I-134 Help: Bank can't provide deposit information on account verification letter

[MikeyN6IL 0]

Hi folks, I wonder if anyone else has dealt with this problem.

The instructions in our Packet-3 from the Hong Kong Consulate clearly said they want form I-134 to be submitted. Instructions for I-134 ask for:

A. Statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institutions with deposits, identifying the following details regarding the account:

1. Date account opened;

2. Total amount deposited for the past year; and

3. Present balance.

I called the bank and their account verification letter doesn't have deposit information, and suggested that I send statements. Further they said that this letter is fairly standard and deposit information is not normally requested. Does anyone know if this is necessary? And if I have to send statements do they need to be notarized? And if entire statements are required it will be between 100-144 pages that I don't know if I really need to send!!! Ugh!

[Popo's Lady 2]

IF YOU CAN GET THE FRONT PAGE OF EACH BANK STATEMENT THAT HAS YOUR DEPOSIT INFORMATION ALONG WITH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AT LEAST WHAT I GET FROM MY BANK DOES.

[Alcheringa 39]

Who are you banking with? We received a custom letter from BofA listing exactly what we needed.

I'd keeping talking to folks up the chain until you get someone that understands your specific requirements.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Hi folks, I wonder if anyone else has dealt with this problem.

The instructions in our Packet-3 from the Hong Kong Consulate clearly said they want form I-134 to be submitted. Instructions for I-134 ask for:

A. Statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institutions with deposits, identifying the following details regarding the account:

1. Date account opened;

2. Total amount deposited for the past year; and

3. Present balance.

I called the bank and their account verification letter doesn't have deposit information, and suggested that I send statements. Further they said that this letter is fairly standard and deposit information is not normally requested. Does anyone know if this is necessary? And if I have to send statements do they need to be notarized? And if entire statements are required it will be between 100-144 pages that I don't know if I really need to send!!! Ugh!

If your income is above the 125% level, then you do not need to show assets, get a letter from the bank or bank statements. You just provide a letter from your employer and the last few months of recent pay stubs.

If you need to show assets, then you will need a letter from the bank, or bank statements showing the amounts you are claiming.

[gtoddv 1]

If your income is above the 125% level, then you do not need to show assets, get a letter from the bank or bank statements. You just provide a letter from your employer and the last few months of recent pay stubs.

If you need to show assets, then you will need a letter from the bank, or bank statements showing the amounts you are claiming.

It could be that it isn't about assets. You need to have the letter if you don't have tax returns.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

It could be that it isn't about assets. You need to have the letter if you don't have tax returns.

If you don't have tax returns then it must be about assets since you're not using income for financial sponsorship...

[Paul+Leticia 1]

Hi folks, I wonder if anyone else has dealt with this problem.

The instructions in our Packet-3 from the Hong Kong Consulate clearly said they want form I-134 to be submitted. Instructions for I-134 ask for:

A. Statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institutions with deposits, identifying the following details regarding the account:

1. Date account opened;

2. Total amount deposited for the past year; and

3. Present balance.

I called the bank and their account verification letter doesn't have deposit information, and suggested that I send statements. Further they said that this letter is fairly standard and deposit information is not normally requested. Does anyone know if this is necessary? And if I have to send statements do they need to be notarized? And if entire statements are required it will be between 100-144 pages that I don't know if I really need to send!!! Ugh!

No, bank statements are not needed according to the instructions. I had my bank research all my deposits for 1 year back and enter the amount in the letter. They charged me 1/2 hr of work which was 6 dollars. I think you need to talk to someone else at the bank. It sounds like the person you talked to is not the biggest spoon in the drawer. To be honest I havent turned my letter in yet but forsee no problem because it has all the requirements stated in the I-134 instruction, Paul

[szemek 12]

Our bank was really stupid about this too. BoA charged us $20 for a letter that had 1 of the 3 things we needed on it. Then we went back and they said they couldn't write a letter with the information asked because our account hadn't been opened for a year. (I've banked there for years, but recently changed to an different account type.) I swear as soon as they start charging me any fee I'm dropping them.

The best we could do was print out our statements for the past year. I highlighted all the direct deposits I received and the bank officer signed them with a special stamp or something. There were no problems and we were approved.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hi folks, I wonder if anyone else has dealt with this problem.

