I-864 - Sponsorship Woes and Confusion

[pbmcc88 0]

Hello all!

The situation in, ahem, sort of brief: I became engaged to my US fiancee in the summer of 2010. In April 2011, we finally filed our I-129F package, and by July had received the NOA2 from the USCIS. In October I had my medical in Knightsbridge, London, and in December had my interview at the embassy. We had found our sponsors some months earlier, but they were rather reluctant to give us any of the evidence required by the USCIS. Nevertheless, they did give us sufficient documentation to obtain the K-1 visa, which I received in the mail on December 13th.

I arrived in the US on March 3rd, just under a fortnight ago.

Now I find that my former sponsors now want nothing to do with sponsoring me/us again with the I-864. They cite things like how easy it would be for someone to intercept the IRS tax transcripts we'd need and steal their identities, or that they just don't want to give the government that information (even though the government already has it; well, the IRS does). So now we're stuck looking for another sponsor, and as you can imagine, not many people (even friends) are willing to give you that sort of information, and this is made much harder by there being so few people in my fiancee's family who are in work these days who are in jobs able to meet the 125% poverty guideline requirements.

So we're looking into joint sponsorship, but it doesn't appear (to my understanding at least) that my fiancee (who earns $12-13k per annum) could combine her income with any of her colleagues who could be willing to sponsor us, unless they lived with us in our apartment for at least six months, and appeared on her last tax return. Nor does it appear that we could get a joint sponsor, as that joint sponsor alone would need to meet the 125% requirements, in which case it'd be simpler to just have them sponsor me directly rather than jointly.

Or have I got it wrong? Would it be at all possible to combine two sponsors' incomes to meet the 125% mark for the sponsors and myself without the joint sponsor needing to actually factor in to my missus' last tax return?

I'm so confused! This is very stressful. We have a month until the wedding and my I-94 expires in the first week of June, so we really want to file by the end of April at the very latest.

[ohmygosh 1]

Hello all!

The situation in, ahem, sort of brief: I became engaged to my US fiancee in the summer of 2010. In April 2011, we finally filed our I-129F package, and by July had received the NOA2 from the USCIS. In October I had my medical in Knightsbridge, London, and in December had my interview at the embassy. We had found our sponsors some months earlier, but they were rather reluctant to give us any of the evidence required by the USCIS. Nevertheless, they did give us sufficient documentation to obtain the K-1 visa, which I received in the mail on December 13th.

I arrived in the US on March 3rd, just under a fortnight ago.

Now I find that my former sponsors now want nothing to do with sponsoring me/us again with the I-864. They cite things like how easy it would be for someone to intercept the IRS tax transcripts we'd need and steal their identities, or that they just don't want to give the government that information (even though the government already has it; well, the IRS does). So now we're stuck looking for another sponsor, and as you can imagine, not many people (even friends) are willing to give you that sort of information, and this is made much harder by there being so few people in my fiancee's family who are in work these days who are in jobs able to meet the 125% poverty guideline requirements.

So we're looking into joint sponsorship, but it doesn't appear (to my understanding at least) that my fiancee (who earns $12-13k per annum) could combine her income with any of her colleagues who could be willing to sponsor us, unless they lived with us in our apartment for at least six months, and appeared on her last tax return. Nor does it appear that we could get a joint sponsor, as that joint sponsor alone would need to meet the 125% requirements, in which case it'd be simpler to just have them sponsor me directly rather than jointly.

Or have I got it wrong? Would it be at all possible to combine two sponsors' incomes to meet the 125% mark for the sponsors and myself without the joint sponsor needing to actually factor in to my missus' last tax return?

I'm so confused! This is very stressful. We have a month until the wedding and my I-94 expires in the first week of June, so we really want to file by the end of April at the very latest.

[ohmygosh 1]

I am not very experienced with this but I do not understand you panic. Why do you not just go ahead with your marriage and then apply for AOS later when your spouse can affort to sponsor you him self? I am not sure if there is a time limit as to when you apply for AOS but I do not think it is a mandatory process. I am sure someone will let us know if I am wrong about this.

[pbmcc88 0]

I am not very experienced with this but I do not understand you panic. Why do you not just go ahead with your marriage and then apply for AOS later when your spouse can affort to sponsor you him self? I am not sure if there is a time limit as to when you apply for AOS but I do not think it is a mandatory process. I am sure someone will let us know if I am wrong about this.

