I-134 question

[PengW 0]

Hi all,

I graduated from college in June this year, and settled a job in Santa Barbara, CA with a decent income (above 70k). I applied k1 visa for my fiancee in Auguest, and we have it approved in September. My question is do I need a co-sponsor since I don't have much income shows up on my school years' tax return?

Documents I currently have:

- official job offer letter (include job responsibilities, annual income, type of employment relationship, etc.)

- official employment verification letter (include starting date, annual income, position)

- pay stubs since July

- Saving statement from bank (include amount deposit from past year, current balance, date opening account)

- Stock market investment statement ( includes trades and balance for the past year)

I do know that the tax return is the most important source to show my income, but I was a student and only worked part time during the school years. I did not even file my tax return for last year since I was completely focus on my education and research. I'm just curious if the above documents good enough to show my income without the tax return.

Thank you so much.

[httuner 10]

You will need to file your tax return for last year, it is by law that you must.

I did some reading on this a while back on the Embassy website, I can't seem to find the link to it anymore, but it states that if you(Petitioner) haven't filed a tax return for the last recent year and unable to provide a copy at the time of the interview, you must provide a letter of written explanation of why you had no legal duty to file the return. Otherwise you're consider delinquent to file your tax return for that year and you must file your return first before going forward with the visa process.

I highly suggest you go and get last year's return filed! Focusing on education and research is not an excuse the IRS or the Consulate will take for failing to file your returns. The IRS will penalize you for filing a late return, but its better than failing to file at all. It's going to affect your Visa process and slow it down more.

The documents you have will be good enough to show income, but it is required to submit a copy of your return for the previous year. Once you have filed it, you can send the copy of your return and a letter stating that you were a student at the time and that your income then doesn't reflect your current income now.

Edited October 24, 2013 by httuner