I-864 need help

[AnythingButCommon 2]

Hi Everyone,

My Spouse file for my AOS. She file the form I-864 for me But she don't work. So my father in law is the join sponsor and he also file I-864.

Their household member is 5 and his income in the tax return is 27,000. I show in the I-864p that for requirement is 32,712.

Now My spouse and I have joint bank account and I am currently working on the OPT so I have balance of more than 10,000.

Can my wife show that balance as assets in his I-864?

Thanks in Advance

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi Everyone,

My Spouse file for my AOS. She file the form I-864 for me But she don't work. So my father in law is the join sponsor and he also file I-864.

Their household member is 5 and his income in the tax return is 27,000. I show in the I-864p that for requirement is 32,712.

Now My spouse and I have joint bank account and I am currently working on the OPT so I have balance of more than 10,000.

Can my wife show that balance as assets in his I-864?

Thanks in Advance

Your wife's I-864 is insufficient. Your joint sponsor's I-864 is also insufficient. You'll be told to get a sufficient joint sponsor.

The sponsored immigrant can combine income and assets ONLY with the primary sponsor - your wife. You cannot contribute your assets to help your joint sponsor qualify. Your joint sponsor would need over $28,000 in assets in order to overcome their shortage of income. With no income, you'd need to be able to contribute over $55,000 to your wife's affidavit of support.

Find another joint sponsor.

[AnythingButCommon 2]

Your wife's I-864 is insufficient. Your joint sponsor's I-864 is also insufficient. You'll be told to get a sufficient joint sponsor.

The sponsored immigrant can combine income and assets ONLY with the primary sponsor - your wife. You cannot contribute your assets to help your joint sponsor qualify. Your joint sponsor would need over $28,000 in assets in order to overcome their shortage of income. With no income, you'd need to be able to contribute over $55,000 to your wife's affidavit of support.

Find another joint sponsor.

Thanks for your quick response.

I am confuse about the assets stuff. My wife and I have joint account so If my account has 10,000,It's also available for my wife.

So,

10,000 Assets in wife

27,000 Income in my father in law tax file

--------

37,000 total(require 32,712)

Is it work that way??

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks for your quick response.

I am confuse about the assets stuff. My wife and I have joint account so If my account has 10,000,It's also available for my wife.

So,

10,000 Assets in wife

27,000 Income in my father in law tax file

--------

37,000 total(require 32,712)

Is it work that way??

No, it doesn't work that way.

First, assets don't count the same as income. They are counted at a fractional rate. If the immigrant is the sponsor's spouse then assets count 1/3 as much as income. This means your $10,000 is equal to $3,333 worth of income. If your wife was working, and was $3000 short in income to qualify, then your $10,000 would be enough to push her over. By itself, your $10,000 makes her total household income worth $3,333.

Second, your father in-law's income doesn't combine with your wife's income unless you and your wife live in the same house as your father in-law. In that case, your father in-law would sign an I-864A, your wife would include him in her household size on line 21.g, and list him and his income in section 24.b of her I-864. If your father in-law has assets to list then his assets count 1/5 as much as income. Your wife would also have to sign the "Sponsor" section of the I-864A.

Note that there is a distinct advantage to using the I-864A - your father in-law's household size becomes irrelevant. He's only promising to make his income available to your wife to help support you. But you MUST be living in the same household in order to use this option.

Why 1/3 and 1/5? USCIS never completely explained this, but it's presumed it has to do with when an immigrant become eligible for citizenship. Becoming a citizen terminates the obligations of the affidavit of support. A spouse of a US citizen can become a US citizen in three years, hence assets worth 3X the shortage of income are required for a sponsor who is the spouse of the immigrant. Otherwise, an immigrant can become a US citizen in five years, so assets worth 5X the shortage of income are required for a sponsor who is not the spouse of the immigrant.

Is this complicated? Yes. Is it more complicated than filing an annual tax return? Not even close. Read the forms carefully. Everything you need to know is described in the form instructions in great detail.