The instructions in our Packet-3 from the Hong Kong Consulate clearly said they want form I-134 to be submitted. Instructions for I-134 ask for:

A. Statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institutions with deposits, identifying the following details regarding the account:

1. Date account opened;

2. Total amount deposited for the past year; and

3. Present balance.

I called the bank and their account verification letter doesn't have deposit information, and suggested that I send statements. Further they said that this letter is fairly standard and deposit information is not normally requested. Does anyone know if this is necessary? And if I have to send statements do they need to be notarized? And if entire statements are required it will be between 100-144 pages that I don't know if I really need to send!!! Ugh!

Take the letter from the Consulate to the bank to show them what is being asked of you. If they refuse to give you such a letter I would suggest you mention that your money will be leaving with you and going to a bank that believes in customer service. It is amazing how that threat will get you to the top dog at that branch or even a phone call to the local headquarters to resovle this issue so you keep your money at their bank. If you have to carry out the threat then you print out your statements for tthe last year showing the deposited amount and submit a letter as to why you had to do this and get the new bank to also write a letter about the account being opened etc. You must remind the bank that YOU are the customer and if YOU want a letter with this information it is up to them to provide it to you--they may charge you, but that is just a small amount compared to al the other fees and expenses of this process.

Good luck,

Dave

[gtoddv 1]

If you don't have tax returns then it must be about assets since you're not using income for financial sponsorship...

The bank statements/letter do show income (and bank accounts can be considered and asset). I am not trying to be argumentative just providing the information I have been made aware of from other sources. The official instructions for the I-134 (dated 05/25/11) specifically state that the letter of account verification is a valid form of evidence. As a matter of fact it says that the tax return is necessary only if you are self employed. That is the only place it even mentions a tax return. Doesn't mention assets in the instructions other than bonds. Of course there is a place for showing assets on the form itself.

Current i-134 instructions

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

It could be that it isn't about assets. You need to have the letter if you don't have tax returns.

If you do not have tax returns, you need to write a letter explaining why you were not legally required to file taxes. A bank letter is not used in place of that letter to show why you legally did not have to file according to the IRS Pubs. If he was not working, and that is why he did not need to file taxes, then it would be about assets being used to qualify.

He stated the instructions asked for a bank letter. I pointed out you do not need one if you are not intending to/needing to list assets.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Jay-Kay

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

The bank statements/letter do show income (and bank accounts can be considered and asset). I am not trying to be argumentative just providing the information I have been made aware of from other sources. The official instructions for the I-134 (dated 05/25/11) specifically state that the letter of account verification is a valid form of evidence. As a matter of fact it says that the tax return is necessary only if you are self employed. That is the only place it even mentions a tax return. Doesn't mention assets in the instructions other than bonds. Of course there is a place for showing assets on the form itself.

Current i-134 instructions

Consulates tend to go by the instructions and guidelines for the I-864, even when you are only providing the I-134 for a K-1 visa.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The bank statements/letter do show income (and bank accounts can be considered and asset). I am not trying to be argumentative just providing the information I have been made aware of from other sources. The official instructions for the I-134 (dated 05/25/11) specifically state that the letter of account verification is a valid form of evidence. As a matter of fact it says that the tax return is necessary only if you are self employed. That is the only place it even mentions a tax return. Doesn't mention assets in the instructions other than bonds. Of course there is a place for showing assets on the form itself.

Current i-134 instructions

Do not follow the instructions for the I-134. Those instructions were written by USCIS, and you're not submitting the I-134 to USCIS - you're submitting it to a US consulate. They're not even the same department of the government. The consulate will instruct you what sort of evidence they require in their packet 3 and packet 4 instructions. Follow those instructions.

Most consulates will insist on a copy of the most recent tax return. Some consulates, like the one in HCMC, specifically want an IRS transcript of that return, but may accept a copy of the return at the discretion of the consular officer. If you don't want to provide a copy of your tax return, and would prefer to provide bank statements instead, then feel free to take your copy of the I-134 form instructions into the consulate and argue with the consular officer. Let us know how it goes.

Seriously, this is one of the very rare cases where you should not follow the instructions that come with the form. Forms beginning with "I" are immigration forms used by Department of Homeland Security, while forms beginning with "DS" are use by Department of State. The I-134 is one of the few DHS forms used by US consulates, and they use it as little more than a cover sheet for the sponsor's financial documents. They'll reject it if you don't give them the evidence they want.

[danielleNJ 1]

I bank with Chase and tried at three different branches (spoke to managers, etc.) and called the bank's hotline numerous times and they couldn't provide me with a letter. I just printed out my bank statements for the past year and just included the pages with all my deposits (which I highlighted) in my Packet 3. That should work!

[ScottMichela 0]

Is this really going to be an issue? I have evrything other than deposit history which has been unanimously denied by every official of 3 separate banks! I have statements... what else can I do?