RFE for form I-864, really confused, help!

[MyHeartWillGoOn93 8]

I just received an RFE for form I-864 today for 3 reasons according to the letter. I'm really confused and anxious. My questions are in red. Here is what they put:

1) Submit all supporting tax documentation (W-2s, 1099s, and all supporting tax schedules) submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from the petitioner/sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the most recent tax year.

We included that when we sent off our application, so I'm confused as to why they are asking for this again. Is it because we sent it off in December 2013 and we included the one from 2012 so now they want the 2013 one?

2) The petitioner/sponsor's income on the Federal income tax return does not meet or exceed 125% of the poverty guideline. The petitioner/sponsor lists their current income on Form I-864 as an amount to be considered as sufficient; however, no evidence has been submitted as proof of current income.

Please submit evidence of the petitioner/sponsor's current income. Such evidence should include:

• Letter of employment containing the following:
• Dates of employment
• Nature of the job
• Wages or salary earned
• Number of hours per week worked
• Prospects for future employment and advancement
• Pay stubs or other documentation of pay for the previous 6 months.
• Evidence of other income. such as Tax-Exempt Interest, Qualified Dividends, IRA distributions, Pension, Annuities and Social Security Benefits

I understand this part because we didn't include my husband's (the petitioner) proof of his income even though it is over $19,387 (I thought we only had to bring this proof of income to the interview). There are only 2 of us and we live in Massachusetts, not Hawaii or Alaska. We put $20,000 on the form because we couldn't remember exactly, but we know his income is actually a bit more than that. Anyway, why would they say that it doesn't meet or exceed 125% of the poverty guideline? Is it because of his tax returns from 2012? He just got an advance on his salary in 2013 which is over $19,387 but his salary from 2012 was below that. Is it because of that?

3) Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size.

Submit evidence of assets that meet the standards listed below or obtain joint sponsor.

Assets standards must equal the stated difference between the sponsor's household income and 125% of the federal poverty line.

(And then it goes in to what you need).

Again, I'm confused because we put $20,000 on the form which is over $19,387. Is it because we didn't include proof?

[apple21 953]

You have to submit a copy of the 2012 ITR and W2. It has to show that his income is equal or over the required $19,387.

If his 2012 (or 2013 if available already) ITR and W2 does not meet the required $19,387, then you'll need a joint sponsor.

Edited January 13, 2014 by apple21

[MyHeartWillGoOn93 8]

But if his 2013 income is greater than $19,387, why do they care about his income from 2012?

EDIT: He said he will receive the 2013 ITR in April and we have 87 days to send the evidence back to them

Edited January 13, 2014 by MyHeartWillGoOn93

[apple21 953]

Then submit the following so he can prove that he earns more than enough for 2013 (since the 2013 ITR and W2 isn't available yet):

Please submit evidence of the petitioner/sponsor's current income. Such evidence should include:

• Letter of employment containing the following:
• Dates of employment
• Nature of the job
• Wages or salary earned
• Number of hours per week worked
• Prospects for future employment and advancement
• Pay stubs or other documentation of pay for the previous 6 months.
• Evidence of other income. such as Tax-Exempt Interest, Qualified Dividends, IRA distributions, Pension, Annuities and Social Security Benefits

[MyHeartWillGoOn93 8]

Oh okay, thank you. I don't understand why they want the first part again though?

[Apsj29 2]

As we all know and can imagine, the NVC people are well...human. it is very likely that they lost some of the papers which maybe why they are asking for it once more in part one. This is why we should all make a copy of whatever forms/documents we submit to USCIS OR NVC

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Oh okay, thank you. I don't understand why they want the first part again though?

You may think you sent a COMPLETE tax return, but it doesn't sound like it. A lot of people don't know what a tax return includes and send their efile, or something their tax preparer gave them. It would include:

Form 1040 or 1040A or 1040EZ

Maybe a Schedule A, B, D...or other Schedules depending on your tax situation

Maybe a Form with another number

A W2 showing wages Or a Form 1099 showing contractor wages.

Best for you to order a tax return transcript from the IRS, then you don't need to worry about having all the right parts to a complete tax return. 2012 is valid if submitted before April 15.

Second part--

If you put $20,000 on the form, then you needed some documentation to prove it. You don't guess that number and write it down. It obviously didn't say exactly $20,000 on the tax return and you sent nothing else to document $20,000 so they are saying prove it. I would do a brand new I-864 with no guessing and get a letter from his employer.

Third part:

Sounds like the 2012 tax return did not meet the threshhold. They had no documentation of him earning more, so had to go with what you provided. So they are saying if you can't come up with proof of enough income, you may send proof a assets like savings accounts. If you fix part 2, then you don't need part 3.

Edit-- this is where you order a FREE tax return transcript http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Order-a-Transcript

Edited January 14, 2014 by Nich-Nick

[MyHeartWillGoOn93 8]

You may think you sent a COMPLETE tax return, but it doesn't sound like it. A lot of people don't know what a tax return includes and send their efile, or something their tax preparer gave them. It would include:

Form 1040 or 1040A or 1040EZ

Maybe a Schedule A, B, D...or other Schedules depending on your tax situation

Maybe a Form with another number

A W2 showing wages Or a Form 1099 showing contractor wages.

