Request for Additional Evidence - how to follow up

[jdude 0]

Hi,

I recently received a request for additional evidence for my petition for my wife. They said we need to include a completed affidavit of support and then go on to mention that it has to include an income tax return for each person who has filed an affidavit.

Now we already included two affidavits of support with the application, but I did not include a tax return for myself because I have been a "dependent" up until this year and I do not have a tax return from the previous years. As you have probably guessed, we have a family member filing an affidavit as well because I alone do not qualify to support her, since I am a graduate student.

Anyways, we were wondering how to follow up on this. I wrote a letter explaining why I do not have any previous tax returns and I let them know that I will have my 2006 tax return soon and can supply that when it is available if necessary. What I am wondering is: do I need to send the entire affidavit of support form to USCIS, or only the info on the tax return since we are pretty sure this is what they were missing. Since they don't specify too well what was missing from our application, we are unsure how to proceed now. Any other tips on how to follow up a request for additional evidence would be appreciated too.

thanks in advance!

[SC & TF 1]

Hi,

I recently received a request for additional evidence for my petition for my wife. They said we need to include a completed affidavit of support and then go on to mention that it has to include an income tax return for each person who has filed an affidavit.

Now we already included two affidavits of support with the application, but I did not include a tax return for myself because I have been a "dependent" up until this year and I do not have a tax return from the previous years. As you have probably guessed, we have a family member filing an affidavit as well because I alone do not qualify to support her, since I am a graduate student.

Anyways, we were wondering how to follow up on this. I wrote a letter explaining why I do not have any previous tax returns and I let them know that I will have my 2006 tax return soon and can supply that when it is available if necessary. What I am wondering is: do I need to send the entire affidavit of support form to USCIS, or only the info on the tax return since we are pretty sure this is what they were missing. Since they don't specify too well what was missing from our application, we are unsure how to proceed now. Any other tips on how to follow up a request for additional evidence would be appreciated too.

thanks in advance!

I also got an RFE for the I-864, but it only asked for the federal tax returns, letter of explanation, and employment letters on the pink slip they sent me. I sent only what was listed on the pink sheet they sent, even if I had sent them in before. They accepted it, and updated my portfolio info as request for additional evidence received, processing resumed. My husband also didn't file taxes for 2005, because he was a full-time student, and a dependent. His mom was therefore my joint sponsor. However, he did work part-time even though it wasn't enough to file federal taxes, so I sent in a copy of his W-2. In addition, I sent an explanation letter and a copy of the IRS publication that states why he wasn't required to file because of inadequate income. I also attached a letter from his current employer showing that he now works full-time and can support me. I suggest you send in what they asked for in the letter. And if you want to be absolutely safe, you can send copies of the I-864 forms you filled out before. Hope this helps. Good luck!

[jdude 0]

My pink slip has a box labeled F checked that looks very general and says "submit a completed and assigned for I-864 for the petitioner listed on the form I-130. Submit all required supporting document as indicated in the instructions". It then goes on to list that the tax return is a required supporting document and all that stuff.

Since there were two affidavits of support originally filed, I don't know which one they want me to resubmit, so maybe I should just submit both of them again. Mine was the one that did not have a tax return so I was thinking that it might have been the one that caused the trouble.

Edited January 9, 2007 by j-a-x

[SC & TF 1]

My pink slip has a box labeled F checked that looks very general and says "submit a completed and assigned for I-864 for the petitioner listed on the form I-130. Submit all required supporting document as indicated in the instructions". It then goes on to list that the tax return is a required supporting document and all that stuff.

Since there were two affidavits of support originally filed, I don't know which one they want me to resubmit, so maybe I should just submit both of them again. Mine was the one that did not have a tax return so I was thinking that it might have been the one that caused the trouble.

Yes, just resubmit all the info again. My pink sheet didn't have a "submit a completed I-864", just listed the supporting documents required. So, you definitely need to resubmit the whole thing. Hope you made photocopies. Good luck.

[Ladylethal 12]

Resubmit everything again and include an attachment explaining why you didn't include your tax returns.

[phiandjen 0]

We're in a similar situation: I was a full-time graduate student in 2005, and did not file a tax return. I put this in a letter attached to our original I-864, along with a current employment letter showing sufficient income, but we got an RFE asking for a 2005 tax return (or statement saying why I don't have one). I thought it would be better to provide some sort of official evidence so I filed a 2005 return showing that no taxes are owed. I mailed the return just this week, certified. I printed out another copy of the return and signed it for USCIS.

Do I need to provide something from the IRS showing that they received it or is my printout sufficient? Since I don't have a W-2 for that year, should I try to get evidence from my school to show I was a student? Any point in providing 04 and 03 tax returns if they don't ask for them?

[John and Anna 0]

Hi,

I recently received a request for additional evidence for my petition for my wife. They said we need to include a completed affidavit of support and then go on to mention that it has to include an income tax return for each person who has filed an affidavit.

Now we already included two affidavits of support with the application, but I did not include a tax return for myself because I have been a "dependent" up until this year and I do not have a tax return from the previous years. As you have probably guessed, we have a family member filing an affidavit as well because I alone do not qualify to support her, since I am a graduate student.

Anyways, we were wondering how to follow up on this. I wrote a letter explaining why I do not have any previous tax returns and I let them know that I will have my 2006 tax return soon and can supply that when it is available if necessary. What I am wondering is: do I need to send the entire affidavit of support form to USCIS, or only the info on the tax return since we are pretty sure this is what they were missing. Since they don't specify too well what was missing from our application, we are unsure how to proceed now. Any other tips on how to follow up a request for additional evidence would be appreciated too.

thanks in advance!

How about a timeline?

[jdude 0]

Hey good news,

We resubmitted the affidavit of support forms like they said (all of them), and now she has her employment authorization card AND we have an interview setup early in March! We're almost done with the visa process! Yay!

[jdude 0]

We had our interview today and she was accepted! Yay! We did it!!!!!!!!!!

So we applied at the end of November, followed up on the request for information in January, got the work authorization in February, and our interview was in March, followed by an email stating that the application was accepted and the green card is being sent!

Hey good news,

We resubmitted the affidavit of support forms like they said (all of them), and now she has her employment authorization card AND we have an interview setup early in March! We're almost done with the visa process! Yay!