Joint Tax return for AOS

[Jun2580 27]

 

I have an AOS interview coming up within a  week, and our case is based on marriage.

 

I currently work under STEM OPT, and I make more than $60000 by myself, and my spouse makes less than what the 125% of poverty guideline says.

We have an immigration lawyer, and he told us that since my income is way more than the 125%, we can use my income for I864 purposes, and that way we don't even need to find a joint sponsor.

 

So we submitted both of our pay stub and tax return for 2017 (We filed it together as a married couple). We did not submit the tax return of past 3 years. We only submitted the most recent year's only (2017).

We did not get RFE.

 

Now come my questions.

1) Is it going to be a problem that we did not submit 3 year tax returns? We only submitted the most recent one only.

2) Which form can be used as proof that we filed the tax return jointly for 2017?  Can I use 1040EZ?

 

3) My spouse changed his job after we applied for AOS, and he makes even less now. I have had the same job and I still make the same amount. Do we both need to bring our pay stub, employment letter, etc?

 

[geowrian 22,337]

1) Three years is not required, and wouldn't be that useful in your case IMO. The pay stubs plus an employment letter should be sufficient for current income evidence.

2) Whether you field jointly or separately doesn't matter to immigration. That's a personal tax liability decision. But a tax transcript would be the simplest way to show a tax return (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript).

3) I would have a a new I-864 ready along with the updated supporting documentation. Don't present it unless asked.

4) If you have an immigration attorney, what did they say to do? Barring a reason not to believe them, I would start there.

[Jun2580 27]

14 minutes ago, geowrian said:

1) Three years is not required, and wouldn't be that useful in your case IMO. The pay stubs plus an employment letter should be sufficient for current income evidence.

2) Whether you field jointly or separately doesn't matter to immigration. That's a personal tax liability decision. But a tax transcript would be the simplest way to show a tax return (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript).

3) I would have a a new I-864 ready along with the updated supporting documentation. Don't present it unless asked.

4) If you have an immigration attorney, what did they say to do? Barring a reason not to believe them, I would start there.

 

1) Okay, I will take my stub and employment letter (even though we submitted them when we applied for AOS). But the thing is, my spouse is a VERY disorganized person, and he lost his last pay stub. For I864 purposes, mostly my income is considered, but do we still need my spouse's paystub and employment letter?

2) I know this is our fault, but since we are less than a week away from the interview, requesting a tax script will not help us get it by the interview... so we are planning to take with us to the interview that tax return forms we have that we got from tax preparing agency. We have 1040ez, but do you think this can be used as proof that we both filed tax return in 2017?

3) Do you think it would look bad if we didn't have an updated I864? Since my lawyer cannot have time anymore before the interview, we are concerned now.

 

4) My lawyer seems to be very optimistic with our case, and just told me to bring my pay stub, my employment letter, and whatever tax documents I got from tax preparing agency. He said I dont even need to bring my spouse's pay stub and employment letter because his income is too low anyway, and only my income is considered. He didnt even mention a new I864...  

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, Jun2580 said:

1) Okay, I will take my stub and employment letter (even though we submitted them when we applied for AOS). But the thing is, my spouse is a VERY disorganized person, and he lost his last pay stub. For I864 purposes, mostly my income is considered, but do we still need my spouse's paystub and employment letter?

2) I know this is our fault, but since we are less than a week away from the interview, requesting a tax script will not help us get it by the interview... so we are planning to take with us to the interview that tax return forms we have that we got from tax preparing agency. We have 1040ez, but do you think this can be used as proof that we both filed tax return in 2017?

3) Do you think it would look bad if we didn't have an updated I864? Since my lawyer cannot have time anymore before the interview, we are concerned now.

 

4) My lawyer seems to be very optimistic with our case, and just told me to bring my pay stub, my employment letter, and whatever tax documents I got from tax preparing agency. He said I dont even need to bring my spouse's pay stub and employment letter because his income is too low anyway, and only my income is considered. He didnt even mention a new I864...  

1) I would try to find it or get a new copy if you are claiming any of her income on the new I-864. They need evidence to support any income on the I-864.

