London Embassy: Form I-134 and I-864 (w/ Co-Sponsor)

[Rob&Jen 14]

Hi there.

I'm in need of advice from my fellow Brits who have passed through the K1 process via London. Specifically in relation to the Affidavit of Support.

My situation is this:

My fiance only works part-time earning barely $10,000 per year before tax. We have a co-sponsor who earns over $40,000 and is happy to sign the forms. He is unmarried and has no children but he does live with a girlfriend. He is/was my fiance's neighbour before he moved one town over a few years ago. I have met him and his partner on several occasions over the last 7 years.

I have asked my fiance to gather the following documents for both herself and my co-sponsor and would like to know if I should include anything else:

Tax transcripts from 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Copies of recent pay stubs to be gathered nearer my interview date.

A signed letter on company headed paper from their employers stating the nature of their employment and their annual salary.

A signed letter from my co-sponsor explaining how we are acquainted and reaffirming his wish to sponsor me.

Now the instructions for the I-134 state that a letter from the bank is required to show when the account was open and the total deposits. I would like to know from personal experience if that is a definite requirement because we would both rather stick to the evidence we already have. I do not have any worthwhile assets to contribute and will only have roughly £3,500 saved once the visa is paid and my savings for the AOS and ROC removed.

How strict is London when it comes to co-sponsoring on a K1? And how might this impact me when it comes time to file for the I-864?

Thanks in advance.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

For a LONDON K1 interview the I-134 and this:

signed letter on company headed paper from their employers stating the nature of their employment and their annual salary.

Or this:

Tax transcript from 2015.

Get both if you want a backup and are nervous about it.

And only from the joint sponsor.

Positive.

How easy is that?

I -864 is stricter. Both provide I-864 and most recent tax return/transcript. Joint sponsors income is enough. He can add employer letter and pay stubs as optional evidence. It's all in the instructions for the form. Fiancé doesn't need anything more than tax return for I-864 because he/she doesn't qualify anyway.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Nich-Nick

[yuna628 9,676]

We used a co-sponsor in London: The I-134 should only be from the co-sponsor, an employer letter and a single most recent tax transcript will suffice as evidence. I can tell you they will only give it a glance over and nothing very strict at all. If you're not using bank assets then leave it blank and no evidence regarding that is needed. They may or may not ask a few questions regarding the co-sponsor (they did in our case) - such as who they are and what they do.

Other than that, you should do just fine.

[Rob&Jen 14]

Thank you both. It's a relief to know London are reasonable about this stuff. They must deal with thousands of everyday people who aren't in the best financial situation.

[Tom169 54]

We used a co-sponsor in London: The I-134 should only be from the co-sponsor, an employer letter and a single most recent tax transcript will suffice as evidence. I can tell you they will only give it a glance over and nothing very strict at all. If you're not using bank assets then leave it blank and no evidence regarding that is needed. They may or may not ask a few questions regarding the co-sponsor (they did in our case) - such as who they are and what they do.

Other than that, you should do just fine.

So just leave the other fields on question 7 blank? And only fill in the income? (if it is a good income)

[TBoneTX 45,301]

*** Country-specific thread is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the UK regional subforum. ***

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

So just leave the other fields on question 7 blank? And only fill in the income? (if it is a good income)

Yes. They do not require the rest of #7 (asset questions) if the sponsor can pass on current income alone.

[Rob&Jen 14]

Yes. They do not require the rest of #7 (asset questions) if the sponsor can pass on current income alone.

Situation update:

My co-sponsor has 3 years transcripts showing an income well above the 125% but he recently lost his job and is looking for another. On top of that a tax mishap from several years ago has suddenly come up and he's now having to file for bankruptcy to clear this up. As you can imagine this comes at the worst possible time as I'm currently trying to gather my financial evidence before I book my interview.

He's already filled in the form I-134 with his previous job details and dated it before he lost his job. If I present this at my interview will it still be valid?

We're hoping he'll be working again before it comes time to send in the I-864 (mid-October).

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

The correct answer is, "no it's not valid if he is no longer employed." The dodgy answer is, "how will they even know?" That ought to open a can of worms around here.

[Rob&Jen 14]

The correct answer is, "no it's not valid if he is no longer employed." The dodgy answer is, "how will they even know?" That ought to open a can of worms around here.

They don't run any checks so "how will they even know?" is something my fiance and I will have to consider. We have no one else who can help us otherwise.

It's looking like we'll have to base the I-134 on his old job plus 2015 tax return and hope he finds a job between now and the I-864.

[Rob&Jen 14]

They don't run any checks so "how will they even know?" is something my fiance and I will have to consider. We have no one else who can help us otherwise.

It's looking like we'll have to base the I-134 on his old job plus 2015 tax return and hope he finds a job between now and the I-864.

Another alternative is that I take out a loan for the income difference. In our case it would be roughly $13k times 3 = $39k (£30k).

I already have savings to support myself until I get a job but not enough to meet the requirements. So the money from the loan would only be for show and will be paid back with interest once my affidavit is appoved at AOS.