Affidavit of Support or get a Joint Sponsor?

[Smelserjl 137]

Hi everyone,

I'm still in the petition process with my husband but I'm trying to get prepared for when we start NVC.

So here's my question: I know that during the AOS process, I have to submit tax returns and that I'm supposed to be making a particular amount above the poverty line. Until this past year (Oct 2013), I was making way below. I was in grad school and working part-time and interning. Now, I have a full-time job where I make enough, but because I haven't done this during the past, should I get a joint sponsor? There's no reason to believe that I wouldn't continue making enough money, as I'm in my career now, but I'm not sure what is the best way to proceed. I'm considering asking my parents.

Thoughts?

Edited June 7, 2014 by Smelserjl

[schinx87 1]

Hi everyone,

I'm still in the petition process with my husband but I'm trying to get prepared for when we start NVC.

So here's my question: I know that during the AOS process, I have to submit tax returns and that I'm supposed to be making a particular amount above the poverty line. Until this past year (Oct 2013), I was making way below. I was in grad school and working part-time and interning. Now, I have a full-time job where I make enough, but because I haven't done this during the past, should I get a joint sponsor? There's no reason to believe that I wouldn't continue making enough money, as I'm in my career now, but I'm not sure what is the best way to proceed. I'm considering asking my parents.

Thoughts?

Though I filed DCF in Germany, I think this particular part of the process is universal :-)

That being said, the form requires in the tax return section that you put your Adjusted Gross Income from the Last three years, even though you are only required to submit the most recent tax return. I am not an expert, but I certainly spent a lot of time interpreting these forms (haha) to see if I could reduce the amount of paperwork I had to submit. In the end, though, I do think the government likes to see a "positive trend" in the last three years.

My situation was slightly different, but long story short we used my mother as a joint sponsor and it gave us peace of mind in the process. I think in this particular part of the process, peace of mind & being "better safe than sorry" is always a good idea and can only influence your application positively :-). There is obviously a legal obligation on the affidavit of support that your parents will need to be okay with, but I know for a lot of family members that's just a formality!

Good luck!!