Financial Sponsor Questions

[Zin-Zin 21]

I'm American. My wife is French. We together, with our 2 kids, live in Taiwan. 

We've been married 16 years. She has a had a green card before, but surrendered it because we had been absent so long. 

Our I-130 has been approved. We have been in NVC for about a year as we wait for the timing of finances and global issues to align before we move. I have maintained contact with NVC to keep our case open.

As far as I know, I cannot be the financial sponsor because my income is entirely based on my work here in Taiwan and will essentially end when we leave Taiwan. (If that's not true, I'd love to hear more about it.) I do have a growing online business, but I'm not sure how that will factor into this. Of course, that income will be on my 2020 taxes, but it's the first year with any real income so I can only show that proof of income for 2020.

As of now, my father will be the financial sponsor. He makes more than enough to qualify. Is it as simple as him filling the paperwork and sending it in? Are there any possible catches that I'm not seeing in this process? How many years of tax records do sponsors typically have to show?

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Zin-Zin

[neca 166]

My understanding is that you document income that you are going to keep after emigrating to the US. If you will be maintaining your online business once you move, then I think you can document it in your I-864. Even if that's above the poverty level, I think with your financial history being sparse it's a good idea to have your joint sponsor.

 

You and your father will have to fill out I-864's, you are the sponsor and he is the joint sponsor. He will send you the filled form and evidence that you then upload to the CEAC website. If his finances are sound then you should be fine. I believe that you are only required to show the previous year's tax transcript, but you can show up to three years previous (and it might be a good idea to have those three years if his income isn't consistent). Things are a bit different if he's self employed. here is VJ's guide to the NVC stage, with notes on I-864, and here is the list of financial evidence you'll need straight from the horse's mouth.

 

The thing I'd be more concerned about is your proof of domicile; you'll have to convince them that you'll move back to the US with your family.

[Zin-Zin 21]

Thanks a lot, Neca. 

I appreciate your links. I will look into them. 

About the domicile...any ideas on how to do that? I have a US bank account, and have done for 5 ish years, with a US address listed on it. It's my parents address and it is where we will land for the first few months upon our return. 

[Coco8 1,042]

The bank account is good. Can you enroll your kids for school for 2021-2022 year? Do you know where you will live? Others will probably have ideas of what else you can put together.

[pushbrk 13,148]

17 hours ago, neca said:

My understanding is that you document income that you are going to keep after emigrating to the US. If you will be maintaining your online business once you move, then I think you can document it in your I-864. Even if that's above the poverty level, I think with your financial history being sparse it's a good idea to have your joint sponsor.

 

You and your father will have to fill out I-864's, you are the sponsor and he is the joint sponsor. He will send you the filled form and evidence that you then upload to the CEAC website. If his finances are sound then you should be fine. I believe that you are only required to show the previous year's tax transcript, but you can show up to three years previous (and it might be a good idea to have those three years if his income isn't consistent). Things are a bit different if he's self employed. here is VJ's guide to the NVC stage, with notes on I-864, and here is the list of financial evidence you'll need straight from the horse's mouth.

 

The thing I'd be more concerned about is your proof of domicile; you'll have to convince them that you'll move back to the US with your family.

Note that if Dad is married, it is best practice for his spouse to provide an I-864a whether she has income or not and whether her income is needed or not.

[neca 166]

16 hours ago, Zin-Zin said:

About the domicile...any ideas on how to do that? I have a US bank account, and have done for 5 ish years, with a US address listed on it. It's my parents address and it is where we will land for the first few months upon our return. 

The bank acct is a good start, here you can find some examples of domicile evidence along with a sample cover letter. Ctrl/Command + F "Domicile."

 

For my domicile I sent in as many of the examples in the guide as were relevant to me, in addition to evidence of my frequent trips home, evidence of paying state tax, correspondence with my mother about coming back (and her acknowledging our staying at her house), example of mail I had sent to the US address, really anything I could think of that serves to show that I am still tied to the US. There are people that will tell you that some evidence is better than others, I myself can't judge quality. I just know that all of the stuff that I sent with my I-864 was enough for the NVC to accept it. I will say that it's better to front load and give them too much stuff rather than not enough, if you can.

