Harveyspecter

Hi all,
Getting ready to file my DS-260 and book a medical but we are trying to get the I-864 completed properly in the mean time.

For those who don't know:

My wife is a US Citizen, and the petitioner.
I am the UK Citizen: the intended immigrant.
We live together in the UK and the I-130 has been approved.

My father in law is the joint sponsor and mother in law a household member, both US citizens and combined income above poverty threshold and all that jazz.

He and my Mother in law file their taxes jointly and he is requesting a transcript for the last 3 tax returns he has filed (2012, 2013, 2014). As a household member, my Mother in law has to file an I-864A and include tax returns but these will be exactly the same as my father in laws as they filed jointly.

My question is: Can we simply photocopy the joint tax return transcripts and re-use them for the I-864A or does my Mother in law need to request her own (albeit identical) copies of the joint tax returns?

Many thanks in advance.

Noorah101

I think just the one set of tax transcripts should be enough.

That said, do they really need both incomes to qualify? One or the other doesn't earn enough on his/her own?

Rene

Harveyspecter

I will confirm later when I speak to my wife, but I'm pretty sure her father earns enough but because they file jointly and she is a household member we have to fill in the I-864A for her, and it says you must attach tax returns to it.

ian-mstm

No, you don't. She needs to file an I-864A only if her income must be included in order for the joint income to get above the poverty threshold. If the FIL, on his own, has sufficient income, the mother's income isn't required and so no I-864A is required.

If dad's income is sufficient, he completes an I-864 and includes the joint tax returns. His income only should be listed on the I-864 (not the joint income)... and he should include a note with the I-864 explaining the discrepancy between the income amount on the I-864 and the income amount on the tax return. The discrepancy, of course, is that mom's income was subtracted out for the I-864 while the tax return shows the joint income.

Ian

Harveyspecter

Great, thanks Ian. I will establish what needs to be done on the weekend. Thats again!

Harveyspecter

Ian,

I spoke with the Mrs last night briefly about this. Basically my FIL is retired now since 2013 so while his 2012 and 2013 tax returns show his earnings to be well above the 125% poverty threshold, his 2014 tax return (as his first full year of retirement) is basically very close to it. I don't know the exact figures in my head but the figure we need is $25,112.50 and I think from memory he is at or maybe a pinch under it which is why we need to include my MIL income too.

So, given that, can we just photocopy the joint tax return transcripts that my FIL has requested for my MIL I-864A?

Also, here is the checklist compiled for what we need for it:

Mrs Specter (the petitioner)
Form I-864
2014 Tax Return Transcript
2013 Tax Return Copy and W2
2012 Tax Return Copy and W2
Copy of my employment contract confirming my annual salary

Joint Sponsor (Recently Retired Father in law)
Form I-864
2014 Tax Return Transcript
2013 Tax Return Transcript
2012 Tax Return Transcript
12 months of 2015 Bank Statements to confirm Pension/SS deposits (in lieu of payslips since joint sponsor is retired)
Proof of US citizenship (scan of passport page)

Household Member (Mother in law)
Form I-864a
2014 Tax Return Transcript copy (Same as FIL as they filed jointly?)
2013 Tax Return Transcript copy
2012 Tax Return Transcript copy
Letter from employer confirming annual income
Proof of US citizenship (scan of passport page)

ian-mstm

Just to clarify (and for the sake of future readers), there is no requirement that income be at or above the 125% level for any previous year except the current one. People often concatenate the two requirements: 3 years worth of income tax, and current income at 125%.


If he is at or above the 125% level, it will be acceptable. There's no requirement to be xx% or $xx above that minimum level.


Yes - if he is under that level, your MIL's income will be required.


Yes.


IIRC, your wife's tax returns aren't required since there is a joint sponsor in place. Still, it doesn't hurt to include them if they're available. Otherwise, your list looks complete.

Ian

Noorah101

No need to include your employment information unless she's using it to qualify.

Rene

Harveyspecter

Thank you both!

Just to update: It looks like, subject to confirmation that my mother in law meets the financial requirements so if that's the case then we can file a single I-864 for her alone, with a letter from her employer to state her annual salary to explain the difference on the joint tax return (thank you for that tip Ian)

Hopefully once this is successfully done, I'll owe some of you a bottle or wine!

ian-mstm

Since she'll be submitting her W2s along with the returns, they'll see what her annual salary is. She doesn't need a letter from her employer stating her annual salary (that'd be redundant)... she just needs a short note that she can write herself - it doesn't even need to be something formal; handwritten will do.

Ian

Harveyspecter

That makes sense. Thanks again, I'll keep you posted of our progress

Edit to add: Can you confirm when the I-864 is submitted via the DCF route? I believe it is to be submitted with all the other documents at the interview but I haven't found anything official yet on my checklists.

Noorah101

It goes with you to the in-person interview.

Rene

Harveyspecter

Ok, we looked over this last night, and my wife has a concern.

Firstly, my wife (USC, petitioner) and I will be moving in with my inlaws, who are also our sponsor/s. For the HHS poverty guidelines, are we to use a 3 or 4 person household? I would be the only one they are sponsoring, and not my wife (their daughter).

If the former. At present, the HHS poverty guideline for a 3 person household is $25,112, and my MIL annual income, both in the last 3 years and current is $25,749. That makes her alone eligible to be my co-sponsor but the HHL poverty guideline is due to be updated in "Spring 2016", and she is concerned the new figure will be over my MIL's income. Therefore, is it best to play safe and include the combined income of my inlaws?

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/...orm/i-864p.pdf

If course if the asnwer to the first question is we have to work to the 4 person household figure, the second question is not relevant.

Thank you.

ian-mstm

Your wife is your sponsor - she must be, because she is the USC spouse. Your in-laws are joint sponsors - the terms aren't interchangeable. Are you staying with them temporarily until you find a place, or do you intend to reside there on a long-term basis. If the former (which I'm guessing is the situation), your wife's household is 2 - you and her so that's what she puts on her I-864, and your in-law's I-864 will show 3... MIL, FIL, and you.


Not "co-sponsor"... "joint sponsor".


You submit based on the current guideline... don't worry about the future. It only needs to be correct at the moment you enter the US... not afterwards - and spring is still a long ways away.

Ian

Harveyspecter

Ian,

Thanks again. I forget how switched on some of you are here so apologies for being a bit vague with my terms, but I meant it as you said, correct. And yes we are intending to reside there temporarily until we find work.

We are planning, all things successfull, to move in early July right after my job contract finishes (I have to give 3 months notice anyway, which by the time all this is done would be about then regardless). So I'm hoping this will all still be eligible. Thanks again