Document proof / evidence for I-864W (Affidavit of Support - Waiver)

[abhivar 2]

Greetings!

 

My wife and self are beneficiaries to pending I-130 petitions.

 

I had accumulated more than 40 qualifying credits, while my wife was always a homemaker right through our previous stay in the US. Left in 2005. No benefits claimed during that period, or after.

 

Unable to obtain online access for self generating statements. The turn around time for a form based statement request (SSA-7004) is very high.

 

I was wondering whether the Social Security statement dated as old as 2004 (that has a record of all yearly earnings and contributions since 1992 and up to 2004) be sufficient to show as proof or documentary evidence. Both for myself, and my wife (who I understand may be eligible to 'claim' based on my contribution). Also have a screen print of SSA's mainframe application screen of my SSN for 2016, if that might help - Not a proper statement, though.

 

Appreciate your thoughts/advise on this.

 

Thanks.
 

 

 

 

[abhivar 2]

Anyone?

[Villanelle 4,122]

Huh I guess your post got lost in the forums- its odd for no one to reply all week!

So first thing- you want to be sure that the 40 credits you earned that you want to give to your wife were all accumulated during your marriage. Any credits from before you were married do not count. 

Second- I hope you ordered the SSA statement a while ago and its on its way soon (?) I get what you want to try to submit- the old printout and the proof you are trying to obtain a current one- and honestly its got a 50-50 shot at satisfying them. I can see how it technically meets the burden of proof, but its also out of date. They (the adjudicators) have discretion on what to accept and what to reject. So 50-50. If they dont like it you will get an RFE with 87 days to respond. Will you have the copy in time?  (thats if you filed in the US and not going through NVC.) If you are going through NVC I believe they are flexible in waiting for RFE proof. You basically are frozen until they get it because they wont send you to Embassy with out it being good enough for them. They dont actually approve it. They just look to see its technically OK and then it goes to the Officer in the Embassy to approve. So if NVC doesnt mind it being an old statement it will move on and then its up to the Officer to be ok with it or ask you for something newer. If NVC doesnt like it, it wont move on. 

[abhivar 2]

On 2/11/2017 at 10:13 AM, Damara said:

Huh I guess your post got lost in the forums- its odd for no one to reply all week!

So first thing- you want to be sure that the 40 credits you earned that you want to give to your wife were all accumulated during your marriage. Any credits from before you were married do not count. 

Second- I hope you ordered the SSA statement a while ago and its on its way soon (?) I get what you want to try to submit- the old printout and the proof you are trying to obtain a current one- and honestly its got a 50-50 shot at satisfying them. I can see how it technically meets the burden of proof, but its also out of date. They (the adjudicators) have discretion on what to accept and what to reject. So 50-50. If they dont like it you will get an RFE with 87 days to respond. Will you have the copy in time?  (thats if you filed in the US and not going through NVC.) If you are going through NVC I believe they are flexible in waiting for RFE proof. You basically are frozen until they get it because they wont send you to Embassy with out it being good enough for them. They dont actually approve it. They just look to see its technically OK and then it goes to the Officer in the Embassy to approve. So if NVC doesnt mind it being an old statement it will move on and then its up to the Officer to be ok with it or ask you for something newer. If NVC doesnt like it, it wont move on. 

Thank you very much, for the detailed response. Much appreciate it.

 

NVC will be involved, as we are doing CP (Living overseas).

 

A statement request (SSA-7004) has just been UPSed to SSA office in PA with a request to send out the statement to my daughter's address there.

 

Hope to get it in a few weeks.

 

Since my wife and I (beneficiaries of I-130 petitions) will be the one's that will be claiming the exemption (i-864W), I am assuming that my daughter (petitioner) will not need to do anything with respect to Affidavit of Support. Am I correct? If so, at what stage and through what form do I tell NVC to not expect a proper I-864 from my petitioner.

 

Thanks again.

 

Cheers!

[abhivar 2]

Update: Although yet to receive an official/written communication, I gather that my case was reviewed on 9/22 and that a checklist for missing I-864 will soon be generated and emailed to me.

My Comments/Questions: Shocked at this outcome, while I await the email, I wish to reach out to solicit your comments on the following, given that I had submitted (i) a signed i-864w form together with (ii) SSA Earnings Statement dated 3/31/2017 (SSA-7005-SM-OR, most recent at the time of applying), (iii) A Cover Note, (iv) A complete background of my case and previous stay and history of work while formerly residing in the US, (v) An undertaking and a self-declared Affidavit that no means tested public benefits were ever claimed by me.

1. Mine is a straight forward case of eligibility for i-864W (reasons shared earlier). What is the use of this waiver form, if I am considered ineligible for exemption? Or, is it a case of an education issue of my Application reviewer?. (I remember that this (lack of knowledge/understanding of the reviewer) being a problem around 2014 period, but thought that NVC had addressed this training issue since).

2. Even if one were to file i-864 finding a sponsor(s) to get past this issue, technically, it would cease to be effective right off the bat, as the life/duration of such guarantee/undertaking via i-864 terminates instantly upon the beneficiary acquiring 40 SSA Qualifying credits (which I already have).

3. Is it right to do the wrong thing by requiring the petitioner (US Citizen student that has never worked/earned) to complete an i-864 and then find an additional sponsor to do the i-864a? Although I could somehow manage this, it simply does n’t feel right for me to go this route

4. Do I have other options, such as requesting to speak to a Supervisor/Reviewer/Tier II officer, etc?. I believe it is not fair to expect me to submit wrong forms and stuff and have me get to the end-of-the line of cases pending review - for no wrong doing on my part, to the best of my belief and knowledge.

