Questions about I-864

[jennie ann 15]

Hi everyone, I have a few questions (okay, several, actually) about the I-864. I am still two months or so away from my I-130 approval, but I want to make sure that I am prepared when the time comes so that we can get through the rest of the process as quickly as possible. I really appreciate any and all input you can give me!

First of all, I'll be filing my Affidavit of Support in early 2011, but obviously I will not have done my taxes for 2010 by that point. I already have tax transcripts for 2009, 2008, and 2007 – are those still the three most recent tax years, if I'm filing around January/February 2011?

As for my current annual income, I work part time at a job that I didn't begin until April 2010, and my pay has varied widely from one pay period to the next (at least in the beginning). However, in the past few months, I have become much more involved with the company and make a more steady amount now (although it still varies depending on the actual work I do). I was going to estimate my yearly salary by taking the average of what I now usually make in a two-week period and multiplying that by 24 (two paychecks per month). To get that average amount, should I use my gross pay or net pay from my pay stubs? Is it necessary explain somewhere how I arrived at that number (i.e. my current annual income)? I am going to submit a few pay stubs from the past couple of months, but on them you can see that my year to date earnings are nowhere near the income requirements. This is because I didn't start the job until April, and I was working very little at first. However, my manager is happy to write a letter explaining that I pretty much work full time now to provide evidence that I am gainfully employed. Do you think this is acceptable?

In case they decide that all this is not good enough, my mother has also agreed to be a joint sponsor. She used to be a business owner but sold the business over 10 years ago. She does not work anymore but has income from rental properties and investments (stocks, etc.). Does this mean she is self-employed? Her tax transcripts do show her Schedule D (capital gains) and Schedule E (rent/royalty/partnership/estate) forms. Should she also write a letter explaining her income, and do we need to include statements, say for example from her property manager showing incoming rent payments?

To summarize, here is everything that I am thinking of including in my Affidavit of Support package. Please let me know your thoughts (if you think something is necessary/unnecessary):

• I-864 from petitioner/primary sponsor (myself)
  
• Letter from employer stating current annual income (estimated using average pay in a two-week period) and describing my role(s) within the company
  
• A collection of pay stubs from the past few months (is it OK if they are not consecutive? There will be pay periods, for example during the holidays, for which I wouldn't have earned much, if anything, and I obviously don't want to include those)
  
• Tax transcripts from 2009, 2008, and 2007
  

• I-864 from joint sponsor (my mother)
  
• A copy of my mother's US passport and naturalization certificate (to prove her citizenship)
  
• Letter of self-employment (not sure exactly what needs to go in here)
  
• Evidence of income (e.g. statements from property manager showing rental payments, statements from her stockbroker maybe?)
  
• Tax transcripts from 2009, 2008, and 2007
  

Sorry for the super long post, and thank you so much in advance to anyone who can help. This community has been so incredible in helping to make sense of this whole horrible process. I've been apart from my husband for nearly a year now (except for the two weeks we had together in June, when we got married), and we still have several months to go. It really helps to know that other people are going through the same thing.

[mustafa1232 3]

Hi everyone, I have a few questions (okay, several, actually) about the I-864. I am still two months or so away from my I-130 approval, but I want to make sure that I am prepared when the time comes so that we can get through the rest of the process as quickly as possible. I really appreciate any and all input you can give me!

First of all, I'll be filing my Affidavit of Support in early 2011, but obviously I will not have done my taxes for 2010 by that point. I already have tax transcripts for 2009, 2008, and 2007 – are those still the three most recent tax years, if I'm filing around January/February 2011?

As for my current annual income, I work part time at a job that I didn't begin until April 2010, and my pay has varied widely from one pay period to the next (at least in the beginning). However, in the past few months, I have become much more involved with the company and make a more steady amount now (although it still varies depending on the actual work I do). I was going to estimate my yearly salary by taking the average of what I now usually make in a two-week period and multiplying that by 24 (two paychecks per month). To get that average amount, should I use my gross pay or net pay from my pay stubs? Is it necessary explain somewhere how I arrived at that number (i.e. my current annual income)? I am going to submit a few pay stubs from the past couple of months, but on them you can see that my year to date earnings are nowhere near the income requirements. This is because I didn't start the job until April, and I was working very little at first. However, my manager is happy to write a letter explaining that I pretty much work full time now to provide evidence that I am gainfully employed. Do you think this is acceptable?

