i864 Help

[natapplicant 0]

Hi

my cousin case is with NVC, his wife submitted his i130 which got approved and petition is now with NVC. I have couple of questions, can you please help? I am helping his wife fill out the case since she works part time and cannot afford a lawyer.

 

1. My cousin's wife works part time and is student. She made around 6-7k last year. I'm happy to provide her my tax papers, I made 100k last year. What forms does she needs to fill in and what forms do I need to fill out?

2. My cousin's wife was also a dependent of her father because she is currently living her father, does that make any difference? 

Thank you in advance for your help guys.

[geowrian 22,337]

The primary sponsor (petitioner) must provide an I-864 packet. This includes a copy of at least the most recent year's tax return (transcript is easiest).

If they did not file for any of the past 3 years (i.e. if their income was below the filing threshold), they would mark the associated box on the I-864 and state why they were not required to file (i.e. no income / income below filing threshold).

If they are claiming any of their current income on the I-864 (they don't have to since it is insufficient anyway), they must provide evidence of the current income, like pay stubs and/or an employment letter.

 

A joint sponsor would provide an I-864 packet as well. This includes a copy of at least the most recent year's tax return (transcript is easiest).

They must provide evidence of their current income, such as pay stubs or and/or an employment letter.

 

Technically just 1 pay stub should be sufficient so long as it has the YTD total on it.

 

NOTE: If self-employed, the tax return's total income line is one's current income (there is no pay stub involved).

[natapplicant 0]

Hi, thanks for your reply. What is a filing threshold? Petitioner made 6-7k last year in part time since she a student full time. You mentioned that 'they would mark the associated box on the i864' which box are you referring to because I just checked i864 and it doesn't have any box saying no income or income below threshold box?

thank you for helping 

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, natapplicant said:

Hi, thanks for your reply. What is a filing threshold? Petitioner made 6-7k last year in part time since she a student full time. You mentioned that 'they would mark the associated box on the i864' which box are you referring to because I just checked i864 and it doesn't have any box saying no income or income below threshold box?

thank you for helping 

The minimum income to be required to file changes annually, but it is fairly low. $6-7k while still single would be below it.

https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/income/other-income/how-much-do-you-have-to-make-to-file-taxes/

 

I'm going to assume she married sometime in 2020. If that's inaccurate, then she would look at the MFS or MFJ threshold, depending on if she filed 2019 separately or jointly.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-864-pc.pdf

Page 5, Part 6, box 25.

Quote

I was not required to file a Federal income tax return as my income was below the IRS required level and I have attached evidence to support this.

 

[natapplicant 0]

ok now i understand, yes her income was below the levels but she still filed her taxes, i'm not sure why but she sent me her tax return for last year, so i'm not sure if she can check the box 25, what do you recommend she should do in this scenario. Her income was 7k and she did file taxes.

[geowrian 22,337]

16 minutes ago, natapplicant said:

ok now i understand, yes her income was below the levels but she still filed her taxes, i'm not sure why but she sent me her tax return for last year, so i'm not sure if she can check the box 25, what do you recommend she should do in this scenario. Her income was 7k and she did file taxes.

So she would mark her income for 2019 in 24.a. She would provide a copy of the 2019 tax return (or tax transcript).

What about for 2018 and 2017? A copy of those returns is not required, but the income information from them is required for 24.b and 24.c.

[natapplicant 0]

thank you for being so kind and helping me out, i pasted her tax papers but marked her confidential information as hidden, this is her 2018 tax papers and her 2019 tax papers are exactly same but with slightly higher income around 6-7k. Should i ask her get transcript from irs website or this should be sufficient if i submit with her i864? also please take a look at her tax papers and worth to mention that she filed as single for 2019 as well thought she was married, does that matter? she also checked 'someone can claim you as dependent' for both 18 and 19 because i believe her dad filed her as her dependent. thank you again for helping out, this is really helpful

[natapplicant 0]

@geowrian can you please help?

[pushbrk 12,911]

NVC will accept a complete copy of the tax return, if you want to upload now.  The tax return transcript can be brought to the interview.  You've actually read the I-864 instructions, right?  If not, that's your next step.  Become an A student of those instructions.

[geowrian 22,337]

So she was married in 2019 but filed as single?

Alright...well let's separate this into immigration and IRS issues as they are separate entities.

 

For immigration...

She needs to list her total income from the 1040 for tax years 2017, 2018, and 2019 on the I-864 (question 24). From the above image for 2018, this is line 6 ($3,039).

She must provide a complete tax return copy for 2019. This is either a tax transcript or a copy of the 1040 + all supporting schedules (like W-2s, 1099s, etc.).

Whether she filed as single or married actually doesn't matter to immigration.

 

For the IRS...

She needs to amend her 2019 tax return. If married on Dec. 31st, 2019, then Single was not a valid filing option for tax year 2019. She has to file either Married Filing Separately (MFS) or Married Filing Jointly (MFJ).*

MFJ requires her spouse to have (or request alongside the tax return) an SSN or ITIN. MFJ doesn't appear to provide any benefit here as her entire taxable income was already deducted.

MFS is simpler. She can just write in "NRA" as her spouse's SSN and then complete the rest of the return like normal. This may avoid any potential issue with anything the parent claimed as well, I believe

 

*Technically Head of Household can be a valid filing option, but doesn't appear to apply here.

 

Edit: Sorry for the delay....medical issues the past couple days off and on.

Edited September 22, 2020 by geowrian

[natapplicant 0]

On 9/22/2020 at 9:43 AM, geowrian said:

So she was married in 2019 but filed as single?

Alright...well let's separate this into immigration and IRS issues as they are separate entities.

 

For immigration...

She needs to list her total income from the 1040 for tax years 2017, 2018, and 2019 on the I-864 (question 24). From the above image for 2018, this is line 6 ($3,039).

She must provide a complete tax return copy for 2019. This is either a tax transcript or a copy of the 1040 + all supporting schedules (like W-2s, 1099s, etc.).

Whether she filed as single or married actually doesn't matter to immigration.

 

For the IRS...

She needs to amend her 2019 tax return. If married on Dec. 31st, 2019, then Single was not a valid filing option for tax year 2019. She has to file either Married Filing Separately (MFS) or Married Filing Jointly (MFJ).*

MFJ requires her spouse to have (or request alongside the tax return) an SSN or ITIN. MFJ doesn't appear to provide any benefit here as her entire taxable income was already deducted.

MFS is simpler. She can just write in "NRA" as her spouse's SSN and then complete the rest of the return like normal. This may avoid any potential issue with anything the parent claimed as well, I believe

 

*Technically Head of Household can be a valid filing option, but doesn't appear to apply here.

 

Edit: Sorry for the delay....medical issues the past couple days off and on.

thank you.. she actually didn't work in 2017 because she was in school. For part 6, 23.a: Have you filed a federal income tax return for each of the most recent tax years.. i'm assuming she will chose NO and for the same part question 25: I  was not required to file a Federal income tax return as my income was below the IRS required level and I have attached evidence to support this. <--- she will check this question and submit like a letter maybe saying that she didn't work for 2017? let me know please how she should fill out these questions? Thank you