Hi,

In the AOS wiki the section on I-864 supporting documents, it refers to letter from bank, 4-6 months worth of bank statements, employment letter etc, I am wondering if this necessary in our case.

My wife is a student and working part time, we plan to submit a I-864 for her complete with 3 years of tax returns. Her father is supporting our application and his income way exceeds the poverty guidelines, we are also able to provide 3 years of his tax returns. We are going to submit an I-864a for him.

As we are not completing the assets section on either form, will we be ok to just submit the tax returns as supporting evidence? or do we need more?

Along with the I-864 and I-864a, your wife needs to include:

Her most recent tax return (either tax transcript or photocopy of tax return including W-2);
A few current pay stubs;
Proof of her US citizenship.

Her father needs to include:

His most recent tax retun (either tax transcript or photocopy of tax return including W-2);
A few current pay stubs;
If possible, a letter from his employer stating his annual income;
Proof of his US citizenship.

Also in the package, include proof of the relationship between your wife and her father (birth certificate showing his name as father), and proof that they live at the same address (perhaps mail addressed to each of them at that address, or a copy of each drivers license showing the same address).

If the income is coming from anywhere but employment, let us know, there are alternate things which should be included.

If assets are not being used, no need to include bank statements.

Rene

The income is purely employment based. Thanks once again for your advice.

Rene - could you please share what the alternate things are that may be required for using assets instead of income? I'm the USC / primary sponsor and will no longer be working when we move. (My husband will be finishing PhD so no job lined up yet.) I will have payslips for my UK job until August when I plan to move to US. I have sufficient assets (confirmed with immigration attorney) in US & UK bank accounts. My brother is joint sponsor and is employed with sufficient income. Not sure what other evidence of assets I can show apart from current payslips, bank statements and tax returns. Would appreciate your advice. Thanks.

Hi Nancy,

If you have sufficient assets (cash savings works best), and it's been confirmed by an immigration attorney to be the amount you need to qualify on the I-864, then you don't need your brother to be a joint sponsor (in fact, if you qualify on your own then you're not even allowed to HAVE a joint sponsor).

Your current payslips are not necessary, either, since that income will stop once you're inside the USA (you're not using that income to qualify on the I-864).

You will need to show tax returns for sure, but that also is not tied to your current income / assets on the I-864.

If you're using cash savings, pretty much the only proof you can provide are bank statements. It would be a good idea to show at least a year of bank statements, showing the savings is stable (and maybe even has been building up over the past year). If the statements show a slow progression of savings being built up, that's probably best. If you have any very large chunk deposits, be prepared to be questioned on where that money came from, and be prepared to show where it came from (sale of a property, lump sum payment from employer at termination of employment, etc.)

Rene

Thanks Rene. Will have to be bank statements and some evidence to explain a bulk deposit from an inheritance. I would think a letter from the estate attorney or executor (personal rep) of the estate would be sufficient for that. Any idea?

I have read on this forum that having a joint sponsor helped to alleviate any issues with the intention to domicile. I've been in the UK 16 yrs and not certain I'll be in US before husband's interview date. I expect we'll have the evidence of our UK house sale by then which should help significantly.

Thanks for your help!
Nancy

I can't think of any obvious reason why that would be the case.

Sponsorship and intent to establish domicile are both required but they are completely separate issues and I don't see how having a joint sponsor would in any way help in demonstrating the intent of the US citizen to establish domicile in the US.

A letter from the estate attorney sounds like it should be sufficient.

You might have been reading reports from those who are going to be living in the same household as the joint sponsor. Having a joint sponsor, in and of itself, does not help you prove intent to domicile. If you are going to be living with someone when you first arrive in the USA, you can try getting a letter from that person stating so, and that might help your intent to domicile issue.

Otherwise, you can use things like proof of job hunting in USA, job offers, proof of intent to sell current property, intent to purchase/rent/lease property in USA, intent to leave current job, researching schools for the kids, quotes for shipping, that sort of thing.

Rene

That's great. Many thanks!

Yep, I agree. Will try to find related posts. Maybe Rene is correct that the situation with others I read about was that they were sharing a household. Intention to domicile is probably our biggest issue if our UK house sale falls through.

One way to make the "intent to domicile" process seem less daunting is to simply ask yourself .... OK, I know I am moving back to the USA. How can I document the steps I am taking to do so?

The house might not SELL before you move to the USA...but you can still document how you are going about selling it.

Rene