Could opening a new bank account cause problems for Form I-134?

[thailand2arizona 0]

I am the US sponsor and my fiancée is in Thailand. Our K-1 petition has been approved and soon we will schedule her interview at the US consulate in Bangkok. One of the forms she needs to bring to the interview is Form I-134, which proves that I can support her financially (which I definitely can).

 

I was planning to open a second bank account for reasons unrelated to this visa (the new bank is closer to my house), but I'm wondering if there's any chance that the consulate would think it's a problem that I opened a new account so recently and then transferred half of my money into it? I'm pretty sure I'm being overly paranoid – opening a new bank account is common and not sneaky or illegal – but I just want to check with this community. The NOLO book about K-1 visas says "Be aware that if [your average bank balance] is much lower than the present amount, the consulate will wonder whether the U.S. citizen got a quick loan from a friend to make the financial situation look more impressive." This makes me wonder if there are other bank-balance-related things that might make them suspicious. Has anyone ever heard of this being a problem?

 

Thank you!

Edited December 28, 2023 by thailand2arizona
Added detail that I'll be transferring half my money there

[Verrou 1,962]

can you wait a little bit longer to switch bank until she's done with the interview?

shouldnt be an issue, u are allow to change bank but since it's not gonna be long (i assume) for her to get interview, why rock a boat?

Edited December 28, 2023 by Verrou

[IWander 589]

49 minutes ago, thailand2arizona said:

I am the US sponsor and my fiancée is in Thailand. Our K-1 petition has been approved and soon we will schedule her interview at the US consulate in Bangkok. One of the forms she needs to bring to the interview is Form I-134, which proves that I can support her financially (which I definitely can).

 

I was planning to open a second bank account for reasons unrelated to this visa (the new bank is closer to my house), but I'm wondering if there's any chance that the consulate would think it's a problem that I opened a new account so recently and then transferred half of my money into it? I'm pretty sure I'm being overly paranoid – opening a new bank account is common and not sneaky or illegal – but I just want to check with this community. The NOLO book about K-1 visas says "Be aware that if [your average bank balance] is much lower than the present amount, the consulate will wonder whether the U.S. citizen got a quick loan from a friend to make the financial situation look more impressive." This makes me wonder if there are other bank-balance-related things that might make them suspicious. Has anyone ever heard of this being a problem?

 

Thank you!

Do you have sufficient income to qualify on its own?  If so, your cash assets are not even required to be documented.

[thailand2arizona 0]

1 hour ago, IWander said:

Do you have sufficient income to qualify on its own?  If so, your cash assets are not even required to be documented.

Yes, my income is sufficient. I didn't know the bank statements are optional, that's interesting. The NOLO book doesn't say it's optional, I guess I'll have to see what the form itself says.

 

2 hours ago, Verrou said:

can you wait a little bit longer to switch bank until she's done with the interview?

shouldnt be an issue, u are allow to change bank but since it's not gonna be long (i assume) for her to get interview, why rock a boat?

I've heard it can take 6+ months to get the interview scheduled, so I'd rather not wait that long. The bank is also running a promotion where you get $900 if you sign up in January.

[powerpuff 6,697]

2 minutes ago, thailand2arizona said:

Yes, my income is sufficient. I didn't know the bank statements are optional, that's interesting. The NOLO book doesn't say it's optional, I guess I'll have to see what the form itself says.

@IWander is correct. We didn’t provide any information on assets/bank statements as we qualified solely on sufficient income that was well-above the poverty guidelines. We did this successfully for I-134 for K1 visa and then later I-864 for adjustment of status. 

[Verrou 1,962]

2 hours ago, thailand2arizona said:

Yes, my income is sufficient. I didn't know the bank statements are optional, that's interesting. The NOLO book doesn't say it's optional, I guess I'll have to see what the form itself says.

 

I've heard it can take 6+ months to get the interview scheduled, so I'd rather not wait that long. The bank is also running a promotion where you get $900 if you sign up in January.