In case they decide that all this is not good enough, my mother has also agreed to be a joint sponsor. She used to be a business owner but sold the business over 10 years ago. She does not work anymore but has income from rental properties and investments (stocks, etc.). Does this mean she is self-employed? Her tax transcripts do show her Schedule D (capital gains) and Schedule E (rent/royalty/partnership/estate) forms. Should she also write a letter explaining her income, and do we need to include statements, say for example from her property manager showing incoming rent payments?

To summarize, here is everything that I am thinking of including in my Affidavit of Support package. Please let me know your thoughts (if you think something is necessary/unnecessary):

• I-864 from petitioner/primary sponsor (myself)
• Letter from employer stating current annual income (estimated using average pay in a two-week period) and describing my role(s) within the company
• A collection of pay stubs from the past few months (is it OK if they are not consecutive? There will be pay periods, for example during the holidays, for which I wouldn't have earned much, if anything, and I obviously don't want to include those)
• Tax transcripts from 2009, 2008, and 2007

• I-864 from joint sponsor (my mother)
• A copy of my mother's US passport and naturalization certificate (to prove her citizenship)
• Letter of self-employment (not sure exactly what needs to go in here)
• Evidence of income (e.g. statements from property manager showing rental payments, statements from her stockbroker maybe?)
• Tax transcripts from 2009, 2008, and 2007

Sorry for the super long post, and thank you so much in advance to anyone who can help. This community has been so incredible in helping to make sense of this whole horrible process. I've been apart from my husband for nearly a year now (except for the two weeks we had together in June, when we got married), and we still have several months to go. It really helps to know that other people are going through the same thing.

hi jennie ann you ask to many question i will try my level best and give you answer iam sorry if iam forget something or i cannot understand your question For tax issue, I’ll answer 2010 most recent year with zero income and attach separated sheet that saying WAS NOT employed or i work as a part time what ever your story is in 2010 therefore, income is zero. I will not even mention if you files the tax return or not till USCIS asks. I think it is better to avoid some points which are not necessary to speak out till they ask. let suppose for example Your should explain in a letter that- (1) i didn't work for those years,or i work part time so obviously i had no income in those years in order to file the tax returns, and (2) that i was not required to file income tax returns with IRS for those years because of not having income. you should print out the relevant information on 'which is required to file income tax returns' for those years by going into the IRS website and attach that with your explanation letter to make your case strong...so that nobody even dare to ask why you failed to file tax returns for those years.

you petationer has to fill I-864, even if you doesn't make enough money, and also,if your mother is going to be a joint sponsor,dosent matter if your mother is self employed she has to fill I-864. Now, if she is living with you she can fill I-864A as a household member, if only if she is living with you, otherwise she must fill I-864. I recommend you to read the i-864 instruction as many times as you can. I did that and every time I undertood that form better (In my case, this form was the most difficult to understand). Now, it doesn't matter if she is working or not. She only has to meet the 125% of the current Federal poverty guideline. How can you know if she meets the requierments, you just have to ask her for her tax 1040 forms of the last three years (2010, 09 and 08). There is a line which says Total income or gross income. That number has to be over the 125%. Now, if she doesn't have the tax returns (1040), she has to fill a form 4506-t to ask for the tax info of last three years. it takes 30 days to get that info and is for free. Now, if you are in a hurry, you can request via http://www.credit************.com/Ta...ation_4506.aspyour tax info, they will give you the info en less than 72 hours but it cost money.

Also, remember you have to send copies not only of the tax returns (1040), you also have to have forms w-2, and 1099. It is only necessary to send 1040, 1099 and w2 from the last years, but you must fill the information of the last three years,

[jennie ann 15]

Hi Mustafa, thank you so much for responding. I don't think you understood my situation though (sorry, I know there were a lot of questions!). It's not that I'm not going to file my taxes for 2010... it's just that by the time I send in my Affidavit of Support, it will only be January or February of 2011, so I won't have filed them yet because taxes are not due until April. And I do definitely have income for 2010, so I won't say that I don't have income, nor will I need a reason for not filing (because no one will have filed for 2010 yet).

I guess my main question is this: for the question "My total income (adjusted gross income on IRS Form 1040EZ) as reported on my Federal tax returns for the most recent three years was", I am guessing that even though 2010 will already technically be over in January/February 2011, my three most recent tax years (all for which I have tax transcripts) will be 2009, 2008, and 2007. Is that correct?

Again, I really appreciate your response, Mustafa. Anyone else have any suggestions for my I-864 packet? Thanks!

