under 125% and no cosponser, what do i do?

[katiedias 0]

Im feeling a little discouraged at the moment... My income is under the 125% and i dont have anyone who would be willing to cosponser for me... Is there anybody out there with a similar situation? I know I have to get a second job part time to put me over the 125 but will they consider that sufficent enough if I get the job now? i havent sent out my i-29 yet so i know i have a little time, but by the time i have to send the income stuff out to my fiance I will probably only have a few paystubs to show proof of the second job, it wont even be on last years tax reports ( seeing how i dont even have the second job yet )... If someone has been through something like this it would be great to have some insight. thanks alot

[reeses16 8]

Are you a student? You can try to document your student loans as income.

[desert_fox 32]

Are you a student? You can try to document your student loans as income.

A loan is income???

Then I would guess you could max out all your credit cards.

[reeses16 8]

No, I do not suggest maxing out credit card. The way financial aid packages work is that the student receives loans, scholarships, grants, work study etc. up to the schools calculated cost of attendance. The cost of attendance includes tuition, fees, and living expenses.

I do not think loans in general can be counted as "income" for an I-134 or I-864. But the nature of financial aid awards is such that they provide for a students living expenses. What I'm suggesting is if you have no other option you should try. I did submit my student loan info for 1 (or 2) of the 3 years of tax/financial info that I submitted for my hubby's I-134- I-864. Granted my most recent year's income was from a stipend that was above 125%, I'm not sure if they really considered the other years or not.

I think it might be a reasonable option to submit financial aid details from a university or college if you have no other options. The worst that can happen is they deny you and you have to re-apply anyway.

Below is a link to an old post that explain the situation in a little more detail. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1011373

[motu 5]

Im feeling a little discouraged at the moment... My income is under the 125% and i dont have anyone who would be willing to cosponser for me... Is there anybody out there with a similar situation? I know I have to get a second job part time to put me over the 125 but will they consider that sufficent enough if I get the job now? i havent sent out my i-29 yet so i know i have a little time, but by the time i have to send the income stuff out to my fiance I will probably only have a few paystubs to show proof of the second job, it wont even be on last years tax reports ( seeing how i dont even have the second job yet )... If someone has been through something like this it would be great to have some insight. thanks alot

Do you have no family or friends who can do this for you? All they need to be is a resident (they don't need to be a citizen). Most Indians have tons of friends and family here - are you not an Indian? Ask your friends/co-workers etc. - you may find a sponsor. Good Luck

[Jesse and Hema 2]

A student loan doesn't count as income...

Money in the bank as a result of loans can count as assets though... and can make up for a shorcoming with income. For the I-134, you would need 3 times the difference between your income and the 125% mark. For instance, if your income is $1500 less than the requirement, you can make up for it with a stable $4500 in the bank. So in theory you could get a $4500 loan, put the money in the bank, and show statements from the last 4 months showing a balance of at least $4500....

[CraigCam 0]

I have a question about cosponsors and instead of posting a seperate topic maybe the answer might be helpful to katie in trying to find a cosponsor.

My question is, what exactly are the legal responsibilties of a cosponsor? Say, for example, on the I-134 the cosponsor stated that they would 'help with financial aid as needed.' What does that mean from a legal perspective?

My guess is that maybe the government just wants to obsolve themselves of any responsibilty for the beneficiary. In other words, Uncle Sam could, for example, use that statement to deny any claims for welfare on behalf of the beneficiary. But, would the government actually take any legal action to force the cosponsor to provide financial assistance and if so, how much? Could the cosponsor be held accountable if the beneficiary defaults on a loan or fails to pay a bill?

It might be easier to find a cosponsor if the person knew that they weren't putting their own financial security at risk.

[SnowyTater 0]

Great question Craig, I don't actually know

I really don't think the government could ever go to your co-sponsor and make them pay a bill you owe, or anything like that. But I'm pretty sure as a nonimmigrant you're just...not eligible for any welfare or assistance, period, is the idea behind the sponsorship. But I'm not even certain of that.

This is all I could find on it with a search and oh lookie, it's from our very own VJ forums:

scary

[SnowyTater 0]

(I gotta double post, sorry. It keeps not letting me edit for some reason).

katiedias:

Getting a loan and putting that money in the bank as assets might work, but it sounds a bit dodgy to me, and a bit dangerous too. People get themselves in debt and in trouble really easily with that sort of thing. If I were you, I'd try to find a second job. I don't know what your life is like or how busy you are, but it sounds like it's probably a pretty good idea anyway. The government's kind of not really being that evil having this 125% thing...

