US Visa Thailand- Establishing Domicile on the Affidavit of Support for an American Expat

There seems to become some confusion relating to the filing of an affidavit of support throughout the US visa application method in Thailand, specially when it comes to the query of your petitioner's residence and in which the petition is filed.

Prior to an American citizen can file an I-130 petition on behalf of the loved 1 with all the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, he should be a resident of Thailand for at the very least a yr whilst in possession of a long-term visa, these kinds of like a non-immigrant visa, as an example. Some petitioners in fact want to file their petitions outside with the United States because the processing time is quicker compared to those filed within the United States.

So that you can get the visa for that alien relative, the American petitioner must also file a Form I-864, or an Affidavit of Support to display the petitioner can assistance the immigrant beneficiary at 125% over the poverty level. This can be exactly where the problem sets in. In order for a US Citizenship Holder to file a Form I-864, he should have a domicile in the United States, which means that he should have a legal residence in the United States to determine his domicile inside the United States in accordance with all the US Immigration and Nationality Act. This could be a fairly tough requirement to comply with for an American expat dwelling in Thailand, especially when he has not maintained a legal residence while in the United States. By filing his I-130 petition in Thailand, the petitioner is acknowledging his residence in Thailand, but so that you can file the Affidavit of Support, he will need to have his domicile within the United States.

The United States Foreign Service has identified the inconsistency along with the Foreign Affairs Manual has provided Foreign Service officers the authority to accept an Affidavit of Support or possibly a Form I-864 from a petitioner who has taken methods to finish his domicile in Thailand and to re-establish his domicile inside the United States in order to manual consular officials in scenario of such scenarios.