I-134 and I-864: Which VA Disability Amount - Married or Single?

[Erik A. 1]

I am planning on filing for a K-1 Visa sometime next year, and I am also planning on using a co-sponsor and/or personal assets for the I-864 once the K-1 Visa is approved and my girlfriend and I are actually married and living in the U.S. By then, even if I don't have a co-sponsor, I will have enough assets to satisfy the 3x asset requirement and probably also have a job offer that I can submit with the I-864 as proof of employability (I am currently a full-time student using VA benefits). My biggest concern right now is the 100% poverty-line income requirement of the I-134. From what I have read, my Voc Rehab housing stipend will not be counted as income because it is "temporary" and runs out once I am done with school (the same as if I were using the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and receiving its housing allowance). I have also read that a co-sponsor doesn't really affect the I-134 because it isn't legally binding like the I-864. If all of this is true, then the only income I will be able to use for either AOS is my VA Disability. Currently I am single with no dependents, so I am paid as such by the VA and my yearly income from VA Disability is ~ $66 short of meeting the 100% poverty-line limit. However, as soon as I get married I will be adding my wife as a dependent on my VA benefits, and then the amount I will be getting from VA Disability will be ~ $1,400/yr higher and thus over the 100% threshold and closer to the 125% line. This will obviously affect my eligibility from the standpoint of the I-134 as well as the amount of assets I will need to have in order to satisfy the 3x requirement of the I-864.

 

So I guess my specific question is: Which VA Disability rate will be accepted for the I-134, the married rate or the single rate? Since the whole purpose of the K-1 Visa is marriage, and since my VA Disability is guaranteed to increase to the higher amount once I am actually married, will USCIS count the higher rate even though I will not be receiving it at the time I file the I-134? Should I submit the VA Disability Rate tables (which show the rate I will be getting paid when married) with my forms?

 

The other option I was considering is getting married to my girl in her country and then applying for a CR-1 Spousal Visa, since I would then be getting paid the higher amount before I submit the visa application and I would also not have to go through all the hassle of having to prove an "existing relationship" and all of that.

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

31 minutes ago, Erik A. said:

I am planning on filing for a K-1 Visa sometime next year, and I am also planning on using a co-sponsor and/or personal assets for the I-864 once the K-1 Visa is approved and my girlfriend and I are actually married and living in the U.S. By then, even if I don't have a co-sponsor, I will have enough assets to satisfy the 3x asset requirement and probably also have a job offer that I can submit with the I-864 as proof of employability (I am currently a full-time student using VA benefits). My biggest concern right now is the 100% poverty-line income requirement of the I-134. From what I have read, my Voc Rehab housing stipend will not be counted as income because it is "temporary" and runs out once I am done with school (the same as if I were using the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and receiving its housing allowance). I have also read that a co-sponsor doesn't really affect the I-134 because it isn't legally binding like the I-864. If all of this is true, then the only income I will be able to use for either AOS is my VA Disability. Currently I am single with no dependents, so I am paid as such by the VA and my yearly income from VA Disability is ~ $66 short of meeting the 100% poverty-line limit. However, as soon as I get married I will be adding my wife as a dependent on my VA benefits, and then the amount I will be getting from VA Disability will be ~ $1,400/yr higher and thus over the 100% threshold and closer to the 125% line. This will obviously affect my eligibility from the standpoint of the I-134 as well as the amount of assets I will need to have in order to satisfy the 3x requirement of the I-864.

 

So I guess my specific question is: Which VA Disability rate will be accepted for the I-134, the married rate or the single rate? Since the whole purpose of the K-1 Visa is marriage, and since my VA Disability is guaranteed to increase to the higher amount once I am actually married, will USCIS count the higher rate even though I will not be receiving it at the time I file the I-134? Should I submit the VA Disability Rate tables (which show the rate I will be getting paid when married) with my forms?

 

The other option I was considering is getting married to my girl in her country and then applying for a CR-1 Spousal Visa, since I would then be getting paid the higher amount before I submit the visa application and I would also not have to go through all the hassle of having to prove an "existing relationship" and all of that.

 

If you file for the K1 visa then you have to use the current income right now for the disability rating that you currently have. But I would also use the the money that you get for the GI Bill as well when factoring that into consideration for making the minimum financial amount needed. 

 

But to be honest with you I would go ahead and get married now and then file for her under the CR-1 visa. The timeline is only alittle longer but she will have have a greencard once approved and in the USA without having to do AOS. What country is she in now? 

 

- 100% DAV here.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Cyberfx1024

[Erik A. 1]

42 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

What country is she in now? 

She's Russian living in Russia.