Filing for Green Card/Affidavit of Financial Support/Possibly self-employed

[bigred123 0]

My wife is from the Philippines. Recently she came to the US on a fiance visa and we married. I have been a full-time nursing student, also working part-time (enough to show financial support for the fiance visa), but now I am taking some time off from school to work full-time. I have been employed full-time. We are getting ready to submit the paperwork for the Green card process.

However, I am considering being self-employed right now (as a tutor; I am a teacher). My 1040 from last year does not show enough financial support (my paystubs did for the fiance visa). I do not know if I go self-employed right now how I could officially demonstrate financial support this year (2013), or if I would have to wait until 2014 (I dont think that is an option for us) and show a 1040 record of self-employed income.

My questions are:

1. If I should become self-employed in the near future, is there any acceptable paperwork I can show to demonstrate financial support such as a bank record showing a month or more of income deposited into my account, copy of receipts or accounting book for my business, etc?

2. What government source on the internet or by phone can verify which documents to use? ie which government office should I contact for official information?

I would love to leave the job I have and work full-time as a tutor, but maybe I have to wait until my wife has her green card.

Thank you in advance for any feedback you can give!

Edited January 14, 2013 by bigred123

[Villanelle 4,122]

If you want to be self employed you can. Theres no need to wait until 2014 to show your taxes as proof of income though.

As a self employed individual you have two choices. You can either manage your own books, or you can hire an accountant. Most people manage their own books. Every month you should prepare a profit/loss sheet. You can use google to find free templates or buy them at office supply stores, or simply crate your own tailored to your needs. Doing this every month will help you keep track of your business and make it easier at tax time. (Some people even like to track their earnings weekly, it depends on the business) Your profit/loss statement should show (in detail) all earnings for the period as well as all expenses you incurred.

For USCIS a letter detailing you are self employed along with your profit/loss statements with supporting bank statements is sufficient.

As a general tip- you should open a new bank account dedicated solely for your business. keep your personal account and transactions separate from your business ones.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

My wife is from the Philippines. Recently she came to the US on a fiance visa and we married. I have been a full-time nursing student, also working part-time (enough to show financial support for the fiance visa), but now I am taking some time off from school to work full-time. I have been employed full-time. We are getting ready to submit the paperwork for the Green card process.

However, I am considering being self-employed right now (as a tutor; I am a teacher). My 1040 from last year does not show enough financial support (my paystubs did for the fiance visa). I do not know if I go self-employed right now how I could officially demonstrate financial support this year (2013), or if I would have to wait until 2014 (I dont think that is an option for us) and show a 1040 record of self-employed income.

My questions are:

1. If I should become self-employed in the near future, is there any acceptable paperwork I can show to demonstrate financial support such as a bank record showing a month or more of income deposited into my account, copy of receipts or accounting book for my business, etc?

2. What government source on the internet or by phone can verify which documents to use? ie which government office should I contact for official information?

I would love to leave the job I have and work full-time as a tutor, but maybe I have to wait until my wife has her green card.

Thank you in advance for any feedback you can give!

You say last year's 1040 does not show enough, but your pay stubs did to show your current income was enough. What will be on this year's taxes(2012)? Also you are saying that you MIGHT become self-employed. If you are not self-employed right now, then file now and provide a copy of your most recent tax return plus current pay stubs to qualify, just like you did with the I-134 for the K-1 visa.

Unfortunately it is tricky for the self-employed since USCIS uses line 22 of your most recent 1040 to determine if you meet the 125% income requirement.

[bigred123 0]

Great response Capri. Very helpful tips. Do you know that an accounting record w/ bank statements is sufficient from personal experience? Or from a reliable source?

If I can verify I can do this, I can start a business! Otherwise it would be safe to wait until after we have the green card.

[bigred123 0]

Jay jay, I've been in RN school for two years working part-time plus full-time summers. When I filed for the fiancé visa I had pay stubs from past months that was enough even though my overall tax return showed income below poverty line (not including student loans). Not ideal but now I'm working full time to file for the green card.

I understand that at the interview months from now I need to show again current proof of income, either most recent pay stubs or self-employment records. I need to know if they will accept the latter in my situation, and if so how can I verify this

Thanks for the feedback.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Jay jay, I've been in RN school for two years working part-time plus full-time summers. When I filed for the fiancé visa I had pay stubs from past months that was enough even though my overall tax return showed income below poverty line (not including student loans). Not ideal but now I'm working full time to file for the green card.

I understand that at the interview months from now I need to show again current proof of income, either most recent pay stubs or self-employment records. I need to know if they will accept the latter in my situation, and if so how can I verify this

Thanks for the feedback.

