230 form Question 30	Because I have lived in many places after reaching at age 16. My born country's pcc is national check,no matter which places you have lived. I think Australian should be national pcc. Here is my question. Born country-I lived in A city where I was 16-19 then I moved to B city for a few years. Then I lived in C city for a year. However, my situation is quite complicated, I think. maybe I am wrong. During my permanent address of C city. I traveled to the US for 1.5 months,Sydney two times 3+5 months and then I lived in Vietnam near two years and each 2 months I got a 9-day holiday back to my born country or travel to other countries. Is it based on the place you have lived >= 6 months in a single period of time no matter the total is even 2 years?? It meas six month periods at one time? For example, although I lived in Vietnam for 2 years but each time I not lived for continuous 6 months at one time,only 2 months. So, I should provide my born country's, Vietnamese and Australian pcc? But I don't know how to put those information in Question 30 without receiving any checklist for it. I just read some mistakes-like" A gap exists in your residence history of more than six months". I read custom stamps on my passport, I see many in and out of a country, especially Vietnam. Please help me thank you in advance. Thanks for you patient to read my post(sorry) Hope you can understand what I try to write. We had the same complication. This is common when you're young, right? We resisted the common urge to over-do this. So what we did was we didn't bother listing places traveled to temporarily for business purpose only. Even for an extended period of time. That is, if the company sent us there and maintained permanent residence at home, them we listed as living at the home residence the entire time. We ESPECIALLY didn't list any places where she didn't obtain a local driver license or sign a lease. If she only stayed in temporary accommodation such as hotel and/or didn't sign a lease, then we assumed her residence was her home residence during that period. We established a list of residences based SOLELY on PERMANENT residences and disregarded anywhere she stayed even for an extended period if it was only temporary. Once we set that list of residences and dates, it was a simplified list and we keep a copy of it. For any additional paperwork that requested the list, we just maintain consistency by always using the same list of residences. This approach worked fine on our visa application.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-27 09:37:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	questions about affidavit of support for myself (sponser) and friend helping to sponser my husband.	my questions are......... since i am not working, and havent worked or had to file taxes since 1989..... 1. do i need to show them any proof of me not needing to file? 2. am i supposed to be filing the i-864 myself as a sponser since i am his wife ?even though i dont work. As answered above, as the USC petition of the CR-1 visa, you will complete a I-864 even though you do not meet the income threshold as a sponsor. Specify all of the information for yourself. and on that paper it asks me to put how many dependants counting my husband and myself and i had dependant children to add how many and total up the dependants and income ect... 3. do i need to fill that info? Yes, answer these questions in reference to yourself. Specify what dependents YOU have. What income YOU alone have. even if $0. i have a friend who just filed taxes yesterday he will be doing the affidavit for my husband. he made after deductions like 31,000 which is more than enough to qualify.. butt.......... hes an independant taxi driver... If he is an employee of the taxi company, he received a W-2 at the end of the year. If he received a 1099 at the end of the year for what he earned as a taxi driver, then he is considered self-employed. If his income is unreported (unlikely, if he earned this from a US company), then he would have reported the income on a tax return and paid taxes on it. In all three cases, the income is considered legitimate sources of income used to meet the income threshold requirement as a sponsor. He only needs to provide a copy of his most recent tax return with the I-864. They might request an addition two year's previous returns or W2/1099s so he will need to have this on hand to submit, if requested. 4. ( does he have to show proof still that he is currently employed) there is no one to give him that.) and the two previous years he wasnt working and was on unemployment after being laid off. No, at least initially, they will only ask for the most recent tax return. You may want to research other posts on this forum where people were asked for previous tax returns and what caused the request to be made. I am not aware of anyone who has been asked for current year records. 5. will that matter>? can i leave the two previous years incomes lines blank and only put the current year>> ? No, don't leave the income lines blank. Fill them in. The information needs to be filled in, even if the amounts do not meet the income threshold as a sponsor. In our circumstances, my income met the threshold for only the previous two years and not three. I was able to sponsor as the petitioner. Given the deplorable state of the US economy, I think this is common. 