I-134 Income Situation

[Wes and Kat 0]

Basically my situation is this, I lost my job in April of 2011 after working for the same company for 5 years. At the time of my lay-off I was making $60,000 a year salaried. Upon the lay-off I moved from taking classes part time at university to a full time student.

I live off of the GI Bill (which pays a $1450 a month housing stipend), my VA disability ($250 a month), unemployment insurance ($450 a week), and my student financial aid. Even though I was unemployed for more than half of last year I claimed $45,000 taxable income on my taxes. I am currently unemployed by the letter of the law, however I am able to live a fairly comfortable lifestyle with my sources of income. I own my own home, pay taxes, etc. I also have very little time left to my studies and will be gaining full time employment as a professional engineer upon graduation.

The issue is that I am not at all close to my family, and I do not have anyone whom I would feel comfortable asking to cosponsor our visa. Do I absolutely need a cosponsor? If we go into the interview without a cosponsor and they do not accept my current financial situation as viable, do I have to start everything again? ie resubmit the I-129f, or would my fiance simply have to re-interview with a cosponsor?

Thank you for your advise, and PLEASE if you do not know for certain do not speculate.

[leith@Ievgeniia 8]

i would suggest get a part time job to show u make 16k a year, added to the 3k in disability in come you would be good. or if you will graduate before the interview and have a letter stating your income package from employer that would be good. the proof is at time of interview. so how long in process are you? if you just started you have like 180 days to make this happen. if interview is next week, your sunk! yes if they turn you down you start over. also you can delay interview for while. i think up to 5 or 6 months to finish up and get job. so it all now depends on your timeline on process.

good luck

[Wes and Kat 0]

Thank you for the reply, however it sounds to me like you are completely speculating about what I posted. I know for a fact you cannot "delay" the interview for 5 or 6 months. Furthermore I know for a fact that my monthly housing allowance is counted as income as it is money specifically designated as money for housing. It really would make no sense to me to terminate my unemployment to get a lower paying part time job unless I absolutely have to in order to have my fiance come over. This is why I asked not to speculate.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You need a co-sponsor unless you have a lot of money in the bank (about $60,000). Your income from last year does not matter.

ANY US citizen or legal permanent resident can co-sponsor you. YES they will refuse the visa and YES you will have to start over if you do not have enough income to support your fiancee.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thank you for the reply, however it sounds to me like you are completely speculating about what I posted. I know for a fact you cannot "delay" the interview for 5 or 6 months. Furthermore I know for a fact that my monthly housing allowance is counted as income as it is money specifically designated as money for housing. It really would make no sense to me to terminate my unemployment to get a lower paying part time job unless I absolutely have to in order to have my fiance come over. This is why I asked not to speculate.

Yes you can delay the interview. Contact the consulate when they get your petition

Yes, housing allowance counts. Yes unemployment counts BUT it does not count as permanent and does not have to be accepted, they probably won't accept it. Your housing allowance is not enough. No need to terminate your unemployment to get a part time job, but at least then you are employed in addition to your hosuing allowance and that WOULD be enough.

Usually states allow you to work part time AND collect unemployment if your employment pays less than 50% of your previous income. Check with your state labor department.

I am not speculating. You will need to show an income of about $19,000 per year (the poverty limits went up March 1 and take effect in the consulates April 1) You can count your housing allowance, your unemployment your diability and any other income from a job. The consulate does not HAVE TO accept any of this. They make up their own mind. Your case is very borderline IMO. I suggest a co-sponsor. Cobbling together $19,000 per year by counting on stipends, UI is risky. Especially when all they have to do is say "Nah...I don't think so"

The "rules" you see published do not apply to the I-134 for the visa. MOST consulates use them as a guide. Petitioners HAVE been refused even when they had regular jobs paying more than the guidelines because the job history was unstable, the work was temporary, etc.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thank you for the reply, however it sounds to me like you are completely speculating about what I posted. I know for a fact you cannot "delay" the interview for 5 or 6 months. Furthermore I know for a fact that my monthly housing allowance is counted as income as it is money specifically designated as money for housing. It really would make no sense to me to terminate my unemployment to get a lower paying part time job unless I absolutely have to in order to have my fiance come over. This is why I asked not to speculate.

He wasn't speculating. The only source of income you've got that's likely to continue for the foreseeable future is the disability income. The GI bill benefits, unemployment compensation, and student aid benefits will all definitely run out, and they will do so before your fiancee has accrued 40 quarters of work credit through Social Security or becomes eligible for US citizenship. You can't provide the minimum guarantee needed for an affidavit of support, so the consulate would almost certainly reject yours as insufficient. You should try to find a joint sponsor.

It is absolutely possible to postpone the interview. The beneficiary can delay responding to packet 3 as long as they notify the consulate before the I-129F approval expires that they intend to respond. The consulate can extend the approval of the petition for up to one year.

[Wes and Kat 0]

Yes you can delay the interview. Contact the consulate when they get your petition

Yes, housing allowance counts. Yes unemployment counts BUT it does not count as permanent and does not have to be accepted, they probably won't accept it. Your housing allowance is not enough. No need to terminate your unemployment to get a part time job, but at least then you are employed in addition to your hosuing allowance and that WOULD be enough.

Usually states allow you to work part time AND collect unemployment if your employment pays less than 50% of your previous income. Check with your state labor department.

I am not speculating. You will need to show an income of about $19,000 per year (the poverty limits went up March 1 and take effect in the consulates April 1) You can count your housing allowance, your unemployment your diability and any other income from a job. The consulate does not HAVE TO accept any of this. They make up their own mind. Your case is very borderline IMO. I suggest a co-sponsor. Cobbling together $19,000 per year by counting on stipends, UI is risky. Especially when all they have to do is say "Nah...I don't think so"

The "rules" you see published do not apply to the I-134 for the visa. MOST consulates use them as a guide. Petitioners HAVE been refused even when they had regular jobs paying more than the guidelines because the job history was unstable, the work was temporary, etc.

I am sorry, but how do you know what "they" will and won't accept? Is this based off of the history of other people's experiences, or some sort of insight, or what? I have read and reread the requirements posted on the Kiev Embassy site and see no such requirements. You must understand that I am not trying to be difficult, but getting a cosponsor is not exactly a trivial thing to do. Furthermore I am not a welfare case. I was in the Army for 10 years, unemployed for 3 months, then worked for my previous employer for 5 years. I am in school now to complete a degree so as to prevent myself from being laid-off in the manor which I was (not having a 4 year degree) in the future. I would like to think who ever looks at our packet in Kiev would be able to see this and understand the situation I am in.

My state does not allow you to carry a part-time job and unemployment. If I got hired at McDonalds making minimum I would forfeit any and all unemployment I am currently getting. This would complicate my studies tremendously and probably postpone my graduation date.

[Fight for Love 98]

question any one...is section 8?? consider to a housing allowance? if ever is this consider to be part of the income? thanks