Using Joint Sponsor

[ally and moh 3]

How do I calculate household size when using a friend as a joint sponsor? Does the income from all sources combine to form as one lump sum and then one household size or how do i do this with the I134? My sponsor has a wife and 2 kids and then there is myself and my fiance. Of course we don't live together. But do I add all the income for myself and the sponsor (his wife does not work) and count it as a household of 6? I hope I am making this clear. I think we are going to be very close to the guidelines and I want to be sure, as I don't want to list his assets if I don't HAVE to.

I just went back to work in November after I got divorced, so my fiance and I will be ok now, but my history looks bad. And my friend really wants to help, but I am trying to keep him from revealing too much information, only the tax transcripts if possible.

Thanks for any advice!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

How do I calculate household size when using a friend as a joint sponsor? Does the income from all sources combine to form as one lump sum and then one household size or how do i do this with the I134? My sponsor has a wife and 2 kids and then there is myself and my fiance. Of course we don't live together. But do I add all the income for myself and the sponsor (his wife does not work) and count it as a household of 6? I hope I am making this clear. I think we are going to be very close to the guidelines and I want to be sure, as I don't want to list his assets if I don't HAVE to.

I just went back to work in November after I got divorced, so my fiance and I will be ok now, but my history looks bad. And my friend really wants to help, but I am trying to keep him from revealing too much information, only the tax transcripts if possible.

Thanks for any advice!

Technically, it's not a "joint" sponsor, but a co-sponsor. You don't combine your income with theirs. Each of you fill out the I-134. Your I-134 should contain your information, and your co-sponsor's I-134 should contain their information. If your income, as stated on your I-134, is not enough to qualify under YOUR circumstances, then your co-sponsor's income, as stated on THEIR I-134, must be enough to qualify under THEIR circumstances. Again, you don't combine your income with theirs.

Your I-134 should state how many people, including yourself and your fiance whom you are sponsoring, you would be supporting. If it's only you and your fiance then you list 2.

Your co-sponsor's I-134 should state how many people, including himself and your fiance whom he would be sponsoring, he would be supporting. If he's got a wife and 2 kids, then the total would be 5. Your co-sponsor does not include you as a potential dependent.

The tax transcripts are usually enough, but the consulate may insist on more. Each consulate makes their own determination about whether the beneficiary is likely to become a public charge.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

How do I calculate household size when using a friend as a joint sponsor? Does the income from all sources combine to form as one lump sum and then one household size or how do i do this with the I134? My sponsor has a wife and 2 kids and then there is myself and my fiance. Of course we don't live together. But do I add all the income for myself and the sponsor (his wife does not work) and count it as a household of 6? I hope I am making this clear. I think we are going to be very close to the guidelines and I want to be sure, as I don't want to list his assets if I don't HAVE to.

I just went back to work in November after I got divorced, so my fiance and I will be ok now, but my history looks bad. And my friend really wants to help, but I am trying to keep him from revealing too much information, only the tax transcripts if possible.

Thanks for any advice!

Incomes do not combine.

Your friend will count his/her self plus your fiance(e) plus any other household members dependent on them (spouse or children) You count yourself, finace(e) and any other household members or children you have. PLUS if your fiance(e) has children you both need to include them in your family size calculations.

One of the sponsors must be over the poverty line for the family size. Your co-sponsors family size, as you describe it, is 5. He does not count you.

If you have a current job and can verify it as over the pverty level, you should be OK, but if the work history is bad, a co-sponsor is not bad to have. He will have to provide a separate I-134 and release his documentation, no way around that. If your income is sufficiient now, you may not need him to co-sponsor but bring it anyway.

[ally and moh 3]

Just to be safe on all this, I went ahead and contacted my embassy. They will allow more than one joint/co sponsor. So I may just go that route if I need to. This may also help others out there wondering about more than one joint/co sponsor. Contact your embassy to be sure about it. You never know until you ask!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Just to be safe on all this, I went ahead and contacted my embassy. They will allow more than one joint/co sponsor. So I may just go that route if I need to. This may also help others out there wondering about more than one joint/co sponsor. Contact your embassy to be sure about it. You never know until you ask!

Ok, but what is the point? If one co-sponsor qualifies on their own, what is the advantage of adding more? Why not just pick the one with the highest income?

As I said, you can't combine their incomes to get the amount you need to qualify. The only time I'm aware of that you can combine income is when you file the I-864 for AOS, and only if the co-sponsor is an immediate family member or dependent living in the same household.

[Anh map 2,098]

OP, did you specifically ask about when petitioning for K visa with the I-134? The I-864 which you will need at AOS has provisions for co/joint sponsors. Typically I-134 is a single person.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Just to be safe on all this, I went ahead and contacted my embassy. They will allow more than one joint/co sponsor. So I may just go that route if I need to. This may also help others out there wondering about more than one joint/co sponsor. Contact your embassy to be sure about it. You never know until you ask!

Ok, but what is the point? If one co-sponsor qualifies on their own, what is the advantage of adding more? Why not just pick the one with the highest income?

As I said, you can't combine their incomes to get the amount you need to qualify. The only time I'm aware of that you can combine income is when you file the I-864 for AOS, and only if the co-sponsor is an immediate family member or dependent living in the same household.

Exactly. They do not combine incomes for the I-134. If you had 25 joint sponsors and none of them meet the guidelines you are out of luck. If one does, you are good to go.

[ally and moh 3]

OP, did you specifically ask about when petitioning for K visa with the I-134? The I-864 which you will need at AOS has provisions for co/joint sponsors. Typically I-134 is a single person.

Yes. I said specifically K1 visa and I134. I asked "Can I have 2 joint/co sponsors for a K1 visa?"

The response was "You may use more than one sponsor."

I also explained that I had divorced late in 2008 and had then returned to work in November, so I now had the needed income, but my history did not look good because my only previous years income was from SS disability.

[Anh map 2,098]

OP, did you specifically ask about when petitioning for K visa with the I-134? The I-864 which you will need at AOS has provisions for co/joint sponsors. Typically I-134 is a single person.

Yes. I said specifically K1 visa and I134. I asked "Can I have 2 joint/co sponsors for a K1 visa?"

The response was "You may use more than one sponsor."

I also explained that I had divorced late in 2008 and had then returned to work in November, so I now had the needed income, but my history did not look good because my only previous years income was from SS disability.