I-864 employment questions (independant contractor)

[viol8torUK 0]

Hi there,

I'm currently trying to assemble all my documentation ready for the (hopefully) imminent arrival of my Packet 3.

I have some questions regarding the I-864 form (Affidavit of Support).

I am the applicant (a UK citizen) and my wife is the petitioner (a US citizen currently living in London with me).

My wife currently has no guaranteed job to go back to in the US, so I'm assuming she can't be used as the primary sponsor for the I-864?

I have a permanent full-time job here in the UK, I'm salaried, my employer pays my taxes, NI etc. When we move to the US, my employer will continue to employ me, but my status will change to that of an independent contractor (my company has no US offices, so no payroll department, and they feel this is the best way to keep me employed without loads of additional paperwork). I will be paid directly from London into my US bank account, my pay will be amended to take into account that I will be responsible for paying both personal and employer taxes , and my take home pay each month will be the same as my UK pay (with a fixed conversion rate of 1.65 - adjusted yearly). My contract will be renewed every 3 months.

I will be working from home, with occasional visits to our US customers. The workload will be dictated partly from my employer, and partly by demands made from our customers (I am a support engineer for an established computer product my company makes, and we have an ever growing customer base in the US).

My questions are related to how I show this on my I-864 - I will hopefully be the sole sponsor, although my wife's US parents will help out if necessary (I'm intending to get them to fill out an I-864 and I'll take it with me to my interview in case there are any problems). My predicted pay will easily be higher than the poverty level required.

Will there be any issues with the fact that my contract runs on a 3 month renewal? Do I even need to mention this?

How would I go about constructing an employer letter that will pass DCF scrutiny in London? Should I mention the 3 month renewal of my contract or just say that it is an ongoing contract with no foreseeable end date?

My employer is basically leaving everything up to me to sort out - I can even word my own letter and get one of the directors to sign it if necessary.......

We are hoping to move at the beginning of March 2010, so time is ticking on.....

any help with this would really be appreciated!!

Thanks

Tony

[angel129 0]

Hiya Tony!

We are in the same boat. I am the US citizen wife living in the UK with my British husband who is also an independent contractor for an IT company and will continue to be employed by them when we move to the States. We are hoping to move by July 2010. We are a little bit behind you by the sounds of it. We are awaiting our 1st NOA from the London embassy which seems to be taking longer than we expected. We mailed it on the 11th and they sent an email to say they received it on the 17th of September but we haven't heard anything else since then.

I'm sorry I don't have any answers for you regarding this question but I will be watching with interest as to the replies. I was under the impression that the US petitioner had to fill in the I864 and then the UK spouse would fill in the I 864A but as I say we are not quite at that stage yet so don't listen to what I know

Good luck!

How long have you been in the process, just out of curiousity.

[kemkem 0]

Hey Tony,

A good place to find a lot of answers to your questions is http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3183.html

My understanding is that only a Lawful Permanent Resident or United States Citizen can fill out an 1-864 (Affidavit of Support), so that pretty much excludes you from the process. However, your wife must fill out and I-864 regardless of her work situation and should be able to use your joint assets (bank statements etc) towards proof of financial stability. Your wife's parents would have to fill in an I-864A if you don't meet the 125% poverty guideline criteria.

In short it comes down to what your wife in combination with her parents can submit for the AOS documentation. You have to remove yourself individually from the process and as they say here in the states..."pad your wife's stats". I wish I could be more helpful, but the link above will really answer most of your questions.

Cheers!

[viol8torUK 0]

Hi Kemkem,

thanks for your response - although I have found evidence contradicting your information, which is what I was basing my original post on. (please see below)

Taken from the I-864 instructions document:

'Can the Intending Immigrant Help Me Meet the Income Requirements?

If certain conditions are met, the intending immigrant's income can help you meet the income requirement. If the intending immigrant is your spouse, his or her income can be included if it will continue from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status. If the intending immigrant is another relative, there are two requirements .First, the income must be continuing from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status, and second, the intending immigrant must currently live with you in your residence. Evidence must be provided to support both requirements.'

The issues I have is regarding the following line in the above paragraph: If the intending immigrant is your spouse, his or her income can be included if it will continue from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status.

My employment status will change, from full-time permanent salaried, to independent contractor..... but my income source will not change - It will still be from the same employer.

This is one of the issues confusing me!

Thanks

Tony

[viol8torUK 0]

I think the difference with the information I have is that am filing DCF through the London Embassy.... the information you pointed me to is for those applying from within the US?

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

Tony

[kemkem 0]

Tony,

I stand corrected. It's quite confusing as you rightly pointed out. My read is that your wife would still have to be the sponsor because that's the law. However, she would be able to use your income to meet the income requirements.

For your wife:

She would submit her US tax filings or possible exemptions for not filing tax returns with the I-864, pay stubs, letter from her current employer etc.

For you:

How I would approach it is to get a letter of employment from your employer stating your job title, how long you've worked there and how much your annual salary is. They should also state that they will be employing you in the US once your visa is approved as an independent contractor and how much your salary will be when you get there. I would then go as far back as you possibly can on the pay stubs. I would throw in a letter from the bank about account balances etc.

Finally, I would create a coversheet that lists every piece of documentation that you are sending and why. I don't see any reason why your wife's parents need to be involved if you meet the income requirements.

These are just my thoughts. I hope this helps!

