Affidavit of support Question

[kiwi25 3]

Hi there,

I am a New Zealander looking to marry my fiancee in the United States,

We have been working to prepare the K1 application and I will post my g325-a, letter of intent, photos and various other documents to her in the next few days.

Looking ahead several months to my interview at the American Embassy in Auckland, New Zealand I am worried that the affidavit of support will be a problem:

-My American fiancee works in an industry where the majority of her income is tips, meaning it will not show up on a tax return.

-She is planning on taking two months off in Jan-December to visit me (while the application is presumably still being processed) and had planned to leave her job for this visit.

The I-134 Affidavit requires:

-a bank statement showing deposits for the previous year (which would be suspiciously low due to the fact that cash tips are not usually banked)

-a statement from (her) employer outlining date employment commenced and salary paid. Although future income could be recorded, previous income would now be impossible to calculate..

My question is this:

Will the nature of her income cause us problems?

(What if she took steps to declare her tips as income and paid tax on them?)

and, Will the I-134 cause us problems if she has left her job to come and live with me? What if it is just a holiday and she intended to return?

Also, if it is approved and we are married then we must file an I-864 Affidavit of support which requires her federal income tax return, including w2s (whatever they are). If she started paying tax now and could demonstrate her ability to make more than the %125 poverty level (around $18,000 per year) would it matter that she has not made more than $18,000 in the previous 12 month period? Or should we just report the (low) taxable income and try to find a co-sponsor?

I would appreciate any help, this process can be very intimidating and we would be crushed if the visa application would be denied. Everybody must have had difficulty with some area of the application and for us it unfortunately is the accounting side of things!!!

Thank you very much to anyone who can offer suggestions!!

[bruno. 4]

Hi there,

I am a New Zealander looking to marry my fiancee in the United States,

We have been working to prepare the K1 application and I will post my g325-a, letter of intent, photos and various other documents to her in the next few days.

Looking ahead several months to my interview at the American Embassy in Auckland, New Zealand I am worried that the affidavit of support will be a problem:

-My American fiancee works in an industry where the majority of her income is tips, meaning it will not show up on a tax return.

-She is planning on taking two months off in Jan-December to visit me (while the application is presumably still being processed) and had planned to leave her job for this visit.

The I-134 Affidavit requires:

-a bank statement showing deposits for the previous year (which would be suspiciously low due to the fact that cash tips are not usually banked)

-a statement from (her) employer outlining date employment commenced and salary paid. Although future income could be recorded, previous income would now be impossible to calculate..

My question is this:

Will the nature of her income cause us problems?

(What if she took steps to declare her tips as income and paid tax on them?)

and, Will the I-134 cause us problems if she has left her job to come and live with me? What if it is just a holiday and she intended to return?

Also, if it is approved and we are married then we must file an I-864 Affidavit of support which requires her federal income tax return, including w2s (whatever they are). If she started paying tax now and could demonstrate her ability to make more than the %125 poverty level (around $18,000 per year) would it matter that she has not made more than $18,000 in the previous 12 month period? Or should we just report the (low) taxable income and try to find a co-sponsor?

I would appreciate any help, this process can be very intimidating and we would be crushed if the visa application would be denied. Everybody must have had difficulty with some area of the application and for us it unfortunately is the accounting side of things!!!

Thank you very much to anyone who can offer suggestions!!

In case of doubt a co-sponsor is advised. I'm not familiar with embassy in NZ to know if they accept co-sponsor or not. If your fiance is not working at the time you submit the form or if working but with income too low or barely sufficient, I would recommend a co-sponsor. And you are right to start thinking about that now as finding a co-sponsor might be harder than it looks and collecting all the paper needed takes some time.

[damulag 26]

I do not know how her employer handles it but when I worked for tips we would declare them (cash and credit card) each night and the taxes for them were taken out of our paychecks (out of the few $ per hour we were paid) every two weeks. This means that the tip income would show up on my biweekly paychecks. I would think that by suddenly declaring a lot of tips would raise questions at the interview as to how she worked the same job for a few years and all of a sudden she received more in tips.

She could "man up" and refile her past taxes and add the tips as additional income, pay the taxes on them, and then get a new transcript. As far as bank accounts go I never kept all the cash at home and was not afraid to keep it in the bank and I would think a bank account with the appropriate deposit activity would help support her claim to the tip income. If her job does not require her to declare tips and pay tax through them then she could fill out and pay estimated quarterly taxes and keep her reciepts for the interview. This along with a refiled return from last year might work out for the both of you.

[kiwi25 3]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply!

We will do the right thing and make sure all tip income is taxed. She will take this up with her employer today.

Two questions;

1) when does the tax year end (when will her tax information for the current period be available)?

and,

2) The I-134 form doesn't mention a co-sponsor like the I-864 does. Is a co-sponsor for the I-134 still an option?

Thanks again for your help!! Much appreciated!!

[Audy_Rob 26]

1) You actually asked two questions and the answers are different. The tax year "typically" ends for a personal tax filer on Dec 31. A tax return is not required until April 15 of the following year and with extensions can be longer. A tax transcript is usually available within a few weeks of the tax form being accepted if transmitted electronically.

2) For most Embassies and COnsulates, a joint sponsor is allowed for the I-134 form. The COs are not forced to accept a joint sponsor and can deny the use of a joint sponsor. They can also suggest a questionable USC petitioner go find a joint sponsor to ensure meeting a threshold of income. Even at 125% or more of the poverty threshold, the Secretary of State issued a memo in 1997 stating COs do not need to accept the affidavit if there is any question that the alien beneficiary will become a public charge in the US.

Good luck.

[kiwi25 3]

1) You actually asked two questions and the answers are different. The tax year "typically" ends for a personal tax filer on Dec 31. A tax return is not required until April 15 of the following year and with extensions can be longer. A tax transcript is usually available within a few weeks of the tax form being accepted if transmitted electronically.

2) For most Embassies and COnsulates, a joint sponsor is allowed for the I-134 form. The COs are not forced to accept a joint sponsor and can deny the use of a joint sponsor. They can also suggest a questionable USC petitioner go find a joint sponsor to ensure meeting a threshold of income. Even at 125% or more of the poverty threshold, the Secretary of State issued a memo in 1997 stating COs do not need to accept the affidavit if there is any question that the alien beneficiary will become a public charge in the US.

Good luck.

Thank you!!!

[Anh map 2,098]

Current and continuing income is generally what is evaluated. Large variances in yearly income may bring up questions. This happens in life, and I would recommend giving truthful answers. A young person showing increases in income is fairly normal. And in a service industry where tips are the norm, the swings are understood.

Recent paystubs and an employer letter are good evidence of current income. The I-134 instructions are very thin. Following the I-864 guidelines will normally be quite helpful.

For the I-134 a co-sponsor must mee the income requirement by themselves. There is no way to combine incomes. Combining incomes can be done with an I-864. See the form instructions for complete details.

[Boiler 46,248]

Tipped employees have taxes for their credit card income taken out automatically and are required to declare their cash tips.

The wage slips we issue, and I would have thought it is standard will show separate lines for wages, cc tips, then cash tips in for tax purposes and finally cash tips out for payment purposes.