Using a friends address

[harley]

First time to this site and completely unfamiliar with immigration/visa issues but I have a question. A good friend of mine who lives overseas, who doesn't have a U.S. address asked if he could use my current address for an address for his new wife to move here, in the U.S. Is this legal? Or would it be something I should not consider? Please help.

[inadmissible]

He is sending his wife to come live with you? That may or may not be a good idea, depending on how much you value your friendship with him, and how attractive she is.

It also depends on which state you live in; adultery is legal in 29 states, but the definition and maximum punishment vary in the other 21.

[rayb]

It's possible that our friend wants to show your address as his official U.S. "domicile" or U.S. destination address for his wife to meet visa requirements. It's not that unusual for an expat petitioner who is not yet settled in the U.S.

But what you may wish to consider is that he is simply using you to get someone to the U.S. with minimum commitment of resources on his part and that it might be strictly "business" for him. Where does that leave you? You could conceivably be a party to immigration fraud, if there is no genuine relationship between him and the young lady.

--Ray B

First time to this site and completely unfamiliar with immigration/visa issues but I have a question. A good friend of mine who lives overseas, who doesn't have a U.S. address asked if he could use my current address for an address for his new wife to move here, in the U.S. Is this legal? Or would it be something I should not consider? Please help.

[harley]

It's possible that our friend wants to show your address as his official U.S. "domicile" or U.S. destination address for his wife to meet visa requirements. It's not that unusual for an expat petitioner who is not yet settled in the U.S.

But what you may wish to consider is that he is simply using you to get someone to the U.S. with minimum commitment of resources on his part and that it might be strictly "business" for him. Where does that leave you? You could conceivably be a party to immigration fraud, if there is no genuine relationship between him and the young lady.

--Ray B

I greatly appreciate your response and advice, in regard to your question about my friends relationship and the lady, they are married. And you're correct in your statement about him wanting to use my address as his official destination for his wife's visa requirements.

Other than showing me proof of marriage, however I know they're married, what pertinent questions might you ask him if you were in my shoes?

Regards-

[inadmissible]

I would be weary of someone holding out my home as their home, if they did not actually live in my home.

It is one thing to forward a friends mail, but quite another to be co-conspirator in an attempt to misrepresent reality to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

[rayb]

Ask your friend if he is aware that the Embassy expects him to travel back to the U.S. before or at the same time as his wife, to establish a domicile. Does he plan to stay with you, also, or will he then find another address at which both of them can stay.

--Ray B

I greatly appreciate your response and advice, in regard to your question about my friends relationship and the lady, they are married. And you're correct in your statement about him wanting to use my address as his official destination for his wife's visa requirements.

Other than showing me proof of marriage, however I know they're married, what pertinent questions might you ask him if you were in my shoes?

Regards-

[rayb]

Under the best of intentions, the husband will accompany the new wife to the U.S., then find an apartment somewhere and inform USCIS of the address chang.

If the plan is really for the gal to show up on his friend's doorstep and wait patiently for the husband to fold his tent and follow afterwards, that's a recipe for problems.

--Ray B

I would be weary of someone holding out my home as their home, if they did not actually live in my home.

It is one thing to forward a friends mail, but quite another to be co-conspirator in an attempt to misrepresent reality to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

[inadmissible]

Ray B, you are referring only to the specific fact pattern of a non-domiciled US citizen petitioner of a fiance(e) visa, right?

A non-dom could fill out his foreign address for a spouse I-130, and I imagine a non-citizen couple filing for a tourist visa could fill out the address of the location they actually intend to reside in the United States.

[rayb]

Right, I am referring to a U.S. citizen who is petitioning his fiancee or spouse (the latter is what was implied by the original poster).

If an expat who may be currently living abroad, the Embassy will expect him to provide a U.S. address, either as his home base, or domicile, or his intended destination for his wife and him.

--Ray B

Ray B, you are referring only to the specific fact pattern of a non-domiciled US citizen petitioner of a fiance(e) visa, right?

A non-dom could fill out his foreign address for a spouse I-130, and I imagine a non-citizen couple filing for a tourist visa could fill out the address of the location they actually intend to reside in the United States.

[harley]

Ask your friend if he is aware that the Embassy expects him to travel back to the U.S. before or at the same time as his wife, to establish a domicile. Does he plan to stay with you, also, or will he then find another address at which both of them can stay.

--Ray B

No, his intentions are not to stay with me nor his wife at any time. He plans to come back here to the states and find a home. I greatly appreciate your help in this matter.