Financial Requirement Question

[Nikki14 4]

Hey,

 

Me and my fiance have been dating for over 2 years (we met on World of Warcraft), he lives in Canada and I live in the US. I am currently unemployed and am searching for a job and I had some questions about the process in regards to the financial side of things.

 

My brother has agreed to co-sponsor him (he has a good job working indirectly for the government), and I'm pretty sure he makes enough alone to meet the financial requirement. He is a blood relative that lives in the same house, if that makes any difference, I read somewhere it can. But I figure it would probably be better for me to wait until I actually get a job to start the whole process. So, I was wondering how long after I get a job would it be a good idea to wait until starting the paperwork? Will it be a huge problem if it isn't a great job/if I don't get paid a lot since I will have a co-sponsor? And I hear tax returns are typical proof of income, but this job obviously won't show up on last year's taxes, so I don't know what I would do about that.

 

Also my brother claims my mother on his tax returns, I'm fairly certain. So the household size would be 4 for the financial requirement, correct? (Me, fiance, bro, mom).

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

[afortunada 182]

Plenty of people start the process without a job and get approved without any issues (as long as they have a joint sponsor). I would get started now, because it's not exactly a short process

 

The household size would only be 3, unless your brother claims you on his taxes. Then it would be 4 (this is all assuming that your brother DOES claim your mother).

 

For a household of 3, your brother needs to make at least $25,200 annually. For a household size of 4, a minimum of $30, 375 annually.

 

Good luck!

Edited February 10, 2017 by afortunada

[Nikki14 4]

Thanks! And no, my brother doesn't claim me, so the household size being 3 is good to hear, he for sure makes more than required for that.  I didn't know you could really get approved while being unemployed, so that actually makes me feel a lot better if that's the case. The whole process just seems entirely overwhelming, but I suppose you just sort of gather one thing at a time and work from there.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Funny story.

I met my husband on WoW, he's from Canada, and I was unemployed at the time.

Less funny story.

He received a 221G for a SECOND cosponsor, because I was unemployed. While people say oh it's fine, people do it all the time, it was a pretty big gut punch when that was the thing that delayed our K-1 visa. We used my mother as our first cosponsor, who made more than needed for her household. The CO was worried about me being unemployed and told my husband (at the time fiance) that everything was in order, he was just worried about the financial side of things, and even pointed out that we technically met the requirements, but that if he could get another cosponsor as further insurance then he'd be alright. Needless to say, we got a second cosponsor, and he had the visa within 7 days of sending the paperwork back to the embassy. A friend we had met on WoW years ago ended up being our second cosponsor lol.


The financial side of things is 100% up to the CO. If they have a bad feeling about your financial situation, like you've been unemployed for a while, or jump jobs, they can ask for more financial info or another cosponsor.


Just be aware, we were completely shocked when it happened to us as, we TECHNICALLY met the requirements and well, Mainly because of the nonchalantness on how unemployment with a cosponsor is treated here on VJ. When a lot of people tell you you'll be fine, but then a CO says no it's not good enough, it's hard.



That being said, you having ANY form of job, regardless of pay is better than nothing. Even though my mom wasn't considered good enough to cosponsor K-1 alone, when we did my husbands AOS, I had just started working  (only on the job for 2 months at the time of applying) and wasn't making that much at all, but it was enough for the AOS.


Note: None of this is to worry you or scare you. Just be aware of the possibilities. I didn't even think it was a possibility at the time until he happened. I thought meeting the requirements were enough, and didn't factor in consular discretion.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Ash.1101

[KimchiLumpia 315]

I recommend finding and securing a job AND having enough money in the bank to start and finish the K1 Visa process.

 

As we all know, the K1 Visa process has a lot of unforeseen financial expenses that seem to pop up at the worst times.  

 

For example, my fiance is from Vancouver BC Canada.  Just last year in 2016, the US Embassy in Vancouver stopped conducting K1 Visa interviews.  All K1 Visa interviews for Canada are now conducted in Montreal.  This change alone will cost us another $1000+ for flight, hotel, etc.  Also this past Dec 23, 2016, the USCIS raised their K1 Visa and other application fees.

Your numbers may "qualify" you.  But, make sure you and your family have the funds to complete the entire process.  Unfortunately, its not cheap.  

Good luck!

[Nikki14 4]

Thank you guys so much for all the wonderful information. I've done a lot of reading, but there are a lot of gaps that government forms and instructional websites just don't fill in very well. We absolutely don't wanna rush this and screw it up, even if it means we have to be apart for a bit longer, as much as that sucks. 

 

I think my plan for now is to continue the job search and get as much of the paperwork together as I can (print photos/proof of our travel/forms we need), then as soon as I get a job send it all away. Hopefully it shouldn't take too long. Savings for filing fees/travel expenses isn't really a huge problem for us, since he works and doesn't really have any bills (lives with his parents), so we have been saving up in prep for this for a good while. I'm absolutely not worried about us having the money to complete the process, just that we can get through the financial requirements for them to approve us.

 

But you don't necessarily get denied outright or have to reapply if the financial stuff gets rejected, just provide another cosponsor/more financial info for them (and hope they accept that then)?

Also, one other question, what would I have to get for proof of being employed to show them, if my job is fairly new when I apply? Cause some sites said bank statements/tax returns, but if it is a new job it wouldn't be on my taxes and no site could seem to agree on how many bank statements were a good idea.

Thanks again for answering some of my questions, feeling a little less lost all the time, haha.

[Delirium 114]

In terms of proof, I submitted my pay stubs from the last 6 months, tax return, and a letter from my employer stating how much I made annually as well as my employment status. Bank statements aren't really sufficient proof  unless you have a substantial amount in your account.

 

You will also need a co-sponsor for his AOS  (which now costs $1225) if you don't find employment by the time you guys file for that. It can be the same person who co-sponsors the K1 of course, but keep that in mind!  

Edited February 12, 2017 by Delirium

[Ash.1101 1,756]

3 hours ago, Nikki14 said:

 

 

But you don't necessarily get denied outright or have to reapply if the financial stuff gets rejected, just provide another cosponsor/more financial info for them (and hope they accept that then)?

Also, one other question, what would I have to get for proof of being employed to show them, if my job is fairly new when I apply? Cause some sites said bank statements/tax returns, but if it is a new job it wouldn't be on my taxes and no site could seem to agree on how many bank statements were a good idea.

Thanks again for answering some of my questions, feeling a little less lost all the time, haha.

Yes, you don't get outright denied. You would receive a 221G with considerations asking for more paperwork basically, and then it would list what they want. Normally, as long as you send in what they ask, it's no problems.

Also if your job is new you can ask your boss to write a short letter stating that you were hired on X-date, saying the job is tempeorary or permanant and that you are projected to make Y amount of money per year. You also should include pay stubs from the time you started the job to say a month or so before the interview.


Ideally your strongest form of proof is:

Tax transcript
Tax Return + W2 Combo
Pay stubs
Employer letter

and then bank statements if you plan on claiming assets. There's no need to show a bank statement unless you claim assets to help you meet the poverty limits.


If you didn't file taxes the year before, you would simply include a letter saying that you didn't file taxes for the year 20XX because you didn't meet the requirements, because you made 0 dollars that year, etc. Basically the reason you didn't file, as long as it's a legal reason, such as making under the threshold, you just write a letter explaining it.