[JoannaV 174]

Hi everyone, I have a few questions (okay, several, actually) about the I-864. I am still two months or so away from my I-130 approval, but I want to make sure that I am prepared when the time comes so that we can get through the rest of the process as quickly as possible. I really appreciate any and all input you can give me!

First of all, I'll be filing my Affidavit of Support in early 2011, but obviously I will not have done my taxes for 2010 by that point. I already have tax transcripts for 2009, 2008, and 2007 – are those still the three most recent tax years, if I'm filing around January/February 2011? You will need your tax return from 2010. Prod your company to give you your W2 as soon as the year ends, and file immediately. If you are in a rush then you can send a copy of the tax return along with the W2 instead of waiting to get a transcript.

As for my current annual income, I work part time at a job that I didn't begin until April 2010, and my pay has varied widely from one pay period to the next (at least in the beginning). However, in the past few months, I have become much more involved with the company and make a more steady amount now (although it still varies depending on the actual work I do). I was going to estimate my yearly salary by taking the average of what I now usually make in a two-week period and multiplying that by 24 (two paychecks per month). To get that average amount, should I use my gross pay or net pay from my pay stubs? Is it necessary explain somewhere how I arrived at that number (i.e. my current annual income)? I am going to submit a few pay stubs from the past couple of months, but on them you can see that my year to date earnings are nowhere near the income requirements. This is because I didn't start the job until April, and I was working very little at first. However, my manager is happy to write a letter explaining that I pretty much work full time now to provide evidence that I am gainfully employed. Do you think this is acceptable? When they ask for your past income they ask for the adjusted gross, which indicates that you can use the gross pay from your pay stubs when calculating your annual pay. As you will be giving your current annual income for 2011, you can estimate what that will be based on how much you expect to work in 2011. The current annual income figure can be an estimation, a rounded number, and you do not need to explain how you arrived at it. As your tax returns will show lower incomes you will however need to provide plenty of evidence showing that such a figure for 2011 is reasonable. Recent pay stubs and a good letter from your manager will be essential. In the instructions they mention something about 6 months of pay stubs. This isn't necessarily necessary, but more is generally better. Remember that you will have more pay stubs by the time you submit the affidavit of support. Hopefully you will be able to work as much as possible from the start of January. Those pay stubs will then show that you are on course to make such-and-such amount in 2011. If your expected income is a sufficient amount above the requirement, then this should be pretty straightforward really. If you are borderline then showing you truly expect to make enough in 2011 will require greater attention to the numbers. (So, if it is high then you can round the number to show it is an estimate. But if it is very close then you may want to make it as exact as possible in order to indicate that it is truly what you will make.)

In case they decide that all this is not good enough, my mother has also agreed to be a joint sponsor. This is perfect. She used to be a business owner but sold the business over 10 years ago. She does not work anymore but has income from rental properties and investments (stocks, etc.). Does this mean she is self-employed? It sounds like it, I think. Her tax transcripts do show her Schedule D (capital gains) and Schedule E (rent/royalty/partnership/estate) forms. Should she also write a letter explaining her income, and do we need to include statements, say for example from her property manager showing incoming rent payments? Include the transcripts and all related 1040s. Where the self-employed check box is she can write "rental property owner", or some such. No need to explain further in a letter, and the stocks etc. speak for themselves. If her last three tax transcripts are high enough and similar enough then they should be enough evidence of income. If is borderline or the rental income was pretty low in one of the years, then proof of the current incoming rent payments might help show that her future income is guaranteed.

To summarize, here is everything that I am thinking of including in my Affidavit of Support package. Please let me know your thoughts (if you think something is necessary/unnecessary):

• I-864 from petitioner/primary sponsor (myself)
• Letter from employer stating current annual income (estimated using average pay in a two-week period) and describing my role(s) within the company Make sure your role is described as being permanent, as far as possible.
• A collection of pay stubs from the past few months (is it OK if they are not consecutive? There will be pay periods, for example during the holidays, for which I wouldn't have earned much, if anything, and I obviously don't want to include those) Probably best to make it consecutive. As they include the year-to-date income it will be obvious how much you earnt in any missing pay periods anyway. It also should be obvious that, for example, Christmas exists. Just try, as much as possible, to work full-time in the new year.
• Tax transcripts from 2009, 2008, and 2007

• I-864 from joint sponsor (my mother)
• A copy of my mother's US passport and naturalization certificate (to prove her citizenship)
• Letter of self-employment (not sure exactly what needs to go in here)
• Evidence of income (e.g. statements from property manager showing rental payments, statements from her stockbroker maybe?) only necessary if the past 1040 Schedules are not indicative of her expected 2011 income.
• Tax transcripts from 2009, 2008, and 2007 with 1040s

Anyhow, sounds like you are very well prepared and fully comprehend the form!

