Hi all...most of you know my story. I helped my brother and sister bring their fiances to the US under K-1. I recently also got engaged myself to someone abroad (Islamabad Consulate).

I am now in the process of filing for my fiance's I-129F application and the AOS apps for the in-laws who have already come to the US. We all live in the same house (8 of us in all). My father and I work and my brother and sister are full time students. My sister's husband also starting working since his arrival making very little money. My father and I are sponsoring both new in-laws, combined income is twice the amount for an 8 member household. My questions are:

-How do I accurately portray this in the application? Through joint sponsorship applications or the I-864A's?
-Should I bother to list my brother and sister since they are full-time students...they are both in their senior year and should be graduating with good jobs.
-What are the implications for when I have to sponsor my own fiance later on?

Thanks for anyone with 2 cents!!!!

Hi Rangena,

I had to really think about this one! What I came up with sounds too easy...but I'll outline it anyway...hopefully it's right, and someone else can chime in with their thoughts, too. I'm going to list it in the 3rd person, it's easier to read. OK, here goes:

For Rangena's brother's alien wife
Rangena's brother fills out I-864
Rangena's dad fills out I-864A
Rangena fills out I-864A

For Rangena's sister's alien husband
Rangena's sister fills out I-864
Rangena's dad fills out I-864A
Rangena fills out I-864A

For Rangena's future fiance
Rangena fills out I-134 and deals with the I-864 when the time comes later on. LOL

I wouldn't worry about your brother-in-law working right now, since the money isn't much and he hasn't been working very long.

On each application, remember to list all the immigrants you are sponsoring (1 each for your brother and sister...but 2 each for you and your dad).

I hope that gives you a bit of a start. I only counted 6 people in the paragraph you wrote, I'm assuming you have 2 other household members you didn't mention. Also, I'm not sure how taxes affect any of this...i.e., who is a dependent on whose taxes, etc. Not sure if the I-864 goes only by household size, or by tax dependent information.

Best Wishes!
Rene

Rangena,

Please clearly identify all 8 people, their relationships to one another, and which if any you have signed affidavits of support for. Is your fiance going to make it 9, or will be become #8?

In the meantime, your brother and sister should be listed on any I-864 that you prepare - they live in the same residence with you and are related to you by birth. The definition of a household member does not include 'unless they are in their senior year and will be graduating with good jobs'.

You will not need to list your brother and sister in item #8 of the I-134 that you will be filling out for your fiance unless you do contribute to supporting them.

Regards, JEff

Rene,

I'm thinking that tax dependency might come into play
- if there are dependents who do not live in the same residence or
- if the 2 unidentified persons living in the residence are not related by birth, marriage, or adoption.

The I-864 goes by household size, but by definition (I-864 definition) a person who is dependent for tax purposes is a household member, as is a person for whom one has previously signed an I-864, no matter where the dependent lives.

Regards, JEff

Thanks JEff,

Makes me glad it was only my husband and myself on my I-864! whew!

Rene

Thanks Rene and Jeff!

To clarify, the people who live in my crazy household are: my mother, father, 2 brothers, 1 sister, 1 sister-in-law alien, and 1 brother-in-law alien, and ME, totaling 8. My fiance will make it 9!

As I mentioned before, my father and I work full-time making almost $80k total. The poverty limit for 8 people at 125% is almost $40k...also my uncle and aunt who amazingly only have one child and make good income said that they would be willing to sponsor one of the current aliens...

So how does that all fit in when you (or your family) files taxes? Who claims who as a dependant, if any?

Rene

Well, I file alone until of course my fiance gets here. My brother and his wife will file together. My sister and her husband will file together. My dad files with my mother and they claim my youngest brother who is 15.

Rangena,

You may be misunderstanding Rene's question. Her question is not do you file a single or joint income tax return, it's do you claim anyone as a dependent on your tax return?

For how many people do you provide some money, even if you don't claim those people as dependents for tax purposes? Or do you keep all of your income to yourself at present?

For how many people have you provided an affidavit of support, either I-134 or I-864?

Regards, JEff

Sorry Jeff, here are the answers...

I do not claim anyone as a dependent and no one in my family has ever provided an affidavit of support for anyone before. My dad and mom claim my younger brother. My married brother and sister will file with their spouses and not claim anyone either.

My household is very lax with money, I pay the mortgage now and my dad pays all of the other bills. When I was in school, my brother and dad worked to provide...does that clear things up more?

Rangena,

I think so .....!

I think that Rene's breakdown for the two in-laws who are adjusting is correct, with the observation that the I-864As are completed jointly by you and your brother, jointly by you and your sister, your etc.. Be sure to get the right numbers on the right lines in Part 4 B, but the total on line B.5 should be 8 in both cases.

For your I-134 for your fiance, I'm not sure what to say.
- Line 8: All 7 of your relatives are partially dependent on you - you are paying their housing costs. But your Dad is similarly paying some of your expenses which might even things out? I think I'd be inclined to list them all except your dad, check partially dependent, and make an attachment describing the arrangements that you've described in this thread. The bottom line seems to be that 2 people, one of whom is you, are supporting 8 - 6 people are partiall dependent on you, and partially dependent on your dad, regardless of what you and your dad are claiming for tax purposes.
- Line 9: List the 2 inlaws for whom you are entering into I-864As, noting that it is I-864A

Then be prepared to answer questions at the visa interview so that the consular officer handling the case can sort it out.

Maybe get an I-134 for your fiance from your dad also, since the group's finances are so intertwined and inseparable. The two of you are the 'bread winners', the only bread winners, and with 2 I-134s you'll be showing $80,000 which should be plenty to satisfy your fiance's visa requirement.

I'll be interested to learn how this works out.

Regards, JEff

I reallly appreciate all of your help!

My family is a sort of communist one in that money comes in, gets spent, and no one is the wiser...by the time my fiance and I are interviewing, I am hoping that we will be living in our own home and just supporting ourselves. I do realize that does not matter now since I am committing to sponsoring my in-laws.

I do have an uncle and aunt who make a nice living that are willing to sponsor one of those in-laws and/or my fiance if necessary....

Thanks again.

Hi Rangena,

It doesn't seem like it would be necessary for your Aunt & Uncle to be joint sponsors for financial reasons, seems like you and your dad make enough income to cover everyone. It just might be easier on the paperwork to keep it separated out and be more obvious who is sponsoring whom. But it probably doesn't really matter to USCIS at all, as long as the financial requirements are met.

Best Wishes,
Rene
p.a. - on a personal note, I admire that you can all live together without going nuts. When my first husband's family first came over from Iran, we had 8 people (6 adults and 2 minors) living in our new 3 bedroom house for about 4 months. It was an absolute madhouse! LOL

I am sooo glad that I came in late to this thread!! haha! I just want to say good luck to you, Rangena, and to your family!

Marnee

Thanks Marnee! I really appreciate everyone's help!

Rene, it is hard to live at home with everyone but there are definite advantages because I enjoy coming home to a full house and having people who are around me to support me in any way I need it....