Gabriel5454

Check that final link again (i.e. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse). From there, Keep in mind, I am not a tax professional, just a random stranger on the internet. So feel free to do your own due diligence. But this is my understanding of the situation.

This is inaccurate. As per https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test, when calculating the number of days in the US for the substantial presence test, you do not count the days you are an "exempt individual". This includes a few categories of temporary visitors, in particular: A student temporarily present in the U.S. under an "F," "J," "M," or "Q" visa, who substantially complies with the requirements of the visa. As a result most foreign students in the US are not residents for tax purposes. This has important tax implications since they often are not eligible for the same tax benefits as those classified as "residents" for tax purposes (which includes, not is not limited to, US citizens and permanent residents) and hence often pay higher rates of taxes. OP, I suggest you review https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/determining-an-individuals-tax-residency-status. Quoting from that page, If you don't meet either of those two tests, then the foreign spouse may have to submit the election to be treated as a resident for tax purposes. For more info see https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

This link also states that if you are not adopting using the Hague process, that "If you are adopting from a Hague Convention country, certain restrictions apply that may prevent your child from immigrating to the United States using this process. Please fully research the adoption laws of the country you hope to adopt from before beginning the process." It cannot hurt to consult with a qualified lawyer about your situation to avoid any surprises in the future.

I was in a similar situation with my spouse (PhD student with living stipend, over the minimum threshold but not by much). At the NVC stage I didn't receive any message about my income being too low. However at the interview the consular decided we needed a joint sponsor. I think it really depends on your individual circumstances and what side of the bed the consular officer got out of in the morning. If you already have a joint sponsor lined up, that's great. As others have suggested you don't need to do anything until the interview, at which point if they want a joint sponsor they will tell you and it will be easy to upload the documents online and get approved. After finding a joint sponsor and uploading the documents it took a couple days for us to get an approval, so it was not much more time at all.