I-864 Affidavit of support. Assets or Joint Sponsor?

[Samthemani 2]

Looking for opinion on what to do in our situation.

 

Wife (US) and I (IE) have been living in Ireland for 3+ years since being married. We are about to file our I-864.

 

Currently we each earn around ~70k USD from employment in Ireland, but as this is all foreign source income it can not be used for form I-864. We would prefer to NOT have to use a joint sponsor as it is quite a big commitment, but it is possible for us if truly required.

 

Our assets look like this:

 

Net property value ~40k USD. Last appraised <2 years ago so it should reasonably accurate.

Stocks and bonds ~20k USD

Cash ~ 31k USD

Taxes owed from student loans ~(16k) USD - note: this is payable as a % of income. If I earn below ~40k USD I am not required to make ANY payment. I am not sure if it is a requirement to include this, but I so far include in all my calculations to take a conservative approach.

There is also a car worth approx 5-6k USD which we will sell when we leave Ireland, but we do not include as per the guidelines.

 

So in total we will have approx. 75k when we submit the form in 2 months time. Total required for lower 48 is 17,420 * 1.25 * 3 = 65,325

 

What is your opinion on our situation - do we have enough to be in the clear at time of submission? Is a joint sponsor preferred or will we be ok with this level of assets? (We could also potentially delay the application another 2 months to save another 8-10k.)

 

Bonus question - does it matter who is holding the assets, the applicant vs the petitioner/sponsor?

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,412]

You will probably need a joint sponsor.  The 3x worth of assets is a guideline - that is the minimum required for consideration.  It is up to the CO to make the call.

 

I suggest you get a joint sponsor lined up and bring their I-864 to the interview.  If the CO tells you you need a joint sponsor, you can hand it over right away.  If the CO says you're ok or doesn't mention it, then don't volunteer it and instead take it home and rip it up.

[Saqib-s 188]

We were in a similar situation, we had assets almost twice what is required and our attorney told us to find a joint sponsor as the CO are trained to look for income primarily, and making a case for assests can be difficult unless your way over the threshold. 
 

[Samthemani 2]

On 8/2/2021 at 5:39 PM, SteveInBostonI130 said:

I suggest you get a joint sponsor lined up and bring their I-864 to the interview.  If the CO tells you you need a joint sponsor, you can hand it over right away.  If the CO says you're ok or doesn't mention it, then don't volunteer it and instead take it home and rip it up.

Thank you for your response. Just to clarify - in the online portal I would only upload a single I-864 completed by my wife using our assets. I would then bring a second I-864 completed by a joint sponsor to the interview, and only present if required?

[SteveInBostonI130 3,412]

2 hours ago, Samthemani said:

Thank you for your response. Just to clarify - in the online portal I would only upload a single I-864 completed by my wife using our assets. I would then bring a second I-864 completed by a joint sponsor to the interview, and only present if required?

Yes.

 

NVC may send you an email stating that you may not qualify and that it is ultimately up to the decision by the embassy.  As long as it is just a warning message and not a hard requirement for you to submit a joint sponsor, you are good to go.  The wording will be "suggest you submit a joint sponsor" versus you being required to submit a joint sponsor.  The goal is to get documentarily qualified at NVC in order to progress to the embassy stage.

 

[powerpuff 6,624]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Case Filing and Progress Reports to IR1/CR2 P&P

[Samthemani 2]

On 8/4/2021 at 7:42 AM, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Yes.

 

NVC may send you an email stating that you may not qualify and that it is ultimately up to the decision by the embassy.  As long as it is just a warning message and not a hard requirement for you to submit a joint sponsor, you are good to go.  The wording will be "suggest you submit a joint sponsor" versus you being required to submit a joint sponsor.  The goal is to get documentarily qualified at NVC in order to progress to the embassy stage.

 

That is very helpful information, thank you!