Think about it. The whole immigration process is gonna be quite expensive, few thousand dollars putted away by the end of it. When your fiance gets here, he most likely won't be able to get a job for a few months, at the very least, just going through all the AOS stuff, and then any sort of education equivalencies he'll get from India to USA, getting adjusted to things here, driver's license, just used to the culture. So there'll be all the general moving and resettling expenses, immigration expenses, maybe a lot of emotional toll, and probably having to sit at home doing nothing and not working for awhile, too. Then getting used to any sort of differences in the job market. Then overcoming any qualms employers might have of hiring someone who's just gotten into the country. I think maybe a lot of immigrants end up working jobs that are worse/making less than they did before. It seems like a very unpredictable, long process that you'd be wise to be buffered up for.

I'm pretty sure the government wouldn't look at your having a second job as "bad" at all; I think it'd be a very positive thing. If you haven't applied yet, you still have a good few months' wait before the interview, so you'll have plenty of paystubs and job consistency by then. Like I said, I don't know your exact situation, or maybe your Indian fellow has a lot of money saved up or assets anyway to where money won't be an issue. But if not it seems to me that getting a second job just now, at least for a little while, and saving up money to get you guys through this long rough financial patch would be a pretty good idea, all around.

Good luck whatever you do.

[Jesse and Hema 2]

(I gotta double post, sorry. It keeps not letting me edit for some reason).

katiedias:

Getting a loan and putting that money in the bank as assets might work, but it sounds a bit dodgy to me, and a bit dangerous too. People get themselves in debt and in trouble really easily with that sort of thing. If I were you, I'd try to find a second job. I don't know what your life is like or how busy you are, but it sounds like it's probably a pretty good idea anyway. The government's kind of not really being that evil having this 125% thing...

Think about it. The whole immigration process is gonna be quite expensive, few thousand dollars putted away by the end of it. When your fiance gets here, he most likely won't be able to get a job for a few months, at the very least, just going through all the AOS stuff, and then any sort of education equivalencies he'll get from India to USA, getting adjusted to things here, driver's license, just used to the culture. So there'll be all the general moving and resettling expenses, immigration expenses, maybe a lot of emotional toll, and probably having to sit at home doing nothing and not working for awhile, too. Then getting used to any sort of differences in the job market. Then overcoming any qualms employers might have of hiring someone who's just gotten into the country. I think maybe a lot of immigrants end up working jobs that are worse/making less than they did before. It seems like a very unpredictable, long process that you'd be wise to be buffered up for.

I'm pretty sure the government wouldn't look at your having a second job as "bad" at all; I think it'd be a very positive thing. If you haven't applied yet, you still have a good few months' wait before the interview, so you'll have plenty of paystubs and job consistency by then. Like I said, I don't know your exact situation, or maybe your Indian fellow has a lot of money saved up or assets anyway to where money won't be an issue. But if not it seems to me that getting a second job just now, at least for a little while, and saving up money to get you guys through this long rough financial patch would be a pretty good idea, all around.

Good luck whatever you do.

I agree completely. The loan approach is a "last ditch resort" suggestion.

As SnowyTater eloquently states, you need to keep your post-marriage relationship and your partner's needs a priority.

[KarenCee 3]

I worked two jobs to meet the income requirements. Assets are what you have in savings, other assets that can be liquified easily, etc. The loan idea, well...not such a good idea IMHO. It would be just more debt to pay back and when your fiancé is here and not able to work, how will that help?

[supranatural 1]

I'm all for love (after all isn't that why we're here)...but this begs a different question and something to think about. If you are not earning 125% poverty level, can you really afford to bring someone over and take care of both of you? The reality is that someone who's just come over may need a lot of things and although we may not want to think about it, money is one of the big 3 issues that cause problems in marriages. My ex-wife was from Moscow and during the time we were together a fair amount of money was spent on getting her a car, more clothes (she could only bring so much over from her home), and more importantly, dental work to the tune of nearly $10,000 and that was just my costs after dental insurance covered the rest.

I hope I don't come off the wrong way, I don't mean to discourage you at all, but I've been through the realities of this before and it can become expensive.

