I-864 Joint Sponsor Inquiry

[emixkid 48]

Hello all,

 

I just received an RFIE for my recent I-485 submission, and one of the things they are requesting is that I submit more evidence to prove that I am a qualified sponsor for my wife.

 

Before I continue any further, my income is well above the federal poverty line. Along with my I-864, I had submitted: employment verification letter, four months of pay stubs, & 2019 tax return transcript. The only issue is that I started my job in February of 2020, so at the time of submitting my documents, I was only employed for four months. In addition, the income I earned in 2019 was all foreign-earned income (it was still above the poverty line). I am wondering if that was the issue.

 

So, my questions now are:

 

1. Should I use a joint sponsor just in case when I resubmit my I-864 documents?

2. Does my joint sponsor have to submit proof of income every year? Hypothetically in the future (say 5-6 years later), if my joint sponsor’s income falls below the federal poverty line, would that be an issue (even though my income is above the federal poverty line)? I only ask because my joint sponsor is looking to retire in a few years. I am well-aware that joint sponsors are legally responsible for any public benefits costs in case I or my wife can’t cover. We just want to make sure my joint sponsor doesn’t need to keep showing proof of income every year.

3. It says the joint sponsor has to submit a change of address form (I-865) every time he/she moves. Is that necessary?

 

I just wanted to cover all my grounds before resubmitting my documents. I thank you all in advance for any advice you provide me.

Edited August 26, 2020 by emixkid

[Lil bear 4,201]

13 minutes ago, emixkid said:

Hello all,

 

I just received an RFIE for my recent I-485 submission, and one of the things they are requesting is that I submit more evidence to prove that I am a qualified sponsor for my wife.

 

Before I continue any further, my income is well above the federal poverty line. Along with my I-864, I had submitted: employment verification letter, four months of pay stubs, & 2019 tax return transcript. The only issue is that I started my job in February of 2020, so at the time of submitting my documents, I was only employed for four months. In addition, the income I earned in 2019 was all foreign-earned income (it was still above the poverty line). I am wondering if that was the issue.

 

So, my questions now are:

 

1. Should I use a joint sponsor just in case when I resubmit my I-864 documents?

2. Does my joint sponsor have to submit proof of income every year? Hypothetically in the future (say 5-6 years later), if my joint sponsor’s income falls below the federal poverty line, would that be an issue (even though my income is above the federal poverty line)? I only ask because my joint sponsor is looking to retire in a few years. I am well-aware that joint sponsors are legally responsible for any public benefits costs in case I or my wife can’t cover. We just want to make sure my joint sponsor doesn’t need to keep showing proof of income every year.

3. It says the joint sponsor has to submit a change of address form (I-865) every time he/she moves. Is that necessary?

 

I just wanted to cover all my grounds before resubmitting my documents. I thank you all in advance for any advice you provide me.

1. Not necessarily. If you now have 6 plus months of stable income and can provide pay slips showing that , you will have given them what they have asked for. 
2. No .. no further evidence of income is required once accepted 

3. yes it’s one of the requirements of being a sponsor 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Lil bear

[geowrian 22,337]

I'm surprised they issued an RFIE if you provided all the proper documents and completed the I-864 correctly. While they do look at the totality of the circumstances for the public charge grounds of inadmissibility, this is typically a decision made by the IO during/after the interview, not by NBC during their initial review.

 

What did you put as your current income on the I-864? Exact number isn't needed - just explain how you got to that number.

What did you list as your income from the tax returns for 2017/2018/2019?

Are you sure you provided a tax return transcript (not any of the other various transcripts)? If so, I would answer the RFIE with exactly what it is asking for - all tax documentation (1040, W-2s, 1099s, 2555, etc.).

 

to answer the questions directly as asked...

1) Defer to after the above is answered. To me it sounds more like a documentation issue than an insufficient income issue. Insufficient document = $0 in qualified income, which is less than 125% opf the FPL required.

 

2) No. Documentation is only needed at the time of filing the I-864, and an updated one prepared for the interview (to provide only if needed).

 

3) Yes. They are agreeing to do so by signing the I-864.

Quote

If you do not file a properly completed Form I-865 within 30 days of any change of address, USCIS may impose a civil fine for your failing to do so.

