When it comes time to send financial info - what do they require?

[Irish Pride 0]

I have not send in the K-1 petition yet and it will be a few months before i plan to. My question is this. When it comes time to provide proof of financial stability what will they accept as proof. My reason for asking is, i make more than enough money but most of my income is in the form of tips and my true financial status is not reflected on my pay check stubs. It would be no problem to just start claiming everything that i make and have it show on my stubs. Would this be all that i need to do? If so i will start doing that now so i can go ahead and start saving stubs. Will they look at the year to date or look at the amount of each check that i submit and average it out? If this wont work what do i need to do? Are they going to want to see past w2s? If so i will be screwed.

[payxibka 10,047]

Financial support ability is a consulate and not a petition stage situation. The answer depends on the consulate's local procedure. Check the website for the consulate where your SO will interview for more information

Moving thread to:

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

You are almost there and now you have to deal with the embassy. This is the place to post your experiences or questions related to this last step before moving to the US. Topics relating to I-134's, packets sent from consulate and medical & police certificates should be posted here.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I have not send in the K-1 petition yet and it will be a few months before i plan to. My question is this. When it comes time to provide proof of financial stability what will they accept as proof. My reason for asking is, i make more than enough money but most of my income is in the form of tips and my true financial status is not reflected on my pay check stubs. It would be no problem to just start claiming everything that i make and have it show on my stubs. Would this be all that i need to do? If so i will start doing that now so i can go ahead and start saving stubs. Will they look at the year to date or look at the amount of each check that i submit and average it out? If this wont work what do i need to do? Are they going to want to see past w2s? If so i will be screwed.

They will want to see more than just past W2's. At the very least, they will want a copy of your most recent tax return (including W2's), or a transcript of that return from the IRS. If you have not been claiming your tips as income then you are, as you say, "screwed". Either you submit an affidavit of support that looks like you don't have sufficient income to sponsor an immigrant, or you begin claiming all of your tips and admit to an agency of the federal government that you've been cheating on your taxes and not claiming the bulk of your income. Not an enviable position to be in.

An alternative would be to "come clean", and file revised returns for the years since you began that job. Of course, this will mean actually paying taxes for those years, including penalties and interest. Once the revised returns have been accepted, then you can get tax account transcripts (not simply tax transcripts) from the IRS showing the revised returns. The taxpayers of the US will thank you!

[Irish Pride 0]

It is my understanding that the minimum yearly income in order to to file a K1 is $17,500 per year. Is that correct? If that is so then all i would need to do is show at least that amount on my read end tax return this year. Is that correct? Does it matter where the income comes from? If my tax return shows that i make enough money does it matter that 75% comes from tips? Thanks.

[payxibka 10,047]

Eventually (if not at the Consulate) you need to meet 125% of the poverty limit for you family size

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf

[Irish Pride 0]

Eventually (if not at the Consulate) you need to meet 125% of the poverty limit for you family size

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf

OK, but that doesnt answer any of my questions.

[Anh map 2,098]

Typically your pay stubs and employer letter carry more weight in demonstrating current earnings than the last year's tax return. So claiming all tips each pay period does seem to make sense for you.

Many consulates follow the 125% income requirement for the I-134 as well. I have seen posts here on VJ in the last few months where Manila has been using the 100% income number. Check in the PI regional forum for Manila specific confirmation and feedback.

You will be filing AOS a short time after your fiance (then wife) enters the US, so preparing to meet that 125% requirement is worth planning for. Having your new spouse spend any time out of status is not fair to them. Plus it can complicate getting a driver's license as well as not having work authorization.

[payxibka 10,047]

Eventually (if not at the Consulate) you need to meet 125% of the poverty limit for you family size

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf

OK, but that doesnt answer any of my questions.

yes, it does because you should be prepared for the AOS stage and not be short sighted. For a family of 2 is $18,212

[jwk2003 3]

Eventually (if not at the Consulate) you need to meet 125% of the poverty limit for you family size

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf

OK, but that doesnt answer any of my questions.

yes, it does because you should be prepared for the AOS stage and not be short sighted. For a family of 2 is $18,212

There are so many fees associated with the k1 and the AOS fee alone is around $1010.00. I would research all the associated costs for the K-1 and budget accordingly.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Given just the immigration fees you will be paying over the next 5 years , your food, energy, entertainment, insurance, driving expenses, etc.... A good rule of thumb to determine if you can afford to bring a foreign immigrant spouse into your life, is that the day she lands here in your arms, you should have approximately $10K in the bank in reserve funds to handle all your immediate and future expenses for your new bride.

If $10K seems to be an unreachable pipe dream, then you may need to further reality check your goals. Sorry, but this is the harsh and expensive reality of bringing in a foreign bride into your life and treating her right.

[gary9891 10]

Typically your pay stubs and employer letter carry more weight in demonstrating current earnings than the last year's tax return. So claiming all tips each pay period does seem to make sense for you.

Many consulates follow the 125% income requirement for the I-134 as well. I have seen posts here on VJ in the last few months where Manila has been using the 100% income number. Check in the PI regional forum for Manila specific confirmation and feedback.

You will be filing AOS a short time after your fiance (then wife) enters the US, so preparing to meet that 125% requirement is worth planning for. Having your new spouse spend any time out of status is not fair to them. Plus it can complicate getting a driver's license as well as not having work authorization.

We just finished (July 09) our 129F/I-134 with the Manila consulate and they required the 125% income requirement. Maybe it depends on the officer which figure to use, 100% or 125%.

