Foreign Earned Income and the I-864

[Yvie_and_Brett 0]

Yes, marriage is a big commitment and I have no problems with the I-864 BUT my hopeful co-sponsor has never met my wife and is a very cautious person. I just want to give her all the facts.

I understand that completely, it's a massive undertaking for anyone especially for a stranger. I hope you're able to set her mind at rest and gain her support

[dying2moveback 0]

I had the same issue. Basically, unless the income continues once you move to the US, you cannot count it as an income on the I-864. There are two solutions: either get a co-sponsor or use assets (yours and the intending immigrant). With assets, you have to make sure you meet the requirements of three times the povery line (form I-864P) for your household (you and your spouse =2, you and spouse and two kids =4, etc...).

[pgb47 0]

pgb47 - The I-864 is a 10 year agreement/contract with the US Government, it doesn't last forever. Also, it doesn't cost the co-sponsor anything, unless the immigrant ends up a burden on the State and the US Govt comes to the sponsors for reimbursement of any claims or benefits paid to the immigrant.

It IS a huge commitment, but no greater than that of marriage in the first place

My In-Laws are sponsoring me because I married their son and they believe in our marriage.

Yes, marriage is a big commitment and I have no problems with the I-864 BUT my hopeful co-sponsor has never met my wife and is a very cautious person. I just want to give her all the facts.

The I-864a says

15.

(Print Name)

a. Promise to provide any and all financial support necessary to assist the sponsor in maintaining the sponsored immigrant(s) at or above the minimum income provided for in section 213A(a)(1)(A) of the Act (not less than 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines during the period in which the affidavit of support is enforceable;

What kind of contract is this? Can this really be legally binding? Who determines the details when there is an issue. Ask someone to sign a contract with no details. I can not ask anyone to sign such a thing. I will just have to find a different way

[SandLand 1]

Can someone provide additional details on how to use assets in lieu of income? I believe I read previous posts where you must have 5x the poverty line in liquid assets. So, would that be 17,500 x 5 = $87,500?

What types of assets can be used as proof? Mutual fund accounts, 401k, stocks, bonds?

My wife and I are planning to move from Kuwait back to the US next year. During the initial I-130 petition the consular said that I would need to bring a letter saying that my job is being transferred back to the US. Anyway, I plan to show a job offer letter and then use my mutual funds and stocks as assets for the I-864. Does anyone see a problem with this?

Thanks!

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Can someone provide additional details on how to use assets in lieu of income? I believe I read previous posts where you must have 5x the poverty line in liquid assets. So, would that be 17,500 x 5 = $87,500?

What types of assets can be used as proof? Mutual fund accounts, 401k, stocks, bonds?

My wife and I are planning to move from Kuwait back to the US next year. During the initial I-130 petition the consular said that I would need to bring a letter saying that my job is being transferred back to the US. Anyway, I plan to show a job offer letter and then use my mutual funds and stocks as assets for the I-864. Does anyone see a problem with this?

Thanks!

It's x3 if you are sponsoring a spouse, otherwise (for kids, parents or if using a co-sponsor) it's x5.

Assets must be able to be liquidated within one year without undue difficulty or hardship. So for example if you only have one car, they may not acept it as an assets, as in the USA, you kind of need a car to get around, and they may not accept a house which is valued only slightly over the asset amount needed as due to the current economy, it might be difficult to sell it within one year. Also some embassies want any assets to be used to be US based, but some are more lenient and allow foreign based assets.

I think your assets should be fine, just provide a recent evaluation. If you are being transfered (as opposed to taking on a new job), they may even accept that income and you won't need to proof assets at all. FYI, we used a US based savings account and a US house without a mortgage on it as assets (no income at all).

[viol8torUK 0]

Hi there, sorry for jumping in on this thread with yet another question.....

My wife (USC) is about to petition for IR-1 on my behalf (I-130), at the US Embassy in London, UK. She is here in the UK on a 2year spouse visa that expires in March 2010. We are hoping to have the visa process completed before then and want to both move to the US together.

I'm looking ahead at the next stage of the process and in particular the I-864 form. Questions 22, 23, 24 and 25 are confusing me currently....

Here is our situation - hopefully someone will be able to tell me how to complete this section of the form.

My wife works part time in the UK and currently has no US employment (but we are hoping for a job offer before she leaves the UK with a previous US employer - not in time for I-864 submission though). She will not be transferring her UK job to the US. She has filed US taxes every year. Even this year (January 2009) when she was in the UK and had part year UK earnings and part year US earnings for 2008 - her tax return in January 2010 will show just foreign earned income for 2009. Her part-time salary in the UK is not high enough to cover the poverty requirements.

What figure should she put in the income box? this last 12months UK pay, converted into $ - even though this job will not continue in the US? Or should she put $0.00 (unless she get5s a confirmed job offer before we submit the form).

I (the intending immigrant) currently work in the UK, and my employer will continue to employ me in the US, paid directly from London. They will supply supporting evidence for this and will also confirm my gross salary in US$. My gross salary in US$ will more than satisfy the poverty requirements (I will be earning around $50k gross per year).

My current income is in UK £.... do I just convert my current income into $ and put it in the relevant box?

What do we put in the relevant questions? Do they only relate to what earnings we have earned (or will earn) in the US? i.e. do we just ignore foreign earned income for the last 12months? Even though my predicted US$ earnings for the next 12months and onwards will be much higher than the required amount for poverty requirements, do we still need to have a co-sponsor or will my predicted US earnings (with confirmation of this from my employer) be enough?

as you can see, I'm very confused about this!!

Thanks

Tony

[tibortt 0]

I have been working in China for five years and now my wife and I want to move to the US. I get Social Security but not enough to meet the 125% requirement. We have some saving but not enough.

I have been looking at the information I find about co-sponsors and I do not like what I find. It is vague and has NO time limit. I can find no limits as to how much this could cost my co-sponsor. There is no way to end or modify the "contract". If some one were to ask me to be a co-sponsor, I would not even consider it.

I do not feel I can in good conscience ask a relative to make such a commitment. So we will try to save money and maybe in about 5 years we will be ready to make the move.

I could go to the US without my wife and find a job, since a job in China will not help. But at 62 years old and 10% unemployment in the US, we should probably just adjust to staying in China.

sad

pgb47

I am sorry reading your post. You are sincere and honest! I wish you all the luck in the world to make your move as soon as your situation improves. With kind regards, tibortt