Hi! We recently applied for AOS through marriage to US citizen (my wife). I just got an RFE for I-485 package. It is for form I-864: Affidavit for support. I am on H-1B and earning more than 125% of the poverty line requirement.
The part 1 of RFE says: "For the household member's income to be included in the household income, the household member's income must have been from a lawful source and earned while the household member was authorized to work in the USA."
I did submit my offer letter, last 6 months pay stubs, I-94, except for my H1B approval notice since it was waiting for a decision so I had submitted my H1B receipt notice. Now that I have received my approval notice for H1-B, I am planning to include the same in the response to the RFE along with the above mentioned documents which I already provided.
The part 2 of the RFE says: “Based on the documents submitted, we could not determine that the petitioning sponsor, My Wife, and the petitioning sponsor's household member(s) listed on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, are qualified. In order to be qualified, the petitioning sponsor's Form I-864 must be properly completed and signed, and the supporting documents must establish that the combined income of the petitioning sponsor and the petitioning sponsor's household member(s) meets 125 percent (100 percent if military) of the federal poverty guideline for the sponsor’s household size. See Form I-864P for information on the Federal Poverty Guidelines.”
In I-864 for 2023 we showed $0 for my wife and included my income as a house hold member being a spouse.
In the tax return section of I-864, Most recent year -2023 – Jointly filed, where my wife’s income was $0, while in the previous 2 years -2022 & 2021, income included was from my wife’s income. Along with all this we did submit the Tax Return Transcript for all the three years. And I do make more than 125% above the federal poverty line in the most recent year and my wife also made 125% above the federal poverty line in the previous 2 years.
Not sure what this RFE is for or how should I respond. Do I need to get a Joint Sponsor?
Any thoughts on this? Attached is the RFE.
