Do I need a joint sponsor?

[pushbrk 12,883]

6 minutes ago, MattAndOana said:

Well, the plot thickens.  Today, we got case complete at NVC, so hooray!

 

But...we also got a note saying that I do not meet the financial requirements to sponsor my wife, and that the CO at the embassy would make the final decision.  They of course noted that I could prepare a joint sponsor to save time!  You have got to be kidding me!!!!!

 

For one, I make more than enough to cover the 125% poverty line requirements.  I also have liquid assets (proof of which I sent to NVC) that push my current yearly total over 100k.  How on earth do I not qualify as financial capable of supporting my wife?  I have a good job, zero debt, excellent credit, a rent-free place to live in the US and enough savings to get us through a year in case of emergency.  If I don't qualify, who does?!?

 

For the record, I am going to take my parents' documents with me, both as joint sponsor and as my household member, to the embassy.  It's absurd that it's come to this, but @NikLR is absolutely right, the NVC seems to be asking for VERY different things than would be required at the consulate level.  The worst part is the incompetence is starting to grate on my nerves.

If you qualify on your own, then your mistake was mentioning your parents at all.

[MattAndOana 10]

4 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

your mistake was mentioning your parents at all

That was the belt and suspenders approach from page 1 of this thread.  Live and learn.

[peteagus 1]

55 minutes ago, MattAndOana said:

Well, the plot thickens.  Today, we got case complete at NVC, so hooray!

 

But...we also got a note saying that I do not meet the financial requirements to sponsor my wife, and that the CO at the embassy would make the final decision.  They of course noted that I could prepare a joint sponsor to save time!  You have got to be kidding me!!!!!

 

For one, I make more than enough to cover the 125% poverty line requirements.  I also have liquid assets (proof of which I sent to NVC) that push my current yearly total over 100k.  How on earth do I not qualify as financial capable of supporting my wife?  I have a good job, zero debt, excellent credit, a rent-free place to live in the US and enough savings to get us through a year in case of emergency.  If I don't qualify, who does?!?

 

For the record, I am going to take my parents' documents with me, both as joint sponsor and as my household member, to the embassy.  It's absurd that it's come to this, but @NikLR is absolutely right, the NVC seems to be asking for VERY different things than would be required at the consulate level.  The worst part is the incompetence is starting to grate on my nerves.

Glad to hear you're complete at NVC - our case was also accepted after my last post here, and we just received interview appointments. 

 

As has been suggested, I can't imagine the Consulate will have the same hangups as the NVC did. It seems to me that NVC can't make sense of cases like ours, where we're claiming FEIE. There ought to be more to it than just "look at line 22 on 1040".

 

Chances are the interviewing officer also claims the FEIE on their own returns, so they'll actually understand what they're looking at in our AOS documents.   

 

Good luck with your interview and move!

[MattAndOana 10]

1 minute ago, peteagus said:

we just received interview appointments

When are you going to the consulate?  I'd like to keep track of what happens.  Maybe there's a pattern to this mess.

[peteagus 1]

Just now, MattAndOana said:

When are you going to the consulate?  I'd like to keep track of what happens.  Maybe there's a pattern to this mess.

April 2. I'll try and remember to post back here afterwards, if not, feel free to quote me for an update!

[peteagus 1]

@MattAndOana - we had our interviews this morning, and the CO asked me why we had a cosponsor, so I explained simply that, "we were requested to add a cosponsor, since I claim FEIE, so my reported income appears low", she responded very quickly that she noticed only $3k reported on my 1040 line 22, but that the full return clearly showed that I earned more than 125% of poverty guidelines. She half-jokingly said that she was jealous after seeing my return, and wished she could claim the FEIE herself. It was clear she considered my return more comprehensively than NVC. 

 

She also asked us both about our employment, but hardly in detail (we both work for well-known international aid projects), and if I was planning to continue with my same company when we move, and I said I hadn't decided yet, and she smiled and said it's nice to have options. Oh, and I also offered copies of my past 3 years of 1099s and W2s, but she said it wasn't necessary. 

 

She kept the passports, and said she had everything else needed, just waiting on the clinic to provide the medical results, but that we should hear back soon. 

[MattAndOana 10]

That's awesome @peteagus.  Thanks for responding.

 

I had a conversation with the NVC phone agents again last night, if you could call it a conversation.  The guy literally responded from a script to every question I had.  This makes me believe more and more that NVC are only capable of looking at the exact piece of info they are instructed to.  In this case, it seems like our tax transcripts don't have the right number in the right place for NVC, so they just mindlessly tell us we don't make enough money.  Geniuses.

 

Glad to hear you CO was personable and understanding.  Hope we have the same!

[MattAndOana 10]

This should tie up all the loose ends and answer the unanswered questions for our situation:

 

After dealing with NVC agents over and over again, I decided to tell them to submit everything WITHOUT a joint sponsor.  I uploaded my 2017 tax transcript (which they asked for, even though they had my 1040).  They eventually got their act together gave us case complete on March 15; notice of interview on April 10. 

 

Fast forward to today: We had our interview at the Consulate.  We went in with every document possible: all my tax forms, 2018 included; joint sponsor forms from my parents; current paystubs; savings account; IRA statement; credit cards; the works.  I was ready to prove to them that I am not only a capable financial sponsor, but that I am the MODEL sponsor.

 

We give them the requested documents for the interview (none of what I mentioned above).  The CO calls us over.  Asks us four or five questions, none of which has anything to do with money.  Grants the visa.  Says thank you very much, go on your merry way.

 

The level of IQ discrepancy between the NVC and the Consulate is mind-blowing.  Of course I meet the financial requirements to sponsor my wife.  It's all there in the tax documents, paystubs, W2, etc that I submitted to NVC.  But. because NVC is staffed by people who are taught to follow strict measures for documentary approval, I get stuck in administrative processing.

 

Moral of the story:  NVC bad, Consulate good.

Extended moral of the story:  if you have all your ducks in a row, you're going to be fine.  Don't worry about belting and suspendering if you clearly have financial stability and have the documentation to prove it.

 

Case closed.  USA here we come. 

Edited May 16, 2019 by MattAndOana