I-864 Tax Information

[jedinite 0]

We have been using James' Shortcuts to get to our interview faster but I am curious on the copies of the W-2s and the Federal Tax Returns required for the last 3 years.

We have copies of our 2005-2007 tax returns but when you submit your forms with the I-864 are we submitting photocopies or do they have to be the originals? We didn't order copies from the IRS yet. Can we just get copies from our accountant and submit those?

[jbhypno 0]

Copies are fine as long as you have your 1099s and W2s. If you don't then tax transcripts are necessary. I use Turbotax and just print out the returns.

JBHypno

[Mononoke28 135]

Absolutely. You only need to send photocopies of either one. Either copies of the tax returns along with the corresponding W2s, or copies of the IRS transcripts.

Diana

[jedinite 0]

Thanks to you both. I have copies of my tax returns along with the copies of the W2s then we're fine? I just want to ensure that we are no required to submit originals (of the W2) as we'd like to keep them for our records. We have also ordered IRS transcripts already, they should be arriving in a week.

[Fedup 0]

We have been using James' Shortcuts to get to our interview faster but I am curious on the copies of the W-2s and the Federal Tax Returns required for the last 3 years.

We have copies of our 2005-2007 tax returns but when you submit your forms with the I-864 are we submitting photocopies or do they have to be the originals? We didn't order copies from the IRS yet. Can we just get copies from our accountant and submit those?

Hi jedinite,

If you read 864 instructions it clearly says that you have to send 1 year COPY of the 1040 tax return with relevant schedules, not 3, and not transcripts. It says that you have to send 3 years ONLY if you feel that it will help your case (if you had less then needed last year, etc.). Transcripts are OPTIONAL if you do not have copies.

W2 or 1099 should be copies, as you are supposed to keep originals for yourself, they do not expect you to send them.

Seems like James shortcuts and Loto guide have incorrect tax info, and confuses a lot of people here. Someone should correct them, or post corrected info.

Also it's not a good idea to volunteer more info than needed. It might confuse them into thinking you are not meeting requirements or have other, unstated reasons to provide more info than required, and can cause them to issue rfe.

So, it any case, 864 form instructions are the ones you should carefully follow.

[jedinite 0]

We have been using James' Shortcuts to get to our interview faster but I am curious on the copies of the W-2s and the Federal Tax Returns required for the last 3 years.

We have copies of our 2005-2007 tax returns but when you submit your forms with the I-864 are we submitting photocopies or do they have to be the originals? We didn't order copies from the IRS yet. Can we just get copies from our accountant and submit those?

Hi jedinite,

If you read 864 instructions it clearly says that you have to send 1 year COPY of the 1040 tax return with relevant schedules, not 3, and not transcripts. It says that you have to send 3 years ONLY if you feel that it will help your case (if you had less then needed last year, etc.). Transcripts are OPTIONAL if you do not have copies.

W2 or 1099 should be copies, as you are supposed to keep originals for yourself, they do not expect you to send them.

Seems like James shortcuts and Loto guide have incorrect tax info, and confuses a lot of people here. Someone should correct them, or post corrected info.

Also it's not a good idea to volunteer more info than needed. It might confuse them into thinking you are not meeting requirements or have other, unstated reasons to provide more info than required, and can cause them to issue rfe.

So, it any case, 864 form instructions are the ones you should carefully follow.

Thanks FedUp. I guess it confused me a bit with James' Shortcut because I wasn't certain if they meant official copies or just copies (photocopies). My wife was a student for the past few years before last year so I don't know if those last few years will really help us out. I was pretty much supporting my wife through school because I was working in the US on a TN Visa. I'm sure her company letter and last year's return should show significant proof that she's making over the poverty limit. Thanks again.

[Fedup 0]

We have been using James' Shortcuts to get to our interview faster but I am curious on the copies of the W-2s and the Federal Tax Returns required for the last 3 years.

We have copies of our 2005-2007 tax returns but when you submit your forms with the I-864 are we submitting photocopies or do they have to be the originals? We didn't order copies from the IRS yet. Can we just get copies from our accountant and submit those?

Hi jedinite,

If you read 864 instructions it clearly says that you have to send 1 year COPY of the 1040 tax return with relevant schedules, not 3, and not transcripts. It says that you have to send 3 years ONLY if you feel that it will help your case (if you had less then needed last year, etc.). Transcripts are OPTIONAL if you do not have copies.

W2 or 1099 should be copies, as you are supposed to keep originals for yourself, they do not expect you to send them.

Seems like James shortcuts and Loto guide have incorrect tax info, and confuses a lot of people here. Someone should correct them, or post corrected info.

