Manila CR1 Spouse Application with Assets and Income

[JISnJRS 22]

1 minute ago, Hank_ said:

Ya,  pretty much the same as the benefits letter.

 

A friend of mine use his SSDI for his K-1

NICE! thanks again..

[Balamban 113]

On 6/11/2019 at 4:41 PM, payxibka said:

The k1 financial support evidence was based on historical tax returns not current income.  The tax returns he stated had sufficient income.  The devil is in the details that are being overlooked 

Exactly, we were lucky, the two prior 1040's were golden, enough so that any question of income was moot. 

[Falcon Cara 378]

On 6/11/2019 at 6:49 AM, Hank_ said:

As for assets at the embassy in Manila.   In all the years I have been around here I know of no one .. zero, nada, zip .. that were able to use assets to qualify.  And it doesn't matter if you are talking K-1 or IR/CR-1 .. embassy does not look at assets.   They look at gross income.  If the assets produces income, they will look at that income but after that .. nothing.

 

The guy from Pinoy Visa based maybe in Cebu claims different.  His name is Shadow over there.  I have never heard of them using assets either and I agree with you.

 

OP asked the exact same question this was his reply :  

"We have had many clients use a combination of the two. The basic guideline is 3 times the difference in assets, but what Manila usually likes to see (their opinion) is 5 times. 

That being said, you should be ok, if everything else is close to perfect.."

 

 

 

[Hank_ 9,174]

2 hours ago, Falcon Cara said:

The guy from Pinoy Visa based maybe in Cebu claims different.  His name is Shadow over there.  I have never heard of them using assets either and I agree with you.

 

OP asked the exact same question this was his reply :  

"We have had many clients use a combination of the two. The basic guideline is 3 times the difference in assets, but what Manila usually likes to see (their opinion) is 5 times. 

That being said, you should be ok, if everything else is close to perfect.."

 

 

 

I only know what has been reported back to me from folks like US!   I don't go by what is in print from USTRAVELDOCS      

Edited July 3, 2019 by Hank_

[user555 196]

Yes, I asked on the "Living in Cebu" forums and Shadow gave that reply. We'll see what happens next year. Hank says one thing and two visa services have said something else. You would think that the embassy would use a combination of income and assets like it says in the USCIS guidelines. But this is the government, so I can't assume that they actually use their brain to think. 

Edited July 3, 2019 by user555
fixed spelling

[Just Paul 4,595]

32 minutes ago, user555 said:

You would think that the embassy would use a combination of income and assets like it says in the USCIS guidelines

That's crazy?  Government following is own guidelines?  Totally crazy.

[Hank_ 9,174]

54 minutes ago, user555 said:

Yes, I asked on the "Living in Cebu" forums and Shadow gave that reply. We'll see what happens next year. Hank says one thing and two visa services have said something else. You would think that the embassy would use a combination of income and assets like it says in the USCIS guidelines. But this is the government, so I can't assume that they actually use their brain to think. 

Well  I know from actual experiences that the embassy has yet to accept assets .. and I will run with that every time.   

 

Once someone reports back differently ...   

 

[user555 196]

I'm not saying your experience is wrong. I am just collecting information and have asked three sources what their experience has been like. 

[Hank_ 9,174]

I know of a couple very recently that weren't allowed assets .. still.    If you try to use assets do be prepared with a co-sponsor, just in case.    And if you get assets accepted for sure it would be great if you reported back!     

[user555 196]

Thanks Hank. Any more details about why they weren't allowed assets (size of family too big, income shortfall too great)? Do you think different people are getting different COs? One CO allows it but another does not? I had that guy from Cebu tell me "We have had many clients use a combination of the two." (Do you think they really had enough income but added on the assets to make it seem like they had more money?) Another visa company sent me this: "I have at least 30 clients last year that used income and assets. This is Manila Embassy of course." How can there be different experiences at the same location? The guy from the visa company in the States said 30 clients had less than $20,000 and used assets to cover the difference. You'd think that if you made $19,000 in a year and were ~$2,000 short, that $10,000 in the bank would get the approval. 

