Fiance on disability, Affidavit of Support

[mpheonix 7]

The co-sponsor must prove that their combined household income (based on previous years' tax returns) is enough to support the the entire household size (which means you both).

She can co-sponsor alone, however her retirement income may not be considered, unless she can prove that she makes more than enough. If the sponsoring fiance(e) has liquid assets (owns a home, has money in the 401k plan, stocks/bonds, etc) (s)he MAY qualify, but they need to prove that they have 5x the amount put away, or available in assets.

I always insist, if you're not sure -- play it safe. Make sure she makes enough to sponsor you for a household of 4.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Holy rampant bad information, Batman.

1. 125 percent of the US poverty guideline is required for Form I864. Not for form I134. The instructions for the I134 actually just say "sufficient income". Department of State recommends generally to the consulates that 100 percent is adequate income for a sponsor signing the I134. It's easy to Google and find this out.

2. Some consulates require 100 percent. Some require 125 percent. Learn what is the correct answer for YOUR consulate.

3. Social Security disability, Social Security, private pensions, child support, savings accounts, etcetera and wages from a plain old J-O-B job can be used to qualify. All must be verifable. When savings are used, it is THREE times the amount of any shortage, NOT five times.

4. Household size is best determined by the household size declared by the sponsor on their last Federal Income Tax return, PLUS the number of immigrants sponsored.

5. A sponsor must stand alone on their income. Two sponsors cannot combine income (in other words, two I-134's or two I-864's).

6. When filing I864 (later on), the spouse of a sponsor can add their income to the household by filing I864A along with the I864.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Rebecca Jo

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

The co-sponsor must prove that their combined household income (based on previous years' tax returns) is enough to support the the entire household size (which means you both).

She can co-sponsor alone, however her retirement income may not be considered, unless she can prove that she makes more than enough. If the sponsoring fiance(e) has liquid assets (owns a home, has money in the 401k plan, stocks/bonds, etc) (s)he MAY qualify, but they need to prove that they have 5x the amount put away, or available in assets.

I always insist, if you're not sure -- play it safe. Make sure she makes enough to sponsor you for a household of 4.

Uhmm, no. There is no combining of incomes with the I-134. The co-sponsor does NOT include the USC in their household count. All legal, provable income counts. Assets are used at 3 times for a fiance(e)/spouse.

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

I sent an e-mail to the Embassy again explaining my situation. This is what I put in the e-mail:

My USC fiance is on disability benefit. He is not dependent on his mother, however, they live in the same house together with his stepfather. His mother is a retired teacher. Because my fiance's income is not enough for a household of 2, we asked his mother to be the sponsor. Will you allow for both their incomes to complement each other in order to meet the requirement? How big will you consider my sponsor's household?

This is the answer I got:

"You will need a separate joint sponsor. If her income is not sufficient by itself. The sponsor must be able to be responsible according to the requirements for all members inside your future household as well as his/her household."

I'm posting this here because I don't think I'll ever get a straight answer, no matter what I do. So I need you guys help to decipher this!

First, I think "If her income is not sufficient by itself" was a typo, I think it was meant to be his income.

Second, I think the consulate will consider a household of 4 (me, my fiance, his mom and his stepfather). That is different from the requirements of the I-864, which wouldn't consider my fiance.

What do you guys think about this?

Why would the consulate have stronger requirements then the I-864?

Their answer was pretty straightforward. They told you what you have been told on VJ. The petitioner and co-sponsor cannot combine incomes to reach the requirement. You will need a co-sponsor that meets the requirement for their household size plus the intending immigrant all on their own. The USC petitioner is not counted in the household size of the co-sponsor unless the USC petitioner is a dependent and claimed on their taxes. I think their wording was just a bit wonky.

[mpheonix 7]

I may be mistaken, but according to the USCIS website (outlined below), they do allow Joint Sponsor's in some circumstances, which applies to the primary sponsor's entire household.

Sponsor for Affidavit of Support

If you filed an immigrant visa petition for your relative, you must be the sponsor. You must also be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. You must have a domicile in the United States or a territory or possession of the United States. Usually, this requirement means you must actually live in the United States, or a territory or possession, in order to be a sponsor. If you live abroad, you may still be eligible to be a sponsor if you can show that your residence abroad is temporary, and that you still have your domicile in the United States.

Section 213A of the INA permits both a "joint sponsor" and a "substitute sponsor" in certain cases.

Joint Sponsor

A joint sponsor is someone who is willing to accept legal responsibility for supporting your family member with you. A joint sponsor must meet all the same requirements as you, except the joint sponsor does not need to be related to the immigrant. The joint sponsor (or the joint sponsor and his or her household) must reach the 125% income requirement alone. You cannot combine your income with that of a joint sponsor to meet the income requirement.

I may be misunderstanding what they're saying though. *shrugs*

Edited June 4, 2013 by mpheonix

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

I may be mistaken, but according to the USCIS website (outlined below), they do allow Joint Sponsor's in some circumstances, which applies to the primary sponsor's entire household.

