Question on Foreign Earned Income in I-864

[Equardo 2]

 

Hi All

 

I am filing I-864 for spousal sponsorship and have question about foreign earned income. For the past 4 years I had taken the Foreign Earned Income exclusion so my total income in the IRS transcripts show up as $0. Based on what I've read here on similar threads, USCIS does not count this income anyways for qualification purpose, which is fine by me because for 2024, I have been working FT back here in the US and can show enough income in Part 6, question 7 (current individual income).

 

What should I put in question 24.a - c where it asks for total income reported on Federal tax returns? Should I put $0 for each of the last 3 years or show the actual overseas earnings and provide explanation in Part 11 (Additional Information)?

 

To be on safe side, I am also planning on adding a family relative as joint sponsor (to allay my own concerns about showing $0 income for the past 3 years). The joint sponsor is married and have been filing his tax returns as MFJ. But to provide this sponsorship, if he only shows his current income in Part 6, question 7, then what 'total income' should he show in 24.a - c? Would this just be his own income according to his previous years' W-2s or the husband+wife combined income they reported on line 9 in IRS Form 1040?

 

Thanks

 

[OldUser 6,636]

21 minutes ago, Equardo said:

To be on safe side, I am also planning on adding a family relative as joint sponsor (to allay my own concerns about showing $0 income for the past 3 years).

Yes, you'll likely need a joint sponsor.

[M plus D 57]

On 9/26/2024 at 10:27 PM, OldUser said:

Yes, you'll likely need a joint sponsor.

Seconding this.

 

On 9/26/2024 at 10:06 PM, Equardo said:

The joint sponsor is married and have been filing his tax returns as MFJ. But to provide this sponsorship, if he only shows his current income in Part 6, question 7, then what 'total income' should he show in 24.a - c? Would this just be his own income according to his previous years' W-2s or the husband+wife combined income they reported on line 9 in IRS Form 1040?

24.a-c are individual income of the sponsor. The income of their spouse cannot be taken into account. Furthermore, keep in mind that any Sponsor who has a MFJ Tax Return Transcript, must add W-2 or 1099 forms of the individual sponsor. This is so USCIS can determine the income of the Sponsor, compared to the joint income on the Tax Return Transcript.