6. and what form should he be filing is it also the I-864 ??? Again, you will fill out the I-864 as the petitioner, checking box 1a. Your actual sponsor will fill out a separate I-864, checking box 1d. If your actual sponsor lives in your US household, then they will need to fill out a I-864A as well. any idea how long it will take now after they accept the affidavit>? that is the only thing they are waiting on now. We went through this last fall. We submitted our I-864 electronically by email. We received a response from NVC four days after we submitted where they acknowledged receipt of the I-864. Two days after that, we received a request for a document specific to our local consulate. A week after that, we received the invoice for the $404 invoice fee. Your processing times will vary greatly, obviously, but that is how it worked for us. Good luck. Edited by BBCC, 29 June 2012 - 11:37 AM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-29 11:30:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Filed I130 Ifrom abroad with US address	We did the same thing last summer. Some of the docs from USCIS arrived at our US address. Family back in US just scanned them to pdf and emailed them to us. By the time the approved I-130 was forwarded to NVC, we opted for electronic processing by email with NVC. From that point forward, it was all electronic by email and we never had to deal with the the postal service delivery again. We concluded the process while outside the US. The only thing they won't do in this process is send SMS (text message) notifications to a non-US cellphone. We had to specify a US cellphone number to receive the notifications that way. Edited by BBCC, 03 July 2012 - 01:49 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-03 13:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Barcodes on I-130 . . . how important are they?	We did same. Cheap printer, cheap paper. Didn't cause a problem.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-05 12:01:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	What is best process for US Citizen who wants to marry a Canadian permanent resident from China?	My question is--should we get married in New York one weekend she comes to visit? And then apply for a CR-1 Spouse visa? Or is there another smarter way for her to become a US citizen and live with me in New York quicker? It doesn't matter where you marry. But if you decide to marry in the US, then you will need to be out of the US at the completion of your CR-1 process. How long your fiance can remain in the US is based on constraints of the tourist visa. You can start the CR-1 visa process by filing the I-130 petition the day after your wedding. If you maintain a US address then you can financially sponsor as well but your fiance will need to use an address outside the US- either Canada or China.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-16 19:50:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	NOA2 Received!!! Questions on next step	Contratulations! Do pay stubs even need to be sent in on the first submission? Normally, just send in the latest US tax return and then wait to see what else they want in their list of docs. The most recent tax return and income for the past three years on the I-864 form was all we needed. They never asked anything more of us even though I was unemployed 3 years ago and had no income. The previous 2 years income was enough for them.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-19 09:56:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Tax question	Referring to filing a US tax return for 2011? If so, without getting too specific, she specifies ALL her income from ALL sources in ALL countries for 2011. Do some research on whether she can claim the Foreign Earned Income exclusion OR Foreign Tax Credit (don't think you can do both). That will soften the tax burden somewhat. I probably shouldn't get more into specifics here as this is a visa forum but it sounds like you're doing this so you can start the CR-1 process? Not much more help without more specific info from you. Good luck.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-19 10:04:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	file tax return as single	hi VJ'ers my husband filed his tax return as single even though we are married, you think this would cause a problem for our CR1 petition? our case is at NVC already, any advice you can give us? thank you so much As a tax professional,I think it may. He should consider filing amended returns to correct the mistake as soon as possible. For Federal,he needs to file form 1040x. Agree. It's an error that needs to be corrected. Re-do an amended 1040 as either married filing separate or married with foreign non-resident alien spouse, attach the 1040X amendment, file it with the IRS ASAP. Depending on how far into your process you are with the NVC, if you have already filed your I-864 then you may want to contact them to see if you should submit the new tax docs now or just bring them with you to the interview. If you haven't file the I-864 yet, then just attach your original return, new return and 1040X to it all and send it with the I-864. Edited by BBCC, 19 July 2012 - 10:27 AM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-19 10:25:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CR-1 Spouse applied for within US question	He will need to go to Montreal for the interview if you're following the I-130 process to CR-1. The only exception is if you were applying for adjustment of status within the US but you are not following that process so it doesn't apply here.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-19 19:10:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	How long i could wait before leaving after geting CR1 visa	You can leave the US on the same day you enter with a new CR-1 if you want. We did. Back and forth we went by land the same weekend Not sure what you mean by "medical" as I assume the medical is all done and submitted before they issue the CR-1 in your passport. Edited by BBCC, 19 July 2012 - 06:51 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-19 18:49:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Case completed!! Now What?	