AOS Interview approaching but husbands employment situation has changed! Help!

[RUSSandRACHEL 3]

Hi there everyone, (I've also posted this in the general AOS forum but no response)

This morning I have receieved the 'request to appear for an interview' for my application for AOS. The date it will be on is the 22nd November. However, I am a bit concerned about my husbands financial information in relation to the Affadavit of Support.

When we initially filed the application in August, my husband was employed full time by Petco (and met the poverty guidelines no problem) and we sent all payslips, tax returns and employers letter etc, to confirm that.

Since then, he has started working for his friend who runs his own company. This is a very relaxed arrangement - he pays him checks in person or deposits into his bank account twice a month. He doesn't give him payslips, nor does he make any deductions for tax on his behalf, from my husband's salary. His employer said at the time of taking him on that Russ would have to file a 1099 himself at the end of the tax year (I think this is because his boss is a bit of a wheeler and dealer and is trying to get out of the responsibilty of having to pay tax on his behalf like a normal company). However, his boss is very understanding about our situation with immigration and I don't think there'll be any problem in asking him to produce a letter confirming his employment with the company. By the way, he now earns more than his initial sitituation working for Petco, so still exceeds the poverty guideline amount.

So, what about the payslips? I'm sure that his boss would be able to draw something up, but what about the tax contributions? Will USCIS be happy to accept that he will be filing his own 1099 at the end of the year? Is my husband a 'self employed contractor' or 'employed' after all? And if the petitioner is self employed what financial proof to we have to provide then?

What should we do?! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm really stressing out now!

[Nik+Heather 121]

Well, first of all, we weren't asked anything about the previously submitted I-864. Of course, there weren't any errors on it, so if there is a question about it who knows what direction your interview will go. But in general, they don't ask you about how your financials have changed since filing.

If you're concerned, then you should keep together your bank statements which show the checks coming in. You're right, there are some tax things which are out of normal for people working for big corporations, but there are lots of people out there who get paid directly and have to work out their taxes, so it's not unusual OR illegal. I'm not sure it will matter for this length of time in the tax year, but just FYI, next year if he continues he should probably start looking into paying estimated tax (? - right name?) which I think is quarterly. You might consider looking into it now for the 3rd quarter and use that sort of filing as a proof of income. It could be worth it to hire a CPA to help sort it out the first time, even if he usually does that on his own.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Great advice fom Heather. Absolutely sort out your taxes now and start paying in quarterly. Right now may feel like you're making a lot more money, but hold out some for taxes before you are tempted to splurge on anything. The IRS will add on a penalty if you haven't paid in enough. They don't want to get thousands when you file. They want it spread out through the year. It sounds like the guy is paying him like a contractor. Also you need to find out about self-employment tax. Social Security and Medicare contributions??? I've never learned all that, but just skimmed enough to know there's more to it than just paying income tax on wages in April.

USCIS won't care about the 1099 at the end of the year. They don't care about your taxes except to see you have an income. They have your most recent tax return, which is the requirement. If the conversation happens, "so how are things at Petco?" He can explain he has changed jobs and is earning more money. Have a figure to quote of what his current yearly salary is and something to back that up...letter from the guy and bank statements or start photocopying the checks before depositing them. Also name, address, phone number of the company in case they want to note it in the file. It may not even come up, but be prepared to look professional if it does..

Edited October 19, 2010 by Nich-Nick