 

2) You can download and print a tax transcript within minutes. No need to have it mailed.

If not doing a transcript, then you need the 1040 (whatever version you filed, such as 1040EZ) + all supporting schedules (W-2s, 1099s, etc.). That will suffice for showing taxes.

 

3) A new I-864 may or may not be requested by the IO. Typically (but not always) they ask if there are any changes on the forms or employment. If so, they may request a new I-864. It's better to have one ready in case that happens versus not having it and getting an RFE to send it afterwards. As noted, no need to present the new I-864 unless asked.

 

4) The new I-864 is precautionary. It's probably not going to be needed based on what you stated, but better to have it and not need it than to not have it. At least that's my take on the process.

It's not that his income won't be considered, just that it's not sufficient in itself.  But I would always advise having supporting documentation for any income or assets being claimed on the I-864. If both incomes are stated, then evidence of both incomes should be provided. If only yours was being listed, then only your evidence is required (plus her tax return copy, as required for any I-864 sponsor).

[Jun2580 27]

15 minutes ago, geowrian said:

1) I would try to find it or get a new copy if you are claiming any of her income on the new I-864. They need evidence to support any income on the I-864.

 

2) You can download and print a tax transcript within minutes. No need to have it mailed.

If not doing a transcript, then you need the 1040 (whatever version you filed, such as 1040EZ) + all supporting schedules (W-2s, 1099s, etc.). That will suffice for showing taxes.

 

3) A new I-864 may or may not be requested by the IO. Typically (but not always) they ask if there are any changes on the forms or employment. If so, they may request a new I-864. It's better to have one ready in case that happens versus not having it and getting an RFE to send it afterwards. As noted, no need to present the new I-864 unless asked.

 

4) The new I-864 is precautionary. It's probably not going to be needed based on what you stated, but better to have it and not need it than to not have it. At least that's my take on the process.

It's not that his income won't be considered, just that it's not sufficient in itself.  But I would always advise having supporting documentation for any income or assets being claimed on the I-864. If both incomes are stated, then evidence of both incomes should be provided. If only yours was being listed, then only your evidence is required (plus her tax return copy, as required for any I-864 sponsor).

1) OKay, I will try to find it... but what could happen at the interview if we could not find the paystub? He will be getting a new paystub on that interview date, but waiting for the paystub will make us get to the interview late. So if we can't find it, we will have to go without any pay stub from his new employment. Could it lead to a denial on our case, solely because of this missing document?

 

2) To get a transcript online, you need to create an account first. But it asks for credit Card, student loan, mortgage, or auto loan to verify your identity. Unforutnately, we don't have an account, and we don't have any of these, and so we cannot create an account. So the only option to get a transcript is by mail, which we don't have time for.  We will take the 1040ez, and W2's from both of us for 2017 only.  (Only the most recent year return will suffice, rigtht?)

 

3)4) Since my lawyer cannot have time by the interview, if we do want a new I864, we will need to make one ourselves. Now, I864 asks for how much income we made in the previous year etc,,, how can we provide that information though?

We applied for AOS in April 2018, and my US spouse was working for employer A. And he quit in June 2018, and he got hired by employer B in August 2018. And in September we got an interview notice letter. Also, since he didn't keep any pay stub and did random overtime work, we are uncertain how much he has made so far since the hire date. Could we just guesstimate how much he has made based on his hourly rate? 

[geowrian 22,337]

38 minutes ago, Jun2580 said:

1) OKay, I will try to find it... but what could happen at the interview if we could not find the paystub? He will be getting a new paystub on that interview date, but waiting for the paystub will make us get to the interview late. So if we can't find it, we will have to go without any pay stub from his new employment. Could it lead to a denial on our case, solely because of this missing document?

 

2) To get a transcript online, you need to create an account first. But it asks for credit Card, student loan, mortgage, or auto loan to verify your identity. Unforutnately, we don't have an account, and we don't have any of these, and so we cannot create an account. So the only option to get a transcript is by mail, which we don't have time for.  We will take the 1040ez, and W2's from both of us for 2017 only.  (Only the most recent year return will suffice, rigtht?)

