I-864 on assets (USC lives abroad)

[awaywego 28]

Background:

I am the USC, and I live with my German husband in his home country. As we will not have continuing employment, we're looking to qualify on assets. Our assets comfortably exceed 5 x 125% of the poverty level for our household size, but most are currently located in Germany.

We have enough assets according to the instructions, but I've read on here that part of the determination is based on the CO's judgment. I'm not sure what the people in that position will want to see or how to make our incomeless application look most appealing. Questions on this:

1) Does the location of assets matter? We've been transferring savings to the States somewhat piecemeal and slowly, but should we get on this to be sure that we have a certain amount in the US before filling out the I-864? If so, what percentage should we have there?

2) My husband should have a job offer by the point when we send in this paperwork. I know that it will not count as income, but would it be worthwhile to send in a copy of the offer? If so, what do we say about it?

3) (Sneaking in a technical question) Are jointly-held assets reported as mine or my husband's on the I-864, part 7?

Thank you!

[GoChicago 4]

1) Does the location of assets matter? We've been transferring savings to the States somewhat piecemeal and slowly, but should we get on this to be sure that we have a certain amount in the US before filling out the I-864? If so, what percentage should we have there?

Location of the assets I believe does not matter, except that:

• For assets in US only 3x value is needed vs. for foreign assets its 5x (see here, section Assets)
• Property needs to be appraised by someone qualified to do so, such as a real-estate appraiser. Instead if you sell the property, the cash is easier to claim as an asset. Depends if you really want to sell the property or not, if you are going to sell the property before leaving, might as well try and get it sold early and show the cash.

2) My husband should have a job offer by the point when we send in this paperwork. I know that it will not count as income, but would it be worthwhile to send in a copy of the offer? If so, what do we say about it?

Yes, the offer definitely helped in my case. CO asked my wife a lot of questions regarding it, and none about our joint sponsor.

3) (Sneaking in a technical question) Are jointly-held assets reported as mine or my husband's on the I-864, part 7?

We divided the assets' value in half, put half on I-864 and other half on I-864A. They didn't give us any problem with that.

[pushbrk 12,883]

Pay attention to the part of the instructions that describe what is meant by "liquid assets". If your assets are primarily cash, it's best they be in the USA but a German investment account (stocks etc.) might be OK. It's really the totality of circumstances that matters, so it helps to think of it that way.

[awaywego 28]

Thank you both for your responses. I know I'm technically fine with our assets, but I also know that the ultimate call is up to the CO, and I have gotten the impression that sponsoring with only assets is a bit taboo. We're happy to, e.g., be more proactive about moving over our liquid assets, if it will make our case more solid to the CO.

@GoChicago, just to clarify: my understanding is that the I-864A is for a joint sponsor's household member, and that part 7 of the I-864 is for the intending immigrant. Should my husband fill out the I-864A because we are using joint assets, or were you referring to how your joint sponsor and his/her spouse dealt with this issue? (Did I miss something, or does USCIS not take into account that many married couples comingle their finances? You'd think there'd be a checkbox or something.)

[GoChicago 4]

I am not sure about the intending immigrant, but in my case my joint sponsor filled out the 864 and spouse filled out 864A. My point being, in any case, joint assets can be spilt in half (or any other ratio for that matter) and entered accordingly.

The advantage with DCF/consular processing is that you get to explain to the CO in case CO has any questions, which is not so easily done on the NVC side.

All the best!

[pushbrk 12,883]

Thank you both for your responses. I know I'm technically fine with our assets, but I also know that the ultimate call is up to the CO, and I have gotten the impression that sponsoring with only assets is a bit taboo. We're happy to, e.g., be more proactive about moving over our liquid assets, if it will make our case more solid to the CO.

@GoChicago, just to clarify: my understanding is that the I-864A is for a joint sponsor's household member, and that part 7 of the I-864 is for the intending immigrant. Should my husband fill out the I-864A because we are using joint assets, or were you referring to how your joint sponsor and his/her spouse dealt with this issue? (Did I miss something, or does USCIS not take into account that many married couples comingle their finances? You'd think there'd be a checkbox or something.)

Start by carefully studying the excellent i-864 instructions. There's a section on how to use the assets of the intending immigrant. It would also help to become intimately familiar with the I-864 itself. Then, it is likely to be clear to you what to do.

Jointly held assets are listed as the sponsor's assets. Only assets solely owned by the intending immigrant are listed in that section.

Edited April 10, 2014 by pushbrk