Request for initial evidence for I-485 question

[doug_simply 0]

Hi - I just received a request for initial evidence in relation to my I-485.

We married in late 2014 and sent the forms off. My US wife was not required to file a tax return for 2013 (or the previous 6 years), so we wrote a letter of explanation (as it asks for) and filed all her pay stubs, letters from employers, etc, for 2014, just no IRS related documents as there were none to send (we sent before 31 Dec 2014).

We are now being asked for all the IRS forms, which as it is now 2015 and she has received her 2014 W2s, we can do.

We were also told on the reply that my US spouse did not meet 125%, so we have to provided more evidence. But this is untrue. She DID meet the requirements.

So, do USCIS only count income as income actually received, rather than income based on a pro rata basis? She started working in early 2014, so did not earn the full yearly amount that would take her over the requirements, so maybe that's why? It makes no sense otherwise. In which case unless we can get a joint sponsor does this mean we have to wait for her to earn a full year's worth of the amount required?

As far as I can see, we filed correctly, now we are being told otherwise. I feel like they are buying time due to too many forms to process and so they are asking for her 2014 tax returns now rather than her 2013 as they should have been processing it as and are just being lazy about it and are using it as a get-out clause. So frustrating!

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

By the time they adjust your AOS, current tax of 2014 is due that's why they always for most recent one. She can file tax now jointly with you, and send the tax of 2014. No need to be full year earning but you need current W2s, employer's letter stating she would make enough this year. Good luck.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

It is not simply based on what you already made in the past. Current income is most important, but they do take the overall situation into account. You filed correctly, but because the job was so new and she had no previous tax returns to report, they are wanting more evidence now to prove she meets the requirement. What you sent them did not prove to them that she does.

Send another statement from her that she did not file taxes in 2012 or 2013 because her income was below the filing threshold and she was not legally required to file. Then add in a complete copy of her 2014 taxes with all forms, attachments, schedules, W-2s and/or 1099s, unless she filed 2014 taxes long enough ago to have an IRS tax transcript available, in which case use it instead. Also send in a letter from her employer and most recent pay stubs to prove she meets the income requirement.

Also, if you have received your EAD and working, you can do an updated I-864 that includes your income too. You would just need to provide proof of the income and that the job will continue once you become a permanent resident.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi - I just received a request for initial evidence in relation to my I-485.

We married in late 2014 and sent the forms off. My US wife was not required to file a tax return for 2013 (or the previous 6 years), so we wrote a letter of explanation (as it asks for) and filed all her pay stubs, letters from employers, etc, for 2014, just no IRS related documents as there were none to send (we sent before 31 Dec 2014).

We are now being asked for all the IRS forms, which as it is now 2015 and she has received her 2014 W2s, we can do.

It sounds like they didn't see your "letter". If it was a cover letter that likely got thrown out when the contractors put the file together. Do another and make it specific. If you redo the I-864, place your statement right behind the form where a tax return would be expected.

STATEMENT OF NON-FILING OF TAX RETURNS-FORM I-864

In 2013 I earned $0.00 so did not meet the IRS filing threshhold for a single filer.

In 2012 I earned $120.88 so did not meet the IRS filing threshhold for a single filer.

In 2011 I earned $1234.56 so did not meet the IRS filing threshhold for a single filer.

[sign it]

Jane K. Doe

February 25, 2015

We were also told on the reply that my US spouse did not meet 125%, so we have to provided more evidence. But this is untrue. She DID meet the requirements.

This is very typical of RFEs. Because they did not find the required 2013 tax return, they full stop right there. They don't look at anything else you submitted to prove the current income. If you fix the first part, then the second part goes away.

As far as I can see, we filed correctly, now we are being told otherwise. I feel like they are buying time due to too many forms to process and so they are asking for her 2014 tax returns now rather than her 2013 as they should have been processing it as and are just being lazy about it and are using it as a get-out clause. So frustrating!

I don't think they are asking for 2014 tax return. They said "latest" which is 2013 until April 15 (due date for 2014 filing). If you have filed 2014, then you may use it, but they can't require it yet.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Nothing new for them to overlook or lose documents. I agree that they could have overlooked the statement about why they were not required to file taxes, but if they have 2014, I think they should send it, even though it is not past April 15th. It would be better than having no tax returns at all for the past 7 years, and along with the job being so new it could have spurred the RFE. Especially true if the income happens to be on the requirement borderline.

The policy states that they can ask for updated information if the tax return, anticipated income listed for the year in which the I-864 was signed, and the evidence for the income for the year of filing does not show they meet the 125%.

[sweetswinks 400]

Hi - I just received a request for initial evidence in relation to my I-485.

We married in late 2014 and sent the forms off. My US wife was not required to file a tax return for 2013 (or the previous 6 years), so we wrote a letter of explanation (as it asks for) and filed all her pay stubs, letters from employers, etc, for 2014, just no IRS related documents as there were none to send (we sent before 31 Dec 2014).

We are now being asked for all the IRS forms, which as it is now 2015 and she has received her 2014 W2s, we can do.

We were also told on the reply that my US spouse did not meet 125%, so we have to provided more evidence. But this is untrue. She DID meet the requirements.

So, do USCIS only count income as income actually received, rather than income based on a pro rata basis? She started working in early 2014, so did not earn the full yearly amount that would take her over the requirements, so maybe that's why? It makes no sense otherwise. In which case unless we can get a joint sponsor does this mean we have to wait for her to earn a full year's worth of the amount required?

As far as I can see, we filed correctly, now we are being told otherwise. I feel like they are buying time due to too many forms to process and so they are asking for her 2014 tax returns now rather than her 2013 as they should have been processing it as and are just being lazy about it and are using it as a get-out clause. So frustrating!

If she met the income requirements for supporting a family of 2, why was she not required to file taxes?

[doug_simply 0]

If she met the income requirements for supporting a family of 2, why was she not required to file taxes?

Hi sweetswinks - because the reporting period I was referring to was 2013 when she did not need to report her income. For 2014 she is about to report her income. This is because she was a house wife in a previous marriage until the start of 2014. Now she earns enough on her own to meet the requirements.

[doug_simply 0]

Thank you to all who have responded - you have all been very helpful.

I think once our taxes have been prepared we will send off a(nother) letter of explanation and set it out like you have suggested KayDeeCee and Nich-Nick - I think we will include the 2014 earnings because I can just seem them refusing it again because we didn't do it for 2014 (which would be just another easy get-out clause for the person doing the checking to throw it on the 'stop working on this one' pile). I'm baffled by their approach because it causes 3 times the amount of work that ends up back on their desks (and I bet they go home moaning about how much work they have to do).

Edited February 26, 2015 by doug_simply