K-1 Affidavit of Support (I-134) for Unique Case

[Jöla 27]

Hello everyone, I have been following this forum for a while now and found a lot of helpful advice here so far. I am the beneficiary in a K-1 visa petition filed by my US citizen fiancée.

 

Now, my fiancée and I are getting ready to send in the paperwork to the Frankfurt consulate so we can schedule the K1 visa interview. However, we are unsure about the affidavit of support (I-134) and how strong our case is. The details and questions are below.

 

1. How likely is my fiancée to be approved as a sponsor given her situation?

 

• She has no tax returns or income for the last 4 years (she is a medical student about to graduate in May 2020) – her IRS transcript shows the last tax return for 2016.
• Her account balance (savings) is at 64k USD and she has no debt
• She is about to start medical residency in July 2020 with a minimum salary of $53k per year for the next four years. She will try to obtain a letter from her future employer confirming said employment in early April (after "match day")
• Overall, we are asking if this will be enough to show that I won't become a public charge.

 

2. Do you think we should have a joint sponsor?

 

3. Finally, a general question: If we get denied (e.g. because of said financial situation), would we have to start over completely with a new petition (a new I-129F)?

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Jörg

[Crazy Cat 42,160]

22 minutes ago, Jöla said:

Hello everyone, I have been following this forum for a while now and found a lot of helpful advice here so far. I am the beneficiary in a K-1 visa petition filed by my US citizen fiancée.

 

Now, my fiancée and I are getting ready to send in the paperwork to the Frankfurt consulate so we can schedule the K1 visa interview. However, we are unsure about the affidavit of support (I-134) and how strong our case is. The details and questions are below.

 

1. How likely is my fiancée to be approved as a sponsor given her situation?

 

• She has no tax returns or income for the last 4 years (she is a medical student about to graduate in May 2020) – her IRS transcript shows the last tax return for 2016.
• Her account balance (savings) is at 64k USD and she has no debt
• She is about to start medical residency in July 2020 with a minimum salary of $53k per year for the next four years. She will try to obtain a letter from her future employer confirming said employment in early April (after "match day")
• Overall, we are asking if this will be enough to show that I won't become a public charge.

 

2. Do you think we should have a joint sponsor?

 

3. Finally, a general question: If we get denied (e.g. because of said financial situation), would we have to start over completely with a new petition (a new I-129F)?

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Jörg

Are you both living in Germany together now?  If so, have you considered a CR-1 visa instead?

 

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US 
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

 

 

[Jöla 27]

8 minutes ago, missileman said:

Are you both living in Germany together now?  If so, have you considered a CR-1 visa instead?

 

No, she is a medical student in the US. We did consider CR-1 but decided against it for a number of reasons, most of them revolving around the fact that she is in medical school.

[arken 4,197]

31 minutes ago, Jöla said:

Hello everyone, I have been following this forum for a while now and found a lot of helpful advice here so far. I am the beneficiary in a K-1 visa petition filed by my US citizen fiancée.

 

Now, my fiancée and I are getting ready to send in the paperwork to the Frankfurt consulate so we can schedule the K1 visa interview. However, we are unsure about the affidavit of support (I-134) and how strong our case is. The details and questions are below.

 

1. How likely is my fiancée to be approved as a sponsor given her situation?

 

• She has no tax returns or income for the last 4 years (she is a medical student about to graduate in May 2020) – her IRS transcript shows the last tax return for 2016.
• Her account balance (savings) is at 64k USD and she has no debt
• She is about to start medical residency in July 2020 with a minimum salary of $53k per year for the next four years. She will try to obtain a letter from her future employer confirming said employment in early April (after "match day")
• Overall, we are asking if this will be enough to show that I won't become a public charge.

 

Her future employment doesn’t count for i-134. The assets may count but it’s up to the CO to decide. For 2 persons assets requirement is around $51K and she has $64K, sounds reasonable but the requirement will be $64K as well for i485 later on which some COs will take into consideration.

I believe her current status is no good for sponsorship.

 

 

31 minutes ago, Jöla said:

2. Do you think we should have a joint sponsor?

 

I suggest you get a joint sponsor.
 

31 minutes ago, Jöla said:

3. Finally, a general question: If we get denied (e.g. because of said financial situation), would we have to start over completely with a new petition (a new I-129F)?

Likely.
 

 

[Jöla 27]

Thanks @arken for your input, that is in line with what I was assuming. Now I have more questions about the joint sponsor.

