I-864 Sent totally wrong- What do I do?

[Droseo 0]

Hello Everyone!

First I love this VJ community you all are knowledgeable friendly and totally helpful.

My husband and I just submitted the I-130 and the I-485 packet including the I-864 with a lawyers help and seem to have been misdirected. She informed us that I the wwife did not need to fill out an I-864 and I have read on here that this is not true. Not only that the joint sponsor is married and part of his inome comes from his wife (who I think has to fill out an I-864A. My husband is also employed here in the US and we sent in paycheck stubs as he has not filled out a tax return because he has not been working a full year yet. So I am soooo confused?

Please Help???

********Should I ask them to discard what they have and send in a whole new I864?*******

1. do I need to fill out an I864 with letter explaining that I was not employed 2009-11. I am currently employed should I send in Letter and pay stub for 2012?

2. Do I need to send in a new I864 for the joint sponsor and an I864A for his wife?

3. What do I do about my husbands income?

4. What do I do about the lawyer we have paid who gave us faulty information???

Thank you dearly,

Dani and Melody

[C-ma'am 684]

**Moved from AOS from family visas to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist visas

[Tanja08 11]

They are probably going to send you an rfe.

So prepare the paperwork again and be ready to file!

Hopefully somebody else will help you out with the details.

And I would fire the lawyer!!!

[Droseo 0]

Lol. Thank you for your reply. I feel bad about even telling the lawyer about the mistake. We are preparing things now. But can you help with question 1. Do I send in letter of explanation and current job letter?

[Darnell 8,478]

lol. read the instructions. lol.

[Moomin 292]

Please don't feel bad about telling the lawyer that she made mistakes. Feel good about it, and remember her lack of knowledge when you go through this process in 2 years (ROC) and hopefully won't hire her. Honestly, if your case doesn't have any red flags, I'd have her send the NOA1 hardcopies to you. In fact, I'd ask for the hardcopies anyways.

Something as basic as the affidavit of support.. Any and every immigration lawyer would know that without the affidavit from the primary wponsor, there is no basis of AOS. It is as important as the marriage certificate.

Anyways - you'll most likely get an RFE asking you to submit the missing forms and evidence. The primary sponsor will submit I864 plus evidence, the secondary(joint) sponsor submits I864, and (as you said), the spouse submits I864A when their income is combined in same household. Don't forget to include proof of being a USC for the primary sponsor and the joint sponsor. Don't send anything to USCIS. Odds are it won't get matched to your original petition.

[Droseo 0]

Ok thank you!! Very helpful. That was my concern. Should I send it now in attempts to make things go faster or just wait for the RFE? My husband has done his fingerprints and we are just waiting now for the employment card.

It's exciting stressful and somewhat confusing process. So I will prep everything and wait for the RFE!

[Droseo 0]

And to add to that. Should we Send an i131 for travel or should we only have done that with the initial application?

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

The USC petitioner/sponsor must always fill out their own I-864, even if they had no income. If you did not file taxes for those years, then you need to include a statement as to why you were not legally required to file taxes. You should list your current annual income and provide a letter from your employer and most recent pay stub(s).

If the joint sponsor qualifies on his own individual income for his household size plus the intending immigrant, then his wife does not need to fill out an I-864A. If they need to combine their joint incomes to reach the 125% income requirement, then she needs to fill out the I-864A. He needs to provide his most recent tax transcript plus a copy of his W-2 that shows his individual income. He will list his individual income on his I-864. He also needs to provide a letter from his employer, recent pay stub(s) and proof of being a USC or LPR.

As was mentioned above, you should really read through the I-864 instructions to see what the requirements are.

You should have filed the I-765(EAD) and I-131(AP) along with your I-485. You can still send in those forms now and there will be no fee with a pending I-485. Be sure and send in a copy of your NOA receipt notice from filing the I-485 along with the I-131 so the fee will be waived.

Your lawyer really should have told you about all this and had you prepare a lot better. That is what you are paying them for after all. You should inform them of their mistakes on your case.

Edited December 2, 2012 by Jay-Kay

[Droseo 0]

Thank you as well. I should have read the instructions but I just relied on the lawyers instructions. hopefully it won't delay the processing much?!

You guys are amazing and smart!! I'm grateful. I should have asked before we submitted everything. Ok so now I'm waiting patiently for the RFE so we can send in the materials.

How nice it would be for them to not bother about it and approve the i485 without even having an interview!!? Right??

[Moomin 292]

Thank you as well. I should have read the instructions but I just relied on the lawyers instructions. hopefully it won't delay the processing much?!

You guys are amazing and smart!! I'm grateful. I should have asked before we submitted everything. Ok so now I'm waiting patiently for the RFE so we can send in the materials.

How nice it would be for them to not bother about it and approve the i485 without even having an interview!!? Right??

An RFE will delay the process, maybe a month or so depending on how long it takes to go over the new information, and depending on how fast you respond to the RFE. You need to have the RFE hardcopy in order to respond, and place the hardcopy on top of all documents so it'll end up with the original application.

The reason why it's taking a chance to just send papers before you hear anything is because it might not reach the original application or it might get misplaced. I'd just suggest having most of the documents ready so when you receive the RFE, you can sign and date forms, have up-do-date paystubs/documents and almost mail it within the same day.

It's only people entering the US on a K1 visa that sometimes avoid an interview because they already had one prior to arriving in the US. However, the process is usually faster when having an interview.

Keep hanging around VJ every now and then, look into which supporting documents you need for the I864(you can search VJ for keywords like I864 supporting evidence).

Jay-kay is completely right about the AP(I131). As long as you put a copy of the NOA1(receipt notice of action) and the supporting documents, you do not have to pay for it when it's submitted at the same time or after AOS application.

One last thing; Check case status online via USCIS' webpage is a good way of following your process. Some experience that it's not reliable but I'd still log in once in a while to see if there's an update. You use the case number on the NOA1 to check you status, or you can create an account and receive updates through email/phone. Usually, you'd know about an RFE before it reached your mailbox so from the time it's generates until you have the hardcopy, you'll have about a week or 2 to gather the papers and can respond with the speed of a ninja.

Edited December 2, 2012 by moomin

[Droseo 0]

Great pointers thank you!!!! Yay... Much clearer to me now. Thanks everyone. Hugs

[Hypnos 6,576]

Fire your lawyer.