File now with your current income and job information. You can fill out the I-864 and provide your current income information with supporting documentation(recent pay stubs) for the income at the time of filing. Either wait until the green card is approved, or go ahead and change jobs to being self-employed when you need/want to after filing. You may not even have an interview. About 50% of all those adjusting from a K-1 are approved without an interview. If you do get an interview and you had switched jobs, then you can bring a new I-864 and the documentation that would help prove your income at the time of the interview. They may not even ask for new financial documentation. We were not asked for any at our interview.

I do not know about using profit/loss documents and bank statements alone to prove income for self-employment. It has always been my understanding that self-employed must qualify based on line 22 of their most recent 1040. I would also be interested in seeing the sources and approvals for the information that was given above.

[Villanelle 4,122]

For the 864 you show your last 3 years and your current income.

The OP states last years taxes are not enough (2011), so the question is as bigred posed, how is 2012?

This is what we know and dont know:

2010- ????

2011- doesnt meet

2012- ?????

2013- needs to submit proof of current income

Since he would be switching jobs in 2013 from an employer to a self employed individual he would not have a 1040 yet for 2013 as proof of income. His proof of current income would be his letter and profit/loss statements.

He can switch jobs and submit his profit loss statements, however if he doesnt have a co-sponsor its a risky move. If he was below the guidelines in 2010 and 2011, yet he met them in 2012, but then abandoned the job to be self employed in 2013, they could deny him and insist he provide a tax statement after he worked self employed for a full year to show the business was in fact successful and a viable source of income. Its really up to their discretion. Or if he did meet the guidelines in 2010 and 2012 and his profit/loss statements are strong, he can be approved with out issue.

The conservative approach would be as Jay stated to file now.

[bigred123 0]

Thank you vey much Jay and Capri for your responses. I am leaning towards filing now. After I file I hope to find out officially what they would allow should we have an interview.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Bigred- I get what youre asking and I think youre slightly confused about the general process.

Basically- youre wife came on a K1. You got married within the 90 days. You need to file for AOS. When you choose to do so is your prerogative. You should be aware though, loosely speaking your wife has no "status" until you file as her K1 is expired. Once you file your wife will be in a 'period of authorized stay' until her AOS is completed.

So you submit your AOS package. It will include the 864. They will review it. If it doesnt meet the criteria, you will get an RFE (request for evidence) you will then have the option to submit what they request (like I stated above, if youre self employed and they want further proof your business is sustainable they could RFE you and ask for: a tax return which would be impossible if your business is less then a year old; or additional profit loss/statements for the time period between the time the application was submitted and the time the RFE was sent out. If you fail to meet the conditions of the RFE or even if you do meet the conditions, but they feel your income is not sufficent because you are self employed now and your business is less then a year old and therefore not considered sustainable w/o a tax return you will be rejected- then and there- end of story. The process stops there.

You do have the option though of submitting a co-sponsor when you get the RFE along with your reply to the RFE.

So your 864 is going to be reviewed beforehand, not at the interview. Occasionally the 864 does get reviewed again at the interview, so if you do have an interview and something has changed in your job status, bring the info with you.

Again while you could submit profit/loss statements as current proof of income, because you havent even started working as self employed yet- I dont see why you would want to go down such a risky route.

What is your apx timeframe for filing AOS? Within the next month? 2 months? 6 months? The sooner you file the less profit/loss statements you will have and the greater the chance you will be denied as the business could be deemed not a viable source of income. (esp if your previous 3 years of income was consistently below the guidelines) The longer you wait to file the stronger your case becomes the business is viable as you will have more profit/loss statements, but then it becomes a case of youre only a few months away from having a tax return, which would assure you a 'slam dunk' as 2012 would qualify, 2013 would have a self employed tax return that would qualify and 2014 would have current proof of self employment continuing.

Youre not going to find much information about the guidelines for self employed individuals except that prior proof of income is line 22 on the tax return and current proof of income is profit/loss statements and a letter detailing the type of business.

For a situation like yours where the business is less then a year old, they will look at your previous earnings and the profit/loss statements you submit for your business. They will then use their discretion to decide if the business is viable or not. It may not be fair, but thats how it is. There have been people who havent been self employed that did not have earnings that met the guidelines in the prior years, that obtained employment that did meet the criteria prior to filing, submitted the 864 and were denied or required to obtain co-sponsors because the USCIS felt their employment was not 'viable' because it was short term, since they only held the position a minimal amount of time before filing. Some were able to rectify it by submitting further proof (additional paystubs, letters from the employer showing future promotion opportunities etc) Other people are able to quickly pick up a part time job to boost their income above the limits and they get approvals w/o issues. Its a discretionary issue, so there is no clear cut answer.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Thank you vey much Jay and Capri for your responses. I am leaning towards filing now. After I file I hope to find out officially what they would allow should we have an interview.

