I-864 Add Intending Immigrant's Income

[Jun2580 27]

I am married to an American citizen and currently working on OPT. Whenever we get money right, we are going to apply for AOS. 

I was reading the instructions of required documents, and in i-864 form, I found this line:

 

If you included the income of the intending immigrant who is your spouse, you must provide evidence that his/her income will continue

from the current source after obtaining lawful permanent resident status, and the intending immigrant must provide evidence  that he 

or she is living in your residence.

 

This passage has me confused. What does "continue from the current source after obtaining lawful permanent resident status" mean?

I am working on OPT and currently making more than Poverty Line's 125%, but my American spouse isn't, so I would like to add my income 

to my spouse's income, and I think that way we don't need to use the help of a joint sponsor. 

From this passage, do they mean I cannot quit my job after getting my green card, at all? It does not make sense to me. 

What if I can find a better-paying job or switch to a different location? 

 

Also, how can you predict if you can continue getting the pay from the same source/company? Even if you don't quit on your own, 

the company might suddenly lay you off even if your work performance is great. 

What can be considered as evidence that the income will continue from the same source? Can anyone please clarify this passage for me?

 

[geowrian 22,337]

It's not saying you cannot change jobs. It's saying that upon being granted a green card, you must show that you able to continue earning the income from the same source (i.e. still be employed by them)? For instance, some visa holders have jobs overseas or jobs tied to their current status, which will no longer be available.

 

If you were to change jobs or get laid off or something before AOS is approved, then your income would need to be updated if/when presenting a new I-864.

 

As for evidence of what to show, I'm not entirely sure what they accept. But a work contract/employment letter would be my assumption.

Edited October 13, 2017 by geowrian

[Jun2580 27]

geowrian,

Thanks for your reply.

But how long do I have to keep working for the same company after getting a green card? 

It is not specified and I am still confused... It only says the income must continue from the same source after getting a permanent resident status. 

[geowrian 22,337]

34 minutes ago, Jun2580 said:

geowrian,

Thanks for your reply.

But how long do I have to keep working for the same company after getting a green card? 

It is not specified and I am still confused... It only says the income must continue from the same source after getting a permanent resident status. 

Exactly 0 days. There's no requirement to work a particular job with a green card.

For the I-864, you need to show that the income source will still be available at the time. It doesn't mean you have to keep working there for any fixed period of time.

[Jun2580 27]

geowrian,

Thank you again.

So in our case, even if my USC spouse is not making enough income, I can add my income from OPT, right? It will be a few times more than the Poverty Line's 125% line. 

 

Now my concern is, is there any requirement on how long you have to have been working before adding your income onto your spouse's in order to satisfy the income requirement? 

I got my job on OPT only 6 months ago, and I have not made "annual" income yet, nor did I file a tax return including tax information from my current OPT job.

Does this make me unqualify from adding my income to my spouse's? 

I really want to avoid using a joint sponsor because it can just take more time..

[geowrian 22,337]

Yes, it appears you meet the requirements to add it tot he household income. But just to be clear, if/how they consider it for addressing the public charge concern is another issue. More info on that below.

 

There's no statutory minimum timeframe to have a job. The IO will take take into consideration the totality of the circumstances to address concerns of the intending immigrant becoming a public charge. Normally, the I-864 addresses this because the sponsor is agreeing to reimburse those expenses if it happens. When all the income is coming from the intending immigrant, what happens if an event occurs and you need public assistance? The IO will look at the circumstances to determine that risk. Nobody can say for sure what they will decide. Some people have done this successfully, while others were asked for a joint sponsor because the Io felt it was too risky.

 

Personally, I would suggest having a joint sponsor (or at least one ready in case you get an RFE). A recent job shortly after school, presumably pretty young, etc. cause me to believe that they may request a joint sponsor.

[Jun2580 27]

27 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Yes, it appears you meet the requirements to add it tot he household income. But just to be clear, if/how they consider it for addressing the public charge concern is another issue. More info on that below.

 

There's no statutory minimum timeframe to have a job. The IO will take take into consideration the totality of the circumstances to address concerns of the intending immigrant becoming a public charge. Normally, the I-864 addresses this because the sponsor is agreeing to reimburse those expenses if it happens. When all the income is coming from the intending immigrant, what happens if an event occurs and you need public assistance? The IO will look at the circumstances to determine that risk. Nobody can say for sure what they will decide. Some people have done this successfully, while others were asked for a joint sponsor because the Io felt it was too risky.

 

Personally, I would suggest having a joint sponsor (or at least one ready in case you get an RFE). A recent job shortly after school, presumably pretty young, etc. cause me to believe that they may request a joint sponsor.

 

Thank you again for your very precise and quick reply always.

Okay, that makes sense. Luckily my spouse's mother said she would happily help me out as a joint sponsor. 

 

If you have time, could you please take a look at my other question that I asked about 12 hours ago, which I still have no reply to? :/

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration! 

Below is the question.

 

[geowrian 22,337]

Unfortunately, the requirements to obtain OPT are not my specialty, so I'll defer on that thread. I think Coco8 tends to know that space better (as well as many others). So it might not hurt to tag him there and see if he's willing to provide input.