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

[tibortt 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.

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!

Well said!

[Willow2009 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.

Yes, you will be able to submit current paycheck stubs as evidence. And the more you have the better. It will show that it's not just a temporary cashflow but a stable income. You can blame it on Obama restoring the ecomony.

If you apply for the K1 in the next few months, they will require your 2008 tax return, which if I am correct, as of now does not meet the minimum requirements. Two solutions:

1. You start claiming all your tips and collect as many stubs as you can. Obtain a letter from your employer stating an estimate on how much you make a year (including tips ). Obtain a letter from your bank with your deposit history and current balance to show that you ARE making that money. And anything else I may not think of right now, use your logic. "What could I provide that shows that I am finacially stable?" assets, stocks etc

2. Find a co-sponsor who meets the requirements and keep all your affairs the same. Ie-save on taxes. You will have to redo this affidavit of support once you marry your fincee, in which case you will need your co-sponsor again or find a new one.

If you apply for the K1 sometime in 2010 after you filed your 2009 tax return, you also have 2 options:

1. Start claiming all you tips now, and you can estimate now whether or not by the end of this year will you have reached that minimum. Still submit that letter from employer and bank statement, it will help seal the deal. This way you are providing clean evidence without a doubt.

2. Find a co-sponsor who meets the requirement and keep all you affairs the same.

One last advice, if you do decide to apply with a co-sponsor, you have to submit affidavit and tax papers for yourself regardless, since you are the petitioner.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

[Irish Pride 0]

My 2008 tax return actually showed that i made $30k last year, so that is definitly in my favor. What i am worried about is this year as i made a career change and have been working for tips for most of the year. If i start reporting my tips right now it will jump my income up but it might not be enough to cover the minimum required. When i file my taxes for this year i could make up the difference by claiming unreported tips from throughout the year. I could then submit my bank statements from this year which show enough in deposits to cover the minimun required.

1- Submit 08 tax return that shows an income of $30k

2- Submit 09 tax return that will exceed the minimum required with adjusted tip reporting, along with bank statements to show deposits that back up income.

3- Submit all of my check stubs from this point forward with all tips recorded showing an income that far exceeds the required minimum.

Does anyone have any idea if this will be enough to get approved?

If not then i dont have any other options. Thanks Guys.

[Irish Pride 0]

I also own 2 cars free and clear. They arent anything fancy but they are each worth a couple grand a piece. Could these be used as assets that can be included? Thanks.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

My 2008 tax return actually showed that i made $30k last year, so that is definitly in my favor. What i am worried about is this year as i made a career change and have been working for tips for most of the year. If i start reporting my tips right now it will jump my income up but it might not be enough to cover the minimum required. When i file my taxes for this year i could make up the difference by claiming unreported tips from throughout the year. I could then submit my bank statements from this year which show enough in deposits to cover the minimun required.

1- Submit 08 tax return that shows an income of $30k

2- Submit 09 tax return that will exceed the minimum required with adjusted tip reporting, along with bank statements to show deposits that back up income.

3- Submit all of my check stubs from this point forward with all tips recorded showing an income that far exceeds the required minimum.

Does anyone have any idea if this will be enough to get approved?

If not then i dont have any other options. Thanks Guys.

That's a completely different story. In your initial post you talked about "past W2's" in a way that seemed to indicate you'd been receiving the tip income for multiple years, and had not claimed any of the tips on your tax returns.

If you file the petition now, you've probably got 5 or 6 months before your fiancee is going to need your affidavit of support. You've got until then to get your financial records in order. If the interview ends up being after April 15th then you'll have to provide your 2009 return. If before April 15th, then you have the option of presenting your 2009 return, if you've already filed it. You can correct any shortage in your W2 income by declaring your actual income when you file your return. If you have sufficient time between filing your return and the interview, you can get an IRS transcript of the return (it only takes a week or so to get the transcript from the IRS, but it takes them several weeks after filing to get your return into the computers so that they can generate a transcript). The consulate will accept the transcript without W2's, since it reflects the return as it was accepted by the IRS. If the transcript shows sufficient income, and you have pay stubs to back it up, then you should be good. Bank statements shouldn't be necessary, in that case.

I also own 2 cars free and clear. They arent anything fancy but they are each worth a couple grand a piece. Could these be used as assets that can be included? Thanks.

The I-134 instructions don't give any guidance on this, but consulates often apply the I-864 standards with the I-134. The I-864 standard is that you can claim assets, including cars, provided you can sell them within 12 months without undue financial loss or hardship. They will usually accept all except one car as a viable asset, since selling your last car would make you a pedestrian and that would be considered undue hardship.

If you can make it on income alone then you don't need to declare assets, and you're a lot better off if you don't, in terms of the documentation you'll need to provide. Although, if you have to use assets then cars are better than most because you can easily prove you own them (the titles) and the value (Kelly Blue Book).

Edit: Assets are generally considered at 1/3 the value of income. In other words, a car worth $6000 would make up a $2000 shortage in income.

Edited September 27, 2009 by JimVaPhuong

[Willow2009 0]

My 2008 tax return actually showed that i made $30k last year, so that is definitly in my favor. What i am worried about is this year as i made a career change and have been working for tips for most of the year. If i start reporting my tips right now it will jump my income up but it might not be enough to cover the minimum required. When i file my taxes for this year i could make up the difference by claiming unreported tips from throughout the year. I could then submit my bank statements from this year which show enough in deposits to cover the minimun required.

1- Submit 08 tax return that shows an income of $30k

2- Submit 09 tax return that will exceed the minimum required with adjusted tip reporting, along with bank statements to show deposits that back up income.

3- Submit all of my check stubs from this point forward with all tips recorded showing an income that far exceeds the required minimum.

Does anyone have any idea if this will be enough to get approved?

If not then i dont have any other options. Thanks Guys.

It sounds like it will be enough. You are stressing too much. Relax, you will be fine. Start claiming tips and that alone will do the trick.

[Irish Pride 0]

Thanks for the help everybody! I truely appreciate it. I AM stressing out right now because i didnt exactly know what the process was until i joined here and then the thought hit me that i might not be able to bring her here when the time comes. I will go ahead and start claiming everything right now and I have decided to take on a pert time job till the end of the year to get my income even higher on paper. I am certain that it will be after April 15th before she will have her interview so i will have to provide the transcript for my taxes. One last question for now. What is the process to get the transcript from the IRS? Do I just go to the IRS website? Thanks again guys.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks for the help everybody! I truely appreciate it. I AM stressing out right now because i didnt exactly know what the process was until i joined here and then the thought hit me that i might not be able to bring her here when the time comes. I will go ahead and start claiming everything right now and I have decided to take on a pert time job till the end of the year to get my income even higher on paper. I am certain that it will be after April 15th before she will have her interview so i will have to provide the transcript for my taxes. One last question for now. What is the process to get the transcript from the IRS? Do I just go to the IRS website? Thanks again guys.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc156.html

There are instructions on this page. You order transcripts over the phone. If you've got a FAX machine, they'll offer to FAX them to you the same day. Otherwise, takes a week to ten days in the mail, and cost is free.