I-864: Do we need a joint sponsor?

[azureblue 0]

I am a U.S. Citizen applying for my mother to come to U.S. We are in the process of filing I-864.

The household number is 4 (including my mother). The 125% Poverty line is $27,938. I am unemployed. My husband is employed by the Defense Department on GS-04 pay ($31,560).

However, my husband has just been employed since June 2011. Before that he is unemployed as well, since he was in college.

Does the consular consider my husband's recent income? He can provide month-to-month Leave and Earning Statement (LES) from the Defense Department to prove his income.

Do we still need additional sponsor?

[aleful 1,905]

I am a U.S. Citizen applying for my mother to come to U.S. We are in the process of filing I-864.

The household number is 4 (including my mother). The 125% Poverty line is $27,938. I am unemployed. My husband is employed by the Defense Department on GS-04 pay ($31,560).

However, my husband has just been employed since June 2011. Before that he is unemployed as well, since he was in college.

Does the consular consider my husband's recent income? He can provide month-to-month Leave and Earning Statement (LES) from the Defense Department to prove his income.

Do we still need additional sponsor?

yes you will need a joint sponsor, they request the 2010 taxes over the poverty guidelines.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I am a U.S. Citizen applying for my mother to come to U.S. We are in the process of filing I-864.

The household number is 4 (including my mother). The 125% Poverty line is $27,938. I am unemployed. My husband is employed by the Defense Department on GS-04 pay ($31,560).

However, my husband has just been employed since June 2011. Before that he is unemployed as well, since he was in college.

Does the consular consider my husband's recent income? He can provide month-to-month Leave and Earning Statement (LES) from the Defense Department to prove his income.

Do we still need additional sponsor?

You're still the primary sponsor because you submitted the petition. However, since your husband is a qualifying household member then he can sign an I-864A and add his income to your I-864.

The general consensus on this site is that the current annualized income is used to determine if an affidavit of support is sufficient. For example, multiply current monthly income by 12. However, there is some evidence on this site that this conventional wisdom may not be entirely correct. Both the Adjudicators Field Manual (used by USCIS) and the Foreign Affairs Manual (used by Department of State, including the NVC and US consulates) say that the current income must meet or exceed 125% of the poverty guidelines for the year in which the affidavit of support is submitted. There have been some VJ members who appeared to meet the requirements if you considered their annualized income, but NVC or USCIS requested a joint sponsor anyway. The common thread in many of these cases is that the sponsor had a new job, their previous year's tax return did not indicate sufficient income, and their total cumulative income for the current year was not going to be enough to qualify because they'd only worked for part of the year. In other words, the rule they applied appears to have been "How much are you going to make this year?" and NOT "How much are you going to make in the next 12 months?". If it's true that they evaluate the affidavit of support this way then you'll probably be told to get a joint sponsor.

[Kindly Waiting 2]

Just for clarification:

If he had begun working in June 2010, but worked a complete year in 2011 and they filed in 2012, then his income from 2011 would what USCIS is looking at for the income requirement?

I was also under the impression that in this situation, you could provide your last 6 months worth of pay records along with a letter from the employer confirming the employment. ???

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Just for clarification:

If he had begun working in June 2010, but worked a complete year in 2011 and they filed in 2012, then his income from 2011 would what USCIS is looking at for the income requirement?

I was also under the impression that in this situation, you could provide your last 6 months worth of pay records along with a letter from the employer confirming the employment. ???

No. If he submits the affidavit of support in 2012 then his anticipated income in 2012 is what they'll be looking at.

This is what the Adjudicators Field Manual says:

When determining the sufficiency of a Form I-864, USCIS shall first consider the sponsor’s anticipated income for the year the sponsor signed Form I-864. Thus, during the initial evidence review, USCIS shall as a general rule determine the sufficiency of a Form I-864 based on the sponsor’s reasonably anticipated household income for the year in which the sponsor signed the Form I-864.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.f6da51a2342135be7e9d7a10e0dc91a0/?vgnextoid=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&CH=afm

A strict interpretation of this is that they look at the evidence to determine what the sponsor's income is going to be in the year that they file the affidavit of support, and NOT for the 12 month window of time that begins on the date they submit the affidavit of support, nor for the 12 months covered by their most recent tax return. If their income appears to be sufficient then the affidavit is sufficient.

The tax return for the most recent tax year is collected because INA 213A requires it to be collected. The AFM goes on to explain that an RFE must be issued if the most recent year's tax return showed insufficient income AND the evidence shows that the sponsor's income is/was/will be insufficient AND a sufficient affidavit of support from a joint sponsor was not submitted. An RFE must also be issued if a year or more has passed since the affidavit of support was submitted. In either of those cases the RFE is issued for the current year's income, and not necessarily the year in which the affidavit of support was submitted. This supports the general rule that the affidavit must be sufficient at the time USCIS accepts it.

Regarding pay slips and a letter of employment, the AFM says:

Pay stub(s) showing income for the most recent 6 months and letters from all current employers are no longer required as initial evidence. The applicant, however, may submit either or both of these items (1) in response to a request for additional evidence (

RFE

), or (2) with a Form I-864 if the applicant believes doing so would help establish that the sponsor meets the governing income/assets threshold.

[heretohelp 0]

The current income made for the year that you have not yet filed for will be looked at, but bottom line is that no matter if it is USCIS, NVC, or the embassy they are all going to be looking for sponsorship income to exceed the 125% mark for the previous tax year. You could be projected at making $200,000 for 2012, but you only made $17,000 in 2011 they will still request more income. Assets are also considered, but are not nearly as reliable as actual taxed income due to the fact that liquidating assets and proper assessing of the value can be difficult and unreliable, which is why they would always go back to the taxes.