pattschn

hello,

i am filing my AOS papers and i wanted to send them tomorrow (FINALLY) but my lazy, lazy husband hasnt filled out his part yet.
so yesterday he finally started to fill everything out and - of course there was a part we both were confused about.

in part 6, no. 23 they asked for the current annual income. we dont know if we should put the income he WILL make this year and have by the end of the year (based on his hourly rate) or if we should put the the amount from his last pay stub?

I know that the tax return is history and has nothing to do with the current annual income but im getting confused by reading different answers all over the web. i just want to make sure we wont fill out something wrong! so do i get this right:

the current annual income has to be 125% above the poverty level NOT the amount from last year income tax???
some people say i have to put the amount from his last income tax so i am really, really confused.

could someone give me a straight answer so we can finally finish this paperwork and get my AOS started thank u so much!

jeffreyhy

ps,

The amount from his last pay stub times the number of pay periods in a year.

But do not include non-recurring pay that might be on that last pay stub, things such as unusual overtime or a bonus or award.

Regards, JEff

meauxna

There are two items:

Current Income (annualized).
Amount of income on the last tax return.

pattschn

thank u for ur quick answer, wow !!

but i am not sure if i quite get the first part of ur answer, sorry !! Lets say his regular pay on his last pay stub was 900 (without overtime etc.) and he gets paid every week... How would u do it?
I thought the easiest way would be 40 hours a week times his hourly pay times the amount of weeks in a year

jeffreyhy

ps,

Isn't the hourly pay times 40 hours per week already worked out for you on the pay stub? Not that an additional multiplication is terribly difficult, but all you need to do is the x52 part.

Remember that we're talking gross pay, not net, and not sure which the $900 figure is.

Regards, JEff

pattschn

true... I am so confused that i dont even see the easiest things! 900 would be the amount 40 hrs x his hourly pay !
He works at a warehouse. Sometimes his payment is more and sometimes less, depends on the hours he works. Could that be a problem or doesnt that matter as long as he earns more than 18000 Usd? Can we say that current annual income is an approximate value for the USCIS?

meauxna

Estimate to the best of your ability, what his earnings for Jan-Dec 2009 will be.
That is his 'current income'.

pattschn

Thank u so much U guys really helped me because I was so confused that i couldnt even fall asleep tonite. I was thinking too much about what to put there !
We will send the pay stubs from the most recent 6 months with the paperwork so they will see how much he really earned anyways. But now i will tell him to put the estimated amount!! Thank u again!

PS: what is the amount from his last year income taxes for?? And does it matter for my AOS if it was less than 18000 Usd last year (otherwise every year more) ?

jeffreyhy

m,

Not if he's had a raise since January, in which case his current income is greater than what his Jan-Dec 2009 income will be. (Unless his hours are getting cut.)

Regards, JEff

jeffreyhy

ps,

That could be a problem, a complication anyway. You need to make a reasonable, good faith estimate of what his annual hours are. (And adjust for unpaid time off if that's part of his employment.)

Will he be getting a letter describing the terms of his employment from his employer? Be consistent with that.

Regards, JEff

pattschn

He was on disability last year thats why his income tax is lower than 18000 Usd. If he wasnt on disability he would have made enough money like all the years before that.
We made copys of his benefit payment records too so they will have a proove. Plus we have a letter from his job that confirms that he has been with them since 2007. Should be enough proove, what do u think??

pattschn

The letter just say the hourly rate he gets. He is supposed to work 40 hrs a week but since the warehouse is more busy in the summer time he works more than that but the average is 40 hrs. If I calculate everything with 40 hrs it would be an amount of 43000 Usd. But in the beginning of the year the were weeks where he just worked between 30 and 35/38 hrs. I dont know now

jeffreyhy

ps,

So in busy months he works more than 40 hours and in slack months he works less. If it averages out to about 40 hours over the course of a year then that's a good and reasonable number to use.

Regards, JEff

pattschn

Exactly! But it just doesnt say anywhere that the average is 40 hrs, the workers just "know" I will go with 40 hrs now... I think the USCIS people will figure it out when they take a look at his pay stubs!!

Thank u again for ur help!! I am happy that finally u guys could answer my questions without leaving me more confused that I already am, lol !!

pattschn

I would be the happiest person in the world if someone would let me know if the disability year could be a problem and answer my two lil questions above real quick