I-864 Sponsor Self-employed evidence

[Paul Board 0]

Hi,

 

My joint sponsor is self-employed. I have picked out the below of evidence he needs to provide, but couldn't find other specific guidance. Does anyone know of a formal list?

 

-Form I-864

-Passport/birth Cert

-tax return and W2/1099

-Schedule c,d,e or f as applicable.

 

Thanks in advance.

[OldUser 7,528]

Do you have a different joint sponsor who is not self employed?

 

The problem with self employed sponsors is that many minimize their taxes which hurts their ability to sponsor.

[Paul Board 0]

I don’t unfortunately. The joint sponsor is able to meet the required threshold and has all tax evidence etc. just trying to figure out if we need to provide more evidence. I found a website that states we do (a law attorney), but there is no formal guidance that covers what the attorney recommends within the I-864 instructions. 

[OldUser 7,528]

3 minutes ago, Paul Board said:

I don’t unfortunately. The joint sponsor is able to meet the required threshold and has all tax evidence etc. just trying to figure out if we need to provide more evidence. I found a website that states we do (a law attorney), but there is no formal guidance that covers what the attorney recommends within the I-864 instructions. 

Getting I-864 right is crucial.

 

Looping @pushbrk as an expert in this area.

[Paul Board 0]

Absolutely. I will just focus on what they ask for within the I-864 and within the I-864 instructions for use. Found some guidance on USCIS too thankfully. 

[pushbrk 13,114]

5 hours ago, Paul Board said:

I don’t unfortunately. The joint sponsor is able to meet the required threshold and has all tax evidence etc. just trying to figure out if we need to provide more evidence. I found a website that states we do (a law attorney), but there is no formal guidance that covers what the attorney recommends within the I-864 instructions. 

One of the biggest problems with self employed sponsors, is confusion about how to state their income.  People who are NOT self employed also get confused about this and confuse "revenue" with "income".  In this context the self employed sponsor's current income is exactly the number on the "Total Income" titled line of their most recent 1040.  In this case, that is presumably from 2023.

 

If the total income (in this case it's pretty important it be all three years) is well above the minimum, income requirement, then there's no big issue.  Even better would be to use an Tax Return Transcript, but still the number comes from the total income line.

 

If the joint sponsor is married, provide an I-864a from their spouse, even if the spouse has no income.

 

You will also need evidence they are currently living in the USA, like a utility bill, etc.

[Paul Board 0]

Thank you. It seems he uses the Adjustabke Gross Income as he files on an 1040EZ form. I will make sure they have a utility bill and take a look at the I864a too. 

[pushbrk 13,114]

53 minutes ago, Paul Board said:

Thank you. It seems he uses the Adjustabke Gross Income as he files on an 1040EZ form. I will make sure they have a utility bill and take a look at the I864a too. 

AGI is correct for a sponsor who files a 1040EZ, but the EZ version is hardly appropriate for a self employed person.  What kind of self employment is this?

 

Who Should File a 1040EZ?

• File as single or married filing jointly.
• Be under the age of 65.
• Not be visually impaired.
• Not have dependents.
• Total taxable income should be under $100,000.
• Income should only come from wages, salaries, tips, unemployment, or taxable scholarships and fellowship grants.

 

[Paul Board 0]

Interesting. I will ask him why he files on the EZ. He is a farmer who is married and files jointly, but he does have dependants.

[pushbrk 13,114]

2 hours ago, Paul Board said:

Interesting. I will ask him why he files on the EZ. He is a farmer who is married and files jointly, but he does have dependants.

Disqualified from filing the EZ version on multiple grounds.  Unless he files a proper return, you'll need to find somebody else.

 

[Paul Board 0]

Is that disqualified for tax purposes in general or visa reasons? He has a professional who completes his taxes, so surely would have advised correctly you would imagine.

[OldUser 7,528]

5 hours ago, Paul Board said:

Is that disqualified for tax purposes in general or visa reasons? 

He files taxes incorrectly. Generally, this can cause IRS audit at some point.

Ans this disqualifies him from being a joint sponsor.

 

There's no reason to use this joint sponsor, you'll get a RFE asking for a qualifying sponsor.

[OldUser 7,528]

5 hours ago, Paul Board said:

He has a professional who completes his taxes, so surely would have advised correctly you would imagine.

The only time I filed taxes incorrectly which caused me owing money was when I used a tax professional.

 

After that, DIY approach never let me down. But I did research quite a bit to file everything correctly.

Edited yesterday at 03:11 PM by OldUser

[Paul Board 0]

OK, thank you for your comments. Although the I-864 instructions state that the EZ can be used with the AGI. But, I will chat with the co-sponsor and see if he can file with 1040. 

[pushbrk 13,114]

5 hours ago, Paul Board said:

OK, thank you for your comments. Although the I-864 instructions state that the EZ can be used with the AGI. But, I will chat with the co-sponsor and see if he can file with 1040. 

Yes, if one files the EZ version they use the AGI as the number in the tax section.  However, any Consular Officer knows your joint sponsor's tax return is filed using the wrong form.  As such, expect problems.