7 "Affidavit of Support" Questions

[Joon And Cassie 1]

Hello to all of my fellow lovebirds and applicants out there! Hope everyone is having a nice day! My name is Cassie, and I have accumulated several questions as time has gone on. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and answer anything they know about! God bless! ^^

 

Facts:

I am 44, American, female

Fiance is 49, Korean, male

NOA1 is as far as we've gotten, thus far.

 

Cosponser:

My mother, whom I have lived with for almost 4 years now

She is 66 in age

Very vibrant lady, just retired from 30 years of teaching 2^nd grade

Her Income is $45,800 per year (retirement + social security as of this year)

 

Living arrangements:

To start out, we will live with my mother [donno if this matters but we reside in Oklahoma]

Living here will be 4 people: me, my 16 year-old daughter, my fiancé, and my mother 

Me, my mother, and my daughter all have our own separate incomes. [My 16 year-old daughter works at a pizzeria, mom gets retirement + social security, and I receive social security]

As I stated, I do receive social security disability at this time and while it is enough in everyday life to keep my fiancé and me afloat, it is not, by law, enough to bring my fiancé here. I already know that. Way under.

 

The Questions:

1.)    My mother just now retired. She worked the 2015/16 school year. Do I still have to provide her last three years of taxes, or since her income has changed do I just obtain proof of the retirement/social security?

2.)    Am I myself, as the petitioner, obligated to also send in documentation of my own income, though I already know that it is not enough to be approved?

3.)    I am currently attending college for my Master’s degree and have probably about 3 semesters to go. Should I send proof that I am in school, and will "showing that I am moving toward a goal” help the situation?

4.)    I am also recovering from multiple surgeries. Will I have to turn in any kind of medical papers to anyone during this process to help explain the reason for my income, so that they can see that I am not just (for lack of a better word at the moment,…) “sitting around?” [I am the one petitioning for him to come here]

5.)    I have heard that the USCIS looks closely at the age of a cosponsor. Would a notarized letter from my mother help them to understand that she is very healthy and vibrant, is very fond of her future son-in-law, and is more than willing to cosponsor?

6.)    If they reject my mother as a cosponsor, is my K-1 Visa totally over at that point? In other words, do I just have to reapply later when my own financial situation is better, like is that my only next choice?

7.)    Will my being on Medicare/Medicaid (medical assistance for the aged, disabled, or people with lower incomes) hinder anything even though we have a cosponsor?

 

 [btw, we do not at all plan on being on assistance. My fiancé is the hardest working man that I have ever seen. He just cannot come over here and immediately start work due to all the legalities, so we are just trying to get him here and get started, that’s all. He will start work as soon as possible. I wish I could explain my full situation in detail but I don’t think any of you guys have the time for all that “gobbedlygook” so I’m trying really hard to just stick with the facts. ^^]

 

In summary, my main reason to ask these questions is that I have heard and read that sometimes USCIS will reject a cosponsor, even if their income is above the poverty guidelines, because of the cosponsor’s age. Also, though we’ve not quite reached the income proof point yet, I know that it is coming, so mom and I are just trying to prepare and trying to make sure that her applying to be a cosponsor is at least a viable route.

 

I do apologize for this list of questions being quite lengthy! Thanks again to anyone who offers their time, experience, and/or answers. Happy New Year To All! ^^

 

-Cassie

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2017 by Joon And Cassie

[EandH0904 1,184]

I am no expert, no government official and the only things I know are things I've read on my own so please do not misinterpret any information I say as factual, because I could be wrong. 

 

I was under the impression that by having a co-sponsor you are "guaranteeing" that the beneficiary will not be using any sort of federal assistance program. Having said that, when you get married, he would need private insurance, because he wouldn't be entitled to Medicaid, is your mom willing to pay for that? Letting someone stay in her home is one thing but using her money to actively pay for things he needs may be another. $45,000 a year isn't THAT much money (and it's really sad that's what our teachers get paid after 30 years, but that's another story entirely). How will your being married affect YOUR SSI and/or Medicaid? Your financial aid for school? 

