Help! my fiancee got blue from today interview, asking for my letter of explanation about my finances

[Robert Huynh 0]

Hello,

My fiancée just came back from the interview today, and she got blue slip asking to submit additional papers. The following are what written on her blue slip:

"Please submit an original signed letter of explanation about your finances and why you have almost no earned income in 2011. If you own your own home, please provide evidence of that too.

Please show proof of purchase of your plane tickets, including for your planned trip in February, 2013."

My adjusted gross income for 2011 was $135, so I submit an I-134 from my parents that their income is around $21K as my co-sponsor. The CO took my I-134 and my parent's I-134, returned her passport, and her birth certificate, my birth certificate.

Can anyone help me on what I should write in my letter of explanation? Because my business income minus expenses made me earned $135 at the end of the year. I bought my house in 2007, and part of the down payment was given to me by my parents. My house cost 150K at the time I purchased it, and now I still owe the bank around 91K. How do I get the evidence of my ownership of the house? I made 3 trips to Vietnam in 2009, 2011, and 2012. However, I only came to visit my fiancée 1st time in 2011, and in 2012 I came back to have an engagement party with her. I did not keep the copy of my checks that I paid for the first two tickets, and the third ticket I bought using AA reward mileage. I can provide the proof of purchase of my plane ticket for my planned trip in February 2013.

What is her chance of getting a visa after submitting those required documents?

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

House: Get the sales papers from your local deeds/ records place. Get a professional evaluation.

Your parents don't make enough to sponsor someone, their income is not enough for a 3 person household (them + immigrant). Additionally, Vietnam rarely accepts co-sponsors for the K1.

Have you been given a deadline? Can you file taxes for 2012 asap and submit those, hopefully with enough income for the year and proof your income is stead now and going forth?

[KennyJ 10]

Hello,

My fiancée just came back from the interview today, and she got blue slip asking to submit additional papers. The following are what written on her blue slip:

"Please submit an original signed letter of explanation about your finances and why you have almost no earned income in 2011. If you own your own home, please provide evidence of that too.

Please show proof of purchase of your plane tickets, including for your planned trip in February, 2013."

My adjusted gross income for 2011 was $135, so I submit an I-134 from my parents that their income is around $21K as my co-sponsor. The CO took my I-134 and my parent's I-134, returned her passport, and her birth certificate, my birth certificate.

Can anyone help me on what I should write in my letter of explanation? Because my business income minus expenses made me earned $135 at the end of the year. I bought my house in 2007, and part of the down payment was given to me by my parents. My house cost 150K at the time I purchased it, and now I still owe the bank around 91K. How do I get the evidence of my ownership of the house? I made 3 trips to Vietnam in 2009, 2011, and 2012. However, I only came to visit my fiancée 1st time in 2011, and in 2012 I came back to have an engagement party with her. I did not keep the copy of my checks that I paid for the first two tickets, and the third ticket I bought using AA reward mileage. I can provide the proof of purchase of my plane ticket for my planned trip in February 2013.

What is her chance of getting a visa after submitting those required documents?

2013 starts, so do your 2012 tax asap. You can request the bank for copy of your checks. I would also submit your 2011 tax records and clearly explain your business situation, don't hide anything. Additionally I would also include statements to show your last 3 months of incomes as well.

As for the house you can get the property tax document (it should have your name if you are the owner) to show you are the owner. Get the real estate estimator to evaluate your house so you can show there is equity in the house.

Best of luck to you.

[Robert Huynh 0]

House: Get the sales papers from your local deeds/ records place. Get a professional evaluation.

Your parents don't make enough to sponsor someone, their income is not enough for a 3 person household (them + immigrant). Additionally, Vietnam rarely accepts co-sponsors for the K1.

Have you been given a deadline? Can you file taxes for 2012 asap and submit those, hopefully with enough income for the year and proof your income is stead now and going forth?

My parents' income is not enough for 3 person household, but they own a house valued at around 150K. They also provide the proof of ownership of the house (paid off), and their bank accounts (they have about 17K in the bank, and asset valued at 30K) They took my parents I-134, does it mean they accepted it?

Her deadline to submit those papers is Jan 31st 2013, so I'm not sure if I have enough time to file a new tax return and get the transcript on time. From my fiancée's reports about the interview, look like they are interested in knowing how I was able to pay for my mortgage during the year 2011, and how did I pay for plane tickets while I was making no income, and the upcoming wedding planned in March 2013. My mother helped me with those payments. When I'm writing the letter of explanation, do I need my mother to confirm anything and sign the letter together with me?

[Robert Huynh 0]

2013 starts, so do your 2012 tax asap. You can request the bank for copy of your checks. I would also submit your 2011 tax records and clearly explain your business situation, don't hide anything. Additionally I would also include statements to show your last 3 months of incomes as well.

As for the house you can get the property tax document (it should have your name if you are the owner) to show you are the owner. Get the real estate estimator to evaluate your house so you can show there is equity in the house.

Best of luck to you.