If bank statement is optional, do it now then. Now I’m interested which bank run that promotion. Sounds like a good deal

[IWander 589]

Stop reading the book.  This site will give you better advice 

[mc962 55]

Also, both bank accounts would still be in your name I think?

 

I think that advice is probably better if for example, John Smith has a bank account with $100,000 at the time of filling out the I-134, and then a month after that John Smith sent $50,000 to Jack Doe. It might be a legitimate transaction, but that case might have immigration wondering if you have the necessary assets yourself. But if both accounts are owned by John Smith, with the same SSN/etc. number attached to it and everything, then John Smith still has $100,000 in assets, just across 2 bank accounts instead of 1.

So the worst-case scenario is that statements from both accounts would need to be shown at the interview (if, as others have said, you need to show them at all).

[PokuPoku 24]

Its probably a good idea to either download or print out a year or more of your old bank statements either way, before closing the account. If not for this, there may be another reason you need to review old bank transactions.

[TBoneTX 45,267]

21 hours ago, Verrou said:

Now I’m interested which bank run that promotion. Sounds like a good deal

If the subject were even to come up during the interview, the consul might be wondering exactly the same thing!   

Edited December 29, 2023 by TBoneTX

[thailand2arizona 0]

On 12/28/2023 at 3:49 PM, powerpuff said:

@IWander is correct. We didn’t provide any information on assets/bank statements as we qualified solely on sufficient income that was well-above the poverty guidelines. We did this successfully for I-134 for K1 visa and then later I-864 for adjustment of status. 

Question for you and @IWander: The VisaJourney Guide I-134 section says: "Statement from an officer of the bank/financial institution with your deposits, identifying the following: 1. date account opened; 2. total amount deposited for the past year; 3. present balance".

 

Are you sure that's not necessary if I have sufficient income?

[IWander 589]

1 hour ago, thailand2arizona said:

Question for you and @IWander: The VisaJourney Guide I-134 section says: "Statement from an officer of the bank/financial institution with your deposits, identifying the following: 1. date account opened; 2. total amount deposited for the past year; 3. present balance".

 

Are you sure that's not necessary if I have sufficient income?

These are examples of evidence and in no way mandatory particularly if your income is sufficient to meet the requirements.  You can use liquid assets if your income is inadequate to make up for any shortfall. 

 

I highly suggest you review the Bangkok instructions for the I134.  You will find that it says that they are interested in your tax transcripts.  Period.  That is all.

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by IWander

[thailand2arizona 0]

1 hour ago, IWander said:

These are examples of evidence and in no way mandatory particularly if your income is sufficient to meet the requirements.  You can use liquid assets if your income is inadequate to make up for any shortfall. 

 

I highly suggest you review the Bangkok instructions for the I134.  You will find that it says that they are interested in your tax transcripts.  Period.  That is all.

 

To your point, the Thai instructions say "A Form I-134 Affidavit of Support signed by the petitioner submitted with his or her IRS tax transcript (NOT 1040 Tax Returns) will satisfy this requirement". However, the USCIS instructions for Form I-134, which the Thai embassy links to, says you need to include bank evidence (see screenshot), so I'm not sure which source to trust.

[IWander 589]

12 minutes ago, thailand2arizona said:

To your point, the Thai instructions say "A Form I-134 Affidavit of Support signed by the petitioner submitted with his or her IRS tax transcript (NOT 1040 Tax Returns) will satisfy this requirement". However, the USCIS instructions for Form I-134, which the Thai embassy links to, says you need to include bank evidence (see screenshot), so I'm not sure which source to trust.

When the ultimate decision maker on the affidavit provides guidance on what WILL satisfy the requirement, you simply don't want to believe. 

 

You can always choose to ignore the guidance from the Consulate, it is your prerogative. 

[powerpuff 6,697]

42 minutes ago, thailand2arizona said:

says you need to include bank evidence (see screenshot)

It doesn’t say you need to.

 

It says “you must show you have sufficient income OR financial resources”. It doesn’t say sufficient income AND financial resources. It says one or the other.

 

it also says “evidence should consist of copies of ANY of the documents listed below that apply”.

 

This tells me that bank statement are not required or needed if you choose to qualify using income.