Every consulate is different. Check with others on this forum that are interviewing at the same office to see how quickly things are going there.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-07-19 12:58:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Change of mind: Cancel K1 to get CR1 instead	My questions are: - how do I cancel the K1 that we barely processed on June 4, 2012? - will this raise any red flags, which potentially makes it harder for both of us to get approved for CR1? We did the same last summer. We applied for the K-1 via I-129F in July. Then both married and filed for CR-1/I-130 in September. We didn't have to cancel our original I-129F. In fact, after they approved our I-130, we even received a request for document or two from the USCIS on our original I-129F until we sent a letter in requesting cancellation of the I-129F petition. (left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing over there. Ha!). No big deal. Happens every day. Another thing we did was start the CR-1 paperwork before leaving the US. Also no big deal... just make sure you use your non-US adddress everywhere. They really don't care where you physically mail the forms from. That way, they got our forms a little faster using the domestic mail service. Good luck! Edited by Kathryn41, 08 July 2012 - 07:43 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-28 09:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	US taxes while in I130/IR1/CR1 proceedings	My wife and I went through this last year while she was in the I-130 process to her GC. We had two choices last year as she was not physically present in US for all of 2011. Note she had not entered the US yet and had no US income. Choices for us were: 1. I complete my 1040 as Married Filing Separately. In this case, she has no SSN or Tax ID number. We do not list her income on my tax return as she had no US sourced income, never present in the US and was a non-US resident. I think we list her name on the return but not a SSN or tax ID number. OR 2. File for a IRS Tax ID number for her as a non-resident, then complete 1040 as Married Filed Jointly, include her income, exclude all of her foreign income tax paid under Foreign Earned Income exclusion (Form 2555) and use her deduction and exemption as my spouse. Filing SINGLE is never an option once you're married. I got so much bad advice from tax accountants that I finally just cracked the books, looked through all the instructions and spent a few hours on the phone with 800-829-1040 to verify my assumptions. It all worked out for the best. Edited by BBCC, 21 March 2013 - 02:05 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2013-03-21 14:00:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	I-864 Affidavit of Support Sponsor's domicile not in the USA	The petitioner can show proof of domicile by providing such documents as state tax returns, drivers license, property tax statements, vehicle registration with the address on it, bank statements with the address in the states listed, other bills such as credit card bills with their address listed in the states and/or any other docmented evidence of domicile such as any mail that has been going to the domiciled residence. We had the same problem. I was the USC living outside the US. During my entire extended time abroad, I kept a US address, filed taxes from a US address, maintained bank and all other accounts at my US address and anything else I could think of under my US address. When I filed my documents with USCIS and NVC, I always stipulated my US address even though I was rarely physically present there. This was all enough for USCIS and NVC. I had no problem as the financial sponsor on my wife's I-864. In my particular case, I did not qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion with the IRS so I had no need to file my taxes from our foreign address. For proof of domicile, the US address on all my coincidental documentation seemed to be enough. I never had to submit a copy of my US home title or rental agreement (I sold my US house in the middle of our visa process). In spite of all the docs with a US address, we initially showed an apartment lease at our foreign address as proof of our relationship on the I-130 to the USCIS and this still was not a problem. So I got both financially sponsor on the I-864 *and* be with my wife during the entire paperwork process. Woohoo! Edited by BBCC, 21 June 2012 - 03:25 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2012-06-21 15:23:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	what to do about filing 2013 taxes since we wont be approved by year end	If you're comfortable mailing your tax docs back and forth, filing married jointly should be easy to do (with W-7).  I'm not too comfortable sending my docs to and back from India, so I will be filing an extension and then file married jointly.  If neither of those are amenable, you can always file married separately and amend later on   That's what my wife and I did.  We had originally opted NOT to get her a TIN as a non-resident alien because we expected to receive her GC and SSN before April 15th.   She got her GC early in the year and then we waited for her SSN to come.  The SS Admin lost her application so we didn't actually receive it before April 15th. So I filed Married/Separate.  Then, when her SSN arrived later that year in summer, I just amended the return to married/jointly, added her income amount to mine on the "wages, salaries, tips" line and got another refund.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2013-10-25 13:53:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	what to do about filing 2013 taxes since we wont be approved by year end	You have two choices: 1.  US Citizen spouse files their taxes as they always have except they file as "Married Filing Seprately."  