IF you have an interview, and IF they ask you for updated financial documents AND you had switched jobs to become self-employed, all you could do is try and provide proof of your current income with a job contract, profit/loss monthly documents, and bank statements showing deposits of your personal income(amounts matching profit/loss statements). If you decide to go down that road, you may want to use documents from a CPA. If the interviewer is not satisfied with that because you will not have filed taxes yet on the self-employment income, then they may ask you to have a joint sponsor.

All of that is a lot of mights, maybes and what ifs. It is tougher to prove income from self-employment. I have not heard of the I-864 being accepted from someone that is self-employed without having filed taxes on the income, but I do not know of all cases so it may be a rare possibility. Self-employed list their current annual income as what is on line 22 of their most recent 1040. That line, total income, is what is used to see if they meet the 125% requirement for their household size or not. Those that work for an employer list their current annual income as what they are currently earning weekly multiplied by 52 weeks and then back that number up with a letter from their employer and recent pay stubs.

If it were me, I would play it completely safe and not switch jobs until the I-485 was approved. However, like I said earlier, if your income currently qualifies, then you can file now using your current information, letter from employer and recent pay stubs. You may or may not get an interview, and you may or may not be asked for updated financials if you do. If they ask and you are currently self-employed at that time, they can accept what proof you offer them, or ask for a joint sponsor before approving the green card. If they ask and you are still a full time employee, then you just need to show a recent pay stub to prove your income has not changed. How you decide to proceed is entirely up to you.

[bigred123 0]

Thanks again Capri and Jay Kay for your time and help. I plan to file in the next month and play it very conservatively, even line up a cosponsor in case. . Visa journey has been an invaluable service. Government websites don't exactly give you clear details about each step. No wonder some people hire attorneys.

[AugstAngelFelix 5]

Hi Kay-JAy, i was wondering since your always so helpful. my fiance is here on a K-1 Visa and we are waiting for his social in the mail right now so we can marry and then file for the green card. we are in Texas. my parents are the co-sponsors. I only work part time so we have them as co-sponsors. however my dad plans to retire or start a new job in a whole new company that would pay my dad 3 times more than what he makes now. my mom would get a raise that pays $130 more a month. my question is, would we be safer if my mom gets the raise and my dad changes jobs where he is now? or should they make these job financial changes later after we get approved for the green card? Does it affect the green card if they change all of that now before we file? thank you

IF you have an interview, and IF they ask you for updated financial documents AND you had switched jobs to become self-employed, all you could do is try and provide proof of your current income with a job contract, profit/loss monthly documents, and bank statements showing deposits of your personal income(amounts matching profit/loss statements). If you decide to go down that road, you may want to use documents from a CPA. If the interviewer is not satisfied with that because you will not have filed taxes yet on the self-employment income, then they may ask you to have a joint sponsor.

All of that is a lot of mights, maybes and what ifs. It is tougher to prove income from self-employment. I have not heard of the I-864 being accepted from someone that is self-employed without having filed taxes on the income, but I do not know of all cases so it may be a rare possibility. Self-employed list their current annual income as what is on line 22 of their most recent 1040. That line, total income, is what is used to see if they meet the 125% requirement for their household size or not. Those that work for an employer list their current annual income as what they are currently earning weekly multiplied by 52 weeks and then back that number up with a letter from their employer and recent pay stubs.

If it were me, I would play it completely safe and not switch jobs until the I-485 was approved. However, like I said earlier, if your income currently qualifies, then you can file now using your current information, letter from employer and recent pay stubs. You may or may not get an interview, and you may or may not be asked for updated financials if you do. If they ask and you are currently self-employed at that time, they can accept what proof you offer them, or ask for a joint sponsor before approving the green card. If they ask and you are still a full time employee, then you just need to show a recent pay stub to prove your income has not changed. How you decide to proceed is entirely up to you.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

You use whichever income amount they currently make at the time of filing. So, if you file before they change anything, then use that info. If they change before you file, then use the new current income. They can provide letter from employers and recent pay stubs to prove current annual income. If they change right before you file, that could be tricky. You may want to wait to file in that case, until they have some proof of their new current incomes. OR, file before they change anything, since they already have proof of current income as it is. One parent will fill out the I-864 and the other will fill out the I-864A to combine their incomes to be your joint sponsor.

[AugstAngelFelix 5]

Ok thank you