Jm

I am one of the folks who has been waiting for the TSC to get begin
processing K-1 fiance visas. I was approved on 3/5. I waited 161 days for
approval.

I am concerned with the letter of employment required for the I-134
Affidavit of Support.

Here is my situation..

I was laid off from my job on 1/24/2003. however..
I had already requested the letter of employment from my employer.
It is dated Dec. 31, 2002.
I was with the company for 15 years and the letter reflects that.
It also reflects my annual income at the time which was well above the
requirement.
I received a severance package for 10 months pay in one lump sum (no
paystubs).
I am currently seeking employment, but have yet to land another job.
I have statements from various financial institutions showing significant
deposits.
My tax returns also show income well above the requirement.

Questions..
Is the letter from an employer required for the I-134?
If yes, should I use the letter I already have?
Do the foreign consulates check up on employment letters?
Are recent pay stubs required for the I-134?

What other options do I have?

Thanks in advance for any help..

Just Jenney

First of all, congratulations on your approval -- that's a very long time to wait.

Questions...

Q: Is the letter from an employer required for the I-134?
A: Yes, if you are employed.

Q: If yes, should I use the letter I already have?
A: No, because you're not employed there any longer.

Q: Do the foreign consulates check up on employment letters?
A: I have no idea, but if you submit a letter stating that you're employed when you really aren't, that's providing false information (aka lying), which you specifically assert you're NOT doing when you sign the form in front of the notary public.

Q: Are recent pay stubs required for the I-134?
A: In your case, no, because you are no longer employed.

Q: What other options do I have?
A: Getting a co-sponsor, quick, if you don't have enough in personal assets to meet the 125% minimum.

Some comments...

If you are solely using your previous salary as your means for meeting the 125% minimum required for the I-134, then you are going to have to forget about that and start over. That's because you no longer have that job, and thus no longer have that salary. The severance pay you got (as you yourself stated) was one lump sum with no paystub involved; while it *may* consistute salary, I highly doubt it.

So instead, to meet the 125% you'd have to rely on whatever personal assets you have (savings, 401K, mutual funds, etc.), which would probably include this severance pay (assuming you saved it). Whatever the amount of your assets is, it has to be five times the difference between your income and the 125% minimum you have to meet for your household.

Of course, in that case, since you don't HAVE an income, then (if I understand this correctly) that means your personal assets would have to be five times whatever the 125% minimum itself is. For example, if your 125% minimum is $15,150 (two-person household), then you'd need to have five times that (or $75,750) in personal assets.

(I'm not 100% sure about this part; hopefully someone will confirm or clarify that.)

If you don't have enough in assets to satisfy this, then at the very least get a part-time job or something to help make up the difference. Alternatively, you could get a co-sponsor who DOES meet the 125% with their income.

In any case, the key thing is that you can NOT submit a letter from your former employer implying that you're still employed by them, because you are not and that would be a big fat lie. It's NEVER a good idea to lie to the Consulate or the INS.

To everyone else: Please feel free to correct me if I've got anything wrong here.

~ Jenney

Jomo

"JM" wrote in message news:...
    > I am one of the folks who has been waiting for the TSC to get begin
    > processing K-1 fiance visas. I was approved on 3/5. I waited 161 days for
    > approval.
    >
    > I am concerned with the letter of employment required for the I-134
    > Affidavit of Support.
    >
    > Here is my situation..
    >
    > I was laid off from my job on 1/24/2003. however..
    > I had already requested the letter of employment from my employer.
    > It is dated Dec. 31, 2002.
    > I was with the company for 15 years and the letter reflects that.
    > It also reflects my annual income at the time which was well above the
    > requirement.
    > I received a severance package for 10 months pay in one lump sum (no
    > paystubs).
    > I am currently seeking employment, but have yet to land another job.
    > I have statements from various financial institutions showing significant
    > deposits.
    > My tax returns also show income well above the requirement.
    >
    > Questions..
    > Is the letter from an employer required for the I-134?
    > If yes, should I use the letter I already have?
    > Do the foreign consulates check up on employment letters?
    > Are recent pay stubs required for the I-134?
    >
    > What other options do I have?
    >
    > Thanks in advance for any help..




Yes the employer letter is required for the K1 interview. The I-134
and the bank letter, and I think the employer letter also, are good
for a period of six months. So, if I were you, I would use the letter
I already have. And I don't think the consulate will check the
current status of your employment with the employer, unless of course,
they have a strong suspicion or lead that you are currently
unemployed. Instead of pay stubs, I sent three years tax returns just
to be safe. May be the most recent tax return could suffice for the
interview. But I would recommend you send three years tax returns, if
that is not a problem for you. Since you have enough money to support
your fiancee in the future and since you may be landing a new job
soon, I don't think that using the letter you already have would be
considered as cheating as she won't be a public burden on arrival.

Good luck!

Jomo

Ron

No matter what this clown said - DO NOT LIE to the BCIS or to the Dept of
State.


"Jomo" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "JM" wrote in message
news:...
    > > I am one of the folks who has been waiting for the TSC to get begin
    > > processing K-1 fiance visas. I was approved on 3/5. I waited 161 days
for
    > > approval.
    > >
    > > I am concerned with the letter of employment required for the I-134
    > > Affidavit of Support.
    > >
    > > Here is my situation..
    > >
    > > I was laid off from my job on 1/24/2003. however..
    > > I had already requested the letter of employment from my employer.
    > > It is dated Dec. 31, 2002.
    > > I was with the company for 15 years and the letter reflects that.
    > > It also reflects my annual income at the time which was well above the
    > > requirement.
    > > I received a severance package for 10 months pay in one lump sum (no
    > > paystubs).
    > > I am currently seeking employment, but have yet to land another job.
    > > I have statements from various financial institutions showing
significant
    > > deposits.
    > > My tax returns also show income well above the requirement.
    > >
    > > Questions..
    > > Is the letter from an employer required for the I-134?
    > > If yes, should I use the letter I already have?
    > > Do the foreign consulates check up on employment letters?
    > > Are recent pay stubs required for the I-134?
    > >
    > > What other options do I have?
    > >
    > > Thanks in advance for any help..
    > Yes the employer letter is required for the K1 interview. The I-134
    > and the bank letter, and I think the employer letter also, are good
    > for a period of six months. So, if I were you, I would use the letter
    > I already have. And I don't think the consulate will check the
    > current status of your employment with the employer, unless of course,
    > they have a strong suspicion or lead that you are currently
    > unemployed. Instead of pay stubs, I sent three years tax returns just
    > to be safe. May be the most recent tax return could suffice for the
    > interview. But I would recommend you send three years tax returns, if
    > that is not a problem for you. Since you have enough money to support
    > your fiancee in the future and since you may be landing a new job
    > soon, I don't think that using the letter you already have would be
    > considered as cheating as she won't be a public burden on arrival.
    > Good luck!
    > Jomo