I-864, Previous tax report missing, Leave it blank?

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

6 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

It isn't just VJ, it is pretty much every single immigration site since the early 2000s state this same information. Legal sites, law blogs, immigration blogs, immigration forums, etc. they all state this same thing but not a single one references where it comes from. So I did some more in depth research and I believe much of this belief stems from the following phrase in the USCIS Adjudicator's Field Manual - Redacted Public Version: 

"Tax transcripts provide proof that the returns were filed with IRS, are easier to read, take up less room in the file, and are easily obtained. If a sponsor submits a transcript rather than a photocopy of the tax return, it is not necessary for the sponsor to include copies of any Forms W-2 or 1099." Found here: https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-2872/0-0-0-3055.html 

 

The USCIS doesn't state explicitly and externally that they are preferred, they just deem something acceptable or not acceptable. Internally though, the above sentence IMHO clearly shows a preference for tax transcripts by listing all of the reasons they are better than a tax return. That makes this more of a semantic discussion, of what is the intended meaning of preferred here. If by preferred you mean will one get you a better result with a tax transcript than with a return, then no. Legally tax transcript = tax return plus supporting info. On the other hand, if by preferred you mean that internally to make their lives easier they would rather see a tax transcript than a tax return plus required supporting  info, then based on the above instructions above I would say yes. 

Thanks for looking that up!

IMO though it'll depend on the person's taxes

Our 1040ez plus w2 and 1099 is less about the same amount of pages as the transcript. That's probably not the case for many ppl, and the transcript is just one documenta which is indeed simpler to read.

I would agree that there is a preference for of ease of handling, and yes I meant preference in regards to having a potential impact on a person's case outcome. That's how I feel that many ppl seem to interpret it when ppl tell them it's preferred, i.e. "I have less chance of an rfe", or similar - which is, as you point out, not the case. 

6 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

This is a fair point and I stand corrected. An RFE would be exceptionally unlikely in this situation.

 

EDIT: Also, it looks like they have sped up the response time for tax transcripts by mail. It used to be one month, now they list it as 5-10 days in the mail. That is a much more acceptable response time.

Much more reasonable!

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

I also didn't mean it was "just VJ" when I said "here on VJ". I'm aware that it's quoted everywhere.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

6 hours ago, geowrian said:

Patience. The secret is patience and an unlimited phone plan. I spent over an hour on hold to get a hold of an actual person who could answer a tax question about the first time homebuyer's credit several years ago. Those waits have gone up dramatically due to cuts as well.

To be fair, the person I got did actually know what they were talking about. So that's a step up from the USCIS line.

Yea... if it takes over an hour... it's not the kind of patience I have... 

[Dutchster 1,107]

I used 2015 transcript tax return for my RFIE and they accepted it. While it might say nowhere on the gov website that it is preferred, it is easier for the officer since everything is on that paper. No additional papers needed like W2's etc.