Told we don't meet the meet income requirements - but we do

[Cndn 98]

You don’t need a joint sponsor. The same thing happened to me. My husband is self employed. They want the IRS transcript and not the tax return. You just download it off IRS after making an account. They send out a letter saying you don’t meet the income requirements and it is so confusing, but they’re only saying you don’t meet the income requirements because you haven’t sent in the right evidence they’re looking for and therefore haven’t provided evidence at all. It’s like they just completely disregard the return if that makes sense. I got the exact same letter and I sent in the transcript and that resolved it. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by Cndn

[Punisher 40]

7 hours ago, Dundle said:

Hey there,

 

Just got an update on my case, very frustrated by it. We were just told we do "not meet the minimum income requirement to sponsor the intending immigrants for this case. The consular officer will make a decision regarding this requirement at the time of the interview." And then we were linked here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

I'm not really sure what the counsular officer making a decision means, but the message is also wrong. The HHS guidelines for a household of 2 is $21,550, but my wife made over $35,000 last year. How is that correct?

 

We were already told we aren't eligible for for "EZ" form, which I believe was incorrect too (we poured through the form info and saw nothing that would disqualify us) but they didn't tell us why and I thought it would be easier to just do the regular I-864 than trying to argue with them.

 

I don't want to file with a joint sponsor, but we could do it if we really needed. Does anyone have a better understanding of this situation than me?

 

Thank you.

Sorry to hear that, I can understand your frustration. It's not like contractors at NVC don't make mistakes...

 

however, there is not enough info in your post that would allow to confirm you are right or wrong.

 

35k is good, but how many dependendents, how many in houshold, how many intending immigrants etc? There are many important details that you may be leaving out.

 

also, per I-864 instructions, current annual income is met by showing letter from the employer OR paystubs showing income for last 6 months, NOT a single paycheck like you did. Perhaps someone at NVC decided that because of that you've only proved last years income and thus letting you know to get prepared better for consular interview.

 

if you don't prove your current income then you can't use 864ez and likewise your only proof of meeting the requirements is by past income. And there could be the problem. On one hand, the form says clearly that if either current income or income from last 3 tax returns meets poverty guidlines then you don't need to provide assets and such. On the other hand, not having current income (again, if you submit insufficient proof then you don't have a proof) then it doesn't bode well.

 

on top of that, keep in mind that 864 is part of the bigger picture called "public charge"

 

good thing is that you are dq'ed, you can work on your evidence and find joint sposor just in case, all that info can be presented at the interview if needed.

[Calicolom 266]

27 minutes ago, Punisher said:

Sorry to hear that, I can understand your frustration. It's not like contractors at NVC don't make mistakes...

 

however, there is not enough info in your post that would allow to confirm you are right or wrong.

 

35k is good, but how many dependendents, how many in houshold, how many intending immigrants etc? There are many important details that you may be leaving out.

 

also, per I-864 instructions, current annual income is met by showing letter from the employer OR paystubs showing income for last 6 months, NOT a single paycheck like you did. Perhaps someone at NVC decided that because of that you've only proved last years income and thus letting you know to get prepared better for consular interview.

 

if you don't prove your current income then you can't use 864ez and likewise your only proof of meeting the requirements is by past income. And there could be the problem. On one hand, the form says clearly that if either current income or income from last 3 tax returns meets poverty guidlines then you don't need to provide assets and such. On the other hand, not having current income (again, if you submit insufficient proof then you don't have a proof) then it doesn't bode well.

 

on top of that, keep in mind that 864 is part of the bigger picture called "public charge"

 

good thing is that you are dq'ed, you can work on your evidence and find joint sposor just in case, all that info can be presented at the interview if needed.

It amazes me that people don't go on the IRS website, and download the tax statement, designated  for Immigration.

[Cndn 98]

6 minutes ago, Calicolom said:

It amazes me that people don't go on the IRS website, and download the tax statement, designated  for Immigration.

I don’t think everyone knows. In all fairness the instructions state a return will suffice, it just appears that not everyone at USCIS is okay with just the return. 

[Punisher 40]

23 minutes ago, Calicolom said:

It amazes me that people don't go on the IRS website, and download the tax statement, designated  for Immigration.

First, either one is fine if you do it right way (with wage and tax statements), at least according to instructions. Also getting Transcripts is not that easy nowadays. A whole bunch of people do not pass IRS verification for setting up online account (I think I read somewhere it's around 30% of people). 