The question about whether someone can be held responsible by way of the I-134 - I'm not sure about that but with the I-864 you can be held responsible for reimbursement to the US government if you get divorced and she becomes a burden on the government (such as welfare). You are absolved of it after she has worked for 40 quarters of work. I don't know if anyone has ever been taken to task for this however so it's a gray area.

[Jesse and Hema 2]

I'm all for love (after all isn't that why we're here)...but this begs a different question and something to think about. If you are not earning 125% poverty level, can you really afford to bring someone over and take care of both of you? The reality is that someone who's just come over may need a lot of things and although we may not want to think about it, money is one of the big 3 issues that cause problems in marriages. My ex-wife was from Moscow and during the time we were together a fair amount of money was spent on getting her a car, more clothes (she could only bring so much over from her home), and more importantly, dental work to the tune of nearly $10,000 and that was just my costs after dental insurance covered the rest.

I hope I don't come off the wrong way, I don't mean to discourage you at all, but I've been through the realities of this before and it can become expensive.

The question about whether someone can be held responsible by way of the I-134 - I'm not sure about that but with the I-864 you can be held responsible for reimbursement to the US government if you get divorced and she becomes a burden on the government (such as welfare). You are absolved of it after she has worked for 40 quarters of work. I don't know if anyone has ever been taken to task for this however so it's a gray area.

Agreed. Financial stress can be very hard on a relationship, and optimally, you will want to avoid that as much as possible in a marriage. On top of that, as you state, there's a lot of things an immigrant needs to worry about when leaving home/friends/culture/weather/country...

However, I'm a subscriber to the "one true love" theory. After all, that's probably why I'm on VisaJourney. Being together with your one true love, but worrying about money, is better than being apart from your one true love.

But another big thing to consider is the cost of living where the new couple will reside. Where I grew up, if you were making $18,000 a year, you were doing pretty decent and wouldn't even be "scraping by from paycheck to paycheck".. Where I'm living now, you'd be homeless.

Also to consider.... Immigration can happen in either direction.. the US Citizen can move...

[SnowyTater 0]

I agree with the above two posts, without it meaning anything personal to katiedias at all though. Some other posts on the forum have scared me before a bit, I think there is a level of responsibility and maturity that needs to be taken before ANYONE gets married, regardless of situation, and especially with this situation that has so many more obstacles.

But I'd be a hypocrite to say I'd only bring someone over if I had like...beaucoups (omg is that how you spell beaucoups, french is completely gone...well it's late) of money. Me and my fiance will just be starting out out of school and have a good amount saved up, but that's really only thanks to two really supportive families and being lucky enough to get scholarships and not have debt, etc etc.

Don't know the situation. Katiedias, if you're worried, I WOULD consider going to India somehow for a bit? I don't know, I mean, how old are you guys? If you're kids we all seem more up for this stuff because we're stupid and reckless maybe Is there any sort of temporary work you could get in India, or your fiance could get here? Or are your ties to the US just now very strong?

I would advise everyone to be with your fiance a good while before starting this process just to be sure it's what you want and that you're strong/ready enough for the whole stressful ordeal. I'd say to make sure that you really WANT to do the immigration already, and that it's not just wanting to be with your fiance; because there's other ways you can be together and just fulfill that need for the moment.

[Jesse and Hema 2]

I agree with the above two posts, without it meaning anything personal to katiedias at all though. Some other posts on the forum have scared me before a bit, I think there is a level of responsibility and maturity that needs to be taken before ANYONE gets married, regardless of situation, and especially with this situation that has so many more obstacles.

But I'd be a hypocrite to say I'd only bring someone over if I had like...beaucoups (omg is that how you spell beaucoups, french is completely gone...well it's late) of money. Me and my fiance will just be starting out out of school and have a good amount saved up, but that's really only thanks to two really supportive families and being lucky enough to get scholarships and not have debt, etc etc.

Don't know the situation. Katiedias, if you're worried, I WOULD consider going to India somehow for a bit? I don't know, I mean, how old are you guys? If you're kids we all seem more up for this stuff because we're stupid and reckless maybe Is there any sort of temporary work you could get in India, or your fiance could get here? Or are your ties to the US just now very strong?

I would advise everyone to be with your fiance a good while before starting this process just to be sure it's what you want and that you're strong/ready enough for the whole stressful ordeal. I'd say to make sure that you really WANT to do the immigration already, and that it's not just wanting to be with your fiance; because there's other ways you can be together and just fulfill that need for the moment.

Stating that you went to school... and spelling "beaucoups" correctly.... is redundant.

Major kudos