In that case, the USC spouse just files the return with their own earnings. 2.  Or, you can apply now to the IRS for a Tax ID number for the non-resident alien spouse.  In that case, you would use the Tax ID number to file a joint return as "Married filing jointly."  To do so, you would need to include a letter with the return that you voluntarily elect to treat the non-citizen spouse as a non-resident alien for tax purposes.  You would then include the non-resident alient spouse's income on the "wages, salaries, tips" line on the return.  The advantage of this approach is you are able to count the non-resident spouse as an exemption and lower the taxes paid/increase your refund (assuming the foreign spouse does not make a lot of money).   This is the basic summary of what you can do.  There are sample letters all over the net on how to draft the letter.  irs.gov has good helpful information on how to do it.   Hope that helps.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2013-10-23 15:28:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Domicile documents	Hi all,   To prove US domicile, are these documents enough to prove US domicile    Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile:   ?   Maintained my voter registration ?   Maintained my bank account  Maintained my driver?s license    R they enough for domicile requirment.      You need to produce a lease or mortgage at the same address as your voter registration and bank account.   I worked out of the US while we were in process for her CR-1.  I was back and forth between work outside US and my home in the US (I owned the home, but that shouldn't matter).  This is not a problem for USCIS.  As long as you maintain your permanent legal residence in the US with all the documents that show the address of your legal residence, you'll be fine. Hope that helps.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-06-25 02:18:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Tax Transcripts	Hey guys - quick question. I did my 2013 taxes but they fat fingered my middle initial and so my middle initial on my 2013 tax transcript shows "B" instead of "D" Will this be a problem at the interview?    On another note, we took color copies of the originals of our tax returns (not transcripts) to the interview in Montreal and this was not a problem for the interviewing officer.  While some may chime in and claim that is not appropriate, if you reach the day of your interview and you still don't have transcripts yet then just take the color copies with you.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-06-26 00:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Cover letter necessary? (split topic)	Good question.  Sounds like a judgement call.   We always use one but, yes, in the end they probably just inventory the enclosed forms and register them.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-06-28 12:40:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Should I change my passport to my married name or not?	As has been stated in this thread http://www.visajourn...e/#entry7045781 the CR-1/IR-1 VISA will be in the name on our passport and the GC will be issued in the name the USCIS used to issue the visa.  You can then change your name at the ROC stage by filling in the form with your married name and use the marriage certificate, but you will have to wait for 2 years.    Is it possible to change the GC to married name at ROC without changing to the married name on passport? Taiwan does not allow changing the name on a passport to married name so our understanding was that the first opportunity my spouse will have is at time of Naturalization.  True?	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-06-26 15:56:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Supporting evidence: should I send with IV package or bring to interview?	Here's what we put in our I-130 packet from Canada and received no RFEs for additional docs.  The interview in Montreal was cursory and went great:   Form I-130 Petition completed Copy of USC Passport Copy of Marriage Certificate Copy of a prior Divorce Document Photo of USC Petitioner Photo of non-USC Respondant G-325A USC Petitioner G-325A non-USC Respondant Current lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence (Evidence of a Bonafide Marriage) G-1145 E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-06 20:36:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Joint bank accounts. How?	As far as the joint bank account goes, how are you all achieving this?   My wife and I accomplished this prior to her first arrival into the US by going to irs.gov and applying for a tax ID number (TIN).  Takes only a few minutes.  It is the same nine digit number as a Social Security Number but without work authorization.  With it, I added her to my bank accounts.  I have more than one checking account.  One bank required her to be physically present to add her to the account.  This obvioulsy was not an option for us.  But my credit union would allow this.  They gave me the forms to complete and sign.  I scanned them into a PDF and emailed to the head office, with the hard copy originals sent by mail.   Then, when the first statement rolled around with both our names on it, I sent a copy of that with our application package.   I did the same with our Car title, registration.  We couldn't add her to the auto insurance policy until she was locally license to drive which didn't happen until after she landed (so we only used that later for ROC).	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-08 11:02:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CR1 Visa	We included one wedding portrait with our entire families in the pictures.  Nice photo.  We're all having fun, in a great mood that day.   