 

[emixkid 48]

16 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

1. Not necessarily. If you now have 6 plus months of stable income and can provide pay slips showing that , you will have given them what they have asked for. 
2. No .. no further evidence of income is required once accepted 

3. yes it’s one of the requirements of being a sponsor 

Yes, I have now been working a little over six months, so I’ll try to do that. Thanks!

[emixkid 48]

12 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I'm surprised they issued an RFIE if you provided all the proper documents and completed the I-864 correctly. While they do look at the totality of the circumstances for the public charge grounds of inadmissibility, this is typically a decision made by the IO during/after the interview, not by NBC during their initial review.

 

What did you put as your current income on the I-864? Exact number isn't needed - just explain how you got to that number.

What did you list as your income from the tax returns for 2017/2018/2019?

Are you sure you provided a tax return transcript (not any of the other various transcripts)? If so, I would answer the RFIE with exactly what it is asking for - all tax documentation (1040, W-2s, 1099s, 2555, etc.).

 

to answer the questions directly as asked...

1) Defer to after the above is answered. To me it sounds more like a documentation issue than an insufficient income issue. Insufficient document = $0 in qualified income, which is less than 125% opf the FPL required.

 

2) No. Documentation is only needed at the time of filing the I-864, and an updated one prepared for the interview (to provide only if needed).

 

3) Yes. They are agreeing to do so by signing the I-864.

 

I listed my current income (roughly $60,000 USD) as the current annual income (before taxes) listed in my job contract (as of February 2020). I included paystubs of four months of work. My company does not provide employment verification letters and referred me to the dreaded theworknumber.com site where I was able to print out an employment verification letter (looked pretty flimsy though). I have since requested HR if they could provide me with a more official letter.

 

The adjusted gross income figures from my 2017-2019 tax returns are around 31,000-34,000 USD each. I only included my tax return transcript for the most recent tax year (2019). My income for 2017-2019 are all foreign-earned income, so while I have tax return transcripts, I don’t have any W-2s for those years.

[Ayrton 965]

5 hours ago, emixkid said:

I listed my current income (roughly $60,000 USD) as the current annual income (before taxes) listed in my job contract (as of February 2020). I included paystubs of four months of work. My company does not provide employment verification letters and referred me to the dreaded theworknumber.com site where I was able to print out an employment verification letter (looked pretty flimsy though). I have since requested HR if they could provide me with a more official letter.

 

The adjusted gross income figures from my 2017-2019 tax returns are around 31,000-34,000 USD each. I only included my tax return transcript for the most recent tax year (2019). My income for 2017-2019 are all foreign-earned income, so while I have tax return transcripts, I don’t have any W-2s for those years.

Did you file 2555 for the previous years to exempt the foreign income? If so, that would make the Total Income line on the return go to 0.

 

I can see the employment letter being an issue if they think it didn't come from the employer itself.

[emixkid 48]

4 hours ago, Ayrton said:

Did you file 2555 for the previous years to exempt the foreign income? If so, that would make the Total Income line on the return go to 0.

 

I can see the employment letter being an issue if they think it didn't come from the employer itself.

I did file 2555. Hm, in the income lines for my past tax years, I did not put “0”, only the wages earned. All my income I earned from 2017-2019 was foreign earned income (filed 2555 for each year). Does that mean it should be entered as “0” in those lines? If that’s the case, I obviously made errors on my I-864 form.

 

Also, the most important thing regarding income is my current annual US salary figure, right? 

[Ayrton 965]

1 hour ago, emixkid said:

I did file 2555. Hm, in the income lines for my past tax years, I did not put “0”, only the wages earned. All my income I earned from 2017-2019 was foreign earned income (filed 2555 for each year). Does that mean it should be entered as “0” in those lines? If that’s the case, I obviously made errors on my I-864 form.

 

Also, the most important thing regarding income is my current annual US salary figure, right?

On your tax transcripts or 1040, what's in the Total Income line (not Adjusted Gross Income unless you filed 1040 EZ)? That's what they ask on the 864.

 

The 2555 exempted income should be listed on wages/income on the 1040 and as a negative number on other income on schedule 1 part 1. Making the total income 0, if all the income is from abroad. At least that's how our accountant filed my and my partner taxes this year.

 

If the number you put on the form doesn't match what's on the tax transcript, that's probably why you got a RFE.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Ayrton

[emixkid 48]

Just wanted to provide an update. I sent out my RFIE package yesterday. To be safe, I did include a joint sponsor. Hopefully, all goes well this time. Thank you all for your advice!