[pushbrk 13,133]

Given just the immigration fees you will be paying over the next 5 years , your food, energy, entertainment, insurance, driving expenses, etc.... A good rule of thumb to determine if you can afford to bring a foreign immigrant spouse into your life, is that the day she lands here in your arms, you should have approximately $10K in the bank in reserve funds to handle all your immediate and future expenses for your new bride.

If $10K seems to be an unreachable pipe dream, then you may need to further reality check your goals. Sorry, but this is the harsh and expensive reality of bringing in a foreign bride into your life and treating her right.

It would be wonderrful if all could match such an expectation but it has nothing to do with whether a visa will be approved. The OP isn't saying he's broke. He's saying his unclaimed tip income makes his actual financial condition significantly better than tax returns and pay stubs evidence. He's looking for suggestions for how to qualify as a sponsor, not how much money he should have in savings to deal with the financial requirements of being married to a foreigner. For all we know, he's flush with cash. Let's stick to the issue.

[Irish Pride 0]

Given just the immigration fees you will be paying over the next 5 years , your food, energy, entertainment, insurance, driving expenses, etc.... A good rule of thumb to determine if you can afford to bring a foreign immigrant spouse into your life, is that the day she lands here in your arms, you should have approximately $10K in the bank in reserve funds to handle all your immediate and future expenses for your new bride.

If $10K seems to be an unreachable pipe dream, then you may need to further reality check your goals. Sorry, but this is the harsh and expensive reality of bringing in a foreign bride into your life and treating her right.

It would be wonderrful if all could match such an expectation but it has nothing to do with whether a visa will be approved. The OP isn't saying he's broke. He's saying his unclaimed tip income makes his actual financial condition significantly better than tax returns and pay stubs evidence. He's looking for suggestions for how to qualify as a sponsor, not how much money he should have in savings to deal with the financial requirements of being married to a foreigner. For all we know, he's flush with cash. Let's stick to the issue.

Thanks!! That is exactly what my situation is. I make plenty of money. I am not worried about all of the costs associated with bringing my future wife to the states. What i need to know is if i start claiming all of my tips now(which i should already be doing), will i be able to submit them as evidence that i make enough money? Thanks for all of the responces.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Given just the immigration fees you will be paying over the next 5 years , your food, energy, entertainment, insurance, driving expenses, etc.... A good rule of thumb to determine if you can afford to bring a foreign immigrant spouse into your life, is that the day she lands here in your arms, you should have approximately $10K in the bank in reserve funds to handle all your immediate and future expenses for your new bride.

If $10K seems to be an unreachable pipe dream, then you may need to further reality check your goals. Sorry, but this is the harsh and expensive reality of bringing in a foreign bride into your life and treating her right.

It would be wonderrful if all could match such an expectation but it has nothing to do with whether a visa will be approved. The OP isn't saying he's broke. He's saying his unclaimed tip income makes his actual financial condition significantly better than tax returns and pay stubs evidence. He's looking for suggestions for how to qualify as a sponsor, not how much money he should have in savings to deal with the financial requirements of being married to a foreigner. For all we know, he's flush with cash. Let's stick to the issue.

Thanks!! That is exactly what my situation is. I make plenty of money. I am not worried about all of the costs associated with bringing my future wife to the states. What i need to know is if i start claiming all of my tips now(which i should already be doing), will i be able to submit them as evidence that i make enough money? Thanks for all of the responces.

You're going to have to submit last year's tax return or transcript, no matter what. I've never heard of a consulate that doesn't require this as an absolute minimum, and I know that Manila requires it. They are going to look at your current wages, as well as your tax return. If your current wages show you are qualified then you should be OK, but remember that the CO has a lot of latitude with the I-134. If he sees that your income last year was below the minimum, as evidenced by your tax return, he may wonder what changed between then and now. He may wonder if your current income is a reliable indicator of your future income, since it isn't supported by your evidence of your past income. He may look at your employment history on your G-325A to see if there are any clues. If that shows you were working at the same job for the past couple of years (or more), then he may think that your current income is either a fluke, or you're padding the numbers to make it look like you qualify. He may want the discrepancy explained, and he has the authority to ask for further evidence, like an additional two years of tax returns. If those returns also show low income then, as Ricky Ricardo used to say, "You've got some 'splainin to do!".

I'm not saying that any of this is going to happen. It depends entirely on the CO. I'm just saying you should think about this the way a CO is going to think about it. The CO's in the Philippines are known to be picky about the "public charge" requirements. They understand explanations like "I was a student last year", or "I just got a new job". If they want an explanation from you, what are you going to tell them?

[LadyGwen 0]

I have not send in the K-1 petition yet and it will be a few months before i plan to. My question is this. When it comes time to provide proof of financial stability what will they accept as proof. My reason for asking is, i make more than enough money but most of my income is in the form of tips and my true financial status is not reflected on my pay check stubs. It would be no problem to just start claiming everything that i make and have it show on my stubs. Would this be all that i need to do? If so i will start doing that now so i can go ahead and start saving stubs. Will they look at the year to date or look at the amount of each check that i submit and average it out? If this wont work what do i need to do? Are they going to want to see past w2s? If so i will be screwed.

If your just sponsoring your fiance $17,500 is enough. You will need to provide a letter of employment, 6months pay check stub copy and W2 income tax for 3 years. Any extra income that you would like to use you need a proof....