Feanor

Hi everyone.

I came to from New Zealand to America in March last year on a K1 Visa. My wife and I got married, and submitted the I-485 Application on 5/23/03 in Dover, DE. In today's mail there was a letter from the Philadelphia Office of the USCIS saying the interview is scheduled for 10/5/04.

The main thing I need help with is the I-864. We submitted one with the I-485 last year, of course. But since then my wife has changed jobs twice and been unemployed for just over three months. So I am thinking we need to do a new I-864 to take to the interview - one which includes the 2003 tax year and has paystubbs and a letter from her current employer.

But the Interview Notice does not say we have to do that, so I wanted to hear what people think we should do.

Thanks in advance.

Rete

If it were me, I would most certainly make up a new I-864 and bring it to the interview. Why? Because as you said all the information on the old one is out of date. The USCIS needs to see where you are currently working, what your current salary is, the latest and greatest tax returns, etc.

Remember to have it notarized and copies made for your records.

Rete

Feanor

That's what I thought, so I don't know why the USCIS doesn't ask for a new I-864.

Bharat

Hi there,

I am in the same position and my wife has sponsored me for I-485 but
she(the sponsor) is not working currently. I am wondering when my
interview comes and i have to fill out a new I-864 and she is not
working at that time, what will happen. Will they consider my
(beneficiary) income or it has to be sponsors income???or only Tax
returns will be sufficient.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Rete <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected] om>...
    > > Hi everyone.
    > >
    > > I came to from New Zealand to America in March last year on a K1 Visa.
    > > My wife and I got married, and submitted the I-485 Application on
    > > 5/23/03 in Dover, DE. In today's mail there was a letter from the
    > > Philadelphia Office of the USCIS saying the interview is scheduled for
    > > 10/5/04.
    > >
    > > The main thing I need help with is the I-864. We submitted one with
    > > the I-485 last year, of course. But since then my wife has changed
    > > jobs twice and been unemployed for just over three months. So I am
    > > thinking we need to do a new I-864 to take to the interview - one
    > > which includes the 2003 tax year and has paystubbs and a letter from
    > > her current employer.
    > >
    > > But the Interview Notice does not say we have to do that, so I wanted
    > > to hear what people think we should do.
    > >
    > > Thanks in advance.
    >
    > If it were me, I would most certainly make up a new I-864 and bring it
    > to the interview. Why? Because as you said all the information on the
    > old one is out of date. The USCIS needs to see where you are currently
    > working, what your current salary is, the latest and greatest tax
    > returns, etc.
    >
    > Remember to have it notarized and copies made for your records.
    >
    > Rete

Pallyn

[QUOTE=Bharat]Hi there,

I am in the same position and my wife has sponsored me for I-485 but
she(the sponsor) is not working currently. I am wondering when my
interview comes and i have to fill out a new I-864 and she is not
working at that time, what will happen. Will they consider my
(beneficiary) income or it has to be sponsors income???or only Tax
returns will be sufficient.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks.

.[/q2]

At our interview in Philadelphia, the officer was adamant that my husband's income be included and had us draw up a new I-864 to do so, right then and there. I had redone the one with just my info, since my salary had changed since filing. I would imagine that that same officer would be inclined to include the foreign spouse's income if he was so insistent on including it whether it mattered or not.
Good luck!

Feanor

Heh, I didn't make any money in the last tax year so the new I-864 I wrote out last night only has my wife's W-2 income on it. We are most likely going to get her dad to do a joint sponsor I-864 as well, just in case the USCIS wants to be picky. My wife made 25,000 in 2003, and 18, 800 in 2002, both of which are higher than the 125% poverty line. But while she is currently employed, she has been unemployed for three months this year, so we are trying to cover our bases.

I should add that I applied in May for a new 1-year work permit and still haven't gotten it. My first 1-year work permit expired on 6/16/04 so I haven't been able to go to job interviews for almost four months now.

Pallyn

I am sorry my advice doesn't apply. I would try lining up the cosponsor as a back up, for sure. Philadelphia used to be so good about work permits when they dealt with them there, we didn't have half the problems that the current filers do.
Keep faith, the office really isn't that bad to deal with and the interview itself should not be that bad. Good luck!

Feanor

Thanks, Pallyn. I got my first work permit in three weeks thru the Dover, DE office last year. But I didn't find out the USCIS had changed the work permit rules so they all go thru the NBC (and take forever) until it was too late.

Rete

Her unemployment does not factor into the equation. What they are looking for is that she is currently employed and that her salary mets the requirement if she had worked the full year. Also her unemployment benefits count towards the year's tally.

Rete

Rete

Why not? You are well past the 90 days of wait time so you are entitled to an interim EAD obtainable at your local district office.

Rete

Bharat

Thanks for the info !!

Actually i wanted to ask if the sponsor doesnt work at the time of the
interview (though the sponsor was working at the time of filing
(I-485),
1)can the income of the person being sponsored being considered??
2)Do they consider last 3 years tax returns to decide the income level
or just the current employment at the time of interview??

Thanks again!