I switched my bank from Bank of America to US Bank, so I don't really remember if I paid for my 2011 ticket with my current bank. My 2012 ticket I paid using AA reward mileage, and I just paid the fee about $105 using my debit card. I also paid for my upcoming 2013 ticket with a debit card. Will print out of my bank statements with those transactions circled be enough as proof of purchase?

[ScottThuy 140]

Whoa.. you are filing K1? and you dont meet the minimum income requirement? HCMC does not accept cosponsors for K!'s which is what your parents would be in the post you made. If they are allowing you a chance to explain, then that is a good sign that they are possibly allowing it for you. They would usually deny a visa in this case so you are a sep ahead of most at this point.

[KennyJ 10]

I switched my bank from Bank of America to US Bank, so I don't really remember if I paid for my 2011 ticket with my current bank. My 2012 ticket I paid using AA reward mileage, and I just paid the fee about $105 using my debit card. I also paid for my upcoming 2013 ticket with a debit card. Will print out of my bank statements with those transactions circled be enough as proof of purchase?

I would call or visit both banks lol. Bank statement should be ok but it is better if you can call travel agency and get the receipts. Most likely they will ask where you get the money to buy those tickets so I would include your last few months of incomes in there as well.

[Robert Huynh 0]

Hello,

Thanks all for replying to my questions. Now I have another question about my Letter of Explanation about my finances. Do I need to get it notarized, or my signature is enough?

Thanks!

[KennyJ 10]

Hello,

Thanks all for replying to my questions. Now I have another question about my Letter of Explanation about my finances. Do I need to get it notarized, or my signature is enough?

Thanks!

I don't know if you need to or not but why take a chance? It is cheap anyway.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

A lot of self-employed people get bit on the backside for the affidavit of support, but you can't ask the IRS to accept that you only had $135 to live on for the year and also ask the US consulate to believe you actually had substantially more than that.

All banks make photographic copies of every check they cash. If you keep a checkbook ledger and can find the check number then you should be able to go the bank or call them and have them make a certified copy of the check for you. They may charge a few dollars for this service.

In most states you'll get a title or deed to the home at the time you purchase it, even if the home is financed. Obviously, there will be a lien on that title by the mortgage lender, and the title document would often show that. A copy of the title and a recent mortgage statement should be sufficient proof that you own the home. If this were an I-864 then they'd also want a recent appraisal from a licensed appraiser. They'd subtract the balance on the mortgage statement from the appraised value to determine the asset value of your home. You bought your home just before the big housing bubble collapse. How much do you estimate your home is currently worth? It would need to have an asset value of at least $56,601 in order to offset your lack of taxable income before it would qualify you as a sufficient sponsor. Add the current $91K you say you still owe the bank, and your home would need to have a current market value of about $147,601. Hopefully, your home has recovered any value it lost during the collapse.

Your parents are about $3K short on income in order to qualify as joint sponsors. As Scott pointed out, the consulate in HCMC usually doesn't accept joint sponsors for K visas. Scott believes they might be signaling a willingness to make an exception in your case, but I doubt it because they're not asking for proof of your parent's assets. I think if you can't qualify on your own then they'll deny for the public charge requirement.

There's zero chance you'll get your tax return filed before you have to submit the evidence. The IRS isn't accepting any returns before January 30th, and even later if you need to submit any of the forms that are on the delayed list. We actually fell off the fiscal cliff on January 1st, and the IRS had no advance notice of what the final deal was going to be, so they aren't ready to accept returns yet.

There are a couple of things the consulate is digging for here.

First, they want to know if there's a darn good reason your taxable income was so low in 2011, and if there's compelling evidence to believe that your taxable income is going to be substantially higher in 2012. Being a student would be a good reason for low income, and having a new high paying job would be compelling evidence of higher income. The fact that you wrote off most of your revenues is a lot less compelling unless your total revenues for 2012 were a heckuva lot higher.

Second, they suspect somebody might be financing this relationship other than you. Probably someone with a compelling interest in seeing your fiancee get a visa. That's why they want to see proof that you paid for the plane tickets yourself, as well as proof you'll be paying for your trip next month.

[Robert Huynh 0]

A lot of self-employed people get bit on the backside for the affidavit of support, but you can't ask the IRS to accept that you only had $135 to live on for the year and also ask the US consulate to believe you actually had substantially more than that.

All banks make photographic copies of every check they cash. If you keep a checkbook ledger and can find the check number then you should be able to go the bank or call them and have them make a certified copy of the check for you. They may charge a few dollars for this service.

In most states you'll get a title or deed to the home at the time you purchase it, even if the home is financed. Obviously, there will be a lien on that title by the mortgage lender, and the title document would often show that. A copy of the title and a recent mortgage statement should be sufficient proof that you own the home. If this were an I-864 then they'd also want a recent appraisal from a licensed appraiser. They'd subtract the balance on the mortgage statement from the appraised value to determine the asset value of your home. You bought your home just before the big housing bubble collapse. How much do you estimate your home is currently worth? It would need to have an asset value of at least $56,601 in order to offset your lack of taxable income before it would qualify you as a sufficient sponsor. Add the current $91K you say you still owe the bank, and your home would need to have a current market value of about $147,601. Hopefully, your home has recovered any value it lost during the collapse.