For some peace of mind by avoiding the possibility of a RFE, you are free to send the photo in now with a copy of your NOA1 (when it arrives) and a cover letter explaining what you are sending and why.  We have done that with further evidence we felt was important.   Good luck!	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-08 16:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CR1 Proper Route? Tips/Tricks?	Nothing about what you post of your circumstances indicate any complication that would require an attorney to assist.  The guides posted on the site are fantastic and worked great for us.  Maintain your permanent residence in the US in order to qualify as the financial sponsor for the I-864.   Study the guides carefully and feel free to ask any questions.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-01 21:10:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Applying for Visa for Canadian Spouse	1) On these documents and in the website, does the word "petitioner" refer to me (the U.S. citizen) or my wife?  I am pretty sure it is me but want to be certain.   Yes, you are the petitioner.  Spouse is the beneficiary.   2) Do copies of birth certificates, marriage certificate, passport, and divorce papers HAVE to be certified?  I do not own an original of my birth certificate, I only have a greyscale English copy (front only) that I have used for college, work, Army, etc. all my life.  Also, the original marriage certificate is currently in Canada with the wife.  So if I can get away with just using high quality copies it would be very convenient.   Read through the instructions on the guide for details on this.  For some submissions, copies are OK.  For others, you will need originals.   3) Is my citizenship certificate acceptable for "proof of naturalization"? Yes   4) Should I throw a copy of our driver's licenses and/or my military ID into the packet? Yes, you can.  Citizenship is a primary documentary evidence they are looking for from the petitioner, to establish your right to petition.   5) We do not have much "evidence of a bonifide marriage".  We do not jointly own anything, have not co mingled resources, and have no children at all.  Will an affidavit from one of her friends and one of mine be enough?  We have also gathered photos, flight itineraries, hotel reservations from our trips to each other's countries as well as a log of our Skype conversations.  Can these items be submitted as evidence? This is a very important part of your I-130 petition and CR-1 visa application.  You need to document evidence of a bonafide marriage in the manner they are looking for.   the main keys to this are: co-mingled domicile (JOINT rental lease/agreement, JOINT mortgage) co-mingled financials (JOINT bank accounts).  Open a checking account together.  You can even open a US account together if you apply for a TAX ID number her via irs.gov   The rest helps, documentary evidence of time spent together (photos,emails Skykpe and other electronic communication logs, etc) evidence of travel (itineraries, resevations, etc)   but nothing works as well as evidence of co-mingling of residence and finances.  It demonstrates a significant level of mutual trust that comes with a bona fide commitment.  Every situation is unique, of course, so if any of this lacking, look further in the guide for the additional evidence you can use to compensate.   6) She plans on visiting here in a few weeks.  We are even going to have a 2nd wedding reception for the benefit of my friends and family that could not make it to the Canadian reception.  Is it safe for me to go ahead and submit the application within a week?  She is only visiting for two weeks and will be gone by mid August =(.   Thanks again for your help folks! Always safe to submit the petition.  The earlier you submit a COMPLETE packet, the better just to get things going. We applied from Canada in a September and completed it all in early February, which included a one month delay due to an RFE, request for additional documentation.  That's probably the fastest you can hope to complete the process, assuming you submit a COMPLETE packet.   Read through the guides and feel free to post any questions beyond what is described in the guide for help. Lots of help available here. Edited by BBCC, 17 July 2014 - 11:25 AM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-17 11:22:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Petitioner not to attend spouse immigrant visa interview?? Dublin	Thanks so much. I love hearing other people's experiences. I'm actually the wife!!   My husband is Irish. We've been together 11 years, living in Ireland for 10 years, married almost 7 years, 3 kids together, own a house together, lots of pictures, joint accts in Ireland and the US, wills naming each other, etc.... So it should be a pretty straight forward interview, I'm hoping!! My husband is just terrible at remember dates and stuff, so I hope he's not quizzed about these details... though we'll prepare just in case!    I'm going to be a nervous wreck at work while he's in his interview. I wish I could be there, for support if nothing else.    Sounds like you are all set!  Nothing to worry about. He'll do great!	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-25 22:10:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Does foreign income count on the I-864 count?	For the I-864, we both need to meet the required income threshold?  Are you sure?  What is the threshold?       The way the I-864 works is you need to first fill it out as the petitioner, even if you do not meet the income threshold or residence requirements.   If you don't meet either or both requirements, then you will designate someone who does actually meet those requirements.  They will also complete their own I-864 and submit as the joint sponsor.   