Complicated I-864 due to work status change

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

I am ready to proceed into the NVC stage of our CR-1 journey and as I was gathering documents for the I-864 I came up with a few questions.

1.) My Job Situation

Back in June 2012 I was hired at my current company as a full time non-exempt employee. Over the course of 6 months, I worked a minimum of 40 hours per week and also had lots of overtime due to extended out of state job assignments. In December, my supervisor decided that he did not want to keep me as a full time employee anymore because work in my home office was slowing down due to the winter season. I was switched to temporary employee and lost all benefits. My company also no longer has to provide me with any minimum amount of hours per week so for almost two months now I have been getting 0 hours per week. I filed for unemployment benefits as soon as my status change went into effect. I'm not technically laid off in the sense that I am a full time employee out of work. My status is pretty much "on-call". My employer can call me anytime and I have a few days to prepare myself to leave for a work assignment. Needless to say, this situation is awful and I have been actively searching for work since my status change.

As for the I-864, do I put my current company down as my employer since I am not officially laid off? Do I attach pay stubs from my current company? I have my W-2 from unemployment that I was going to attach and also a letter from my employer showing my former annual salary and the date my status change went into effect.

2.) My Co-sponsor

Due to my job situation, my mother has agreed to be my co-sponsor. She is a flight attendent by profession and her paystubs are different from most employees. She also does not get a minimum amount of hours per week. She instead earns "credits" which are then factored together with her hourly rate of pay. She also earns a per diem. Is there anything else she should attach with the I-864?

She also files taxes as married jointly with my father. Does he also have to sign the I-864 somewhere?

Thanks for the help!

[speedwell 224]

AK, I'm sorry to hear about your work troubles.

If the company you work for specifies the hours, places, conditions, methods, and products of your work, you are a legitimate employee even if your schedule shows 0 hours for the time in question, and even if they call you a "temp" or "contractor". Put the company down as your employer.

As for unemployment, you are allowed to collect even if you are working part time, because you were effectively furloughed indefinitely (the reason is "lack of work"). So you can actually be employed (partially) and also collecting (partial) unemployment. That's not a problem. Attach all the evidence you have, and a cover letter explaining the situation wouldn't hurt either.

Your mother's employer (she needs to ask her HR person) should furnish a statement that includes her name and employee ID, official title, date of hire, the fact that she is an employee in good standing on the date of the letter, and her compensation expressed as an estimated yearly rate even though she is not paid by salary. The letter must be on official company letterhead and be personally signed by an authorized individual (her HR person should do fine). She should file as a sponsor based on her own income, not her husband's. After all think about it, I am a sponsor for my husband, and we filed joint for 2012, but I am not claiming his income on my I-864

If anyone else has more info, please share

Edited February 18, 2013 by speedwell

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

AK, I'm sorry to hear about your work troubles.

If the company you work for specifies the hours, places, conditions, methods, and products of your work, you are a legitimate employee even if your schedule shows 0 hours for the time in question, and even if they call you a "temp" or "contractor". Put the company down as your employer.

As for unemployment, you are allowed to collect even if you are working part time, because you were effectively furloughed indefinitely (the reason is "lack of work"). So you can actually be employed (partially) and also collecting (partial) unemployment. That's not a problem. Attach all the evidence you have, and a cover letter explaining the situation wouldn't hurt either.

Your mother's employer (she needs to ask her HR person) should furnish a statement that includes her name and employee ID, official title, date of hire, the fact that she is an employee in good standing on the date of the letter, and her compensation expressed as an estimated yearly rate even though she is not paid by salary. The letter must be on official company letterhead and be personally signed by an authorized individual (her HR person should do fine). She should file as a sponsor based on her own income, not her husband's. After all think about it, I am a sponsor for my husband, and we filed joint for 2012, but I am not claiming his income on my I-864

If anyone else has more info, please share

Thanks! Your information was extremely helpful as it always is.