Your parents are about $3K short on income in order to qualify as joint sponsors. As Scott pointed out, the consulate in HCMC usually doesn't accept joint sponsors for K visas. Scott believes they might be signaling a willingness to make an exception in your case, but I doubt it because they're not asking for proof of your parent's assets. I think if you can't qualify on your own then they'll deny for the public charge requirement.

There's zero chance you'll get your tax return filed before you have to submit the evidence. The IRS isn't accepting any returns before January 30th, and even later if you need to submit any of the forms that are on the delayed list. We actually fell off the fiscal cliff on January 1st, and the IRS had no advance notice of what the final deal was going to be, so they aren't ready to accept returns yet.

There are a couple of things the consulate is digging for here.

First, they want to know if there's a darn good reason your taxable income was so low in 2011, and if there's compelling evidence to believe that your taxable income is going to be substantially higher in 2012. Being a student would be a good reason for low income, and having a new high paying job would be compelling evidence of higher income. The fact that you wrote off most of your revenues is a lot less compelling unless your total revenues for 2012 were a heckuva lot higher.

Second, they suspect somebody might be financing this relationship other than you. Probably someone with a compelling interest in seeing your fiancee get a visa. That's why they want to see proof that you paid for the plane tickets yourself, as well as proof you'll be paying for your trip next month.

Hi,

As you said, there is no way for me to file a new tax return and submit my 2012 tax return transcript to the CO. However, I submitted my last 7 month of bank statements to the CO showing that I deposited about $2000-$3000 into my bank account each month when my fiancee went to the interview (even though the bank statements also showed my withdrawals that left the ending balance always around $1500-$2000). Is it a compelling evidence for them to believe that I have substanable income to support my fiancee? Also I sent my fiancee around $3000 using Western Union for her to take care some of the beginning expenses for the wedding. Should I provide proof for this also?

Thank you!

Edited January 14, 2013 by Robert Huynh

[Boiler 45,872]

No

[Robert Huynh 0]

Your parents are about $3K short on income in order to qualify as joint sponsors. As Scott pointed out, the consulate in HCMC usually doesn't accept joint sponsors for K visas. Scott believes they might be signaling a willingness to make an exception in your case, but I doubt it because they're not asking for proof of your parent's assets. I think if you can't qualify on your own then they'll deny for the public charge requirement.

I'm just wondering about this. Because I submitted my parent's I-134 together with their copy of tax return, bank account statements, and proof that they paid off their house, and the CO took them, so that why they didn't ask for proof of my parents' assets?

[Boiler 45,872]

Because it was not relevant.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi,

As you said, there is no way for me to file a new tax return and submit my 2012 tax return transcript to the CO. However, I submitted my last 7 month of bank statements to the CO showing that I deposited about $2000-$3000 into my bank account each month when my fiancee went to the interview (even though the bank statements also showed my withdrawals that left the ending balance always around $1500-$2000). Is it a compelling evidence for them to believe that I have substanable income to support my fiancee? Also I sent my fiancee around $3000 using Western Union for her to take care some of the beginning expenses for the wedding. Should I provide proof for this also?

Thank you!

If I understand this correctly, you showed money going into your account, but the final balance at the end of the month was always about the same. This essentially means you're spending pretty much all of your revenues, which is precisely what your tax return indicates.

When you're self-employed then it's not just your revenues that count. It's your revenues minus your expenses. What's left is your profit. That's carried over to your 1040 as income. Your tax return indicates you're just about breaking even, with very very little profit left over. Your bank statements seem to confirm this.

Yeah, I know.... You can deduct a lot of expenses on Schedule C that makes it LOOK like you spent a lot more on your business than you actually did. This is a courtesy that Congress extends to small business owners to cut them some slack on their taxes. Unfortunately, if you tell the IRS that you spent that money on your business then the consulate must also presume that you spent that money on your business. If you spent the money on your business then it's not income available to support you and your wife.

I'm just wondering about this. Because I submitted my parent's I-134 together with their copy of tax return, bank account statements, and proof that they paid off their house, and the CO took them, so that why they didn't ask for proof of my parents' assets?

In order for an asset to be considered you must submit:

1. Proof you own the asset.

2. Proof of the value of the asset (i.e., what you could sell it for).

3. If there are any liens against the asset, proof of the current balance of those liens.

What exactly did your parents submit? Was it a final statement from the mortgage company? That would be proof that particular loan is paid off. It's not proof they didn't subsequently sell the house to someone else, or take out another loan. In all seriousness, this is public information that the CO could probably confirm on their own, but they still want proof of ownership, and for a home that usually means a title or deed. Proof of current value would be a recent appraisal from a licensed appraiser.

If they were inclined to accept your parents as joint sponsors then they wouldn't have listed anything on the blue slip about your income since your income would be irrelevant. I don't think they care about your parent's I-134, but they seem sincerely concerned about yours. They also seem sincerely concerned about who is bankrolling this relationship.