Adjustment of Status and Petition checklist:

[JustVolume 4]

Hi everybody! My wife and I are extremely tight on money, and cannot possibly afford a lawyer. In fact, I’m so surprised we are able to pay for the Petition and Adjustment of Status and still have a few hundred dollars left over. That said, I’m a sucker for paperwork, and I enjoy filling out applications. However, I’m no lawyer, and I’m bound to have made a few mistakes or missed a paper or two. Would the nice people here help make sure I have all my paperwork?

 

Current status: F1 Student Visa. My I-20 will expire on the 17th December due to me graduation and I will apply within the next few days or during my grace period. 

 

So far, I’ve done these:

 

- I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. This is the paperwork my wife fills out for me to sponsor me on her behalf. Seemed relatively easy. + I-130A Supplemental Beneficiary Info

 

- I-485 Adjustment of Status. Being an F1 Student who is about to graduate in a few days, I plan on adjusting my status from non-immigrant to immigrant. Again, all seems very straightforward and direct. No trick questions or hard ones.

 

- I-765 EAD Application. Once more, very very straightforward. Will apply for a work permit. Filing will be free since I plan on submitting everything at once. 

 

- I-864 Support Affidavit. HERE is where I’m scratching my head a lot. Now, like I previously said, my wife doesn’t make enough to support me, so I’m having my aunt (US Citizen) be my joint sponsor since she makes around 200k a year on her own (230k when adding her husband’s income). Now, I had my wife file a separate I-864, and included her 2017 Tax Return Transcript and all the W2s I could find. As for my aunt, I have her 2017 Tax Return Transcript (1040EZ or something like that?) and the W2 from her job for that year. The problem is that she and her husband filed married jointly, and I’m only wanting my aunt’s individual income to be my support. Her husband and I are not on good terms and he will not voluntarily assist in me staying in the US, meaning he will NOT be willing to file I-864A. That said, I have my aunt’s personal W2s and her joint tax return. Will those suffice or do I NEED her husband’s signature and involvement? Also, I included proof of citizenship for both my aunt and wife. (Passport page and Birth Certificate respectively)

 

- Two passport style photographs of me and my wife separately

 

- My birth certificate from my home country, translated by the department of internal affairs of my original country

 

- Scanned copy of my passport, with the page of my Student Visa and all the admission stamps the border patrol gave me. 

 

- I-94 + travel history page. 

 

- I won’t submit my medical examination yet until my interview, nor will I submit the travel authorization

 

- I included my marriage license, as well as joint insurance statements, joint bank statements, and rental statements showing we live in the same address. 

 

- Scanned copy of my Texas driver license

 

 

I know this is too much to ask of you guys, but can you guys let me know from your knowledge if I sound like I’m good to go? Especially about the Support Affidavit, I’m really worried about that one. 

 

Also, my aunt has a Certificate of Naturalization aside from her passport. Is it true that photocopying and printing the certificate is illegal?

 

I would really appreciate any kind of input from any of you.

[Lebanese23 303]

I wouldn't worry about her husband's papers, there is a question on the I-864A where it asks what the "Individual annual income" for your aunt's income alone, her name is going on that form so her income goes on that line(Part 3, question 7),  and for question 2a-2c she would put the total income between her and her husband, whatever is on the tax transcript.  Her husband's name is just being dragged in because they filed jointly but isn't needed here unless your aunt doesn't make enough.  In this case, you are fine to use her paystubs, taxes, and whatever you need to file.  Her husband's name will just be on that transcript, he's treated like a dependent child, nothing more.

 

Also I suggest that your aunt provides her IRS tax transcript that she can print out from IRS website, if you do that, you won't need W2s and all the extra papers.  the IRS transcript alone pretty much proves that she filed taxes and also using less paper to file.

[eckoin 211]

59 minutes ago, Lebanese23 said:

Also I suggest that your aunt provides her IRS tax transcript that she can print out from IRS website, if you do that, you won't need W2s and all the extra papers.  the IRS transcript alone pretty much proves that she filed taxes and also using less paper to file.