 

Second, there is no such thing as IRS statement "designated for Immigration".

Edited June 15, 2020 by Punisher

[pushbrk 12,906]

8 hours ago, Dundle said:

This is super helpful, thank you. When would I present the joint sponsor, if it was needed? Have it ready at the consular meeting, but not submit online? The message we received said we could submit it, not that we needed to. They also suggested it would speed our application up but I'm not sure how additional paperwork would make things go faster, considering how long they've already taken.

 

 

You would "submit" a joint sponsor affidavit of support at the interview, if needed.  If it is needed and you don't have it, your visa issue will be delayed.  Having it TO submit can avoid delay, not actually speed up anything.  Sometimes NVC uses bad wording.  I'm suspecting something else is amiss though, because you were told you didn't qualify to use the EZ version of the form.  You state $35,000 income last year.  Does that number come from the line on the 1040 form labeled "total income" or the line labeled "adjusted gross income", or some other line on the form?  This is critical to getting correct information here.  Note that the other thing amis could simply be NVC being wrong about your qualification to use the EZ version of the form.

[Rocio0010 5,579]

What type of IRS tax document did you provide? We sent the tax ACCOUNT transcript instead of the return and we got a RFE for that even though my husband makes way above the poverty line.

When we responded to the rfe we sent the tax return transcript, an employment letter and six months of pay statements and that made it.

[haiderzaidi 3]

11 hours ago, Dundle said:

Hey there,

 

Thank you.

Is this a Family Sponsorship of Employment based ?

[arken 4,197]

12 hours ago, haiderzaidi said:

Is this a Family Sponsorship of Employment based ?

 

Employment based petition would not require an i-864 from a spouse.

[Punisher 40]

17 hours ago, ra0010 said:

What type of IRS tax document did you provide? We sent the tax ACCOUNT transcript instead of the return and we got a RFE for that even though my husband makes way above the poverty line.

When we responded to the rfe we sent the tax return transcript, an employment letter and six months of pay statements and that made it.

Instructions state clearly that you were supposed to send tax return plus w2/1099 OR send Tax Return Transcripts. Account transcripts are incorrect documents.

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 hour ago, Punisher said:

Instructions state clearly that you were supposed to send tax return plus w2/1099 OR send Tax Return Transcripts. Account transcripts are incorrect documents.

Actually, no. The instructions say "irs transcripts". Plus, I had read about people that sent those and got accepted.

[chris413 20]

20 hours ago, Cndn said:

I don’t think everyone knows. In all fairness the instructions state a return will suffice, it just appears that not everyone at USCIS is okay with just the return. 

I had a similar situation to OP, problem is I can't get the transcripts online since I don't have any of the accounts they are looking for. (I only have an AMEX credit card and those aren't accepted)

Also my 2019 taxes weren't even processed yet due to the COVID so I wouldn't be able to get the transcript. I think in this case they should accept the W2/Tax return

[Cndn 98]

18 minutes ago, chris413 said:

I had a similar situation to OP, problem is I can't get the transcripts online since I don't have any of the accounts they are looking for. (I only have an AMEX credit card and those aren't accepted)

Also my 2019 taxes weren't even processed yet due to the COVID so I wouldn't be able to get the transcript. I think in this case they should accept the W2/Tax return

The transcripts are free.. you just need to create an account. 
 

Your 2019 taxes are not required to be filed until July but you can choose to file at any time. 

[chris413 20]

1 minute ago, Cndn said:

The transcripts are free.. you just need to create an account. 
 

Your 2019 taxes are not required to be filed until July but you can choose to file at any time. 

The issue is that I don't have any of the accounts required to create an account. There are options like CC (non Amex), student loan account, mortgage account, etc.

 

I already filed my taxes but they weren't processed by the IRS yet so assuming they would not have the transcripts for 2019

[Cndn 98]

44 minutes ago, chris413 said:

The issue is that I don't have any of the accounts required to create an account. There are options like CC (non Amex), student loan account, mortgage account, etc.

 

I already filed my taxes but they weren't processed by the IRS yet so assuming they would not have the transcripts for 2019

Oh okay. So you’re unable to verify your identity to create the account? There’s no option to select “none of the above”? I would try calling them, otherwise they do send them by mail but goes without saying that causes delay and is more hassle.