Different values for I 864 (Part 6 Question 5) & (Part 6 Question 13)

[RnZ 4]

Hi everyone,

First of all, I must say that this website is really awesome and people here are very experienced and helpful.

We were able to find the answers to everything and know everything about the procedure without even asking any question since so many of them have already been answered here.

Having said that, there is only one important question for which I was not able to find the answer.

It is related to Sponsor Income (Part 6 Question 5) and Sponsor Income Tax return (Part 6, Question 13a) on I 864 form.

My wife and I will be filing joint tax returns for 2014. Her Income is 25K which is well above the poverty limit guideline. I earned 15 K as a Teaching assistant on F-1 status from my university. So, our total income on Tax return will be around 40K. We are only going to use my wife's income because it is sufficient to support me and I also do not want to use my income as there is some chance that we may be asked to show proof of work authorization which will delay the case.

However, in that case the Sponsor Income on Part 6 Question 5 will be 25K but the amount from tax return on Part 6 Question 13 will be 40K and the two values will be different. Would It create some discrepancy or cause for an RFE? What would you suggest on this?

I would appreciate if someone who had different values for Part 6 Question 5 and Question 13 on I-864 could clarify how they dealt with this issue.

I have another rather silly question.

Even though we meet the minimum income requirement based on my wife's current W2, Should we still write our asset values in Part 7. We have around 55K in savings and I was thinking that may strengthen our case?

[Zedayn 485]

Question 5 is referring to CURRENT income, so you will list the current income. Question 13a is asking for the income listed on your tax return. These values can be different. If you want to prove the current income, then simply include an employment letter and a few paystubs.

You do not need to list assets if your income is above the minimum poverty guidelines for your household size.

[RnZ 4]

Hi Thanks for answering this. Really appreciate your help with this.

So just to be sure, we should list 25K (my wife's current income) for Question 5 and 40K our joint Tax return income for question 13a.

We plan on applying in first week of March. We do not want to go to university and ask for her employment letter. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved.

Do you think, my wife's W2 for 2014 and Pay stubs from January and February would be sufficient as a proof of current income?

Also, is there any harm in listing assets even if our income meets the requirement. I mean could it damage our case?

[Zedayn 485]

The employment letter is not required. The only thing you need to submit with the I-864 is the most recent year tax return with W2, OR an IRS tax return transcript. There is no harm in listing assets. It will never hurt your case. It will help if anything, but since your income is at the required levels then your assets may not even be looked at. But it for sure won't hurt to include it.

[RnZ 4]

Well, Thank you so much for your help. We really appreciate it