Assets, my business, and taxes?

[microcebus 40]

I’m sorry that this is an amendment of something I posted in my previous topic, but I hope it’s different enough to deserve its own topic.

 

My fiancee and I just got engaged, and we are working on our I-129F.  She is from Singapore and a permanent resident of Australia.

 

The main roadblock I see in getting her K-1 visa approved is my income.  I am self-employed.  2016 was the only really good year I've had in business (roughly 4x poverty level).  In 2017, I took most of the year off from working for clients to do a business training program.

 

I didn’t find out about the income requirement on the K-1 until around October.  Although I scrambled to land as many clients as I could, I still ended up with revenue of around 100% poverty level.  I am already in talks for new work with one of my clients from this quarter.  The new work with them might get me over poverty level for 2018 by the end of Q1, by itself.  But in any case, the 3 previous years’ tax returns trick probably won’t work for me because I only had one year above poverty level from 2015-17.

 

I also won’t have an idea of what my AGI for the year is until I’ve done my taxes.  The difference between income and revenue is huge here because I reinvested so much of my earnings in my business this year.  I won't know if my business even turned a profit for the year (after 4 straight years of being profitable) until I do my taxes for 2017.

 

Several weeks ago, my parents told me that they are not willing to be joint sponsors for us.  They were our best option.  However, they are still full speed ahead on trying to get us to buy a house and plan our wedding.  They told me that my assets (which include over $100k in 3 bank accounts, plus two retirement accounts which are worth much less) should be more than enough to get her application approved.  

 

But I ran this through RapidVisa’s calculator, which told me that I needed about another $3000 in assets.  (I even tried adding another zero to my bank balances - same result!)  This doesn’t seem right.

 

My questions:

 

1. Some sites tell me that we could get denied based on my low income, without making any mention of assets.  When it comes to getting my fiancee’s visa approved, does the amount of money I have in the bank even really matter? 

 

2. My fiancee has a well-paying job in Australia and very marketable skills.  How can that influence whether or not we get approved?

 

3. I have a single-member LLC (for tax purposes, it’s the same as a sole proprietorship), and about a third of my money is in a checking account for the business.  The business is just me, though.  Do I need to transfer this money over to a personal account for it to count?

 

4. Should I leave my business expenses and other deductions out of my taxes this year in an effort to raise my AGI so that we can get approved?

 

5. My assets are in my bank accounts, and from what I’ve read our house (if we buy one) does not count as an asset.  At what point would we be able to buy a house together?

 

6. Is a case like ours "not straightforward" enough that we need to seriously consider getting a lawyer instead of doing things ourselves?

Edited December 29, 2017 by microcebus
accepted -> approved

[Marzena & Stephen 544]

I don't think it will matter if you use a lawyer or not..frankly I think most who didn't use a lawyer were better off in the long run.  

In regards to income I just read this regarding assets since it looks like you're unable to get a cosponsor. (Btw cosponsoring is a pretty big deal. It's a 10 yr commitment (even if you get divorced) so im not surprised when people dont want to cosponsor. Nothing personal)

 

This is what I read online...

If you have plenty of assets that be used instead of income, you have the option to include this and you will not be asked to provide tax transcripts. You will need to submit evidence of the value of your assets and their location. Not all assets are acceptable though, for example, a house cannot be used to show your assets because it is not liquid.

Only liquid assets are accepted by the USCIS:

• rental income
• dividend income
• savings account balance
• stocks, bonds, CODs
• immigrants savings, assets

But, here’s the catch: your assets must be 5X the minimum income requirement! This is where most people cant get past because that is a lot of assets to prove. 

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by Marzena & Stephen

[Marzena & Stephen 544]

So I could be mistaken but it looks like 16240x5 is what is required 

 

Sponsor's Dependents	100% of Poverty Guidelines (Fiancé Visa)	125% of Poverty Guidelines (Green Card)
2	$16,240	$20,300

Edited December 29, 2017 by Marzena & Stephen

[K&N2609 68]

You can provide your tax transcripts and add the assets on top of it. You only have to make up for how much you are under the proverty line. E.g. If you have to make 17k for the year but you only made 12k. Then you are under by 5k, which would be 5000x5=25000 in assets. I know you said you might not profit this year. But in case you do make a profit. Hope that helps

Edited December 29, 2017 by K&N2609

[microcebus 40]

On 12/29/2017 at 4:03 AM, Marzena & Stephen said:

I don't think it will matter if you use a lawyer or not..frankly I think most who didn't use a lawyer were better off in the long run.  

In regards to income I just read this regarding assets since it looks like you're unable to get a cosponsor. (Btw cosponsoring is a pretty big deal. It's a 10 yr commitment (even if you get divorced) so im not surprised when people dont want to cosponsor. Nothing personal)

 

This is what I read online...

If you have plenty of assets that be used instead of income, you have the option to include this and you will not be asked to provide tax transcripts. You will need to submit evidence of the value of your assets and their location. Not all assets are acceptable though, for example, a house cannot be used to show your assets because it is not liquid.

Only liquid assets are accepted by the USCIS:

• rental income
• dividend income
• savings account balance
• stocks, bonds, CODs
• immigrants savings, assets

But, here’s the catch: your assets must be 5X the minimum income requirement! This is where most people cant get past because that is a lot of assets to prove. 

