Hey everyone, hope you all are having a great evening. I just received an RFE on my wife's AOS case and had a couple questions in regards to it. Our PD date is March 2nd and the RFE for the I-864 was sent out on March 17th. I have not receive the letter in the mail, I just noticed it by signing into my wife's USCIS account. For the I-864 I submitted the correct and up to date filled out I-864, along with my 2021 IRS tax transcript, a letter from my employer stating how much I make, last 6 months of pay stubs, assets and proof of ownership, and finally a copy of my birth certificate. This is what the RFE states
"Based on the documents submitted, we could not determine that the petitioning sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, is qualified. In order to be a qualified sponsor, the petitioning sponsor's Form I-864 must be properly completed and signed, and the supporting documents must establish that the petitioning sponsor's income meets 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline for the sponsor’s household size. See Form I-864P for information on the Federal Poverty Guidelines. If the petitioning sponsor's income does not meet 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline for their household size, you must obtain a qualifying joint sponsor who demonstrates the ability to support you or submit evidence of assets. See Form I-864 Instructions for more information. If you decide to obtain a joint sponsor (or a different joint sponsor), you will need to: Submit a completed and signed Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, from the joint sponsor. All pages must be present and of the latest edition date. Provide the joint sponsor's Social Security Number on Form I-864. Provide a complete and correctly calculated household size on Form I-864. Submit a complete copy of the joint sponsor's Federal income tax return and all supporting tax U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. www.uscis.gov documents (W-2s, 1099s, Form 2555, and tax schedules) for the most recent tax year. Submit evidence of the joint sponsor's status as a United States citizen, United States National, or Lawful Permanent Resident. The "Total Income" line on IRS Form 1040 is used to determine qualifying income for a sponsor, not the "Gross Receipts" line from IRS Schedule C or C-EZ. If the petitioning sponsor or the joint sponsor is unable to meet the income requirements, they may qualify based on the cash value of their significant assets. Assets must equal the stated difference between the sponsor’s income and 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline for the sponsor’s household size. Assets must equal the difference for applicants filing as orphans. Assets must equal three times the difference for a spouse or child of a United States citizen. Assets must equal five times the difference for all others. Acceptable evidence of assets: Bank statements covering the last 12 months (statements will be averaged over a 12 month period) or a statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institution in which the sponsor has deposits, the account balance averaged over a 12 month period, and current balance; Evidence of ownership, value, and dates acquired of stocks, bonds, and certificates of deposit; Evidence of ownership, value/equity, and dates acquired of other personal property; Evidence of ownership, a recent licensed appraisal or county tax assessment, any mortgage/lien or lien release of any real estate, and dates acquired. For further instructions and the latest edition of Form I-864, visit the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov. See Specific Instructions and Specific Requirements listed in the Form I-864 instructions for complete information."
Here are a couple of reasons on why I think I got a RFE and I was wondering if any one could confirm if these thoughts are true.
My first thought is that I sent a copy of my 2021 IRS tax return transcripts and not my 2022 ones. I did not have these available to me when we submitted our AOS packet so I sent what I had. However, my 2022 IRS tax transcripts are now available.
My second thought about why I received an RFE for my I-864 is that I did not make enough money to pass the poverty limits. My 2021 IRS tax transcripts show that I only made around $18,000. I was in school in 2021 and 2022 and landed my real job in August of 2022. However, I sent in a letter from my employer stating how much I make a year (70k) and my pay stubs from my last 6 months which showed that I made around 46k in the last 6 months. My 2022 IRS tax transcript has my total wages around 32k. I also submitted my assets (stocks and bank account) which along with my 18k on my 2021 IRS tax returns should have jumped me over the limit.
I personally think we got an RFE for reason number 1 but would love your thoughts.
Secondly, how do we respond to this RFE? Do we just mail in a new filled out I-864 to the office we received the RFE from? It mentions something about uploading the documents online if applicable via my wife's USCIS account, but I feel more comfortable mailing it in. Also, it is okay if we send it on before we get the physical copy of the RFE?
And my third question is, is this a really fast RFE? They only got our case on March 2nd and the RFE was uploaded on March 17th. That seems really quick to me.
Would love to hear all of your thoughts. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Have a wonderful start to your weekend.