Income Verifications?

[SelAli711 1]

Hi all,

 

My husband (Ghana) and I (US) went through the K1 process a few years ago unsuccessfully, but ended up getting married in Accra in 2016. Since then, I’ve been floating back and forth between Ghana and the US every few months, and we were sort of planning on me relocating—but finding a job proved to be difficult, especially one that could continue to pay the bills back in the US (those pesky student loans will get you every time). So here we are filing the I-130.

 

I’ve got so much anxiety over this thing, I guess because of the failed K1, and it really seems like our last chance. I feel like I’m forgetting something though—like maybe proof of income? Is that something I need to add in there? I’ve seen things about affidavits of support, but not sure where to start.

 

Heres what I do have:

 

Money Order

G-1145

I-130

I-130A (for spouse)

Copy of my passport (all pages)

Passport photos of me

Paasport photos of spouse

Marriage Certificate copy

Affidavits from friends/sister that attests to relationship

Cell phone records showing calls

Copy of my credit card showing him as an account manager

WhatsApp Chats

About 30ish pictures of us, our wedding, with friends and family (including some of mine from the US), all throughout Ghana

 

I had all of these things organized really well in a plastic (non-metal) 3-ring folder...but I’m thinking this is too much. So now I’m thinking of just paper clipping everything by section.

 

Anything else I should add? Tax documents? Check stubs?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

[ArmyVet 146]

12 minutes ago, SelAli711 said:

Hi all,

 

My husband (Ghana) and I (US) went through the K1 process a few years ago unsuccessfully, but ended up getting married in Accra in 2016. Since then, I’ve been floating back and forth between Ghana and the US every few months, and we were sort of planning on me relocating—but finding a job proved to be difficult, especially one that could continue to pay the bills back in the US (those pesky student loans will get you every time). So here we are filing the I-130.

 

I’ve got so much anxiety over this thing, I guess because of the failed K1, and it really seems like our last chance. I feel like I’m forgetting something though—like maybe proof of income? Is that something I need to add in there? I’ve seen things about affidavits of support, but not sure where to start.

 

Heres what I do have:

 

Money Order

G-1145

I-130

I-130A (for spouse)

Copy of my passport (all pages) 

Passport photos of me

Paasport photos of spouse

Marriage Certificate copy

Affidavits from friends/sister that attests to relationship

Cell phone records showing calls

Copy of my credit card showing him as an account manager

WhatsApp Chats

About 30ish pictures of us, our wedding, with friends and family (including some of mine from the US), all throughout Ghana

 

I had all of these things organized really well in a plastic (non-metal) 3-ring folder...but I’m thinking this is too much. So now I’m thinking of just paper clipping everything by section.

 

Anything else I should add? Tax documents? Check stubs?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

That's a lot of passport pages to copy! Only the demographic page would be enough to be honest.

 

The financial support documents will come at a later stage once the I-130 petition is approved and don't worry about the previously "failed" K-1. That will not hinder your petition in any way, just make sure to disclose all previous petition/visa information when asked. Save those income documents for later, you can get a head start by requesting you tax return transcripts from the IRS. They will likely toss the binder, since they have their own filing system, so just use paperclips. Good luck.

[SelAli711 1]

6 minutes ago, ArmyVet said:

That's a lot of passport pages to copy! Only the demographic page would be enough to be honest.

 

The financial support documents will come at a later stage once the I-130 petition is approved and don't worry about the previously "failed" K-1. That will not hinder your petition in any way, just make sure to disclose all previous petition/visa information when asked. Save those income documents for later, you can get a head start by requesting you tax return transcripts from the IRS. They will likely toss the binder, since they have their own filing system, so just use paperclips. Good luck.

Thank you so much! I did feel like a tree-killer when I copied all those passport pages, but I thought I read somewhere that it should be all of them. Oh well—at least the exit/entry stamps will show we’ve had a lot of face time.

 

So after I mail all of this stuff in, Will I be required to send in another pack of stuff with my income info? Or would my husband just take these things with him to the interview?

[ArmyVet 146]

3 minutes ago, SelAli711 said:

Thank you so much! I did feel like a tree-killer when I copied all those passport pages, but I thought I read somewhere that it should be all of them. Oh well—at least the exit/entry stamps will show we’ve had a lot of face time.

 

So after I mail all of this stuff in, Will I be required to send in another pack of stuff with my income info? Or would my husband just take these things with him to the interview?

Maybe just include the pages with stamps on them. The rest aren't necessary. When the petition gets approved, it will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC - Department of State). At that stage you will be required to send in I-864 with tax return transcripts, the same civil documents you are sending to USCIS (birth certificate, police certificate, demographic page of passport, passport picture). After all those documents are accepted by NVC, they will schedule the interview. Good luck.

[SalishSea 17,836]

Seems like you are well-prepared.  The additional time spent together is a HUGE plus from what I understand about the Accra consulate. While living in Ghana, have you filed your US taxes as MFJ?  Those documents would also be good to include.  

 

 

 Best wishes!

[SelAli711 1]

13 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Seems like you are well-prepared.  The additional time spent together is a HUGE plus from what I understand about the Accra consulate. While living in Ghana, have you filed your US taxes as MFJ?  Those documents would also be good to include.  

 

 

 Best wishes!

Taxes in this situation have been a NIGHTMARE. I am praying this doesn’t come back to bite me, but literally....I did all I could do.

 

We got married in 2016, so when 2017 tax time rolled around, I tried to file married. Went to several different preparers that all told me the same thing: he’s not here, he doesn’t count, have to file single. Eventually I did find someone who helped me apply for him to get an ITIN. Long story short, I got an notice in August (6 months later) saying that he wasn’t eligible for an ITIN, so my taxes would be filed as single. Finally got my refund, so that was good. I tried calling several times to get explanations for this, but even the IRS folks didn’t know what to do with me. After one of the call center folks told me that the confusion was part of “the price paid for marrying an immigrant” I decided I’d had enough and gave up with the whole thing. This year and last, I settled for just filing single.

[IzzieLove 3]

I filed married filing separately and didn’t need his info. You just have to mail in and leave his social blank. That’s all. Filing single while married can be considered lying on tax documents. I was told this by several tax agents. Idk your whole case

However you seem to have a strong case and should be good for USCIS

[pushbrk 12,898]

On 5/28/2019 at 11:08 PM, SelAli711 said:

Thank you so much! I did feel like a tree-killer when I copied all those passport pages, but I thought I read somewhere that it should be all of them. Oh well—at least the exit/entry stamps will show we’ve had a lot of face time.

 

So after I mail all of this stuff in, Will I be required to send in another pack of stuff with my income info? Or would my husband just take these things with him to the interview?

WHOA!!!  When using your passport instead of birth certificate as evidence of petitioner's US Citizenship, the instructions ARE to include ALL PAGES.

 

HOWEVER, your primary evidence of time spent together in person is ALSO in that passport, in the form of entry and exit stamps from Ghana.  Your strongest relationship evidence is the evidence of time spent together in person.  If you've renewed your passport since you first met, include the pages from the old passport too.

 

Ditch the binder and any staples.

 

Examples of how and how frequently you communicate is important.  Burying them with copies of chats they'll never read is BADD.