I-864 Form help! proof of relationship

[Gpetroshuk 1]

I am trying to fill out this form but i have a couple of questions. First, i would like to qualify for this on my own but from what I understand we need to provide at least 3 years worth of tax returns to qualify? My husband and I both work overseas, and were grad students. I have just worked for the past year. So in this case I would only be able to provide 1 year. Also, we don't have a job in the US yet so we cannot provide more proof of income. Would it be enough to write a letter explaining the situation and providing proof of this along with the amount we have in savings, which is more than the required poverty line? Or would it be safe to just to go with a co-sponsor?

 

My brother has agreed to be a co-sponsor since we will be staying with him once we move back to US and get settled. He and his wife file taxes jointly. Would they both need to fill out the I-864 form or would his wife need to file the I-864A? Or, would she not need to fill out a form at all??

 

last unrelated question: I'm confused as to when we were supposed to provide proof of relationship (pictures, letters, emails..etc)? I was under the impression that we provide that during the interview since it was not mentioned in the I130 packet of required materials. I submitted our marriage license only. Now, we have scheduled the interview and I still don't see that it's required anywhere? Did i miss it ? Should I take this with me to the interview just in case?? We are filing out of a foreign country where we have been living together and the process is going well, I dont want to miss a step and ruin the process.  

 

Help!!

[aleful 1,905]

yes, in the instructions of the i130, it clearly states that you must send proof of bona fide marriage

 

you were lucky they didn't request an RFE asking you for the proof. you send some with the i130 and the majority is presented at the interview

 

you would submit the i864 as the primary sponsor regardless of your income. your brother would file the i864 and his wife the i864A as his household member

 

proof of relationship between you and your brother are copies of birth certificates, proving that you are siblings

 

 

[Gpetroshuk 1]

Thank you for your reply, the checklist I received from the embassy just said proof of marriage...and gave primary source as a marriage license. I forgot to mention I also provided our apartment contract, which shows we have lived together for the past 3 years. I guess I am lucky they didn't ask for more, I will take all our proof to the interview just in case. 

 

I just find that there are checklists but there ends up being more that is required so I have to double check everything. The checklist we got from the uscis for the interview says nothing about proof of relationship between me and my brother. It's good to know though, in case they ask, I will be ready. 

 

Thanks !! 

[laulholley 28]

On 3/28/2017 at 4:17 AM, Gpetroshuk said:

I am trying to fill out this form but i have a couple of questions. First, i would like to qualify for this on my own but from what I understand we need to provide at least 3 years worth of tax returns to qualify? My husband and I both work overseas, and were grad students. I have just worked for the past year. So in this case I would only be able to provide 1 year. Also, we don't have a job in the US yet so we cannot provide more proof of income. Would it be enough to write a letter explaining the situation and providing proof of this along with the amount we have in savings, which is more than the required poverty line? Or would it be safe to just to go with a co-sponsor?

 

My brother has agreed to be a co-sponsor since we will be staying with him once we move back to US and get settled. He and his wife file taxes jointly. Would they both need to fill out the I-864 form or would his wife need to file the I-864A? Or, would she not need to fill out a form at all??

 

last unrelated question: I'm confused as to when we were supposed to provide proof of relationship (pictures, letters, emails..etc)? I was under the impression that we provide that during the interview since it was not mentioned in the I130 packet of required materials. I submitted our marriage license only. Now, we have scheduled the interview and I still don't see that it's required anywhere? Did i miss it ? Should I take this with me to the interview just in case?? We are filing out of a foreign country where we have been living together and the process is going well, I dont want to miss a step and ruin the process.  

 

Help!!

RE: co-sponsor - You will definarly be required to have a co-sponsor that is a US citizen/LPR who lives in the US.  I had my grandfather fill out the I-864 and my grandmother the I-864a because they file taxes jointly. Even though my gfather made 5x more than the minimum, I felt like it was a "better safe than sorry" situation since they file jointly.