 

If he is the type that really wants to work, maybe the CR1 would have been a better route as he could have gotten a job right away, but you can't change it now. He will have to wait to work. 

 

It's great that you are trying to go back to school to work towards something in the future, but this is the present - is there maybe less physically demanding work that you could do at least part time? I know that everyone is different, but if I had limited funds, I would do everything in my power to change that BEFORE I brought someone else over here. It doesn't matter that your mom may be healthier than everyone on VJ - she is still 66 and retired and I *do not* work or know about how USCIS works or decides these things, so I don't know what they would think about all that. 

 

I guess you will just have to wait and file your I-134 at the interview (or whenever Korea has you do it) and see what happens at that time. All we on VJ can give you is speculation as we haven't been through a similar situation. 

[Joon And Cassie 1]

19 minutes ago, EandH0904 said:

I am no expert, no government official and the only things I know are things I've read on my own so please do not misinterpret any information I say as factual, because I could be wrong. 

 

I was under the impression that by having a co-sponsor you are "guaranteeing" that the beneficiary will not be using any sort of federal assistance program. Having said that, when you get married, he would need private insurance, because he wouldn't be entitled to Medicaid, is your mom willing to pay for that? Letting someone stay in her home is one thing but using her money to actively pay for things he needs may be another. $45,000 a year isn't THAT much money (and it's really sad that's what our teachers get paid after 30 years, but that's another story entirely). How will your being married affect YOUR SSI and/or Medicaid? Your financial aid for school? 

 

If he is the type that really wants to work, maybe the CR1 would have been a better route as he could have gotten a job right away, but you can't change it now. He will have to wait to work. 

 

It's great that you are trying to go back to school to work towards something in the future, but this is the present - is there maybe less physically demanding work that you could do at least part time? I know that everyone is different, but if I had limited funds, I would do everything in my power to change that BEFORE I brought someone else over here. It doesn't matter that your mom may be healthier than everyone on VJ - she is still 66 and retired and I *do not* work or know about how USCIS works or decides these things, so I don't know what they would think about all that. 

 

I guess you will just have to wait and file your I-134 at the interview (or whenever Korea has you do it) and see what happens at that time. All we on VJ can give you is speculation as we haven't been through a similar situation. 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow you bring up a lot of great points! I feel very stupid as I did not even think some of this through! Wow! Thank you! But, this does bring up another question, a little off my topic but I soooo do not understand it. 

 

[quick side note - yes I agree totally with what you said about teacher pay!]

 

People have told me we should have done the marriage visa, but from what I understood, if we marry on a tourist visa that is totally illegal and he could be banned from staying here, for many years Was I wrong? Did I miss something? I do not understand the circumstances under which people can marry and then file for the marriage visa without getting into trouble for marrying on a tourist visa.

 

Even the consulate's assistant here told me that my only totally legal way was through a fiance visa. Hmmm so confused ^^

 

Of course like you had stated above, I am no USCIS offical. ^^ I am so new to all this! lol

 

Thank you by the way for taking the time to reply to my post. I so appreciate it and will definitely consider all you said!

 

I'm just curious about this other part, the marriage visa. I'm still so unclear on how anyone gets those marriage visas in the first place ! [I know it's too late for me to do it now, just curious...] ^^

 

-Cassie 

Edited January 3, 2017 by Joon And Cassie

[EandH0904 1,184]

You're right you can not get married on a tourist visa. 

 

You could have gone to his country to get married though, and filed a CR1 afterwards. It's cheaper and he could work from day 1 of landing in the US but it takes somewhat longer. 

 

There is a guide on here about the different types: 

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

 

 now that you have filed the K1 you'll just have to deal within the ramifications of what you filed though and figure it out as you go. It's been a learning process for all of us going through it.