Hi Kemkem,

thanks for your response - although I have found evidence contradicting your information, which is what I was basing my original post on. (please see below)

Taken from the I-864 instructions document:

'Can the Intending Immigrant Help Me Meet the Income Requirements?

If certain conditions are met, the intending immigrant's income can help you meet the income requirement. If the intending immigrant is your spouse, his or her income can be included if it will continue from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status. If the intending immigrant is another relative, there are two requirements .First, the income must be continuing from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status, and second, the intending immigrant must currently live with you in your residence. Evidence must be provided to support both requirements.'

The issues I have is regarding the following line in the above paragraph: If the intending immigrant is your spouse, his or her income can be included if it will continue from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status.

My employment status will change, from full-time permanent salaried, to independent contractor..... but my income source will not change - It will still be from the same employer.

This is one of the issues confusing me!

Thanks

Tony

I think the difference with the information I have is that am filing DCF through the London Embassy.... the information you pointed me to is for those applying from within the US?

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

Tony

Yes. The information is for CR-1 applying from the US. My apologies.

[Jamaican JNR 2]

Hi there,

I'm currently trying to assemble all my documentation ready for the (hopefully) imminent arrival of my Packet 3.

I have some questions regarding the I-864 form (Affidavit of Support).

I am the applicant (a UK citizen) and my wife is the petitioner (a US citizen currently living in London with me).

My wife currently has no guaranteed job to go back to in the US, so I'm assuming she can't be used as the primary sponsor for the I-864?

I have a permanent full-time job here in the UK, I'm salaried, my employer pays my taxes, NI etc. When we move to the US, my employer will continue to employ me, but my status will change to that of an independent contractor (my company has no US offices, so no payroll department, and they feel this is the best way to keep me employed without loads of additional paperwork). I will be paid directly from London into my US bank account, my pay will be amended to take into account that I will be responsible for paying both personal and employer taxes , and my take home pay each month will be the same as my UK pay (with a fixed conversion rate of 1.65 - adjusted yearly). My contract will be renewed every 3 months.

I will be working from home, with occasional visits to our US customers. The workload will be dictated partly from my employer, and partly by demands made from our customers (I am a support engineer for an established computer product my company makes, and we have an ever growing customer base in the US).

My questions are related to how I show this on my I-864 - I will hopefully be the sole sponsor, although my wife's US parents will help out if necessary (I'm intending to get them to fill out an I-864 and I'll take it with me to my interview in case there are any problems). My predicted pay will easily be higher than the poverty level required.

Will there be any issues with the fact that my contract runs on a 3 month renewal? Do I even need to mention this?

How would I go about constructing an employer letter that will pass DCF scrutiny in London? Should I mention the 3 month renewal of my contract or just say that it is an ongoing contract with no foreseeable end date?

My employer is basically leaving everything up to me to sort out - I can even word my own letter and get one of the directors to sign it if necessary.......

We are hoping to move at the beginning of March 2010, so time is ticking on.....

any help with this would really be appreciated!!

Thanks

Tony

It is not a big deal to let your USC spouce do the I-864; if she doesnt meet the poverty guidline or un-employed, then she could get co-sponsor from her relatives or friends.

[viol8torUK 0]

But surely it would look better if we were able to sponsor ourselves rather than needing help from a third party? I'm sure the Embassy is looking for signs of us being able to fend for ourselves.... 'only' having my wifes parents as sponsors will look pretty bad.... it would show them that neither of us have any money and would be relying on her parents for financial support until we find work. We have no savings at the moment, everything we had saved is being used for the visa application, moving costs etc... we rent in the UK so have no house to sell.

My wife will not be able to sponsor me as she has no guaranteed job to go back to, so although she has to fill in the I-864, she will only be able to show previous earnings and tax returns, but no future guaranteed earnings. I will be able to show a work history with my current employer of almost 4 years, and my employer will also provide me with a letter showing what my predicted earnings for the next 12 months will be, and the earnings will be enough to take us above the poverty guideline. My main issue is the fact that I will only be on a renewable 3 month contract as an independent contractor, and I'm wondering if this will be an issue for the visa.... and also how to word my employer letter - should I mention I'm on a 3month renewable contract with no foreseeable end date, or should I just say that I will continue to be employed by my current employer, as an independent contractor, and my salary will be $xxxx

Thanks

tony

[Darnell 8,479]

Tony - buried in the I-864 intructions is a small formula to ascertain the immigrating spouse's contribution. It doen't peg at 100 percent, it's something smaller. It's allowed, you betcha. I think you're on the right path for 'proving it up' , but remember they won't take YOUR income at 100 percent . It's a PITA, but it is what it is.

You also have a unique situation where yer still gonna work for them, remotely, as if you had a desk in their office.

Good Luck !

[viol8torUK 0]

Thanks for the info Darnell... unfortunately I can't seem to find the formula you're referring to..... I'm using Form I-864 (Rev. 10/18/07)...

any hints as to what section it might be?

I can see this in the assets section:

The total value of all assests, line 29, must equal5 times (3 times for spouses and children of USCs, or 1 time for orphans to be formally adopted in the U.S.) the difference between the poverty guidelines and the sponsor's household income, line 24c.

But I will not be using any assets as I my annual pay will take me way over the $17,500 currently required (125%).

Looking at the form, do we put my wifes current income? She works part-time here in the UK with varying hours each month - but she is likely to be unemployed to start with when we move back to the US.

Thanks again for all your help...

Tony