 

Her sister agreed to be our joint sponsor, since she can show employment, tax returns, assets, etc. for the last 6 years that would well exceed the minimum salary/asset requirements.

However, she has plans to temporarily move abroad soon and quit her job for that (following her boyfriend for an abroad job assignment). Would that jeopardize her sponsoring abilities?

 

Also, another more general question: Can there be different joint sponsors for the I-134 (K1 interview) and the I-864 (AOS)?

 

[Boiler 45,982]

Sponsor has to be resident in the US.

[Jöla 27]

39 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Sponsor has to be resident in the US.

Yes, but can't someone still be considered a U.S. resident if they're temporarily residing outside the country? At least that was always my understanding of the legal definition of residence.

[Boiler 45,982]

6 minutes ago, Jöla said:

Yes, but can't someone still be considered a U.S. resident if they're temporarily residing outside the country? At least that was always my understanding of the legal definition of residence.

Well you said she is quitting her jo so arguing that aspect is hardly relevant.

[arken 4,197]

Her future plan of quitting the job isn’t relevant. As long as she is employed at the time of submitting the form and at the time of interview, she is qualified to be a joint sponsor. If she is not employed during those times, she is not qualified to be a joint sponsor, any historical income is useless.

 

One can have a different joint sponsor for i-864.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

20 minutes ago, arken said:

One can have a different joint sponsor for i-864.

If what the OP says above is accurate, they likely won't need a joined sponsor for the I-864 at all.

 

Going by VJ averages for Germany, he likely won't have his interview until mid-April.

Figuring it takes some time to actually get his visa, get ready to come to the US, and actually get married after that, his fiancee should have started her job by the time they file for AOS.

[Jöla 27]

Thanks @arken and @DaveAndAnastasia  for your helpful input. I am now getting ready to send the P3 documentation to the consulate, including the "wet" I-134s from both my fiancée and her sister. We also prepared a short cover letter explaining the Affidavit of Support with joint sponsorship etc.

Now I have a few more detail questions regarding the sponsor for the I-864 / AOS:

 

On 2/14/2020 at 5:36 PM, arken said:

Her future plan of quitting the job isn’t relevant. As long as she is employed at the time of submitting the form and at the time of interview, she is qualified to be a joint sponsor. If she is not employed during those times, she is not qualified to be a joint sponsor, any historical income is useless.

1. Can a joint sponsor not use their assets and previous employment that recently ended, instead of showing current employment?
2. If her sister were to keep her employment but move abroad (think a sabbatical - it's more complicated than that but I assume what counts is the temporary nature of the stay aborad), would she still qualify as the joint sponsor?

 

On 2/14/2020 at 6:02 PM, DaveAndAnastasia said:

If what the OP says above is accurate, they likely won't need a joined sponsor for the I-864 at all.

 

Going by VJ averages for Germany, he likely won't have his interview until mid-April.

Figuring it takes some time to actually get his visa, get ready to come to the US, and actually get married after that, his fiancee should have started her job by the time they file for AOS.

Do I understand you correctly that USCIS accepts proof of employment even if it just started a week ago and no paycheck has been received yet?

 

Again, thanks to both of you! You've already been a huge help to us.

[arken 4,197]

On 2/23/2020 at 7:25 AM, Jöla said:

Thanks @arken and @DaveAndAnastasia  for your helpful input. I am now getting ready to send the P3 documentation to the consulate, including the "wet" I-134s from both my fiancée and her sister. We also prepared a short cover letter explaining the Affidavit of Support with joint sponsorship etc.

Now I have a few more detail questions regarding the sponsor for the I-864 / AOS:

 

1. Can a joint sponsor not use their assets and previous employment that recently ended, instead of showing current employment?
2. If her sister were to keep her employment but move abroad (think a sabbatical - it's more complicated than that but I assume what counts is the temporary nature of the stay aborad), would she still qualify as the joint sponsor?

 

1. Assets may be used, but past employment is meaningless, current employment is what matters. 
2. going for a vacation will have no problem but showing 5 month old paystub will create issues for sure.

 

 

On 2/23/2020 at 7:25 AM, Jöla said:

Do I understand you correctly that USCIS accepts proof of employment even if it just started a week ago and no paycheck has been received yet?

 

Again, thanks to both of you! You've already been a huge help to us.

I would say even in case of new employment or transfer, at least include one or two paychecks from the new employer.