Also it's not a good idea to volunteer more info than needed. It might confuse them into thinking you are not meeting requirements or have other, unstated reasons to provide more info than required, and can cause them to issue rfe.

So, it any case, 864 form instructions are the ones you should carefully follow.

Thanks FedUp. I guess it confused me a bit with James' Shortcut because I wasn't certain if they meant official copies or just copies (photocopies). My wife was a student for the past few years before last year so I don't know if those last few years will really help us out. I was pretty much supporting my wife through school because I was working in the US on a TN Visa. I'm sure her company letter and last year's return should show significant proof that she's making over the poverty limit. Thanks again.

Yes, especially in your case, she should only be sending last year's returns copies. It is sufficient, and previous years will only be a confusion and a negative info.

As far as official copies or photocopies of w2, originals are supposed to be in kept by taxpayer I think. I have to keep my 1099s, so probably same with w2s. It's only between the taxpayer and IRS, all the rest get copies.

Also, 864 instructions state that if you feel that it can help the case, she might include copies of this year's paystubs. Not required, but might be a good idea if there is a concern.

[Garu 0]

We have been using James' Shortcuts to get to our interview faster but I am curious on the copies of the W-2s and the Federal Tax Returns required for the last 3 years.

We have copies of our 2005-2007 tax returns but when you submit your forms with the I-864 are we submitting photocopies or do they have to be the originals? We didn't order copies from the IRS yet. Can we just get copies from our accountant and submit those?

Hi jedinite,

If you read 864 instructions it clearly says that you have to send 1 year COPY of the 1040 tax return with relevant schedules, not 3, and not transcripts. It says that you have to send 3 years ONLY if you feel that it will help your case (if you had less then needed last year, etc.). Transcripts are OPTIONAL if you do not have copies.

W2 or 1099 should be copies, as you are supposed to keep originals for yourself, they do not expect you to send them.

Seems like James shortcuts and Loto guide have incorrect tax info, and confuses a lot of people here. Someone should correct them, or post corrected info.

Also it's not a good idea to volunteer more info than needed. It might confuse them into thinking you are not meeting requirements or have other, unstated reasons to provide more info than required, and can cause them to issue rfe.

So, it any case, 864 form instructions are the ones you should carefully follow.

Notwithstanding what form 864 says about just sending tax returns for one year, I wonder if the package information received from NVC specifically asks for three years of tax returns. It seems everybody sends three years.

As we know form 864 is used for other things in addition to immigrant petitions so maybe in other cases one year is good but NVC might want to see all three years worth of returns.

Hopefully someone who is further along the process and received the 864 information package from NVC can say something.

Edited September 8, 2008 by Garu

[Lars-N-Yenia 8]

We have been using James' Shortcuts to get to our interview faster but I am curious on the copies of the W-2s and the Federal Tax Returns required for the last 3 years.

We have copies of our 2005-2007 tax returns but when you submit your forms with the I-864 are we submitting photocopies or do they have to be the originals? We didn't order copies from the IRS yet. Can we just get copies from our accountant and submit those?

Hi jedinite,

If you read 864 instructions it clearly says that you have to send 1 year COPY of the 1040 tax return with relevant schedules, not 3, and not transcripts. It says that you have to send 3 years ONLY if you feel that it will help your case (if you had less then needed last year, etc.). Transcripts are OPTIONAL if you do not have copies.

W2 or 1099 should be copies, as you are supposed to keep originals for yourself, they do not expect you to send them.

Seems like James shortcuts and Loto guide have incorrect tax info, and confuses a lot of people here. Someone should correct them, or post corrected info.

Also it's not a good idea to volunteer more info than needed. It might confuse them into thinking you are not meeting requirements or have other, unstated reasons to provide more info than required, and can cause them to issue rfe.

So, it any case, 864 form instructions are the ones you should carefully follow.

Notwithstanding what form 864 says about just sending tax returns for one year, I wonder if the package information received from NVC specifically asks for three years of tax returns. It seems everybody sends three years.

As we know form 864 is used for other things in addition to immigrant petitions so maybe in other cases one year is good but NVC might want to see all three years worth of returns.

Hopefully someone who is further along the process and received the 864 information package from NVC can say something.

i just sent sent off my AOS package today and selected the "optional" choice of sending 3 years of tax return transcripts (originals)...maybe just sending the 1 year would have been fine but felt that including 2 more years of proof that my income is above the requirements would only strengthen my AOS...also chose transcripts over copies of returns for the sole fact that transcripts are issued from the IRS (a government agency) and not from a third party such as H & R Block...also included an employment letter stating my 2008 wages are estimated to be identical to my 2007 wages...just my personal choice...good luck