Best for you to order a tax return transcript from the IRS, then you don't need to worry about having all the right parts to a complete tax return. 2012 is valid if submitted before April 15.

Second part--

If you put $20,000 on the form, then you needed some documentation to prove it. You don't guess that number and write it down. It obviously didn't say exactly $20,000 on the tax return and you sent nothing else to document $20,000 so they are saying prove it. I would do a brand new I-864 with no guessing and get a letter from his employer.

Third part:

Sounds like the 2012 tax return did not meet the threshhold. They had no documentation of him earning more, so had to go with what you provided. So they are saying if you can't come up with proof of enough income, you may send proof a assets like savings accounts. If you fix part 2, then you don't need part 3.

Edit-- this is where you order a FREE tax return transcript http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Order-a-Transcript

Thank you, We will definitely be including evidence of his income.

About ordering a tax return online, will it give us the one for 2012 or the one for 2013?

[Erica & L 50]

3) Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size.

Submit evidence of assets that meet the standards listed below or obtain joint sponsor.

Assets standards must equal the stated difference between the sponsor's household income and 125% of the federal poverty line.

(And then it goes in to what you need).

Again, I'm confused because we put $20,000 on the form which is over $19,387. Is it because we didn't include proof?

Someone can feel free to chime in here or correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the USCIS reserve the right to also request a joint sponsor if the main petitioner/sponsor just BARELY meets the qualifications regarding the 125% above the poverty guideline? Which could also be why they suggested a joint sponsor or assets, even if your spouse's annual income was exactly $20,000 and you had proof to support that, immigration could still not consider that a sufficient amount and want assets or a joint sponsor as more of a secure financial safety net.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Thank you, We will definitely be including evidence of his income.

About ordering a tax return online, will it give us the one for 2012 or the one for 2013?

Ask for any year you want, up to 3 in an order was how it worked the last time I did it. I doubt you have already filed 2013 taxes. The tax year just ended 2 weeks ago and most people don't have the paperwork needed for filing this quickly. And the IRS would have a delay between receiving a return and creating a transcript.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Someone can feel free to chime in here or correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the USCIS reserve the right to also request a joint sponsor if the main petitioner/sponsor just BARELY meets the qualifications regarding the 125% above the poverty guideline? Which could also be why they suggested a joint sponsor or assets, even if your spouse's annual income was exactly $20,000 and you had proof to support that, immigration could still not consider that a sufficient amount and want assets or a joint sponsor as more of a secure financial safety net.

They do do that sometimes. If they think $20,000 is too low though, they should increase it to prevent misunderstandings that occur for this reason.

[blooms 63]

I experienced similar issue during my AOS process. Submitted all the correct forms and documents, and well above 125% poverty level aaannndd still getting RFE for those items mentioned on your post.

However, we sent it out as per request anyway and was approved, so just double check again before sending it out.

Good luck to you

blooms

[aussie_jason 195]

I just received an RFE for form I-864 today for 3 reasons according to the letter. I'm really confused and anxious. My questions are in red. Here is what they put:

1) Submit all supporting tax documentation (W-2s, 1099s, and all supporting tax schedules) submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from the petitioner/sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the most recent tax year.

We included that when we sent off our application, so I'm confused as to why they are asking for this again. Is it because we sent it off in December 2013 and we included the one from 2012 so now they want the 2013 one?

The above statement coupled with the below statement does not make any sense, if you included all of the tax return details with the I-864 then you should know exactly what he earned in 2013 so why did you just pull a number out of thin air?

I understand this part because we didn't include my husband's (the petitioner) proof of his income even though it is over $19,387 (I thought we only had to bring this proof of income to the interview). There are only 2 of us and we live in Massachusetts, not Hawaii or Alaska. We put $20,000 on the form because we couldn't remember exactly, but we know his income is actually a bit more than that. Anyway, why would they say that it doesn't meet or exceed 125% of the poverty guideline? Is it because of his tax returns from 2012? He just got an advance on his salary in 2013 which is over $19,387 but his salary from 2012 was below that. Is it because of that?

If you really did provide all the required tax return details then they are requesting further proof detailing where the rest of the income comes from, if not then the transcripts from the IRS suggested by others will be required to provide evidence but if that is below the required amount then you are going to have to look at alternatives like a letter from his employer, pay slips etc that will show he will earn more than that this year.

[5Star 5]

Hello, Just out of curiousity,

I have also submitted i-864 form and i got biometrics appointment on it after 2 months. So, your biometrics is already done and then you received RFE?

[MyHeartWillGoOn93 8]

The above statement coupled with the below statement does not make any sense, if you included all of the tax return details with the I-864 then you should know exactly what he earned in 2013 so why did you just pull a number out of thin air?

If you really did provide all the required tax return details then they are requesting further proof detailing where the rest of the income comes from, if not then the transcripts from the IRS suggested by others will be required to provide evidence but if that is below the required amount then you are going to have to look at alternatives like a letter from his employer, pay slips etc that will show he will earn more than that this year.

No, we included the tax returns from 2012, not 2013.

Hello, Just out of curiousity,

I have also submitted i-864 form and i got biometrics appointment on it after 2 months. So, your biometrics is already done and then you received RFE?

No, you don't have biometrics for form I-864, bust for forms I-485 and I-765. If you look at my signature, I received an appointment for biometrics 2 weeks ago for January 23rd.