Need help with I-864W eligibility and proof of domicile

Subzu

New Member
Hi,

We submitted I-130 petition for my wife via DCF in early May and the same has been approved. We are now gathering documents for her interview in Mumbai consulate scheduled for end of the month.

We were going through the affidavit of support requirements and there is a form I-864W (affidavit of support exemption) based on 40 quarters of SSA coverage earned/credited during the course of the marriage for spouse.

Below is a snippet from the I864W instructions...

You have earned or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act (SSA). If you have 40 quarters of SSA coverage, you are exempt from the requirement to file Form I-864 or Form I-864EZ. You can acquire 40 qualifying quarters in the following ways:

A. Working in the United States for 40 quarters in which you received the minimum income established by the Social Security Administration;
B. By being credited under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 213A(a)(3)(B) with quarters worked by your spouse during the marriage or a parent during the time you were under 18 years of age; or
C. A combination of the above.


I do have the 40 quarters of SSA coverage earned from after our marriage.

So, based on the above I think item B applies in our case. Am I inferring this correctly?

Also, I have been out of the US for couple of years now do I still need to provide/carry proof of domicile or reestablishing domicile, if my wife qualifies for I864W? The domicile proof seems to be relevant/required only for I-864.

Thank You!
 
So you have been married for more than 10 years and you have been paying Social Security taxes that whole time? Then yes.

I am not sure whether there is a domicile requirement for the petitioner for people doing I-864W. But you do plan to reestablish domicile when you and your wife move back to the US, so that shouldn't be an issue.
 
My understanding was that proof of domicile or intent to re-establish domicile is required for family based visas because their purpose of issue is family reunification... and there isn’t a need for a visa for reunification if sponsor is not living or intends to live in the US. And irrespective of what form you file to overcome public charge, you are still a sponsor - the point of requiring a sponsor is to have someone legally liable if necessary to cover any use by the beneficiary of public funds, and you can only be held legally liable if you are in the US.
In any case there’s no point doing it without intending to live in the US anyway as the spouse will lose the green card in that case.
 
So you have been married for more than 10 years and you have been paying Social Security taxes that whole time? Then yes.

I am not sure whether there is a domicile requirement for the petitioner for people doing I-864W. But you do plan to reestablish domicile when you and your wife move back to the US, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the input newacct. The answer to your question above is Yes. So, I guess we do qualify for I864W then.
 
My understanding was that proof of domicile or intent to re-establish domicile is required for family based visas because their purpose of issue is family reunification... and there isn’t a need for a visa for reunification if sponsor is not living or intends to live in the US. And irrespective of what form you file to overcome public charge, you are still a sponsor - the point of requiring a sponsor is to have someone legally liable if necessary to cover any use by the beneficiary of public funds, and you can only be held legally liable if you are in the US.
In any case there’s no point doing it without intending to live in the US anyway as the spouse will lose the green card in that case.

Thanks SusieQQQ. Your comment does make sense. We'll include the domicile proof as well.
 
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