 

3)4) Since my lawyer cannot have time by the interview, if we do want a new I864, we will need to make one ourselves. Now, I864 asks for how much income we made in the previous year etc,,, how can we provide that information though?

We applied for AOS in April 2018, and my US spouse was working for employer A. And he quit in June 2018, and he got hired by employer B in August 2018. And in September we got an interview notice letter. Also, since he didn't keep any pay stub and did random overtime work, we are uncertain how much he has made so far since the hire date. Could we just guesstimate how much he has made based on his hourly rate? 

1) Denial? No, I wouldn't worry about that. Possibly an RFE at worst, and even then it seems a little unlikely. Does he have an employment letter at least?

 

2) Since you filed jointly, either one of you can request it. Neither of you have any identity proofing documents? If not, then yeah, you will need tro have it mailed OR just skip the transcripts and provide the 1040/1040EZ + supporting schedules.

Yes, only most recent year is fine.

 

3) There's 2 separate income type fields on the I-864. One is for current income. This is how much you expect to earn in a 12 month period, and will be supported by your pay stubs / employment letters. The other type is your income as reported on your past 3 tax returns. These are copy/pasted from your income tax returns. Presumably they haven't changed from your original I-864 submitted with the I-485 packet (unless you amended taxes since filing).

How much he made previously in the year is irrelevant. They are asking for current income, which is what he expects to make in a 12 month period. So weekly paystub * 52 weeks = current income (or if bi-weekly paychecks then multiple by 26 pay periods instead).

 

Edit: Some examples

1) If I work for the first 6 months of a year then get laid off, my current income is $0.

2) If i don't work for the first 6 months  of a year then get hired making $50k/year, then my current annual income is $50k.

Edited October 24, 2018 by geowrian

[Jun2580 27]

14 hours ago, geowrian said:

1) Denial? No, I wouldn't worry about that. Possibly an RFE at worst, and even then it seems a little unlikely. Does he have an employment letter at least?

 

2) Since you filed jointly, either one of you can request it. Neither of you have any identity proofing documents? If not, then yeah, you will need tro have it mailed OR just skip the transcripts and provide the 1040/1040EZ + supporting schedules.

Yes, only most recent year is fine.

 

3) There's 2 separate income type fields on the I-864. One is for current income. This is how much you expect to earn in a 12 month period, and will be supported by your pay stubs / employment letters. The other type is your income as reported on your past 3 tax returns. These are copy/pasted from your income tax returns. Presumably they haven't changed from your original I-864 submitted with the I-485 packet (unless you amended taxes since filing).

How much he made previously in the year is irrelevant. They are asking for current income, which is what he expects to make in a 12 month period. So weekly paystub * 52 weeks = current income (or if bi-weekly paychecks then multiple by 26 pay periods instead).

 

Edit: Some examples

1) If I work for the first 6 months of a year then get laid off, my current income is $0.

2) If i don't work for the first 6 months  of a year then get hired making $50k/year, then my current annual income is $50k.

 

3) I am a bit confused on this one. I am looking at I864, but I don't know which part you are referring to by "current income".

Also, in this case, can I skip the tax return information part? Also, this document was initially prepared by my lawyer, and I am not sure what he entered in the 2nd Most Recent and 3rd Most Recent income.. for the past 3 years. because we only provided the most recent tax return.... Or can you skip this at all?

[geowrian 22,337]

2 hours ago, Jun2580 said:

3) I am a bit confused on this one. I am looking at I864, but I don't know which part you are referring to by "current income".

Also, in this case, can I skip the tax return information part? Also, this document was initially prepared by my lawyer, and I am not sure what he entered in the 2nd Most Recent and 3rd Most Recent income.. for the past 3 years. because we only provided the most recent tax return.... Or can you skip this at all?

Part 5, #7 (page 4) asks for the sponsor's current individual income. This is where your spouse will put their current income level.

Part 5, #8, #20 (pages 4-5) asks about household member income. This is where your current income can be included.

 

Part 5, #24a-c is where the tax return numbers will come from. This is not an optional field. It is line 22 from the 1040, or the AGI from a 1040EZ. Income from all 3 years is required to be listed even if you only provide a copy of the tax return for the current year.