Pallyn <member8098@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected] om>...
    > > Hi there,
    > >
    > > I am in the same position and my wife has sponsored me for I-485 but
    > > she(the sponsor) is not working currently. I am wondering when my
    > > interview comes and i have to fill out a new I-864 and she is not
    > > working at that time, what will happen. Will they consider my
    > > (beneficiary) income or it has to be sponsors income???or only Tax
    > > returns will be sufficient.
    > >
    > > Any thoughts will be appreciated.
    > >
    > > Thanks.
    > >
    > > Rete <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > > news:<[email protected] om>...
    > > > > Hi everyone.
    > > > >
    > > > > I came to from New Zealand to America in March last year on a K1
    > > > > Visa.
    > > > > My wife and I got married, and submitted the I-485 Application on
    > > > > 5/23/03 in Dover, DE. In today's mail there was a letter from the
    > > > > Philadelphia Office of the USCIS saying the interview is
    > > > > scheduled for
    > > > > 10/5/04.
    > > > >
    > > > > The main thing I need help with is the I-864. We submitted one
    > > > > with
    > > > > the I-485 last year, of course. But since then my wife has
    > > > > changed
    > > > > jobs twice and been unemployed for just over three months. So I
    > > > > am
    > > > > thinking we need to do a new I-864 to take to the interview - one
    > > > > which includes the 2003 tax year and has paystubbs and a letter
    > > > > from
    > > > > her current employer.
    > > > >
    > > > > But the Interview Notice does not say we have to do that, so I
    > > > > wanted
    > > > > to hear what people think we should do.
    > > > >
    > > > > Thanks in advance.
    > > >
    > > > If it were me, I would most certainly make up a new I-864 and bring
    > > > it
    > > > to the interview. Why? Because as you said all the information on
    > > > the
    > > > old one is out of date. The USCIS needs to see where you are
    > > > currently
    > > > working, what your current salary is, the latest and greatest tax
    > > > returns, etc.
    > > >
    > > > Remember to have it notarized and copies made for your records.
    > > >
    > > > Rete
    >
    > [QUOTE=Bharat]Hi there,
    >
    > I am in the same position and my wife has sponsored me for I-485 but
    > she(the sponsor) is not working currently. I am wondering when my
    > interview comes and i have to fill out a new I-864 and she is not
    > working at that time, what will happen. Will they consider my
    > (beneficiary) income or it has to be sponsors income???or only Tax
    > returns will be sufficient.
    >
    > Any thoughts will be appreciated.
    >
    > Thanks.
    >
    > [/q2]
    >
    > At our interview in Philadelphia, the officer was adamant that my
    > husband's income be included and had us draw up a new I-864 to do so,
    > right then and there. I had redone the one with just my info, since my
    > salary had changed since filing. I would imagine that that same officer
    > would be inclined to include the foreign spouse's income if he was so
    > insistent on including it whether it mattered or not.
    > Good luck!

Feanor

Yeah, but seen as how my I-485 interview is less than a month away, I can't be bothered getting my wife's father to drive me to Dover yet again. Not when I have read that local district offices don't HAVE to give you interim EADs - it's up to them. And not when my wife's father will already have to drive me to Philly for new fingerprints on 9/18/04, and then drive my wife and I to Philly for the interview on 10/5/04. Plus I don't want to start a job at the end of September only to have to ask for a full day off right away. So that's enough excuses for me to want to wait until October 5th.

Rete

Sorry didn't realize that you and your wife don't drive and don't have a car. Nice father-in-law you have there ;-)

Rete

Feanor

Yes, he is nice! My wife and I do own a car and she drives very well, but she really doesn't like driving on I-95. So we need him to take us from DE to Philadelphia. And she can't afford to take another day off work to drive me to Dover when she is already taking 10/5/04 off. The new legal secretary job she started last month doesn't give you vacation days until you have worked there for six months. What wonderful employment laws America has. *rolleyes* I haven't tried to get a drivers license here mainly because we can't afford to pay for car insurance for me as well as her. Man, car insurance is expensive over here.

Rete

Your wife's employer's regulations have nothing to do with employment laws. Those rules are set up by her law firm, not the US government. But won't go into that area here. I'm a legal secretary/paralegal in New York City and have been for over 20 years. Both law firms I've worked for only had a 90 day exclusion period.

As for cost of auto insurance, that varies from state to state and company to company and depends on the model and make of car driven, location where housed, number of miles drive daily, experience of the driver(s), etc. We live in NYS and pay $2,400 annually for auto insurance with full coverage, low deductible, no deductible glass coverage, comp, collison, breakdown service, etc. on two newer model automobiles and drivers with no accidents or tickets and defensive driving classes on our records. My niece pays that every six months in the same state with only one driver and one car. So her annual cost is $4800. My sister and her husband on their two vehicles in New Jersey but without comp and collison pay $2400 annually. My daughter in Mississippi with comp and collison pays $890 annually. My other daughter in New York pays $1,000 annually for two drivers and one vehicle.

BTW I love your state and envy you living there ;-)

Rete