Verification of Non-Filing - I 864 Questions

[froschundblumen 25]

Hi!

I am confused by the requirements of I 864.

Here are the details of our case:

1. My husband does not meet the income requirements, therefore we have a co-sponsor.

2. I will be including my husband's most recent tax transcript, pay stubs, letter from employer.

3. My husband does not have tax transcripts for the previous two years. He was an unemployed student with zero income and therefore (according to my understanding) not required to file.

4. I will include a Verification of Non-Filing Letter for both years AND a written explanation of his no-filing.

My questions:

Do we need any more proof for my husband?

What should the letter of explanation say? Is there a specific tax code/regulation I can cite?

Is this sufficient for the letter or more detail needed?:

I have included my most recent tax transcript in conjunction with the I-864 form, as required. I was not required to file the previous two years, as I had zero income for these two tax periods. I have included Verification of Non-Filing Letters for each year.

Edited July 14, 2014 by froschundblumen

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Verification of non-filing is not really needed. What is required is a statement explaining why he was not legally required to file for those 2 years, such as being below the filing income threshold He could simply state that he did not file in 2011 or 2012 because he was not working, had zero income and was not required to file taxes those years.

On the I-864, for 13.b.1 and c.1, hand write See Attachment.

[thetempest 1]

Sorry to bump such an old topic, but my wife received an Initial Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS after we had already submitted a statement on why I was not required to file (similar to other individuals who have posted on this forum). The RFE requested that I submit a Federal tax return for the most recent year. After calling both USCIS and the IRS, I found out that the statement provided was not good enough and that we needed to send in the Verification of Non-Filing Letter obtained by filling out the IRS Form 4506-T. I'm sure the results vary, but hopefully this saves some couples from a massive headache that we had to go through.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

That is very strange. That document is not listed as a requirement in the I-864 instructions and many people get approved with just a statement explaining why they were not legally required to file, such as being below the income filing threshold listed in IRS Pub 17.

Glad it finally worked out for you.

[1k1please 2]

Oh! I just posted with this question myself. It's an interesting one, from everything I have read so far though I only ever see a statement explaining why the taxes were not filed for and nothing RE a non-filing receipt but I guess it could be case-by-case thing...

[sweetswinks 400]

When I sent my AOS package last week I hadn't read this topic yet and I just included a statement from my husband explaining why he hadn't filed taxes due to his salary being $0. Now I'm worried I should have gotten this verification of non-filing.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

If it makes you feel any better, this is the first time I have ever seen the IRS verification of non-filing being required in an RFE, and this person's RFE did not actually request the IRS form either. They said they were told that on the phone with the USCIS and IRS. The IRS does not deal in immigration/I-864 requirements, and the USCIS phone line is known to give out misinformation.

A letter of non-filing proves only that you did not file. The USCIS is asking for a reason as to why you were not required to file, and not simply that you did not. The I-864 instructions ask for the statement, not an IRS proof of not filing.

From Page 6 of the I-864 instructions > http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

If you were required to file a Federal income tax return during any of the previous three tax years but did not do so,
you must file any and all late returns with IRS and attach an IRS-generated tax return transcript documenting your late
filing before submitting the I-864 Affidavit of Support. If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return
under U.S. tax law because your income was too low, attach a written explanation. If you were not required to file a
Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law for any other reason, attach a written explanation including evidence of
the exemption and how you are subject to it. Residence outside of the United States does not exempt U.S. citizens or
lawful permanent residents from filing a U.S. Federal income tax return. See "Filing Requirements" in the IRS Form
1040 Filing Instructions to determine whether you were required to file.

[sweetswinks 400]

If it makes you feel any better, this is the first time I have ever seen the IRS verification of non-filing being required in an RFE, and this person's RFE did not actually request the IRS form either. They said they were told that on the phone with the USCIS and IRS. The IRS does not deal in immigration/I-864 requirements, and the USCIS phone line is known to give out misinformation.

A letter of non-filing proves only that you did not file. The USCIS is asking for a reason as to why you were not required to file, and not simply that you did not. The I-864 instructions ask for the statement, not an IRS proof of not filing.

From Page 6 of the I-864 instructions > http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

If you were required to file a Federal income tax return during any of the previous three tax years but did not do so,

you must file any and all late returns with IRS and attach an IRS-generated tax return transcript documenting your late

filing before submitting the I-864 Affidavit of Support. If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return

under U.S. tax law because your income was too low, attach a written explanation. If you were not required to file a

Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law for any other reason, attach a written explanation including evidence of

the exemption and how you are subject to it. Residence outside of the United States does not exempt U.S. citizens or

lawful permanent residents from filing a U.S. Federal income tax return. See "Filing Requirements" in the IRS Form

1040 Filing Instructions to determine whether you were required to file.

That makes a lot of sense! I think a written statement saying exactly that he made $0 in the tax years 2012,2013 and so were not required to file (which we wrote that exactly) should be enough, but here's hoping no RFE for it!