No... that's completely false.  That will get an RFE.  Even the instructions for I-864 and I-864a are clear on this:

 

Quote

If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns

 

[Lebanese23 303]

1 hour ago, eckoin said:

No... that's completely false.  That will get an RFE.  Even the instructions for I-864 and I-864a are clear on this:

 

 

Photocopy vs IRS transcript are 2 different papers. IRS transcript is certified.

 

i dunno but this is how i understood it. I am pretty sure @K1visaHopeful mentioned that in some threads, maybe you can shed some light in this situation  incase i misread something along the way.

 

The IRS transcript is a summary of your tax for that year and it does not require W2s because it's an official document from the IRS. people have successfully submitted IRS transcript without W2s with no issues. You can submit W2s along with your IRS transcript if you really want because you don't feel confident, it's just extra papers that USCIS may just ignore.

 

The only part I don't quite understand is the underlined part below:

 

If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns. Do not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript of your Federal individual income tax returns rather than a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income.

 

[eckoin 211]

1 hour ago, Lebanese23 said:

Photocopy vs IRS transcript are 2 different papers. IRS transcript is certified.

 

i dunno but this is how i understood it. I am pretty sure @K1visaHopeful mentioned that in some threads, maybe you can shed some light in this situation  incase i misread something along the way.

 

The IRS transcript is a summary of your tax for that year and it does not require W2s because it's an official document from the IRS. people have successfully submitted IRS transcript without W2s with no issues. You can submit W2s along with your IRS transcript if you really want because you don't feel confident, it's just extra papers that USCIS may just ignore.

 

The only part I don't quite understand is the underlined part below:

 

If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns. Do not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript of your Federal individual income tax returns rather than a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income.

 

You know what, you may be right. I guess the transcript you download from IRS is technically the official transcript and not a photocopy (even though a copy of it would look the same). 

 

As for the part that's underlined, it explicitly wouldn't apply to the original situation. It's basically saying that, if you filed an individual return, you're good to go; if you filed a joint return, it won't show how much each individual earned, if just shows the joint income. So it needs to be supported by an individual W-2 to confirm how much the individual made. Since the aunt filed a joint return, they would need to submit her W-2s to show how much she herself earned, in case she earned $5,000 and her husband earned $225,000.

 

But I guess you're right, an individual transcript doesn't require the W-2s. It's just kind of odd, because I've seen people get RFEs for that exact reason, and on the interview notice, it specifically asks you to bring the tax return, the W-2, and the last two months' worth of pay stubs. 

[Lebanese23 303]

ok so @JustVolume make sure your aunt provided all Tax papers with her tax returns, W2s and form 1099, etc. just because she filed with her husband for 2017.

 

15 hours ago, eckoin said:

But I guess you're right, an individual transcript doesn't require the W-2s. It's just kind of odd, because I've seen people get RFEs for that exact reason, and on the interview notice, it specifically asks you to bring the tax return, the W-2, and the last two months' worth of pay stubs. 

yeah i dunno, the only RFE i read about with Tax returns is applicants are not submitting all pages, front and back, or missing W2s, etc.  for those that submitted Tax transcript got RFE i think because the USCIS may have misplaced or lost the copy.  so I guess you can get RFE with whatever you submit, it just depends on the person working on your papers. It could also be bad training on the USCIS side, maybe they were trained about Tax returns and how to handle those but not tax transcript. who knows, it's a mystery.

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

On 12/13/2018 at 6:02 PM, eckoin said:

You know what, you may be right. I guess the transcript you download from IRS is technically the official transcript and not a photocopy (even though a copy of it would look the same). 

 

As for the part that's underlined, it explicitly wouldn't apply to the original situation. It's basically saying that, if you filed an individual return, you're good to go; if you filed a joint return, it won't show how much each individual earned, if just shows the joint income. So it needs to be supported by an individual W-2 to confirm how much the individual made. Since the aunt filed a joint return, they would need to submit her W-2s to show how much she herself earned, in case she earned $5,000 and her husband earned $225,000.

 

But I guess you're right, an individual transcript doesn't require the W-2s. It's just kind of odd, because I've seen people get RFEs for that exact reason, and on the interview notice, it specifically asks you to bring the tax return, the W-2, and the last two months' worth of pay stubs. 

