I-864 and Leave of Absence

[may5 0]

I (USC) would like to, and am able to, take an unpaid leave of absence from my workplace to be with my wife (beneficiary of CR-1) overseas until the visa proceedings are complete.

 

As the leave of absence is unpaid, and I plan to stay through the CR-1 process until my spouse has her visa in hand, how will this affect the I-864, affadavit of support, portion of the process during the NVC stage?

 

Some other facts:

I (USC) will have a few months of earnings in the beginning of this year which are above the poverty line requirement.

I (USC) have more than double enough assets to cover the assets portion.

I will not be earning salaried money while I am overseas for several months, though I will technically still be employed and receiving a $0 paycheck and statement.

I will still have a permanent domicile in the US for mail/etc.

 

Questions:

Will a $0 most recent paystub be grounds for refusal if the annual earnings are still well above the minimum threshold?

If so, can I use USC assets to cover everything instead or will that still spark trouble?

Will a letter from my employer stating that I am still employed and intend to return to work after the visa is approved be accepted in lieu?

Are there any foreseeable issues with my multi-month/possibly a year+ vacation overseas with my wife (maybe not considered permanent US domicile)?

[OldUser 6,624]

I wouldn't personally do it. Why risk it? You can visit for a month once or twice but take a long leave for 1+ year? 

Edited February 24 by OldUser

[pushbrk 12,873]

9 minutes ago, may5 said:

I (USC) would like to, and am able to, take an unpaid leave of absence from my workplace to be with my wife (beneficiary of CR-1) overseas until the visa proceedings are complete.

 

As the leave of absence is unpaid, and I plan to stay through the CR-1 process until my spouse has her visa in hand, how will this affect the I-864, affadavit of support, portion of the process during the NVC stage?

 

Some other facts:

I (USC) will have a few months of earnings in the beginning of this year which are above the poverty line requirement.

I (USC) have more than double enough assets to cover the assets portion.

I will not be earning salaried money while I am overseas for several months, though I will technically still be employed and receiving a $0 paycheck and statement.

I will still have a permanent domicile in the US for mail/etc.

 

Questions:

Will a $0 most recent paystub be grounds for refusal if the annual earnings are still well above the minimum threshold?

If so, can I use USC assets to cover everything instead or will that still spark trouble?

Will a letter from my employer stating that I am still employed and intend to return to work after the visa is approved be accepted in lieu?

Are there any foreseeable issues with my multi-month/possibly a year+ vacation overseas with my wife (maybe not considered permanent US domicile)?

Have you looked at the I-864 and the separate instructions.  You DO enter some information from past tax returns and supply at least the most recent one, at NVC stage.  BUT, your current income is i a separate section, where you will correctly enter zero.  Unless you've got well over three times the income requirement in cash, you will not qualify to sponsor your spouse, and will need a joint sponsor.

 

Do you have around $100k in "liquid" assets sitting around?  If not, bad plan unless you want to involve a joint sponsor who DOES qualify.

[may5 0]

4 hours ago, OldUser said:

I wouldn't personally do it. Why risk it? You can visit for a month once or twice but take a long leave for 1+ year? 

I miss my wife. I've tried the one-month-at-a-time thing. It doesn't work for us.

[may5 0]

4 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Have you looked at the I-864 and the separate instructions.  You DO enter some information from past tax returns and supply at least the most recent one, at NVC stage.  BUT, your current income is i a separate section, where you will correctly enter zero.  Unless you've got well over three times the income requirement in cash, you will not qualify to sponsor your spouse, and will need a joint sponsor.

 

Do you have around $100k in "liquid" assets sitting around?  If not, bad plan unless you want to involve a joint sponsor who DOES qualify.

The term "liquid" seems to depend on the CO's judgement, but I have the following (with the anonymity of the internet, I don't mind sharing the rough numbers) that I hope will cover:

~$10k in bank accounts

~$80k in a stock brokerage account (low cost index mutual fund, $60k is basis) 

~$150k in a 5-plus-year-old Roth IRA (~$100k is basis, which can be withdrawn without 10% penalty)

~$300k in a 401(k) (mostly pretax, some Roth) which can be rolled over to a Roth IRA and act as "distibution income" if needed.

[OldUser 6,624]

43 minutes ago, may5 said:

I miss my wife. I've tried the one-month-at-a-time thing. It doesn't work for us.

I get it, immigration is indeed hard. Good luck!

[Family 3,988]

You have more than sufficient assets , use them for I-864. All retirement $$ qualify as liquid, so no issues. 
 

The $0 zero paycheck is a BAD idea and red flag for problems. Whose idea ? 
You won’t face pushback with those numbers . ..

 

 

[pushbrk 12,873]

14 hours ago, may5 said:

The term "liquid" seems to depend on the CO's judgement, but I have the following (with the anonymity of the internet, I don't mind sharing the rough numbers) that I hope will cover:

~$10k in bank accounts

~$80k in a stock brokerage account (low cost index mutual fund, $60k is basis) 

~$150k in a 5-plus-year-old Roth IRA (~$100k is basis, which can be withdrawn without 10% penalty)

~$300k in a 401(k) (mostly pretax, some Roth) which can be rolled over to a Roth IRA and act as "distibution income" if needed.

Looks like you've got enough liquid assets to carry the day.  If you can also document you have a job to go back to, I don't see any issues.  Enjoy your time in the Philippines.  If you're ever near Dumaguete, look me up.

[gtrplayr 6]

I had the same plan, taking a 6mo sabbatical to be with my spouse abroad. We optimistically hoped the visa process would be almost done by the end of it (we applied 3 months before the sabbatical started) but it does not look that way. I am going back to work, one of the reasons being I want to have current income so I do not have to get a joint sponsor. Like you I have sufficient assets so I could have used them instead of income had I quit my job to stay abroad, but I've read some mixed reviews on using assets alone so didn't want to take the risk. Luckily my work allows me to work remote so I can still be closer to my spouse rather than in the US for now. 

 

I understand wanting to not be away from your spouse for a potentially long time. Sounds like you've got enough assets so it should be fine