[Hank_ 9,174]

21 minutes ago, user555 said:

Thanks Hank. Any more details about why they weren't allowed assets (size of family too big, income shortfall too great)? Do you think different people are getting different COs? One CO allows it but another does not? I had that guy from Cebu tell me "We have had many clients use a combination of the two." (Do you think they really had enough income but added on the assets to make it seem like they had more money?) Another visa company sent me this: "I have at least 30 clients last year that used income and assets. This is Manila Embassy of course." How can there be different experiences at the same location? The guy from the visa company in the States said 30 clients had less than $20,000 and used assets to cover the difference. You'd think that if you made $19,000 in a year and were ~$2,000 short, that $10,000 in the bank would get the approval. 

 

I have no clue on the "why" assets aren't accepted by the embassy .. after all it is listed on the DOS website as allowed (following the same rules as USCIS).    

 

One couple are friends of ours, their were IR-1, he is retired and has a very large sum of money in "savings", his retirement income was inadequate to meet the I-864P so he listed his vast assets (money in the bank, not real property) .. they were denied, he had to ask his sister to be a co-signer on the I-864.    Over the years I have come to know a fair number that banged into this "wall" with the embassy, but who knows, in this past year there have been lots of changes at the embassy, some rumors were that there was a new suit & tie running the IV unit .. all it takes is for the main suit & tie to change the "policy" of the IV unit.

 

As for visa companies in the states, I would want to know if that was in fact the embassy in Manila and how much of it is "reality" or someone trying to pull on someone's lariat.    U.S. embassies in other countries are known to follow the DOS assets guidelines, just not Manila.

 

Should assets be accepted at USEM?  Of course, if it meets the USCIS criteria.     I think as long as the embassy reflects what is the policy for USCIS all should be good.

 

It would be great news for someone to report back that assets were accepted.  

 

[Falcon Cara 378]

On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 1:38 AM, user555 said:

I'm not saying your experience is wrong. I am just collecting information and have asked three sources what their experience has been like. 

We get a lot of people on here who has done visas in Manila over the years, Sure seems strange no one has chimed in and said yes they accepted assets.  

 

 

[John & Rose 7,239]

41 minutes ago, Falcon Cara said:

We get a lot of people on here who has done visas in Manila over the years, Sure seems strange no one has chimed in and said yes they accepted assets.  

 

 

I know for a fact that one couple was not allowed assets for a K-1.  They were at the filipino pre processing before we were.  The women took their I-134 and asked if they had a co sponsor.  Thery said they didn't but they have a lot of assets.  The filipino woman stated that it is up to the CO but they probably should consider a co sponsor.

 

They were up at the CO while we were sitting and waiting and while I didn't hear all of the conversation I did hear the CO tell them to get a co sponsor and then they should be fine.  They walked away with their passports and the 221(g).  There were a lot of co-sponsors requested that we noticed while we waited.  I got the impression that they are looking at more financials than I thought they would.

Edited July 5, 2019 by John & Rose

[user555 196]

Yes, the K-1 is a little different. And it depends on the officer. I found this in the forums. 

 

 

My sister was my co-sponsor for the K1 visa since I had no income for how many years (fresh grad). Last week my fiance had her interview at USEM and the CO never asked us for the affidavit of support, but before we were called to the window I heard another CO asking to see the I-134. I'm guessing it really depends on the CO. Just be prepared even though a lot of people have not been asked for the evidence of support. 

Edited November 5, 2017 by oatlidorison

[user555 196]

3 hours ago, Falcon Cara said:

We get a lot of people on here who has done visas in Manila over the years, Sure seems strange no one has chimed in and said yes they accepted assets.  

 

 

Yes, VJ is a do-it-yourself website that has a lot of great information. How many people apply from the Philippines? Maybe 1,600? (This website said there were 236,526 immigrant visas granted for immediate relatives to the USA last year, so I estimated that 150 countries could apply for a visa so 236,526/150= ~1,600  https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2018AnnualReport/FY18AnnualReport - TableI.pdf) How many of those want to do it themselves versus hiring an attorney/visa service company? I looked on VJ's CR-1 / IR -1 Visa Timeline Statistics, and they listed 56 applicants from the Philippines last year. How many of the 56 members had enough income that they didn't need assets? I'm guessing that the majority did have enough income. That still leaves over 1,500 other non-VJ members to have different stories. The two visa services that I emailed said they had clients who filed in Manila and used a combination of the two. VJ doesn't have information on all the applicants. It's a great forum though.