To see what the income threshold requirements are, see I-864P document.  In it, there is a table where you look up the income threshold for the qualifying sponsor based on total household size.   So, no obviously, you don't both need to meet the income and residency requirements.  Either you or a joint sponsor would do so. Edited by BBCC, 15 July 2014 - 11:31 PM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-15 23:30:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Does foreign income count on the I-864 count?	Hi Zatarra, My apologies if my post was confusing. I had hope to explain how it is possible for you to get IRS credit for the income taxes you paid to both South Korea and Japan.  In this way, it is possible that you will not owe any amount to the IRS when you file your return with them.  The three ways I mention are how you can do this.  Turbo Tax should help you explore each of these three options to see which method may result in a zero amount owed to the IRS. In order to be the sponsor on your I-864 as the petitioner, you need both to meet the required income threshold for doing so and reside in the US.  To do this, it was my intent to show how it is possible to file your IRS return as well as indicate your required US residency for the purposes of filing your I-864. Good luck with everything!	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-15 22:13:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Does foreign income count on the I-864 count?	Perhaps our own circumstances might help answer this question.   I am the USC and lived in the US while we were working toward her CR-1.  In our case, I lived near the US-Canadian border.  My employer is Canadian, however, my permanent residence was just across the border on the US side.  I am a cross-border commuter.  We file our IRS return each from the US, declaring Canadian-sourced income.  We were concerned about whether I would be able to file as the sponsor on my spouse's I-864 in this case.  We were completely open and indicated this on our I-864.  In the end, the answer was Yes.  They approved our I-864 with me as the sponsor.   Let me also point out that when you earn foreign earned income,  you place these amounts on the same line was "Wages, Tax, Tips" that you do for any W-2, 1099 or other income. The only difference is that there usually is not a W-2 to go along with it.  At least, this is our case.    You still include the foreign earned income amount there on that same line.   I won't go much into the tax aspects of this as I don't want to go off topic.  But let me briefly state that you are allowed to get credit for foreign taxes paid in any one of three ways: 1)  The well-known Foreign Earned Income exclusion (subject to a physical presence or substantial presence test, where you are living outside the US... wasn't an option for us as I lived in the US during the I-130/DS-260 processing) 2)  Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116....does NOT require you to live outside the US.  You can reside in the US, earn foreign earned income and file the return within the US- this what we use) 3) Straight deduction. (If you own a home in the US, you are probably already itemizing your deduction.  In this case, you can just toss any foreign taxes paid in with the itemized deductions)   The point of noting those three options above are to show that it is possible to live in the US, earn foreign income and still file as the I-864 sponsor. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to have filed your IRS return from the US and not your foreign address.  This is just one indication that you maintain your permanent residence in the US. It perfectly legitimate to commute to locations outside the US from your US residence for the purposes of work and still file yourself as the sponsor for the I-864.  I am not aware of any time requirements to be physically present in the US by USCIS or any other government agency involved in this process.  Is anyone aware of this, otherwise?   As someone has already mentioned in this thread, you could and definately should file an amended return with your foreign sourced income as you are legally required to do so for all income worldwide, including that earned outside the US.   You could probably file an amended return if there are any previously undeclared foreign earned income amounts from prior returns.  You could also file those amended returns from your US address, indicating you are maintaning a permanent US residence, then submit these copies of your amended return for the I-864.  For one of our tax years, this is what I did.  Foreign Tax Credit, instead of the Foreign Earned Income exclusion, may make more sense since you are filing from the US. When you file the amended return, it is *possible* that taking credit for your foreign taxes paid will zero out anything due to the IRS and would incur no penalties or interest for any previously undeclared foreign income.  BUT BUT BUT this is critically dependent on your own circumstances and of your amended return.   The only time we have had a problem with claiming the Foreign Tax Credit is when we had both US *and* foreign sourced income.  If you study the Form 1116 used to claim it, there is a formula where  you calculate what proportion of your total income is foreign earned.  If you don't earn 100% of your income outside the US, then you are limited as how much Foreign Tax Credit you can claim.  In other words, it is possible that the Foreign Tax Credit you end up with is less than the foreign tax you paid and you end up owning the IRS for part of your foreign income.  This happened to us in the year my spouse landed and became a LPR.   Hope this helps.   Edited by BBCC, 14 July 2014 - 12:27 AM.	BBCC	Male	Taiwan	2014-07-14 00:20:00