Your Thoughts/Comments or Suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[aleful 1,905]

hi

 

did you live and work legally in the country all those years?

 

or were you both illegally in the country? did you enter on a visa that allowed you to work legally all those years?

[abhivar 2]

51 minutes ago, aleful said:

hi

 

did you live and work legally in the country all those years?

 

or were you both illegally in the country? did you enter on a visa that allowed you to work legally all those years?

Yes, both of us entered and lived legally during the entire period. While I worked with valid work authorization, my wife was a full-time homemaker that never worked.

 

We both also held Green Cards before we left the US Shores.

[aleful 1,905]

then until you receive the written request, It is just speculation

 

since they are separate petitions, I don't see why your son didn't file the i864 for your wife, you're the one that worked, your wife didn't and they are separate petitions and normally you would each need a separate i864

 

the i864A would be for your son's spouse or sibling living in the same house, if the other person is a joint sponsor, the other person would also file an i864

 

unfortunately, if they don't accept the i864W, then your son would need to send an affidavit for each of your the petition would be denied and closed

 

has he consulted with an attorney?

 

 

[abhivar 2]

19 minutes ago, aleful said:

then until you receive the written request, It is just speculation

 

since they are separate petitions, I don't see why your son didn't file the i864 for your wife, you're the one that worked, your wife didn't and they are separate petitions and normally you would each need a separate i864

 

the i864A would be for your son's spouse or sibling living in the same house, if the other person is a joint sponsor, the other person would also file an i864

 

unfortunately, if they don't accept the i864W, then your son would need to send an affidavit for each of your the petition would be denied and closed

 

has he consulted with an attorney?

 

 

I agree that it will remain speculative, pending receipt of an email communication from NVC. Wished to be proactive and see if there was an outside chance of preempting generation of a checklist citing valid arguments (in case the checklist has not been generated already).

 

My wife can receive credit by virtue of my contribution to SSA. Therefore, she becomes eligible for i-864W as well as per the rules without the involvement of any Sponsor(s) - based on my understanding.

 

[Nova77 2]

Greetings! I am new to the community, and am searching for answers on document proof for I-864W. Thank you for your posting. Did your petitioner have to submit I-864?  Is your social security benefit statement acceptable in supporting your I-864W? 

Thanks!

[Dritan 1]

SSA.gov . You can get the social security statements required for i-864w. Anyways if you havent worked for 10 or more years in the U.S , don’t file i-864w, because it’s gonna get send back , they will send a REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE instead of telling you that you don’t qualify for it so file i-864 . That’s what happened to me , just giving you heads up. You can file only 1 of the two forms, depending on which one you qualify . If you dont meet the requirements for EXEMPTION i-864w , don’t sent it , you are gonna delay the process . 

[abhivar 2]

Nova77, 

 

As posted earlier, I had lived in the US for about 15 years with SS contributions in excess of the required 40 quarters before abandoning my first green card. I was really firm in standing my ground w.r.t applicability of exemption in my situation, even though not everyone working on my case was familiar. Eventually, my I-864W was accepted. Even after approval, this came up during my in-person interview. The officer claimed that my I-864 was missing! I insisted on speaking to the Consular General if no one was aware of the applicability of the rule. Fortunately, my officer took my case file to discuss with the consular general and returned to confirm that I was right. A few days later we returned to the US.

 

I agree with Dritan's suggestion. If you do not have clear 40 quarters of credit and your Social security statement does not explicitly state "benefits eligible", I too would recommend to not pursue that route. This will cause serious delay in addition to the RFE, if your situation is not the same. 

 

Good Luck!

  

[Nova77 2]

Thank you both very much for your advice! 

[James D 39]

On 2/26/2019 at 11:10 PM, Dritan said:

SSA.gov . You can get the social security statements required for i-864w. Anyways if you havent worked for 10 or more years in the U.S , don’t file i-864w, because it’s gonna get send back , they will send a REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE instead of telling you that you don’t qualify for it so file i-864 . That’s what happened to me , just giving you heads up. You can file only 1 of the two forms, depending on which one you qualify . If you dont meet the requirements for EXEMPTION i-864w , don’t sent it , you are gonna delay the process . 

I am investigating this for my wife. She worked for companies for nearly 3 years back in 88-90 and a short while in '94. Since then we have filed jointly and she has declared income and paid social security tax. We are looking for her second green card. As her sponsor and husband I have retired with benefits. She has not taken benefits. Can my 40 hours before benefits count or do we need her hours too, partially or entirely? We tried to open a "my social security" account for her, but the address is giving us trouble.

[Villanelle 4,122]

10 hours ago, James D said:

I am investigating this for my wife. She worked for companies for nearly 3 years back in 88-90 and a short while in '94. Since then we have filed jointly and she has declared income and paid social security tax. We are looking for her second green card. As her sponsor and husband I have retired with benefits. She has not taken benefits. Can my 40 hours before benefits count or do we need her hours too, partially or entirely? We tried to open a "my social security" account for her, but the address is giving us trouble.

She can count any credits she earned herself (would show on her SSA statement record) and any credits you earned during the marriage. You can only earn 4 credits a year. If you worked part time you may not have earned the max of 4. So assuming she did get 4 each of the 4 years she worked shes up to 16. That leaves 24 credits short that need to come from your side, and would need 6 years of marriage that you worked during earning said credits. Does that make sense?  Also try calling SSA about her records. I know some times people outside the US have problems using the online systems with them.