Do we need a joint sponsor?

[nkk0 3]

My wife and I sent in our I-130 in Frankfurt, Germany 2 months ago and I'm getting all the documents ready for the next step.

 

My biggest concern is proving our intention to reestablish domicile and doing the I-864 (affidavit of support). My wife has been living in Europe for 2.5 years, she is only 23 (I'm 25) and we both started working very recently (~2 years ago).

We are now living in Germany and both have relatively high income (over 100k eur annually combined). My wife is working for a german software company and will most likely not continue working for them once in the US (small chance that she will), while I am working for a software company remotely and will continue working for them once in the US. The issue is that due to taxes/easier hiring, I am employed as a contractor. This means that I have my own company set up and I just send the company an invoice at the end of every month.

 

Would our income qualify to meet the income requirements for affidavit of support? Considering my wife only has 1.5 tax years of income (and will need to switch jobs) and my income is from "self employment".

Her parents have expressed that they are happy to co-sponsor but I would really prefer to not have to do that, since it's a big commitment on their end.

Edited September 17, 2019 by nkk0

[Lil bear 4,201]

3 minutes ago, nkk0 said:

My wife and I sent in our I-130 in Frankfurt, Germany 2 months ago and I'm getting all the documents ready for the next step.

 

My biggest concern is proving our intention to reestablish domicile and doing the I-864 (affidavit of support). My wife has been living in Europe for 2.5 years, she is only 23 (I'm 25) and we both started working very recently (~2 years ago).

We are now living in Germany and both have relatively high income (over 100k eur annually combined). My wife is working for a german software company and will most likely not continue working for them once in the US (small chance that she will), while I am working for a software company remotely and will continue working for them once in the US. The issue is that due to taxes/easier hiring, I am employed as a contractor. This means that I have my own company set up and I just send the company an invoice at the end of every month.

 

Would our income qualify to meet the income requirements for affidavit of support? Considering my wife only has 1.5 tax years of income (and will need to switch jobs) and my income is from "self employment".

Her parents have expressed that they are happy to co-sponsor but I would really prefer to not have to do that, since it's a big commitment on their end.

You need to demonstrate continuing income.. not certain your circumstances will do so .. safest is the joint sponsor. Parents can decide if they choose to do this .. if you both have good income prospects then it’s little risk of needing their  support long term .. i’d think they’d be delighted to help their daughter establish her home closer to family. 

[nkk0 3]

12 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

You need to demonstrate continuing income.. not certain your circumstances will do so .. safest is the joint sponsor. Parents can decide if they choose to do this .. if you both have good income prospects then it’s little risk of needing their  support long term .. i’d think they’d be delighted to help their daughter establish her home closer to family. 

Hey, thanks for the reply. Do you think if she kept her current job once in the US that would be enough? (there's a chance it will happen) Or would it still be safer to just get the parents to co-sponsor?

Edited September 17, 2019 by nkk0

[Lil bear 4,201]

11 minutes ago, nkk0 said:

Hey, thanks for the reply. Do you think if she kept her current job once in the US that would be enough? (there's a chance it will happen) Or would it still be safer to just get the parents to co-sponsor?

If she has documented evidence .. letter of ongoing employment once in the US..  then possibly ..  but if it was me , I’d be getting the joint sponsor paperwork.. saying “thanks “ to your in-laws .. and going to the interview with more confidence. The IO will determine if the joint sponsor is needed or not .. we went with joint sponsor paperwork just in case and the IO determined that the primary sponsor was satisfactory. We lost nothing be doing so 😁

[nkk0 3]

Just now, Lil bear said:

If she has documented evidence .. letter of ongoing employment once in the US..  then possibly ..  but if it was me , I’d be getting the joint sponsor paperwork.. saying “thanks “ to your in-laws .. and going to the interview with more confidence. The IO will determine if the joint sponsor is needed or not .. we went with joint sponsor paperwork just in case and the IO determined that the primary sponsor was satisfactory. We lost nothing be doing so 😁

Yeah sounds like the right way to go. Well thanks, I really appreciate the input!