221(g) London Interview

[RealDrift 0]

So I got the dreaded 221(g) form at my K1 interview. I wanted to self-sponsor and despite having a few tens of thousands of pounds in my bank account the officer decided I needed a US sponsor.

 

My questions are:

 

1) Is there any point in contacting them to re-consider my self-sponsorship, the officer barely looked at my bank statement.

 

2) The 221(g) form seems to be incorrect as it states the sponsor must submit an I-864 which I understand is required at the Adjustment of Status stage. Has the officer just mistakenly given me the wrong form or should I indeed have my sponsor submit an I-864 form instead of the I-134?

 

3) The form says the sponsor should submit their most recent tax return, W2 wage and tax statement. Do they require both documents or just one will suffice? I don't think my fiance's mother has filed her taxes for 2017 yet and so will the 2016 return be good? I don't know how US tax works and I presume if she hasn't submitted her 2017 tax return then she won't have her 2017 W2 from her employer either right? Can paystubs for past 6 months or something count for anything?

 

4) The officer gave me an email address my sponsor can submit the documents to. Later today I received an email from the us-visa.info website (where UK applicants go to schedule their interview) that I must courier them to the London consulate. What should I do. Was the officer being nice by giving me a direct email to save me time or did he give me incorrect information and I must indeed submit by post? If I submit via email they will not have my sponsor's "wet signature", will that not pose a problem?

 

I am really gutted by the outcome but I can't get bogged down in the negativity and must look at the positives. I have filled out the online form on the the consulate's website but I doubt they'll reply. I really hope someone on here can give me some advice.

 

Thanks

Edited June 14, 2017 by RealDrift
incomplete

[prenouveau 46]

I think you'll be able to get this sorted. I don't have answers to all your questions, but a few things:

 

-I don't think many people have luck asking them to re-consider, general advice is to just give them what they ask for

-Your sponsor wouldn't have filed 2017 taxes yet, that doesn't happen until 2018. So 2016 is the most recent. She can get her tax transcripts online from irs.gov and print them out, this is the better than a copy of your return. I would include the 2016 W-2 as well, since they specifically asked for it.  

-You could email electronic versions AND courier the hard copies, that's probably what I would do.

 

Not sure about the 864 vs 134, hopefully someone else can answer that.

Edited June 14, 2017 by prenouveau
typo

[RealDrift 0]

2 minutes ago, prenouveau said:

I think you'll be able to get this sorted. I don't have answers to all your questions, but a few things:

 

-I don't think many people have luck asking them to re-consider, general advice is to just give them what they ask for

-Your sponsor wouldn't have filed 2017 taxes yet, that doesn't happen until 2018. So 2016 is the most recent. She can get her tax transcripts online from irs.gov and print them out, this is the better than a copy of your return. I would include recent W-2s as well, since they specifically asked for it.  

-You could email electronic versions AND courier the hard copies, that's probably what I would do.

 

Not sure about the 864 vs 134, hopefully someone else can answer that.

 

Thank you for your reply. In April when all Americans are to file their taxes do they not file for the previous year? So this April they would file taxes for 2016? Is that correct? If so the most recent return she'd have is 2015? Or maybe I'm getting it wrong, I'm sorry.

[Tracy-->NY 40]

The most recent income year is 2016.  In April 2017 the return to be file would be for the previous income year which would be 2016.  A 2015 return should have been file in April 2016. 

Edited June 14, 2017 by Tracy-->NY

[RealDrift 0]

Just as I thought. So my sponsor needs to file her 2016 return and then order the transcript online. Where can W2's be obtained from? are they sent in the mail by the employer at the end of each year or can they too be obtained online?

 

I hope someone else can pitch in about whether it's the I-864 or I-134 form.

 

Thanks

[Boiler 45,486]

I 134

 

Sounds like you got a new guy who did not know what he, or she was doing.

[prenouveau 46]

2016 would be the most recent and your sponsor should have already filed earlier this year, unless she is filing late. If she hasn't filed yet, the transcript wouldn't be available online immediately. So in that case, she would need to give you a copy of the full return after filing.

[prenouveau 46]

Oh and regarding the W2, she would have received it in the mail from her employer in January or February.

[RealDrift 0]

Thank you very much for the replies.

 

Once she files the return how does she go about giving me a copy of the return? Does she literally just photocopy it or will it show up on the IRS website?

 

 

[prenouveau 46]

She'd give you a copy of all the paperwork she's submitting to the IRS. Do you know if she'll file electronically?  If she uses IRS e-file or something like Turbo Tax, she should have an electronic version of the return at the end, and can email that to you. If she is doing paper file, then yes, a photocopy or scan. 

 

I assume her salary over the minimum? When we filed for K-1 (I'm the US citizen) we included everything we had - 3 years of tax transcripts, a letter from my employer stating my income and status of my job, and my last six pay stubs. They barely looked at it at the embassy, but I felt it was best to be overly thorough.

[RealDrift 0]

I don't know whether she'll file it online or by mail but both options will work as you say. I plan on submitting the following:

 

I-134

3 year's past tax returns/transcripts

3 year's past W2s

Past 6 month's pay stubs

 

Is there a difference between a tax transcript vs a tax return? Will both serve the same purpose?

 

I shall submit the above via email and then via post too and just hope and pray. It's been nearly a year since I last saw my Fiance so it's a bit disheartening to have to go through yet another step which will end up delaying things for God knows how long. Even if I get them everything by next week I have heard it could take them weeks to process it?

[prenouveau 46]

Tax transcript and return serve the same purpose, you don't need both. Sounds like you're being very thorough. I asked about your sponsor's income because I wasn't sure if the reason you were trying to self-sponsor was because your fiance does not meet the minimum. If she doesn't, you may want to research whether they would be considering your own assets in conjunction with hers, or if they are throwing out your self sponsorship and only considering her income. I don't know a lot about self sponsorship but there are some threads about it on VJ.

[RealDrift 0]

Sorry I forgot to answer about the income. The reason I chose to self-sponsor was because my Fiance didn't meet the income requirements. I took my Fiance's I-134 and my bank statements to the interview. Now that the officer has thrown out my self-sponsor attempt I shall have my fiance's mother sponsor me. She would have sponsored me at the AOS stage anyways so maybe it's good she get her paperwork in order now. 125% for 3 in a household is around $25k I believe?

 

I shall keep you updated on the outcome. I hope they will be satisfied with the email because if they wait upon the hard copies then the matter will be delayed by another couple of weeks on top of the time it takes for them to make a decision once they have everything.

[prenouveau 46]

Sounds good. Yes, looks like it's 25,525 for 3. Hopefully it'll be quick for you!

[RealDrift 0]

So the application finally says Issued on CEAC tracking

 

Below is the timeline for anyone who comes across this thread in the future and finds themselves in similar shoes:

 

21st June - Submitted the relevant documents via email (we ended up not posting hard copies)

27th June - CEAC tracking changes from 'Administrative Processing' to 'Application Received'

28th June - CEAC tracking changes back to 'Administrative Processing'. This time however it says 'NonImmigrant' (which is apparently a sign the application will be approved

3rd July - CEAC tracking changes to 'Issued'

 

It is now the 5th and I am still awaiting information on the passport being posted back to the collection depot I selected when I booked my interview. Any ideas? Should I call that DXS depot?

 

Thanks