Domicile for the New I-864 Affidavit of Support
Prior to May 1998

In a Memorandum dated March 10,1998, the U.S. Department of State addressed the issue of how to interpret domicile in the context of the I-864 Affidavit of Support.

Domicile means the place where a sponsor has a residence, with the intention to maintain that domicile for the foreseeable future. It is residence as the principal, actual dwelling place. The petitioner must be domiciled in the U.S. or its territories in order to qualify as a sponsor. If the petitioner is not domiciled in the U.S., a joint sponsorship cannot be accepted and the applicant will be refused the immigrant visa.

Certain types of employment abroad (e.g., with the U.S. Government or a U.S. company engaged in trade with the U.S. or as a priest or missionary) may be deemed by regulation to be domiciled in the U.S. for I-864 purposes.

Except in cases as set forth above, a petitioner who has had his or her principal dwelling place overseas for an extended and open-ended period of time cannot normally claim U.S. domicile. Such a person will generally have to reestablish domicile in the U.S. The consular officer will use various indices of residence such as the address used for tax purposes, place of employment, etc. to determine the principal place of abode.

Certain petitioners who may have been overseas for extended periods of time who can continue to maintain domicile in the U.S. This includes students, contract workers, NGO volunteers and others normally considered to be taking up a temporary position. The key findings that must be made are that the sponsor departed the U.S. for a limited and not indefinite period of time, intended to maintain a U.S. domicile and in fact can present evidence of continued ties to the U.S. and in such cases the consular officer can assume that domicile has been maintained.

Reestablishing Residence. In cases where the sponsor has clearly not maintained a domicile in the U.S., the sponsor can reestablish U.S. residence. To do this the sponsor must take steps to make the U.S. the immediate principal place of abode. Such steps might include finding U.S. employment, locating a place to live, registering children in U.S. schools and other similar indices of residence. The sponsor should also have made arrangements to relinquish residence in the third country.

Employment-Based Petitions. Employment-based beneficiaries who are petitioned for by relatives or by an entity in which a relative has a significant ownership interest are normally required to have an I-864. However, INS has informed the State Department that if the petitioning relative in such cases is not a citizen of the U.S. or a lawful permanent resident and is not domiciled in the U.S., then no I-864 will be required, and the lack of domicile of the petitioner will not hinder the issuance of the immigrant visa in such situations.