Sorry for the super long post, and thank you so much in advance to anyone who can help. This community has been so incredible in helping to make sense of this whole horrible process. I've been apart from my husband for nearly a year now (except for the two weeks we had together in June, when we got married), and we still have several months to go. It really helps to know that other people are going through the same thing.

[JoannaV 174]

It's not that I'm not going to file my taxes for 2010... it's just that by the time I send in my Affidavit of Support, it will only be January or February of 2011, so I won't have filed them yet because taxes are not due until April. And I do definitely have income for 2010, so I won't say that I don't have income, nor will I need a reason for not filing (because no one will have filed for 2010 yet). Haha I agree that generally we would file on April 14th, but this year we expect and want and need our big refund so we will be filing January 1st. Well, later obviously, but if we haven't received all our W2s pretty soon we will be banging on some doors.

File your taxes as soon as you can. If your I-864 is requested before you have been physically able to do so, then you could send it off with as much extra evidence as possible and then be prepared for the potential of a RFE asking for your 2010 tax transcript. They should make it clearer what ones does in this situation. Maybe they'll just ask you to give your husband the 2010 tax return to bring to his interview at the Embassy, that would be nice. Hopefully someone who filed their I-864 in a January without a tax return can give you their experience.

[jennie ann 15]

Joanna, thank you so much for your detailed response! It is really helpful, although it does kind of make me want to cry. I am going to be out of the country visiting my husband from December 27th to January 13th and was hoping to get the NOA2 shortly after that, but now it looks like everything is going to be delayed because now I have to rush to file my 2010 taxes (which I obviously won't be able to do until after I return in mid-January). Also, I guess my mother will have to file early as well, which is going to be even more of a burden on her. Maybe, like you said, I will just send everything I can as soon as possible to get the ball rolling, knowing that I will probably get an RFE. Why oh why could I not have filed a month and a half earlier? Oh right, that's because I wasn't married yet.

One more quick thing: you say I also need to send 1040s, but isn't the tax transcript basically your 1040, W-2s and 1099s all in one?

Thanks again so much.

[JoannaV 174]

.

One more quick thing: you say I also need to send 1040s, but isn't the tax transcript basically your 1040, W-2s and 1099s all in one?

Thanks again so much.

If I remember correctly, your mom will need to send the 1040s showing her schedule D and E in addition to the transcripts. I think that's what the instructions say but it was a week ago I read them. Other than that the transcripts are sufficient in themselves.

If, when it is time to send off the I-864, you/mom have gotten some of your W-2s etc. for 2010 but not all of them so can't file taxes yet, then send copies of the 2010 W-2s etc. that you do have.

It's great that you are so prepared! Please try to enjoy your holiday without worrying about this at all

Edited December 1, 2010 by JoannaV

[jennie ann 15]

If I remember correctly, your mom will need to send the 1040s showing her schedule D and E in addition to the transcripts. I think that's what the instructions say but it was a week ago I read them. Other than that the transcripts are sufficient in themselves.

If, when it is time to send off the I-864, you/mom have gotten some of your W-2s etc. for 2010 but not all of them so can't file taxes yet, then send copies of the 2010 W-2s etc. that you do have.

It's great that you are so prepared! Please try to enjoy your holiday without worrying about this at all

Ohh, I think I understand now. I just read that part of the instructions again, and it seems that I need to send each 1040 Schedule (so Schedules D and E, which accompanied the 1040), but not the entire Form 1040, since I have the transcripts. This is what the instructions say:

"If you checked box 22(b) (self-employed), you should have completed one of the following forms with your Federal income tax return: Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business), Schedule D (Capital Gains), Schedule E (Supplemental Income or Loss) or Schedule F (Profit or Loss from Farming). You must include each and every Form 1040 Schedule, if any, that you filed with your Federal tax return."

And I sure hope I am prepared! I feel like I have been doing everything I can, but I'm always afraid I'm going to miss something. And thank you, I will definitely enjoy my holiday. I'll set aside an hour or so to have my husband sign forms and make sure we've got everything we need, and then I will force myself to stop worrying!