 

We don't have DCF in Croatia (I wish we did!!!), but as I understand you take all the documentation you would have sent to the NVC to the embassy instead. So you would need AOS forms, financial documents, proof of marriage, police certificates for beneficiary, intent to re-establish domicile (since the US citizen lives abroad) etc.... all the documents from the "document cover sheet" with the barcode.

Edited March 29, 2017 by laulholley

[Gpetroshuk 1]

16 hours ago, laulholley said:

RE: co-sponsor - You will definarly be required to have a co-sponsor that is a US citizen/LPR who lives in the US.  I had my grandfather fill out the I-864 and my grandmother the I-864a because they file taxes jointly. Even though my gfather made 5x more than the minimum, I felt like it was a "better safe than sorry" situation since they file jointly.

 

We don't have DCF in Croatia (I wish we did!!!), but as I understand you take all the documentation you would have sent to the NVC to the embassy instead. So you would need AOS forms, financial documents, proof of marriage, police certificates for beneficiary, intent to re-establish domicile (since the US citizen lives abroad) etc.... all the documents from the "document cover sheet" with the barcode.

 

 

thank you, the information for the finance form is what I needed to know and the forms can all be a bit confusing. Definitely going through the DCF has been a faster process. I have a list that the USCIS sent us regarding the forms that he needs to present at the interview. AOS is not one of them nor intent to re-establish domicile (that one I found out about by reading forums and just research on google). Its not specified on the checklist, but I would like to have it just in case. Why would we need an AOS form?  

 

I also feel that because it is a DCF there are many steps that we have skipped and I get confused when I see other's timeline and see all these extra approvals and things, so I worry that I have missed many things. 

 

thanks for your help!

Edited March 29, 2017 by Gpetroshuk

[laulholley 28]

The things on the list are the evidence that EVERY case is required to present, but often (due to special circumstances such as the petitioner living abroad, not meeting income requirements etc) cases need additional proof that is not listed.

 

Sorry about not being clear earlier. AOS stands for Affidavit of Support and that is form I-864 and it's supplemental proof (financial documents such as tax returns, w-2s, and proof of current employment).

 

Here is a helpful thread about intent to re-establish domicile:

 And since are cases are so similar, here is a list of my documentation (some of your stuff might be a little different since you are DCF):

 

-document cover sheet (with barcode)

-packet content sheet (created by me for clarity)

 

FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS
-AOS I-864 petitioner
-tax returns petitioner
-w-2s petitioner
-birth certificate petitioner
-copy of passport petitioner

 

-AOS I-864 joint sponsor
-tax returns joint sponsor
-w-2s joint sponsor
-copy of passport joint sponsor

-AOS I-864a household member of joint sponsor

-copy of passport, household member of joint sponsor

 

PROOF OF RELATIONSHIP
-marriage certificate, international version
-birth certificate child 1
-birth certificate child 2
-identification cards petitioner/beneficiary showing address
-petitioner Croatian visas

 

DOMICILE
-lease in the US (my family's residence)
-quote moving company
-quote vehicle shipping company
-quote vehicle insurer
-correspondence from US schools re: registering children

 

OTHER INCLUDED DOCUMENTS
-birth certificate beneficiary with translation
-copy of passport beneficiary
-police certificates
-receipt AOS bill
-receipt IV bill
-2 correctly sized photos of beneficiary (in a ziploc bag stapled to sheet of paper with: name, DOB, case number on back)
-confirmation page DS-261
-confirmation page DS-260

[Gpetroshuk 1]

16 hours ago, laulholley said:

The things on the list are the evidence that EVERY case is required to present, but often (due to special circumstances such as the petitioner living abroad, not meeting income requirements etc) cases need additional proof that is not listed.

 

Sorry about not being clear earlier. AOS stands for Affidavit of Support and that is form I-864 and it's supplemental proof (financial documents such as tax returns, w-2s, and proof of current employment).

