Got a RFE today because of my financial sponsor?

[TonyDanza 0]

Hi all.

Well I had a depressing day. Pulled up to my mailbox and freaked in excitment as I saw what I thought was my biometrics letter from USCIS.

Nope.

Instead a nice yellow RFE regarding my i-485. Apparently, my joint sponsor who is a real estate agent and friend who makes well in excess of 125,000 per year, is not adequately above the poverty line. At least this is what I am to assume, as the yellow letter is some generic piece of mail back garbage with three boxes which USCIS has checked all three. And the description next to each box is about a vague as it gets without any case specificity.

I feel like swearing and slamming my hand through a window. I am SO frustrated. I spent WEEKS checking and rechecking that material not to mention I am on such a time crunch although I know we all are

What I dont understand is what I am missing. Of course it is Sat today and the office is only open Mon to Fri so when I call I get nothing.

I included for my wifes affidavit of support, and for my joint sponsor, a photocopy of each of their most recent tax refund statements (whatever its called.) My wife is a bartender so her on paper income didnt exceed 125% of the poverty line this my friend's joint sponsor who far exceeds the limits. The year before he made near a quarter million.

Anyway, not sure what I may have been missing. Any clues? And if I call Mon does an actual human with at least a tiny brain answer? Here's hoping.

Blah, I'm going for a beer. ;(

[carmie and aldo 0]

I'm sorry for what happened!! i really am... it must suck getting one of those damn letters but anyways

My question here is...

Can you put a friend as a co-sponsor for the 1-864?

Not really sure but if that was not the problem, then i dont know whats wrong...

Maybe USCIS thinks that since you dont make enough, or your wife that triggered the RFE

They prolly think that your friend is not actually going to support you just in case you ever need some money

I dont know thats me....

Hope somebody with more experience would tell you what to do!!!

Sorry !!

Keep up Good Luck

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi there. We're October filers too. Not sure what you sent in but here's some suggestions of what's needed.

Your wife (the USC?) fills out the whole I-864 form and so does the friend. Did you send two forms in?

Each form needs proof that the sponsor is a US citizen, so should have a birth certificate or US passport photocopy attached to show their citizenship.

The refund statement isn't a tax return if that's what you actually sent. They should send in their complete tax return, which would be the IRS form 1040 or 1040A or 1040EZ. It should be every page, no matter how long the return was. Some people have additional pages like Schedule C or D that are part of the complete return. And along with that to show additional proof of the income on the tax return, they should send photocopies of their W-2 statements that come from their employers to use in filing their returns. (Those are always stapled to the front of the tax return when you file taxes.) Extra copies of those W-2s are always sent out so the person has one to keep for their records.

OR instead of all those papers with the tax return, they can order and mail in a tax transcript. They are free from the IRS and just take a few days to get in the mail. The tax payer can fax in the request or call them up and order over the phone. Here's the form. The instructions give fax numbers of where to order because it depends on the state where they live as there are several locations. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf In part 6, write form "1040" and check box "a". They can order 3 years worth on the same form, so they might as well get them. Three years of tax returns is optional, but we sent three with the I-864 since we had them.

Also, the instructions for the I-864 are about 8 pages long, so read those over again for help.

Good luck to you!

Edited November 23, 2008 by Nich-Nick

[Otto 83]

Instead a nice yellow RFE regarding my i-485. Apparently, my joint sponsor who is a real estate agent and friend who makes well in excess of 125,000 per year, is not adequately above the poverty line. At least this is what I am to assume, as the yellow letter is some generic piece of mail back garbage with three boxes which USCIS has checked all three. And the description next to each box is about a vague as it gets without any case specificity. Could you be more specific about the RFE's description(s) that were checked off.

I feel like swearing and slamming my hand through a window. I am SO frustrated. I spent WEEKS checking and rechecking that material not to mention I am on such a time crunch although I know we all are

What I dont understand is what I am missing. Of course it is Sat today and the office is only open Mon to Fri so when I call I get nothing.

I included for my wifes affidavit of support, and for my joint sponsor, a photocopy of each of their most recent tax refund statements Income Tax Return (whatever its called.) My wife is a bartender so her on paper income didnt exceed 125% of the poverty line this my friend's joint sponsor who far exceeds the limits. The year before he made near a quarter million You/your co-sponsor could have submitted additional Income Tax Returns, not just a single/most-recent year..

[TonyDanza 0]

Aw, thanks so much I really appreciate it.

Yes I filed out two complete forms for both sponsors. Also included main page passport photocopies.

I think I may have gone wrong where I only filed a photocopy of my joint sponsors return as I thought was all that they required. Additionally I thought only the most recent tax year was required. I guess I will look into getting those additional forms tomorrow but I appreciate your assistance!

[payxibka 10,045]

Since the sponsor is a real estate agent they are probably self-employed and therefore requires 3 years of returns...

[link09 0]

Definitely submit the returns for the past 3 years, and the specific documents that were asked for in the RFE letter. You can also draft a cover letter explaining in detail how the joint sponsors together can illustrate the financial support. Don't panic. An RFE is not the end of the world. I received one myself, and it did not delay my case processing. Hang in there.

[chrismatt84 0]

Definitely submit the returns for the past 3 years, and the specific documents that were asked for in the RFE letter. You can also draft a cover letter explaining in detail how the joint sponsors together can illustrate the financial support. Don't panic. An RFE is not the end of the world. I received one myself, and it did not delay my case processing. Hang in there.

Along with all this, you need to send in your sponsors job letters that show how much they make in a year. Usually this is hard to get for people that own their own businesses. Did you sponsors show assets instead of income. I remember seeing a previous case that a vj member showed the spouse to be a real estate agent who owned 40 appartments which he showed as assets to be worth in the millions. But USCIS sent that person a RFE. USCIS see assets not as ready cash. USCIS really needs to see a letter on exactly how much they make in a year and not just an estimation of how much assets are worth. So you also need to show tax returns for the most recent year. Hope this helps in some way.

[link09 0]

Definitely submit the returns for the past 3 years, and the specific documents that were asked for in the RFE letter. You can also draft a cover letter explaining in detail how the joint sponsors together can illustrate the financial support. Don't panic. An RFE is not the end of the world. I received one myself, and it did not delay my case processing. Hang in there.

Along with all this, you need to send in your sponsors job letters that show how much they make in a year. Usually this is hard to get for people that own their own businesses. Did you sponsors show assets instead of income. I remember seeing a previous case that a vj member showed the spouse to be a real estate agent who owned 40 appartments which he showed as assets to be worth in the millions. But USCIS sent that person a RFE. USCIS see assets not as ready cash. USCIS really needs to see a letter on exactly how much they make in a year and not just an estimation of how much assets are worth. So you also need to show tax returns for the most recent year. Hope this helps in some way.

Correct. In case of showing asset, if it's in real estate, you need evidence showing the properties being valued by a certified assessor. Other form of assets, we showed our ownership in mutual funds, bank CDs/savings, in addition to the tax returns... We probably sent in more than what's asked for, but I was paranoid and wanted to get our bases covered.