 

 

On 12/29/2017 at 4:08 AM, Marzena & Stephen said:

So I could be mistaken but it looks like 16240x5 is what is required 

 

Sponsor's Dependents	100% of Poverty Guidelines (Fiancé Visa)	125% of Poverty Guidelines (Green Card)
2	$16,240	$20,300

 

On 12/29/2017 at 5:44 AM, K&N2609 said:

You can provide your tax transcripts and add the assets on top of it. You only have to make up for how much you are under the proverty line. E.g. If you have to make 17k for the year but you only made 12k. Then you are under by 5k, which would be 5000x5=25000 in assets. I know you said you might not profit this year. But in case you do make a profit. Hope that helps

5x the minimum requirement isn't an issue since I have over $100k in the bank across several accounts (personal and business).  The problem with the amount of assets I have becomes twofold:

• At what point can we buy a house? 
• Is the fact that over 1/3 of my savings are in a business account (for a business that is just me) instead of my personal account a problem?  (And can I fix that quickly without raising red flags?)

I live an in area with a very high cost of living, and my fiancee is adamant about not moving somewhere cheaper.  One of the reasons why my parents refused to cosponsor was effectively, "You have enough assets, so don't worry about it."

 

Does anyone know the answers to my first 5 questions in the original post?

[Marzena & Stephen 544]

18 minutes ago, microcebus said:

 

 

5x the minimum requirement isn't an issue since I have over $100k in the bank across several accounts (personal and business).  The problem with the amount of assets I have becomes twofold:

• At what point can we buy a house? 
• Is the fact that over 1/3 of my savings are in a business account (for a business that is just me) instead of my personal account a problem?  (And can I fix that quickly without raising red flags?)

I live an in area with a very high cost of living, and my fiancee is adamant about not moving somewhere cheaper.  One of the reasons why my parents refused to cosponsor was effectively, "You have enough assets, so don't worry about it."

 

Does anyone know the answers to my first 5 questions in the original post?

All i can say is I wouldn't deplete your savings account until after you guys have your green card as you will be submitting another affidavit of support called the i864 when your fiance files for adjustment of status (aos) where again you will need to prove income. I think after your fiance has a green card You should be okay but don't quote me on that.

[microcebus 40]

On 12/30/2017 at 9:09 PM, Marzena & Stephen said:

All i can say is I wouldn't deplete your savings account until after you guys have your green card as you will be submitting another affidavit of support called the i864 when your fiance files for adjustment of status (aos) where again you will need to prove income. I think after your fiance has a green card You should be okay but don't quote me on that.

Is this the permanent or conditional green card?

 

I expect my income to go up dramatically beginning next year because I was in a business training program for most of 2017.  (I almost have enough work secured for next quarter alone to be over the poverty cutoff for 2018.)  For my sponsorship obligations, can we tell the government at some point in the future that my income is now sufficient for us to not have to rely on my savings?

[Villanelle 4,122]

On 12/29/2017 at 12:09 AM, microcebus said:

 

 

My questions:

 

1. Some sites tell me that we could get denied based on my low income, without making any mention of assets.  When it comes to getting my fiancee’s visa approved, does the amount of money I have in the bank even really matter? 

 

2. My fiancee has a well-paying job in Australia and very marketable skills.  How can that influence whether or not we get approved?

 

3. I have a single-member LLC (for tax purposes, it’s the same as a sole proprietorship), and about a third of my money is in a checking account for the business.  The business is just me, though.  Do I need to transfer this money over to a personal account for it to count?

 

4. Should I leave my business expenses and other deductions out of my taxes this year in an effort to raise my AGI so that we can get approved?

 

5. My assets are in my bank accounts, and from what I’ve read our house (if we buy one) does not count as an asset.  At what point would we be able to buy a house together?

 

6. Is a case like ours "not straightforward" enough that we need to seriously consider getting a lawyer instead of doing things ourselves?

1. Not true. They look at income and assets. If you dont have enough income then you can use assets.

2. No impact

3. If the money is in the business then its technically not yours, it belongs to the business. I know this is splicing words but words matter. If the business was applying for a loan (think Shark tank) then the assets belong to the business and not YOU personally. Youd have to pay yourself from the business and then reinvest your own money back into the business if the business needed it. The question is what will the CO reviewing your case think. No one can tell you that. But for  assets you have to show that you have them for at least a year to prevent temp transfer-ship to meet the requirements. 

4. That would be the best but youd have a hefty tax bill probably

5Buy a house whenever you want (?)

6 a lawyer cant help you make the numbers out of thin air. They can only help you fill out the forms.

[Marzena & Stephen 544]

10 hours ago, microcebus said:

Is this the permanent or conditional green card?

 

I expect my income to go up dramatically beginning next year because I was in a business training program for most of 2017.  (I almost have enough work secured for next quarter alone to be over the poverty cutoff for 2018.)  For my sponsorship obligations, can we tell the government at some point in the future that my income is now sufficient for us to not have to rely on my savings?

The i864 is filed after marriage when you are applying to adjust your status. "Aos" to get a conditional green card and a work permit. Youd have to use your moat recently filed taxes so I'm assuming that will be 2017 taxes for you..as you won't file for aos until sometime within 2018 hopefully. 

 

 

Sorry I'm not sure about the 2nd part of your question. I have only heard of them basing it on the transcipts/taxes as that is legit but payslips or income earned might not hurt to show them with an explanation but don't quote me on that

Edited January 3, 2018 by Marzena & Stephen