Request for Initial Evidence

[chantpleure 0]

My wife filed for adjustment of status in December, and just this last Saturday we got a letter saying I did not provide enough proof of income as the supporting spouse of the petitioner. I sent off everything I could get and we sent it all that day. I sent my teacher contract (as i am a school teacher), which specifies job description, salary etc. and also Nearly all of the direct deposit slips I have received for the past six months (which they asked for) and I'm only missing one from September.

Now we are very worried for several reasons:

1st, we are having our wedding in England in July, and we can't leave the country if they don't approve us before then and this is a HUGE setback. My family have already bought their plane tickets and we've booked the church etc. (we had a civil marriage here for legal purposes already).

2nd, I realized on the initial form, I accidentally overestimated my annual income by $275. Seems like it isn't much, but I worry if they might be extremely precise and throw out our application for that tiny mistake.

I tried calling the USCIS and through checking the thread on getting through the automated system, i finally got to talk to a person who was of absolutely zero help, said I should contact my local application support office, and then i found out that the local office has no phone number (apparently), you just can not find it at all.

I don't know how to confirm I have sent off the right stuff or if there is a way to clear thigns up so our application doesn't take an extra 3 months longer than it would.

[KIMCORENE 0]

Did you also send your IRS transcripts for up to the current year, W-2s, etc? If that is the case and you still didn't meet the income levels, seek a co-sponsor and have them submit an affidavit of support on your behalf, as well as resubmitting yours.

[chantpleure 0]

Yes, we also sent W-2s, along with 6 months of pay stubs.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Yes, we also sent W-2s, along with 6 months of pay stubs.

It says in the instructions for the I-864

You must provide either an IRS transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year.

If you sent only the W-2 (which are only needed if you sent a photocopy of the above) - then that may be why they RFI you.

1. Never, ever make plans till you have the visa/card in hand. - Your about the 10th case I have seen that did this on this site alone! Well, nothing you can do about it now, just give them the info they require and hope they finish it fast.

2. $275? Unless your razor close to the poverty level (125%) - it should not hurt you.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Did you submit a request for an I-131 Advance Parole document when you submitted the AOS? AP takes about 90 days to process and allows the holder to travel out of the US and return while waiting for the AOS to be processed. If you did file for this even if the green card isn't approved in time, the AP should be and you can travel with that. If you didn't apply for I-131 - then do it now and stipulate that you have travel arrangements for such and such a date. Hopefully one or the other will arrive in time.

Unless, of course, your wife has out of status time in the US, in which case you won't want to risk the I-131.

Edited March 11, 2009 by Kathryn41

[chantpleure 0]

It says in the instructions for the I-864

You must provide either an IRS transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year.

If you sent only the W-2 (which are only needed if you sent a photocopy of the above) - then that may be why they RFI you.

1. Never, ever make plans till you have the visa/card in hand. - Your about the 10th case I have seen that did this on this site alone! Well, nothing you can do about it now, just give them the info they require and hope they finish it fast.

2. $275? Unless your razor close to the poverty level (125%) - it should not hurt you.

When we initially sent the AOS package my partners W-2s had not come in yet and he had no other W-2s for the past couple of years because he didn't have to file (was a student).

We sent the W-2 forms along with a copy of his contract and the last 6months of paystubs. Are you saying that we also need to send the IRS transcript? (fyi, i'm not sure what this document is as taxes are handled differently in the UK, are you given it when you file taxes or after you have received your return?)

It seemed to me that it was a common occurrence for people to file for AP and make plans based on their being able to leave the country if their application wasn't approved in a timely manner. I thought that 6 months would be enough time

We are not razor close to the poverty level, we are just concerned that they will be ####### about the accuracy in the form.

Did you submit a request for an I-131 Advance Parole document when you submitted the AOS? AP takes about 90 days to process and allows the holder to travel out of the US and return while waiting for the AOS to be processed. If you did file for this even if the green card isn't approved in time, the AP should be and you can travel with that. If you didn't apply for I-131 - then do it now and stipulate that you have travel arrangements for such and such a date. Hopefully one or the other will arrive in time.

Unless, of course, your wife has out of status time in the US, in which case you won't want to risk the I-131.

Yes, we filed for the AP document when we sent our AOS package, so hopefully it will arrive in time.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Here's a copy of something I posted recently in the UK forum that might help you understand taxes. It was in reference to proof of income at the embassy, but the tax info is the same. ~~

The tax form 1040 and the W2 are ONE piece of evidence.

Let me explain the tax stuff. You fill out the 1040 when you're going to file your taxes. Your tax return could easily have other parts like a Schedule A, C, D, etc depending on your situation and source of income. When you're ready to mail the forms, you staple your W2(s) to the front page. That's a statement each employer sends out in Jan. telling your total income for the previous year. If you had 3 jobs during the year, then you'd have three W2s. You could also get income not earned from working shown on a Form 1099. So a complete tax return might be as simple as a form 1040 and one W2, or it could be Form 1040, Schedule A, Schedule D, three W2s and a 1099-R. Whatever you are required to send in to the IRS if mailing, is considered your complete tax return, no matter how many pages. So that's a bunch of papers that equals ONE proof of income. Anybody could fake up a form 1040 and say they made $40,000 so that's why embassies must have the W2 with that 1040. The W2s back up the amount of money your 1040 says you made.

Tax transcripts are summaries of your whole tax return provided free by the IRS. They can't be faked because it's a copy/summary of your whole tax return picture, basically certified by the IRS because it's issued by them. That's why you don't have to include any 1040, Schedules, W2s or 1099s if you send a transcript.