Bank letter---confused

[Pennycat 880]

Hi all, this is partly embassy specific but partly just a big logic question mark.

One-- the type of "letter" that my bank is willing to provide costs $25 and will show average monthly ending balance. Not average daily balance, or average deposit. Just average ending balance. This isn't good for a few reasons. One is that the way I've got my finances sorted (not that it's any of your business, or the governments), is that I keep almost no money in checking. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this right? And that doesn't mean that I don't *have* any money at the end of the month, it just means that it's no longer collecting dust in a low-interest checking account.

Why on earth would this information be helpful? Could it be hurtful (they could think I'm gambling away my earnings or something)? Do I really have to provide them a detailed map of my personal finances even after proving my income 4 different ways? (W2, 1040, employer letter, pay stubs). At what point is this proving that we won't be on welfare vs them studying my financial planning and spending habits (the latter of which to me is a step too far).

The more embassy specific question is is this an actual *requirement* for San Jose? My confusion:

(1) The checklist says "evidence of financial support should be submitted to this office at the time of your interview and may consist of the following...." and simply says "bank statements including current balance, opening date and average monthly balance"

(2) Elsewhere on the checklist it says "Financial support evidence from the petitioner: - Form I-134 -Job letter and/or earning statements and letter from the bank or bank statements - Income tax return and forms W2 or 1099. That and/or and and or thing in that sentence is confusing as to what is actually "or". Optional or no?

(3) The embassy guide here: http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Costa%20Rica&cty=San%20Josemakes it seem necessary.

(4) Finally, the instructions on the I-134 itself says "evidence should consist of copies of any of the documents listed below that apply to your situation"...and the bank thing is asking for total deposited in the past year and present balance....neither of which is even on offer from MY bank.

And again, not that any of this matters, because all they'll see is that I've had this checking account since I started earning babysitting money in like 1995 or something like that, about 4 bank mergers ago (which is why my mother is still a joint account holder with me--something I didn't even notice until now and is actually a little hilarious) and that I keep my balance low. Again, by bank does not provide average deposits, or total yearly deposits or anything like that.

Just do it because it seems like that's what they want and hope the CO realizes what's going on? Do you think that something like this can HURT? Even with proving *4 different ways* an income multiple times higher than the requirement? That they could independently verify if they choose, as my income is a matter of public record (government employee)?

And way off topic, I am shocked that I'm shocked about all the conflicting information but I had really thought that the State Department would be a bit more "together" than USCIS. Which, I suppose it is. But when I was picturing "more together" I guess I overshot to "totally with it". Sigh.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Bank letter or statements are typically not needed unless using assets. If your income is above the requirement, then just the most recent tax return plus letter from employer and recent pay subs should suffice. If you feel your consulate really needs to see additional proof having to do with bank accounts, then just provide printouts of your bank statements for free.

Things are consulate specific, but this is what the FAM states about the I-134> http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86988.pdf

...

f. To substantiate the information regarding income and resources, the sponsor should attach to the affidavit a copy of the latest Federal income tax return filed prior to the signing of the Form I-134, including all supporting schedules. If you determine that the tax return and/or additional evidence in the file do not establish the sponsor's financial ability to carry out the commitment toward the immigrant for what might be an indefinite period of time, or there is a specific reason (other than the passage of time) to question the veracity of the income stated on the Form I-134 or the accompanying document(s), you should request additional evidence (i.e., statement from an employer showing the sponsor's salary and the length and permanency of employment, recent pay statements, or other financial data).