Financial docs: how much is enough?

[waitman 0]

Hello, fellow waiting folks, may you have strength and patience! And let us all not get lost in, and get desperate over application milestones and one month delays but see the greater picture in life.

I filed I-129F in mid-November at CSC. Looks like Vermont is approving petitions from November so who knows, our turn may not be too far off. Therefore, I decided to try to collect all the financial information within the next month. I have 2 questions.

QUESTION 1:

It is OK to provide *copies* of everything except for letters that have signatures, right? That is, W-2s and paystubs don't need to be provided as originals, correct?

QUESTION 2 (trickier):

What is the reasonable amount of support-related information? I don't want to gather every shred of my financial history for my fiance's interview. I want to reveal as little of my finances as reasonable-- not more and not less. In general, these items are generally suggested:

1. Several recent pay stubs.

2. Letter from the supervisor at work.

3. W-2s for the last 3 years

4. Tax returns for the last 3 years.

5. Letters from Banks where one has savings accounts.

6. Proof of non-cash assets (bonds, stocks, automobiles etc)

7. I-134 which all of the above documents.

Did I get that right?

Now if my income from my job is sufficient based on the poverty guidelines, can I ignore items 5 and 6 without hurting my fiance's chances at the interview? If so, do I just leave these fields blank in I-134?

Finally, is it really necessary to provide 3 years of tax returns and W-2's? Tax returns for the last year, letter from the boss and a couple of paystubs seems more then enough to establish my situation before the consulate. Or is this a risky route to take?

I realize that the above sounds a bit strange so et me explain myself. My reluctance is not due to my laziness. She is in Latin America and over there it is possible to get kidnapped or become a victim of extortion should the wrong people find out about your finances. And even if these finances are humble by US standards, in Latin America most of us here would be considered quite well off! Due to the wide-spread corruption it may not be wise to assume that Fedex (if you're sending), Immigration agent at the border(if you're carrying yourself), apartment security etc will not leak the information to the bad guys. Yes, as crazy as it sounds, I don't want the love of my life to become vulnurable to greedy criminals. Of course, the risk is there merely because we are engaged but I want to keep it as low as possible.

Thank you for your help and good luck with your own visa journeys!

[dezcel 0]

I would also like to hear other's opinons on waitman's question 2.

I would prefer not to provide information on my bank account and my other assets. Is my salary, W-2, & Tax info enough information? Or do I take on some additional risk by not including banking/other asset info?

I have lots of info that I COULD provide, but I would prefer not to.

[Zee Bee 61]

If you meet the requirements on income alone all you need to provide is a letter from your employer, tax returns and W2s or tax transcripts and a few pay stubs to back it up.

You do not need bank letters, savings bonds etc etc. All of that is only needed if you need to use savings/assets to make up the difference.

[waitman 0]

If you meet the requirements on income alone all you need to provide is a letter from your employer, tax returns and W2s or tax transcripts and a few pay stubs to back it up.

You do not need bank letters, savings bonds etc etc. All of that is only needed if you need to use savings/assets to make up the difference.

Thank you, ZeeNusah!

But what about the "Assets" section of I-134? Do I just leave that blank (in which case the consulate might think I don't have any assets) or do I still fill that in but simply don't provide bank docs?

[Zee Bee 61]

If you meet the requirements on income alone all you need to provide is a letter from your employer, tax returns and W2s or tax transcripts and a few pay stubs to back it up.

You do not need bank letters, savings bonds etc etc. All of that is only needed if you need to use savings/assets to make up the difference.

Thank you, ZeeNusah!

But what about the "Assets" section of I-134? Do I just leave that blank (in which case the consulate might think I don't have any assets) or do I still fill that in but simply don't provide bank docs?

Leave it blank

[Sanjiv Patel 13]

waitman,

I concur with ZeeNusah. My case status is complete, and I did not provide any information on assets and proof thereof, as it is optional. Since, it is acceptable to NVC, I hope the consulate will not require anything more than what I had submitted (Tax returns of 3 years and job letter). I do not recollect if I provided pay stubs or W-2s, but I lean more towards not having provided W-2s and pay-stubs. If the AOS forms does not require any information, and other set of information is "optional" I would not bother providing this. However, that's a personal opinion, and obviously there is no harm in providing more than what is needed.

Good Luck.

Regards,

Sanjiv Patel