AOSupport only with savings, no tax return or income

[SabrinaJerome 52]

Hi, not sure if I'm posting this in the right place.

We live in Spain, so we are not able to do the DCF process to get our CR1.

This question is about the Affidavit of Support.

Before 2011, I worked many years and saved money, then quit to travel, at which point I met my fiancé.

He has been supporting us for the most part through our small business, so I have not had any income and have not filed taxes since 2011. (yes, I know, I'll do it, but I just want to know if I need to file now, for the AOS)

So, in terms of savings, do I understand correctly, that for support of a spouse, you must have on hand 3x the FPL, or 125% of it, something like that?

So it would be somewhere in the range of 16k-20k X 3 = 48k-60k

Yes? And if I have that, I don't need to show a tax return?

Thanks!

[Alaska2012 462]

You need to have filed your taxes no matter how you guys choose to sponsor

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from DCF Discussion to IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures.

[SabrinaJerome 52]

Thanks, can you direct me to an official page that indicates that? Or does it just say that on the Support form? I haven't done it yet.

[Alaska2012 462]

Each sponsor needs to submit taxes and W2s if he or she is not using an IRS printout, or provide a reason for not filing taxes.

That's from

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/tips-filing-form-i-864-affidavit-support-under-section-213a-ina

[Alaska2012 462]

Now if you have a valid reason to not have filed taxes I guess you are good with just a statement. Otherwise it's fairly easy to file backtaxes

[Anh map 2,098]

If you have earned below the filing requirement for a given tax year you would submit a signed statement to that effect.

If you earned more than the filing requirement (worldwide) then you would need to submit the most recent tax year's return or IRS transcript and be prepared to show the 2 years prior to that (if requested by the consular officer).

[SabrinaJerome 52]

Thank you everyone, that helps a lot.

I definitely earned below the filing requirement from 2012 to the present because I didn't work, and have had virtually no interest on savings accounts or investments.

So, by "statement" I suppose I just write a letter that says as much, and sign it! Yes?

Much better than rushing to do all the back filing... I can try to do that while I wait for the I-130 but if I don't finish, no big deal.

[Anh map 2,098]

Correct, attach the signed letter to the I-864. Some folks have just written the statement on the I-864 itself. I would opt for attaching the statement/letter.

[SabrinaJerome 52]

Oh mannn, thank you so much!

[SabrinaJerome 52]

Now if you have a valid reason to not have filed taxes I guess you are good with just a statement. Otherwise it's fairly easy to file backtaxes

Alaska, can you recommend an easy way to file back taxes?

I'm looking but I'm not sure about some of the sites I'm seeing.

Thanks again.

[mallafri76 1,012]

In regards to using assets, it's three times the FPG for your household size. So if it's just you and your husband in the household, you need a minimum of $60,000 in assets, although they do prefer a bit over that. And it's very much up to the embassy whether or not they'll accept assets.

With the statement, my husband wrote something like "I confirm under penalty of perjury that I have not been required to file taxes in the United States for the past X years due to XYZ". And then he signed and dated it.

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

Alaska, can you recommend an easy way to file back taxes?

I'm looking but I'm not sure about some of the sites I'm seeing.

Thanks again.

You cannot file back taxes electronically because the form changes each year, and the IRS requires taxes to be filed on the respective years form. You will need to go to the IRS website, download the appropriate form, fill it in by hand, and mail in your taxes to the address listed on the form. Any tax preparation site will say the same thing. Some local tax preparation companies like H&R Block can help you prepare the past tax returns, but they will give you everything in an envelope for you to mail in on your own, because they cannot be filed electronically.

[Expat1 971]

Hi, not sure if I'm posting this in the right place.

We live in Spain, so we are not able to do the DCF process to get our CR1.

This question is about the Affidavit of Support.

Before 2011, I worked many years and saved money, then quit to travel, at which point I met my fiancé.

He has been supporting us for the most part through our small business, so I have not had any income and have not filed taxes since 2011. (yes, I know, I'll do it, but I just want to know if I need to file now, for the AOS)

So, in terms of savings, do I understand correctly, that for support of a spouse, you must have on hand 3x the FPL, or 125% of it, something like that?

So it would be somewhere in the range of 16k-20k X 3 = 48k-60k

Yes? And if I have that, I don't need to show a tax return?

Thanks!

You need 3X the 125% of poverty, or about $60k in easily cash-convertible assets. It seems these are defined as assets that could be converted to cash within one year. An account like a 401K for instance is considered eligible.

You need a tax return or a statement declaring that you did not have to file taxes due to not enough income.

The AOS form lists either assets or income, I believe that implies that it applies to anyone and I don't believe it's embassy-specific. What IS embassy-specific, or so I read, is assets for a K1 I-130 are embassy specific. Doesn't apply to married couples.

They spend a little time looking at the sponsor in terms of intent to reside, it seemed to help us that our assets were already parked in a US bank

Good luck

[toddriegel 2]

I just sponsored my wife and I needed to submit 6 months of pay stubs, the original 2014 W2, copies of my 2014 tax return. Each sponsor will need to provide that information to the NVC. I sent a photocopy of the W2 and they notified me saying they want an original. It's optional but you can also send in the last 3 years of W2's and tax returns but since you never filed taxes you won't be able to . When you do you're figuring, make sure you take into account minor children, your fiancee, and yourself.