[thetempest 1]

A letter of non-filing proves only that you did not file. The USCIS is asking for a reason as to why you were not required to file, and not simply that you did not. The I-864 instructions ask for the statement, not an IRS proof of not filing.

From Page 6 of the I-864 instructions > http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

If you were required to file a Federal income tax return during any of the previous three tax years but did not do so,

you must file any and all late returns with IRS and attach an IRS-generated tax return transcript documenting your late

filing before submitting the I-864 Affidavit of Support. If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return

under U.S. tax law because your income was too low, attach a written explanation. If you were not required to file a

Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law for any other reason, attach a written explanation including evidence of

the exemption and how you are subject to it. Residence outside of the United States does not exempt U.S. citizens or

lawful permanent residents from filing a U.S. Federal income tax return. See "Filing Requirements" in the IRS Form

1040 Filing Instructions to determine whether you were required to file.

The RFE didn't make sense to me either, but it reiterated the instructions you posted here on the paper we received. I did attach a written explanation of why I was not required to file. The same can be seen in IRS Publication 501, but USCIS had no interest in looking at the tax law. They wanted some kind of statement from the IRS regarding my specific tax history even though I have never filed before and I was not asked to do so in the instructions.

Personally, I would just request a verification of non-filing letter. It costs nothing to you and you would already have it ready in case you needed it.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

The RFE didn't make sense to me either, but it reiterated the instructions you posted here on the paper we received. I did attach a written explanation of why I was not required to file. The same can be seen in IRS Publication 501, but USCIS had no interest in looking at the tax law. They wanted some kind of statement from the IRS regarding my specific tax history even though I have never filed before and I was not asked to do so in the instructions.

Personally, I would just request a verification of non-filing letter. It costs nothing to you and you would already have it ready in case you needed it.

Sometimes people get an RFE for things they already sent in. I do not think it was because the USCIS has no interest in the tax laws since those laws make it so some people are not legally required to file. They know this, and that is why they ask for the explanation statement if you were not required to file. The statement alone has worked for countless people.

Perhaps it helped in your case because you had never filed taxes. I do not know. Asking for that IRS non-filing letter is not typical for the I-864. However, if someone was to get an RFE for the explanation statement after having already included it, then they could again send a letter of explanation that points out the income filing threshold in the IRS Pub 17 plus the non-filing letter. You are correct that it is free and could not hurt.

[patriot10 11]

Hello All,

Nothing is definitive and as per posts above, people have got a RFE on this matter even though if the IRS itself does not require one to file if one does not have income over threshold levels set by it then its difficult to see why it should be any hinderance in the immigration process expecially since one has got a co-sponsor with ample income to suffice and satisfy the conditions for the AOS.............but over 2 years have passed since the last post and still i find there is nothing known for sure about this aspect.

Regarding filing form 4506-t with the IRS just to get a transcript merely stating that no return was filed during the said relevant year does not sound logical at all because there is no reason one would say he/she did not file and be lying about it. If a person says he did not file and IRS as per transcript confirms that one did not file, i see no great revelation in that.

The pertinent question would be , Why one did not file and if one says that they did not have enough income or held no asset over given thresholds, then what can one give as proof. One can give proof of income but how to give proof of no income??

 

All the same, there is no arguing with the interviewer and hence the apprehension.

 

i have written the following and plan to submit in my upcoming interview in due course....if anyone has any ideas to make this better or suggest any modifications/alterations, it would be much appreciated.

 

 

                                                           To Whomsoever it may Concern

 

 

 

My name is 'xyz', spouse and petitioning sponsor of 'abc' . I have not filed income tax returns for the relevant years 2015,2014 and 2013 because I did not earn enough income nor held any financial assets to exceed the threshold levels which would require me to file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service.

My spouse was the sole bread earner in our family and paid taxes in his country of residence for the relevant years and all necessary expenses and maintenance were taken care of by my spouse through his own income and savings since our marriage in the year xxxx.

 

 

 

Any ideas to make this closer to foolproof?

Edited January 12, 2017 by patriot10

[patriot10 11]

posted twice by error hence deleted .

Edited January 12, 2017 by patriot10
posted twice by error.

[patriot10 11]

 or perhaps a bit more elaborated.....?

                                                         

 

                                                                                           To Whomsoever it may Concern

 

My name is 'xyz', spouse and petitioning sponsor of 'abc'. I have not filed income tax returns for the relevant years 2015,2014 and 2013 because I did not earn enough income nor held any financial assets that exceeded the threshold levels which would require me to file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service.

     My spouse was the  earning member of our family and duly paid relevant taxes on his income in his country of residence and all necessary expenses and maintenance of our family  were taken care of by my spouse through his own income and savings since our marriage in the year xxxx while I brought up our children and performed my duty as the homemaker for our family.