My fiancee works for Walmart, and has no chance of advancement or higher pay because she can't drive, and the local public transport system (well, the taxi service) doesn't operate after a certain time each evening. It's 5 miles from the apartment to her work place, and it'd therefore be very dangerous to open her availability to the point where advancement is possible, because she'd be forced to walk to work at all hours of the night, risking rape/assault every time.

There is a time limit; My I-94 expires in the first week of June and I want to avoid being 'Out Of Status' at all costs. The AOS papers need to be filed within 3 months of my arrival, and after the wedding on April 14th. We need sponsorship urgently and the lack of clarity or sufficient detail on the matter has resulted in much stress and confusion.

Edited March 15, 2012 by pbmcc88

[Enigma11561 336]

Your I-94 is your 90 day window to get married. Once married, you file your AOS. Although most people do this fairly quickly so they can get their EAD and AP, and subsequently their GC, it does not HAVE to be done right away. Once married no one is going to deport you because you did not file for the AOS. I will stand corrected, but everyone is "out of status" once married ( and the I-94 is now at the expired 90 day mark) and before filing for the AOS.

[pbmcc88 0]

Your I-94 is your 90 day window to get married. Once married, you file your AOS. Although most people do this fairly quickly so they can get their EAD and AP, and subsequently their GC, it does not HAVE to be done right away. Once married no one is going to deport you because you did not file for the AOS. I will stand corrected, but everyone is "out of status" once married ( and the I-94 is now at the expired 90 day mark) and before filing for the AOS.

The way I understand it from Visa Journey's own AOS guide, I need to file for my AOS while my I-94 is still valid and before it expires, which is why they request a photocopy of the valid I-94. As I understand it, while the AOS is being processed by the USCIS it's okay to overstay the I-94's expiration date, but I need to file the AOS package (complete with I-864 and all necessary evidence) before that date.

Our big concern right now is sponsorship, the present lack thereof, and our confusion over joint sponsorship and the like (and yes, we have read the USCIS' own instructions, which are very vague on this matter).

[Inky 1,111]

Moving to the AOS forum. This is not a K-1 issue.

[ceadsearc 516]

You can't combine with anyone but household members. If you had a single friend, they would only need to meet the guideline for 2 people (you + them), which is a little over $18,000, I believe.

You do want to stay in status if at all possible but sometimes it is not. If you go a little over the I-94 expiration, you will probably be ok as long as you do not come to the attention of USCIS for any reason.

[pbmcc88 0]

Believe me, I am going to keep my head down whenever and wherever possible and try my hardest not to come to their attention. But even doing that, this whole sponsorship deal is stressing us both out big time. We feel incredibly frustrated that the only people who are willing to give us the kind of financial information the USCIS needs as evidence, don't meet the minimum requirements for sponsorship, due to lack of sufficient income and being unable to combine resources like household members can. Sometimes I feel like our only hope is to persuade our old sponsors to take us back, but I don't know how we'd even do that, they won't listen to reason and we fear that hounding them will only work against our interests.

Edited March 16, 2012 by pbmcc88

[JoannaV 174]

Firstly, don't get too worried about this. If you can't file AOS before your I-95 expires, then you can't and that will be ok.

Do any of your fiancee's family members who would be willing to help live in the same household? They could then combine their incomes with each other.

Maybe if you don't mention the subject to your old sponsors for a while they will forget their worries and you can ask them again a while after the wedding.

[TBoneTX 46,209]

The way I understand it from Visa Journey's own AOS guide, I need to file for my AOS while my I-94 is still valid and before it expires, which is why they request a photocopy of the valid I-94. As I understand it, while the AOS is being processed by the USCIS it's okay to overstay the I-94's expiration date, but I need to file the AOS package (complete with I-864 and all necessary evidence) before that date.

This is not quite a correct understanding. You must MARRY within 90 days of entry (= the valid term of your I-94). Once you marry, you're ELIGIBLE for adjustment of status. It's optimal, but not required, to file for AOS within the term of your I-94. (Some people marry on the 89th day -- thus fulfilling the requirement of entry on a K-1 visa -- and wouldn't have the required enclosures for an AOS filing, such as a marriage certificate, by the 90th day.)

The reason that the AOS filing requires a copy of your I-94 is so that you can show that you have married within the 90 days.

