Spotty I-134 Tax Documentation

[tigretigre 0]

I'm a salaried, exempt employee and my annual salary is sufficient to meet the support requirements.

I will be able to provide a letter from HR verifying this.

However, I began this job in March 2006. So, no W2 issued, no tax return yet filed indicating this income.

Last year, I was either living at home and studying for the bar exam while slutting my resume to the law firms, or in law school finishing my degree. I had no income at all to report in 2005, and my return for 2004 shows paltry sums received for pro bono summer jobs because I was in school. In 2003 I was either in school or working a temporary job while waiting to return to school, so my return shows part-year employment and pitiful annual income. I'm hoping they'll recognize from my 2003 and 2004 tax returns the typical grad student situation, and not consider them evidence that I can't meet my support obligations.

However, I did not file in 2005 at all. This was a perfectly reasonable thing to do, as it would have wasted everyone's time if I had, but do I need to provide any documentation of non-filing, or any explanation of what I was doing that year? I mean, it's pretty common not to work right out of law school, since most folks are trying to pass the bar. But will having not filed make me look shady at all?

Finally, although it isn't proof of income, I do have proof of professional credentials that are relevant to my ability to secure employment and bring in income. Do they care enough about that for me to bother getting copies of all this?

Thanks,

Tigre

[Yodrak 7]

tigre,

You ask a good question for which the anecdotal evidence suggests conflicting answers.

Among 'the totality of the circumstances' are several issues regarding income, among them amount (which everyone recognizes) and sustainability (which some recognize). You can demonstrate the former, but being in a first 'real' job for a short period of time may be marginal regarding the latter (hence the conflicting anecdotal evidence for situation such as yours).

Read 9 FAM 40.41 Notes, N4 for some ideas on other relevant issues that you might want to use to present yourself, emphasizing your strong points and negating your weak points as a sponsor.

Yodrak

I'm a salaried, exempt employee and my annual salary is sufficient to meet the support requirements.

I will be able to provide a letter from HR verifying this.

However, I began this job in March 2006. So, no W2 issued, no tax return yet filed indicating this income.

Last year, I was either living at home and studying for the bar exam while slutting my resume to the law firms, or in law school finishing my degree. I had no income at all to report in 2005, and my return for 2004 shows paltry sums received for pro bono summer jobs because I was in school. In 2003 I was either in school or working a temporary job while waiting to return to school, so my return shows part-year employment and pitiful annual income. I'm hoping they'll recognize from my 2003 and 2004 tax returns the typical grad student situation, and not consider them evidence that I can't meet my support obligations.

However, I did not file in 2005 at all. This was a perfectly reasonable thing to do, as it would have wasted everyone's time if I had, but do I need to provide any documentation of non-filing, or any explanation of what I was doing that year? I mean, it's pretty common not to work right out of law school, since most folks are trying to pass the bar. But will having not filed make me look shady at all?

Finally, although it isn't proof of income, I do have proof of professional credentials that are relevant to my ability to secure employment and bring in income. Do they care enough about that for me to bother getting copies of all this?

Thanks,

Tigre