Pay Stubs vs Employer Letter I-134

[Peot 162]

We have a co-sponsor and one of them asked if 2 months payroll stubs would be adequate in place of an employer letter. The reason being that they asked their employer for the letter and were told yes, however the employer then went on vacation, forgetting about the letter, and won't be back for quite some time.

 

They are going to be providing the last year's tax info, possibly W2s, and have suggested including two months pay stubs to show current employment rather than an employment letter.

 

Anyone think this would be enough?

 

I have read through a few topics here on the pay stubs, and they all seem to be IN ADDITION to other info provided, and aren't clear if an employment letter is then also provided.

[theanswerisdance 144]

Our co-sponsor did not have a letter of employment, however, we submitted much more than 2 months of pay stubs (I think the past 12 months) to show that the co-sponsor had been employed continuously by the same company. Is there any reason why they're only providing 2 months? Have they only been at that job for 2 months? If so then I would think a letter of employment would be valuable as a supplement to the pay stubs. 

[geowrian 22,338]

You would probably be fine with just the paystubs. However, if you are really unable to get the letter of employment, then providing paystubs from further back may be beneficial to show that the job is not temporary or seasonal.

[Devon&Julius 21]

I'm fairly certain the pay stubs coupled with the tax returns will be sufficient.

[Peot 162]

11 minutes ago, theanswerisdance said:

Our co-sponsor did not have a letter of employment, however, we submitted much more than 2 months of pay stubs (I think the past 12 months) to show that the co-sponsor had been employed continuously by the same company. Is there any reason why they're only providing 2 months? Have they only been at that job for 2 months? If so then I would think a letter of employment would be valuable as a supplement to the pay stubs. 

nah, no reason they would only be able to submit the past two pay stubs. I've just read (on most threads here) that a couple months are what people provide, and surprisingly what they offered. They've been working there for several years though.

 

It might just be a matter of whether or not they've even held on to pay slips that long...

[theanswerisdance 144]

Just now, Peot said:

It might just be a matter of whether or not they've even held on to pay slips that long...

That makes sense. In this day and age paper-only versions pay stubs seem so antiquated. We were never supposed to need a co-sponsor (read: USCIS sent us an RFE on the basis that my U.S. military husband made too little income on active duty, which just about made me explode ) and it totally blindsided me. So when my father-in-law, who agreed to co-sponsor but is notoriously messy, couldn't find anything more than his latest crumpled up pay stub in the landfill of stuff in his truck, I actually offered to clean his entire office in exchange for being allowed to look for more paystubs. I was panicked and desperate. It worked out great for both of us...he got a clean office and I found another 11 months of paystubs in the end! If it were me, I'd ask if they have more than 2 available...I photocopied 3 per page for a total of 4 sheets showing 12 months, it didn't take much space and in my opinion certainly couldn't hurt our case...

[Peot 162]

Just now, theanswerisdance said:

That makes sense. In this day and age paper-only versions pay stubs seem so antiquated. We were never supposed to need a co-sponsor (read: USCIS sent us an RFE on the basis that my U.S. military husband made too little income on active duty, which just about made me explode ) and it totally blindsided me. So when my father-in-law, who agreed to co-sponsor but is notoriously messy, couldn't find anything more than his latest crumpled up pay stub in the landfill of stuff in his truck, I actually offered to clean his entire office in exchange for being allowed to look for more paystubs. I was panicked and desperate. It worked out great for both of us...he got a clean office and I found another 11 months of paystubs in the end! If it were me, I'd ask if they have more than 2 available...I photocopied 3 per page for a total of 4 sheets showing 12 months, it didn't take much space and in my opinion certainly couldn't hurt our case...

I just have flashbacks to when I wasn't self-employed. Those pay stubs were completely meaningless to me... who was I going to show them to? What would I need them for? I don't think I held on to a single one. I wouldn't blame people for having to scramble to find them.

 

It's also my impression now though that as long as you can show that you're "currently working", that it should be more than adequate. In other words, a pay stub from 11 months ago isn't as important as one from yesterday. I wonder if it's not overkill to provide more than even one. As you said though "couldn't hurt".

[theanswerisdance 144]

1 minute ago, Peot said:

I just have flashbacks to when I wasn't self-employed. Those pay stubs were completely meaningless to me... who was I going to show them to? What would I need them for? I don't think I held on to a single one. I wouldn't blame people for having to scramble to find them.

 

It's also my impression now though that as long as you can show that you're "currently working", that it should be more than adequate. In other words, a pay stub from 11 months ago isn't as important as one from yesterday. I wonder if it's not overkill to provide more than even one. As you said though "couldn't hurt".

Like geowrian said above, I submitted that many dating back just to show that his employment wasn't temporary or seasonal.

[Peot 162]

6 minutes ago, theanswerisdance said:

Like geowrian said above, I submitted that many dating back just to show that his employment wasn't temporary or seasonal.

True, but this should also be reflected in a W2 form which I believe is downloadable from the IRS site along with last year's taxes... Pay stub of most recent month would simply show that the job still exists.

 

EDIT: My correction. W2 forms CAN be obtained from the IRS for a fee. Probably for a large delay in processing. Easier to just get pay stubs if that's the case.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Peot