Affidavit of support documents

[littlelady7891 0]

Hi all! I finally found someone to joint sponsor my husband for the I-864 affidavit of support, but the sponsor had a couple of questions regarding her income tax returns. Her brother passed away in 2009 and she included him as a dependant when she filed her taxes this year and she was wondering if she has to send in evidence along with the Affidavit of support showing that he passed away so that NVC will see that she will no longer be including him in next years taxes. Does she need to send in a letter explaining the situation? She also asked if she needs to put my husband as a dependant when she files taxes during the time she will be sponsoring him. Any and all advice/answers are greatly appreciated!! Thank you in advance!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi all! I finally found someone to joint sponsor my husband for the I-864 affidavit of support, but the sponsor had a couple of questions regarding her income tax returns. Her brother passed away in 2009 and she included him as a dependant when she filed her taxes this year and she was wondering if she has to send in evidence along with the Affidavit of support showing that he passed away so that NVC will see that she will no longer be including him in next years taxes. Does she need to send in a letter explaining the situation? She also asked if she needs to put my husband as a dependant when she files taxes during the time she will be sponsoring him. Any and all advice/answers are greatly appreciated!! Thank you in advance!

I've seen some people have problems with this, depending on who reviews the I-864. Since you're sending the I-864 to the NVC I presume this is for a visa and not adjustment of status, so it will be screened at NVC and then reviewed at a US consulate. Some reviewers have taken the position that if you claimed them as a dependent on your tax return then they remain your dependent until you file a tax return that says otherwise.

She should be honest when she fills out the I-864. Her brother is deceased, and he's no longer her dependent. If she's got a copy of the death certificate then she can include it with her affidavit. It's still possible the reviewer will consider him a member of her household because he's listed as a dependent on her tax return. How much of a fuss she should make about this depends on whether she'll fail to meet the minimum income requirements if they decide to include the deceased brother in her household size.

Whether she can claim your husband as a dependent on her tax return depends entirely on whether he meets the IRS criteria for a dependent. The affidavit of support has no bearing on this at all. The probability is that he won't qualify as a dependent for tax purposes, even if she actually ends up supporting him.

[littlelady7891 0]

Yes it's for a visa. So should she just not include her deceased brother on the I-864 but send in a copy of death certificate to show that's the reason why she's not including him? Even if the reviewer decides to include the deceased brother in her household size she would still meet the minimum income requirements. So that wouldn't be a problem anyway. Can she send in a copy of the death certificate since I don't think she would feel comfortable sending in the original? What would you do?

We were thinking that she would probably would have to include my husband when she files taxes because she's sponsoring him, which is supporting him financially. You're saying that the affidavit of support has nothing to do with that at all and if she does support him he will probably not qualify as a dependent. So, I'll just go ahead and tell her she probably won't have to include him in next year's taxes.

One more thing, since I petitioned for my husband, I also have to fill out an I-864 as the petitioning sponsor, but I am unemployed (I wasn't at the time I sent in the I-130) so I know that my income won't really matter because I have a joint sponsor who's income is way past the minimum income requirements. So how should I fill out the the form? I'm stuck on a couple of questions like in part 3 question 8 says "I am sponsoring the principal immigrant named above" do I check the box? I don't know if you're familiar with the I-864 but I could really use help filing it out. Please let me know if you are so I can ask you a couple more questions that I'm stuck on. Thank you so much, you're advice has been very helpful

[Anh map 2,098]

You as the petitioner are always the primary sponsor. So you would say "yes" to the question.

Follow the example I-864 here on VJ. It can be very helpful.

[littlelady7891 0]

You as the petitioner are always the primary sponsor. So you would say "yes" to the question.

Follow the example I-864 here on VJ. It can be very helpful.

I checked it out and it did help! Thanks!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yes it's for a visa. So should she just not include her deceased brother on the I-864 but send in a copy of death certificate to show that's the reason why she's not including him? Even if the reviewer decides to include the deceased brother in her household size she would still meet the minimum income requirements. So that wouldn't be a problem anyway. Can she send in a copy of the death certificate since I don't think she would feel comfortable sending in the original? What would you do?

We were thinking that she would probably would have to include my husband when she files taxes because she's sponsoring him, which is supporting him financially. You're saying that the affidavit of support has nothing to do with that at all and if she does support him he will probably not qualify as a dependent. So, I'll just go ahead and tell her she probably won't have to include him in next year's taxes.

One more thing, since I petitioned for my husband, I also have to fill out an I-864 as the petitioning sponsor, but I am unemployed (I wasn't at the time I sent in the I-130) so I know that my income won't really matter because I have a joint sponsor who's income is way past the minimum income requirements. So how should I fill out the the form? I'm stuck on a couple of questions like in part 3 question 8 says "I am sponsoring the principal immigrant named above" do I check the box? I don't know if you're familiar with the I-864 but I could really use help filing it out. Please let me know if you are so I can ask you a couple more questions that I'm stuck on. Thank you so much, you're advice has been very helpful

Yeah, I'm familiar with the I-864. I filled out three of them for adjustment of status for my wife and her kids.

If a sponsor is comfortably above the margin for the household size they declare on the I-864 then the consular officer is not likely to dig for more dependents, especially if they'd have to find several more in order to make a difference. In other words, if they could add three or four more people to her household size and she'd still qualify then they aren't going to care why she left her brother off the I-864, since including him wouldn't have made any difference. I wouldn't bother including the death certificate unless including him on the I-864 would bring her close to or under the income threshold. In that event, a copy of the death certificate and a brief explanatory letter should be more than adequate.

Being obligated to support someone does not necessarily make them a dependent for tax purposes. Even if you actually support them that doesn't necessarily make them a dependent for tax purposes. A dependent for tax purposes is either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. The rules are somewhat complicated. A qualifying relative must either be a specific class of relative, or live in the same household as the taxpayer for the entire year. They must not have filed a joint tax return with anyone else. They must have income below a specific level. They must be a citizen or LPR. The taxpayer must have paid more than half of their total support for the year.

In all likelihood, your husband will not qualify as your co-sponsor's dependent for tax purposes.

You are sponsoring the "principal immigrant" because you are the primary sponsor, whether or not you have any income.

[littlelady7891 0]

Ok now I understand I just have a few questions on the I-864. On number 21 it says to not count anyone twice, but 21a and 21c are both my husband. 21a says to enter the number I entered on question number 10 (total number of immigrants I'm sponsoring on the form) and 21c says if you're currently married enter "1" for your spouse. Do I have to put "1" for both questions? I also have a 6 month old baby who was born this year. I did not include her as a dependent when I filed my 2009 taxes this year. I will include her as dependent on next years taxes though. Does that mean I don't have to enter a "1" on question 21d, which says "if you have dependent children, enter number here"? The instructions say to include any dependents on my most recent tax returns, which she is not. I would imagine that I don't have to, but wasn't too positive. Thanks again!