 

Here is a helpful thread about intent to re-establish domicile:

 And since are cases are so similar, here is a list of my documentation (some of your stuff might be a little different since you are DCF):

 

-document cover sheet (with barcode)

-packet content sheet (created by me for clarity)

 

FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS
-AOS I-864 petitioner
-tax returns petitioner
-w-2s petitioner
-birth certificate petitioner
-copy of passport petitioner

 

-AOS I-864 joint sponsor
-tax returns joint sponsor
-w-2s joint sponsor
-copy of passport joint sponsor

-AOS I-864a household member of joint sponsor

-copy of passport, household member of joint sponsor

 

PROOF OF RELATIONSHIP
-marriage certificate, international version
-birth certificate child 1
-birth certificate child 2
-identification cards petitioner/beneficiary showing address
-petitioner Croatian visas

 

DOMICILE
-lease in the US (my family's residence)
-quote moving company
-quote vehicle shipping company
-quote vehicle insurer
-correspondence from US schools re: registering children

 

OTHER INCLUDED DOCUMENTS
-birth certificate beneficiary with translation
-copy of passport beneficiary
-police certificates
-receipt AOS bill
-receipt IV bill
-2 correctly sized photos of beneficiary (in a ziploc bag stapled to sheet of paper with: name, DOB, case number on back)
-confirmation page DS-261
-confirmation page DS-260

ok, some of these are similar to what we have and some are not, especially the "other documents". I will contact the embassy just to make sure. I appreciate you taking the time to help me out! 

Edited March 30, 2017 by Gpetroshuk

[laulholley 28]

I am happy to help! I was so lost until I found this website and the helpful people on this forum. I could have moved back to America years ago if I knew the things I have learned here

[April Mora 91]

I'm using a company called RapidVisa to help me with filing my petition. Their income requirements calculator says this for your state of Texas (this is income required to support you and one beneficiary):

 

For a non-immigrant visa Affidavit of Support (Form I-134) such as a K1 or K3 visa your income must be at least $16,240. 

For an Adjustment of Status petition or an immigrant visa Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) such as a CR1 or IR1 your income must be at least $20,300.

You might be able to use assets and/or a joint sponsor to help you meet the requirements

[April Mora 91]

Also, if you need any other evidence, you can have friends and family members write letters about your relationship (how long they've known about it, how you met, if they've seen you together) and have them sign the affidavits and notarized. 

 

I only provided photos of us and our families together (and our wedding), marriage cert., affidavits from 3 people, joint accounts (credit cards), and wedding ring receipts. My petition was accepted by the USCIS on 3/18.

[Gpetroshuk 1]

1 hour ago, April Mora said:

Also, if you need any other evidence, you can have friends and family members write letters about your relationship (how long they've known about it, how you met, if they've seen you together) and have them sign the affidavits and notarized. 

 

I only provided photos of us and our families together (and our wedding), marriage cert., affidavits from 3 people, joint accounts (credit cards), and wedding ring receipts. My petition was accepted by the USCIS on 3/18.

Thank you for your reply, I qualify with my current income however I am only able to show the past year since I was in grad school the two previous years. So even though our income qualifies it's not for a long enough period unfortunately. My petition was accepted as well which is why I am confused about when to show that proof other than my marriage license and proof we have lived together for the past 3 years. He has his interview on April 10th and I just want to make sure I have all the paperwork and backup if I need. It's a bit confusing because we are filing directly at the embassy here in Korea and it seems that many steps are skipped (because they are done all at once at the embassy) and some required documents are not on the list to submit during the interview. 

 

I appreciate you taking the time to reply. God knows I can use all the information I can get. Just hope it all goes smooth. I submitted my petition Feb 13 2017..so things have been moving quickly. Just hope I'm not missing anything. Thank you and good luck on your journey !!

Edited March 30, 2017 by Gpetroshuk