sponsor did not file tax returns in all of the last 3 years

[Simmy 3]

I'm filling out I-864 for my sponsor, ie. my wife in two days.

My wife has been a live-at-home mom with only sporadic work for the last 8 years. We will be meeting the poverty minimums through a combination of:

1. my house in Canada as an asset. Once sold, after mortgage, I would be left with $150,000 so this in itself should be enough to meet poverty minimums, but for backup we are also doing:

2. co-sponsor from her father

My first question is does my wife still need to fill out her income information from her copy of the I-864? At $12,000 last year and no tax returns for the two years prior, is she required to fill *anything* out for her income?

My second question: If the answer to the above is yes, I've learned that she only filed a tax return last year but not the two years prior. Does she really have to go through the process of filing tax returns for the previous two years (years in which she basically had no income -- was supported by the father of her children) just to be able to complete this form? I sure hope not, especially since we're not even using her income to meet poverty minimums.

This is a big one that has me nervous...

Thanks,

Simmy

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

She only needs to file taxes for those years if she was required to file by IRS regulations, but failed to do so. If her income was too low to require filing before, then she doesn't have to file now. She needs to include a letter explaining why she was not required to file. She should still state her income on the I-864.

[Simmy 3]

PHEW! Okay...

Thank you so much!!

[Simmy 3]

JimVaPhuong, I have a follow-up question on this. It turns out that my wife didn't keep her tax return for last year (the one in which she did file). Getting a copy of it means a trip out of town just for this. I'm wondering if it is really necessary to go and get a copy of this, just to be able to put it in her I-864, when her income for that year was only $12,000 (and none the previous two years), and we won't even be using her income to show financial means? Technically, it appears to be required, but I'm wondering if a note stating that she no longer has a copy, simply putting the amount, and saying we're not using her to represent financial means in any case would be acceptable.

Thanks!

[trillium13 84]

USCIS will absolutely need the tax information. If you don't send it you will get an RFE.

Probably the easiest thing to do is to call the IRS and get a tax transcript for the year you want. It's free and they will mail it to you within a couple of weeks.

It has all the info USCIS needs.

[Simmy 3]

Well it looks like we're going to make the trip out of town... not far, but sigh -- so much paperwork already!

Thanks for the info, very much!!

[trillium13 84]

Well it looks like we're going to make the trip out of town... not far, but sigh -- so much paperwork already!

Thanks for the info, very much!!

You don't have to leave your house to call the IRS.

[Simmy 3]

Ha! Well, as the transcript will take a few weeks to mail and we don't want to delay the AOS process that much, we're going to HR Block where she had her taxes done. It's not far out of town but just another errand in what is turning out to be a really involved process. Not complaining, just siiiiiighhhhh'ing!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Ha! Well, as the transcript will take a few weeks to mail and we don't want to delay the AOS process that much, we're going to HR Block where she had her taxes done. It's not far out of town but just another errand in what is turning out to be a really involved process. Not complaining, just siiiiiighhhhh'ing!

The IRS will fax the transcript to you the same day, if you request. And it's FREE! It only takes a phone call.

[Simmy 3]

AWESOME!! Thanks!!

(do I call you Jim or the whole JimVaPhuong?)

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

AWESOME!! Thanks!!

(do I call you Jim or the whole JimVaPhuong?)

Just Jim. "Va" means "and" in Vietnamese.

[Simmy 3]

aha!