If you're past the 90-day validity of your I-94 and haven't filed for AOS, and ICE picks you up for any reason, they can detain you, and an immigration judge will order you to file for AOS. ICE may decide not to detain you, and merely tell you sternly to file for AOS, but ICE agents don't tend to have senses of tolerance about much. However, you'd be eligible to file for AOS, so ICE would be unable to deport you.

Therefore, if you live or intend to travel within a 50-mile radius of either U.S. border (especially with Mexico), it behooves you to marry AND to file for AOS within the term of your I-94.

If you're not in a heavily "ICE'd" area, chances are that no one will actively hassle you. However, you'll be "out of status"; you won't be able to work legally, and you wouldn't be able to re-enter the U.S. if you left for any reason. (Think of a family emergency in your country that would require your presence.) Do everything that you can to procure a sponsor.

After you marry, order several copies of the marriage certificate (sometimes, you can carry the signed marriage license to the courthouse and wait while the clerks prepare the marriage certificates), and carry a copy with you at all times. This way, if you ever ARE challenged by ICE, at least you can show them right away that you're eligible to file for AOS.

Sidebar: We were married by a Justice of the Peace. I explained the situation and asked if we could hand-carry the marriage license to the courthouse ourselves; he readily agreed. We made a beeline there and ordered 7 marriage certificates at $7 each (the clerk said that this was the most that she'd ever had ordered, but she made them without complaint). We carried them away with us the same day. We ended up using 5 (or was it 6?) of them -- for official purposes, souvenirs for the mothers-in-law, and for our files.

Edited March 16, 2012 by TBoneTX

[pbmcc88 0]

Thank you so much for your detailed response, TBoneTX, you have certainly allayed our fears somewhat, however I would really like to work legally as soon as is possible after the wedding and do so without fear of being "picked up" by any ICE agents or being deported. We won't be living or traveling within 50 miles of the border by the time the I-94 expires, though we are intending to honeymoon in Pennsylvania and may have to take a flight to Philadelphia or Chicago to get there (there are no flights direct from Columbus to Scranton Wilkes-Barre), but that'll be well within my I-94's valid period so I don't expect any issues to arrive there. Or at least, I hope there'll be none.

I know it's a long shot, but are there any simple arguments that you can think of that might persuade our old sponsors to reconsider, or bring over potential new ones?

Edited March 16, 2012 by pbmcc88

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I know it's a long shot, but are there any simple arguments that you can think of that might persuade our old sponsors to reconsider, or bring over potential new ones?

Aside from the fact they they are stuck with their obligation even if you ditch your fiance and turn out to be a really bad dude? There are no take-backs once they sign. Just saying that because it is a huge favor to ask of someone. Read the oath they sign.

Americans tend to be private about their income, assets, etc. Turning it all over to you and wondering how careful you will be with their info is one thing to consider. Will you make photocopies? Will you leave ithem lying around the house? Will you shred extra copies you made? Will you tell other friends about their financial affairs?

If one person's income is enough, then they don't have to list the value of assets. They can leave that part blank. (Less sharing with you.) They can provide only one tax return, instead of three. If they wish for it to be more private, they can seal their stuff up in an envelope marked

I-864 Affidavit of Support for John H. Smith. To be opened by USCIS only.

They can put it inside your completed package and watch you seal it up. A secure/trackable method like a FedEx envelope might make them feel better that it will get to the destination.

Tell them the sooner you get this done and get a greencard, the sooner you can become a US citizen. (Three years after greencard date if you stay married). Once you are a citizen, their obligation ends.

ICE is pretty busy and won't be randomly asking British guys if they are legal. Domestic flights don't require proof of immigration status. There's no CBP line to go through at the airport unless you get off a plane that originated in a foreign country. But the sooner you apply, the sooner you can get a job and a driver's license.

[pbmcc88 0]

Do any of your fiancee's family members who would be willing to help live in the same household? They could then combine their incomes with each other.

I thought that joint sponsors had to individually meet the requirements, as in you could have a sponsor and a joint sponsor, but the joint sponsor had to meet the pre-required minimum poverty amount on their own?

[JoannaV 174]

I thought that joint sponsors had to individually meet the requirements, as in you could have a sponsor and a joint sponsor, but the joint sponsor had to meet the pre-required minimum poverty amount on their own?

If someone, let's call him Daniel, is prepared to sponsor you and he lives with his wife who also works, he can combine her income with his by having her complete the I-864A.