 

For you you'll want to show that you are going to or in the process of establish ties, so opening another bank account, correspondence or a written affidavit from your parents having them acknowledge your return and staying with them, anything that shows that you are actively preparing to move back to the US. If you do some searching you're sure to find examples of what others have done in their own cases.

[Zin-Zin 21]

On 3/7/2021 at 6:20 AM, pushbrk said:

Note that if Dad is married, it is best practice for his spouse to provide an I-864a whether she has income or not and whether her income is needed or not.

Thanks! Does that still apply if my father is married to my mother and she has no income and they file taxes "Married Filing Jointly"?

On 3/7/2021 at 7:11 AM, neca said:

The bank acct is a good start, here you can find some examples of domicile evidence along with a sample cover letter. Ctrl/Command + F "Domicile."

 

For my domicile I sent in as many of the examples in the guide as were relevant to me, in addition to evidence of my frequent trips home, evidence of paying state tax, correspondence with my mother about coming back (and her acknowledging our staying at her house), example of mail I had sent to the US address, really anything I could think of that serves to show that I am still tied to the US. There are people that will tell you that some evidence is better than others, I myself can't judge quality. I just know that all of the stuff that I sent with my I-864 was enough for the NVC to accept it. I will say that it's better to front load and give them too much stuff rather than not enough, if you can.

 

For you you'll want to show that you are going to or in the process of establish ties, so opening another bank account, correspondence or a written affidavit from your parents having them acknowledge your return and staying with them, anything that shows that you are actively preparing to move back to the US. If you do some searching you're sure to find examples of what others have done in their own cases.

Thanks a lot. I will follow these resources you've offered. Much obliged!

[Zin-Zin 21]

On 3/6/2021 at 2:58 PM, Coco8 said:

The bank account is good. Can you enroll your kids for school for 2021-2022 year? Do you know where you will live? Others will probably have ideas of what else you can put together.

We homeschool, but if it will help, perhaps I could enroll them until we are safely in the States, green card in hand. Honestly, I have no idea how it works.

 

[pushbrk 13,148]

20 hours ago, Zin-Zin said:

Thanks! Does that still apply if my father is married to my mother and she has no income and they file taxes "Married Filing Jointly"?

 

It doesn't matter who your father is married to.  This is a contract.  They want his wife's signature on that contract especially, if they file taxes jointly.

[neca 166]

I don't want to go against pushbrk's advice because it is, as he said, best practice.

I will say, however, that my mother is our JS, files her taxes joint with her husband, and we did not fill out an I-864A for him. In the case of married filing jointly you need to show proof of the Joint Sponsor's income alone, not tied to their spouse, and that it is enough to support the entire family size.

 

I understood at the time of filing that there was a sizable risk of delay in that there was a chance that they will ask for the I-864A. I most likely got lucky in not being asked to provide one. I would still recommend you fill one out, especially if you are not willing to risk having further delays in an already lengthy process. My reason for saying this is to be forthcoming with my personal experience.

[pushbrk 13,148]

2 hours ago, neca said:

I don't want to go against pushbrk's advice because it is, as he said, best practice.

I will say, however, that my mother is our JS, files her taxes joint with her husband, and we did not fill out an I-864A for him. In the case of married filing jointly you need to show proof of the Joint Sponsor's income alone, not tied to their spouse, and that it is enough to support the entire family size.

 

I understood at the time of filing that there was a sizable risk of delay in that there was a chance that they will ask for the I-864A. I most likely got lucky in not being asked to provide one. I would still recommend you fill one out, especially if you are not willing to risk having further delays in an already lengthy process. My reason for saying this is to be forthcoming with my personal experience.

As I said, best practice, not "required".  The I-864a from a joint sponsor is only "required" when a Consular Officer asks for it.  THEN....it suddenly becomes REQUIRED and you see a several week delay in visa issue until you get the I-864a in and the whole case gets reviewed again.