I may be misunderstanding what they're saying though. *shrugs*

You are quoting me from another thread and in that thread and this thread I never stated a co-sponsor could not be used. The co-sponsor must qualify on their own income for their own household size plus the foreign fiance(e). The USC petitioner is not included in the co-sponsor's household size unless the co-sponsor claims them on their taxes. The quote you provided does not dispute that.

I will break it down>

USC petitioner/primary sponsor: Household size = themselves, any minor children, any dependents claimed on their taxes, plus the intending immigrant(s)

Co-sponsor: Household size = themselves, any spouse, any minor children, any dependents claimed on their taxes, plus the intending immigrant(s)

[mpheonix 7]

You are quoting me from another thread and in that thread and this thread I never stated a co-sponsor could not be used. The co-sponsor must qualify on their own income for their own household size plus the foreign fiance(e). The USC petitioner is not included in the co-sponsor's household size unless the co-sponsor claims them on their taxes. The quote you provided does not dispute that.

The quote I provided came directly from the USCIS website, not from you.

I was only communicating where I got my info from and providing the quote from the page I linked that I was referencing so either someone could help clarify where I misunderstood, or elaborate on what was stated on the website. I've scoured THOUSANDS of threads in many forums, service lawyer sites, etc trying to find answers to my questions, but I have found the USCIS website is nearly useless when it comes to getting a real clear, straight forward answer unless you speak lawyer. .__.

[Trillian42 6]

Jay-kay, you've been most helpful! Thank you so much. And yes, their wording was a little bit off.

mpheonix, notice that the page you linked says:

The joint sponsor (or the joint sponsor and his or her household) must reach the 125% income requirement alone.

and further down

You may count the income and assets of members of your household who are related to you by birth, marriage, or adoption.

In my case, its my fiance's mother who is sponsoring, and he lives with her

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

It was already said here that you cannot combine I-134s. The mother must qualify on her own for her household size, to get the visa. For AOS you can do it slightly differently, but you are not there yet.

[Trillian42 6]

I know I know. Sorry! xD

I was talking about the webpage mpheonix linked, which is about the I-864. I just wanted to make it clear the the only way to combine the incomes is if it's in the same household. At least as I understood it. Still, talking about combine not combine on the I-864. I know you can't combine on the I-134.

Sorry for not being more clear

Edited June 4, 2013 by Trillian42

[mpheonix 7]

I also thought you already got your K1, so my mistake on that one! I thought you were looking for a sponsor for your AoS!

[Trillian42 6]

Its fine. Going through all these posts is very overwhelming.

But because the I-134 instructions are really vague, I'm looking into I-864 instructions as well. Some people suggested that when trying to qualify for I-134 you should also look into qualifying for I-864, since the Embassy knows you will eventually file for AOS.

I wouldn't bring back this thread if it wasn't for the Embassy in Brazil getting me all confused again, but thanks to y'all I know better know =D

Edited June 4, 2013 by Trillian42

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

The quote I provided came directly from the USCIS website, not from you.

I was only communicating where I got my info from and providing the quote from the page I linked that I was referencing so either someone could help clarify where I misunderstood, or elaborate on what was stated on the website. I've scoured THOUSANDS of threads in many forums, service lawyer sites, etc trying to find answers to my questions, but I have found the USCIS website is nearly useless when it comes to getting a real clear, straight forward answer unless you speak lawyer. .__.

BEFORE you edited your post, you had a quote of mine from another thread.

All the correct info was provided earlier in this post, then you came along and posted misinformation. Myself and others were trying to clear up the misinformation that you posted here.

The quote from the USCIS website did not say the co-sponsor includes the USC petitioner in their household count. The USC petitioner does not require sponsorship, the foreign fiance(e) does. I broke it down above in a clear, straightforward manner about how household size is counted.

And Trillian42, you are welcome. I know things can get confusing and overwhelming at times, but I think you have all the info you need now to get through your interview.

[mpheonix 7]

I had multiple tabs open. I think something got confused. I noticed that and it also posted the exact same thing on the thread I had open in another tab. I was rather confused. I do want to add however, that while I was trying to help, being rude to those of us who are actually trying to help doesn't encourage us to learn and help others further. I wasn't saying I was correct, I was simply stating my source and trying my damnedest to understand where I missed things, or get more information if I was down the right path.

This isn't 4chan, no need to flame the newbies.

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

I had multiple tabs open. I think something got confused. I noticed that and it also posted the exact same thing on the thread I had open in another tab. I was rather confused. I do want to add however, that while I was trying to help, being rude to those of us who are actually trying to help doesn't encourage us to learn and help others further. I wasn't saying I was correct, I was simply stating my source and trying my damnedest to understand where I missed things, or get more information if I was down the right path.

This isn't 4chan, no need to flame the newbies.

Yes, so there was a quote from me from another thread at the time I replied and you tried to act as if you had no clue what I was talking about.

I have not been rude to you. Pointing out that you should not post misinformation is not being rude. If you do not know the correct answer then you should not post an answer as if you do. It is a fact, not rudeness. Posting misinformation does not help, it only confuses. Researching and trying to learn the process is good. Posting wrong info is not. I am sorry if you think it is rude to be corrected, but if incorrect information gets posted, people need to come along and correct it so no one thinks the misinformation is correct and follows it.