I-864 Affidavit of Support - Completing and filing in US Embassy in London

[npson 0]

Hi

My wife (the petitioner) filed an I-130 on my behalf and we have received a letter confirming it has been approved. (My wife is the US citizen and I am a British Citizen currently residing in London, UK).

A follow up letter from the embassy in London was sent to us called packet 3 which was just a one page letter with two links on it asking me (the applicant) to begin completing and collating various pieces of information including an affidavit of support statement that my wife needs to complete.

Some of this is quite confusing!!

My question(s) are:

1. My wife has been asked to complete a I-864, the thing is we are filing this from London but all the questions refer to amounts on dollars, how do we proceed to complete this correctly or is there another form that needs to be completed?

2. Within the I-864 it asks if my wife has filed fedreal tax returns for the three most recent tax years. As my wife has been living in the UK for a considerable time she did not know she needed to complete these tax returns as her income has been in the UK. How do we go about completing these tax returns for the purposes of our application? Does my wife still need to complete such tax returns and how?

3. My wife and I will be living with family in the US once our application is successful - can we use them as co-sponsors as part of the I-864 application given they are based in the US and how does this work from an application perspective?

I'd really appreciate your comments and thoughts as this part of the process is so confusing!

Thanks!

[Anh map 2,098]

1. The US Citizen petitioner is always the primary sponsor and completes an I-864 regardless of income level. Convert any amounts to dollars. See page 5 of the form for step by step instructions.

2. Yes, the tax returns will have to be filed. The US requires worldwide income to be reported. The US Embassy London does have some IRS (tax) services. http://www.usembassy.org.uk/irs/index.htm

3. Yes, any US citizen or LPR can be a sponsor and/or cosponsor.

[npson 0]

Thank you for getting back to me.

I read the guide link enclosed in your message for when a US Citizen and spouse are filing an I-130 outside the US.

It mentions: "Important Note: A US Citizen living overseas that wishes to complete the I-864, Affidavit of Support, for their spouse (as part of the DCF process to get an Immigrant Visa) will be required to have U.S. domicile/intent to reestablish domicile to qualify as a Sponsor for the I-864. In addition to having a US domicile/reestablishing domicile the US Citizen must either have employment that will continue (from the same source) when they move/return to the US, or, per the instructions on the I-864, the US Citizen and their spouse may use assets to qualify if the income requirement is not met. In many cases however a couple may need to get a joint sponsor to successfully fulfill the requirements on the I-864."

What do they mean in simple terms by "to have U.S. domicile/intent to reestablish domicle to qualify as a Sponsor for the I-864.'???

It also mentions "In many cases however a couple may need to get a joint sponsor to successfully fulfill the requirements on the I-864." Would it be easier to simply ask for our family members (who we will be staying with in th US) to act as our joint sponsors and complete the I-864 rather than my wife completing it as the sole sponsor??

Is the process for filing a tax return from London relatively easy?

This I-864 form is quite confusing!!!!

As we are filing this from Embassy Office in London, I read

1. The US Citizen petitioner is always the primary sponsor and completes an I-864 regardless of income level. Convert any amounts to dollars. See page 5 of the form for step by step instructions.

2. Yes, the tax returns will have to be filed. The US requires worldwide income to be reported. The US Embassy London does have some IRS (tax) services. http://www.usembassy.org.uk/irs/index.htm

3. Yes, any US citizen or LPR can be a sponsor and/or cosponsor.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Basically, your wife the USC must show that she still has ties to the USA and intends to live there when your visa is approved. Good proof is a US bank account, voter registration, valid US driving license, US bills (such as to a cell phone), proof she has furniture etc in storage in the USA waiting for ehr return, property she owns in the USA etc.

Most people who file DCF (ie the USC lives abroad with their foreign spouse) need a co-sponsor, because you cannot count income on the I-864 which does not continue once you are in the USA. Having a co-sponsor does not mean your wife does not need to file back taxes though. The only way you will not need a co-sponsor is if your wife continues the same job in the USA (ie gets an intra-company transfer or telecommutes), or you two have assets (shares, property, savings etc) more than three times as much as the income requirement for the I-864.

[npson 0]

Thanks for this.

We have been trying to get through to the IRS services department in London to find out how my wife files tax returns as part of the I-864 file tax but we can't get through!

If I understand the process correctly my wife would be exempt based on the fact her income was from the UK - here is their home page http://www.usembassy.org.uk/irs/index.htm

As my wife has never filled a Tax Return out before - we have no idea where to start or which form to use!????

Can anyone help?!

Basically, your wife the USC must show that she still has ties to the USA and intends to live there when your visa is approved. Good proof is a US bank account, voter registration, valid US driving license, US bills (such as to a cell phone), proof she has furniture etc in storage in the USA waiting for ehr return, property she owns in the USA etc.

Most people who file DCF (ie the USC lives abroad with their foreign spouse) need a co-sponsor, because you cannot count income on the I-864 which does not continue once you are in the USA. Having a co-sponsor does not mean your wife does not need to file back taxes though. The only way you will not need a co-sponsor is if your wife continues the same job in the USA (ie gets an intra-company transfer or telecommutes), or you two have assets (shares, property, savings etc) more than three times as much as the income requirement for the I-864.

[npson 0]

Thanks for this.

We have been trying to get through to the IRS services department in London to find out how my wife files tax returns as part of the I-864 file tax but we can't get through!

If I understand the process correctly my wife would be exempt based on the fact her income was from the UK - here is their home page http://www.usembassy.org.uk/irs/index.htm

As my wife has never filled a Tax Return out before - we have no idea where to start or which form to use!????

Can anyone help?!

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

If your wife made income above the tax limit, she still needs to file US taxes; she won;t need to pay them any money as she paid taxes in the UK, but she needs to declare her income, ie file. If your wife only made very very little money or none (for example, my husband was unemployed during his time in Ireland with me), then she does not need to file US taxes, but will need to attach a letter to the I-864, explaining why she didn't have to file.

[Anh map 2,098]

The IRS website has all the needed forms and information. http://www.irs.gov

Edited December 30, 2009 by Anh map