Those instructions are just poorly written. We filed a joint income tax return and used my income to qualify. I am th petitioner/sponsor, and my husband was not working at the time. Anyway, we ended up including w2s, 1099s - everything. 

[eckoin 211]

12 hours ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

Those instructions are just poorly written. We filed a joint income tax return and used my income to qualify. I am th petitioner/sponsor, and my husband was not working at the time. Anyway, we ended up including w2s, 1099s - everything. 

Yep, so did we. Used my (beneficiary) income though, filed jointly, I included all of my W-2s and pay stubs. The IRS transcript didn't show who made what, just the family income, so it made sense. 

 

I do specifically recall the interview notice mentioning to bring the tax returns, W-2s, and recent pay stubs. I guess technically, you can interpret the instructions to not need those if the petitioner filed individually, but like... Why not. You'll potentially need to show it anyway. And what an unnecessary RFE if the reviewing officer decides to want to see them anyway. 

[Tommy john 9]

On 12/12/2018 at 8:41 PM, JustVolume said:

Hi everybody! My wife and I are extremely tight on money, and cannot possibly afford a lawyer. In fact, I’m so surprised we are able to pay for the Petition and Adjustment of Status and still have a few hundred dollars left over. That said, I’m a sucker for paperwork, and I enjoy filling out applications. However, I’m no lawyer, and I’m bound to have made a few mistakes or missed a paper or two. Would the nice people here help make sure I have all my paperwork?

 

Current status: F1 Student Visa. My I-20 will expire on the 17th December due to me graduation and I will apply within the next few days or during my grace period. 

 

So far, I’ve done these:

 

- I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. This is the paperwork my wife fills out for me to sponsor me on her behalf. Seemed relatively easy. + I-130A Supplemental Beneficiary Info

 

- I-485 Adjustment of Status. Being an F1 Student who is about to graduate in a few days, I plan on adjusting my status from non-immigrant to immigrant. Again, all seems very straightforward and direct. No trick questions or hard ones.

 

- I-765 EAD Application. Once more, very very straightforward. Will apply for a work permit. Filing will be free since I plan on submitting everything at once. 

 

- I-864 Support Affidavit. HERE is where I’m scratching my head a lot. Now, like I previously said, my wife doesn’t make enough to support me, so I’m having my aunt (US Citizen) be my joint sponsor since she makes around 200k a year on her own (230k when adding her husband’s income). Now, I had my wife file a separate I-864, and included her 2017 Tax Return Transcript and all the W2s I could find. As for my aunt, I have her 2017 Tax Return Transcript (1040EZ or something like that?) and the W2 from her job for that year. The problem is that she and her husband filed married jointly, and I’m only wanting my aunt’s individual income to be my support. Her husband and I are not on good terms and he will not voluntarily assist in me staying in the US, meaning he will NOT be willing to file I-864A. That said, I have my aunt’s personal W2s and her joint tax return. Will those suffice or do I NEED her husband’s signature and involvement? Also, I included proof of citizenship for both my aunt and wife. (Passport page and Birth Certificate respectively)

 

- Two passport style photographs of me and my wife separately

 

- My birth certificate from my home country, translated by the department of internal affairs of my original country

 

- Scanned copy of my passport, with the page of my Student Visa and all the admission stamps the border patrol gave me. 

 

- I-94 + travel history page. 

 

- I won’t submit my medical examination yet until my interview, nor will I submit the travel authorization

 

- I included my marriage license, as well as joint insurance statements, joint bank statements, and rental statements showing we live in the same address. 

 

- Scanned copy of my Texas driver license

 

 

I know this is too much to ask of you guys, but can you guys let me know from your knowledge if I sound like I’m good to go? Especially about the Support Affidavit, I’m really worried about that one. 

 

Also, my aunt has a Certificate of Naturalization aside from her passport. Is it true that photocopying and printing the certificate is illegal?

 

I would really appreciate any kind of input from any of you.

I’m filling for AOS , same like you , message me we can work on that together