Kenneth

hello everyone,

our interview is coming up very soon, and my question is about I-864.
my U.S. spouse submitted notarized I-864 for our AOS packet. however,
my spouse did not work in 2001 or 2002 so didn't submit tax forms to
IRS. at the time of submitting AOS packet, we did not yet file for
2003.

now we will have a new (does it also have to be notarized?) I-864,
reflecting our 2003 joint filing of taxes. i am still worried that
this may not be enough,so:

1. should i (the foreign spouse) also file a separate I-864 listing my
previous 3 years taxes (i have all returns) and will this help? (it
sounds confusing because i would be "sponsoring myself").we have lived
together 6 months so i think i would qualify to do this.

2. or, should we just file my spouse's new I-864? Both of us are
working now and we will include paystubs and letters of employment.

please suggest something, i thank you!

kenneth

hcj1440

You won't need to file a separate I-864 to count your income. Bring your taxes etc and bring a filled out I-864A (contract between sponsor and household member). I don't think you'll even need the I-864A for your income to count but it doesn't hurt to have it ready in case they ask for it.

ON EDIT: And yes your income does count if you have been married and living together for more than 6 months.

Jadm

hcj1440 <member19487@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > You won't need to file a separate I-864 to count your income. Bring
    > your taxes etc and bring a filled out I-864A (contract between sponsor
    > and household member). I don't think you'll even need the I-864A for
    > your income to count but it doesn't hurt to have it ready in case they
    > ask for it.
    >
    > ON EDIT: And yes your income does count if you have been
    > married and living together for more than 6 months.

...not in the Portland Maine office it doesnt, they didnt allow it for
my UK spouse, nice ha?

Just Jenney

Originally posted by Kenneth:
our interview is coming up very soon, and my question is about I-864. my U.S. spouse submitted notarized I-864 for our AOS packet. however, my spouse did not work in 2001 or 2002 so didn't submit tax forms to IRS.

Be sure she includes a written explanation for why she did not file tax returns for those two years. She may also want to explain why she didn't work those years, either (attending college, illness, etc.).

now we will have a new (does it also have to be notarized?) I-864, reflecting our 2003 joint filing of taxes.

Yes, it does have to be notarized.

1. should i (the foreign spouse) also file a separate I-864 listing my previous 3 years taxes (i have all returns) and will this help? (it sounds confusing because i would be "sponsoring myself").we have lived together 6 months so i think i would qualify to do this.

From my understanding, you can only include any income earned in the US, not income earned in the home country. I'm pretty sure foreign-earned income is irrelevant. You don't say if this income is from a job held in the US on some sort of work visa.

I believe assets may be used provided they are 5x the minimum poverty requirement for your particular household. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I'm sure someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

2. or, should we just file my spouse's new I-864? Both of us are working now and we will include paystubs and letters of employment.

I would include any qualifying income you may have earned, but you should also consider lining up a joint sponsor should that not be sufficient. Unfortunately there are people who have been denied when previous years' income didn't meet the minimum requirements.

~ Jenney

Just Jenney

This is NOT correct. The very first paragraph in the I-1864A instructions read:

Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, is an attachment to Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act). The sponsor enters the information above, complete Part 2 of this form, and signs in Part 5. The household member completes Parts 1 and 3 of this form and signs in Part 6. A household member who is also the sponsored immigrant completes Parts 1 and 4 (instead of Part 3) of this form and signs Part 6.

This is not entirely correct, either. The foreign spouse's income counts if you have been living together for at least six months. You do NOT have to be married for the entire six-month period.

~ Jenney

Kenneth

Jenney & Mark <member2595@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > Originally posted by hcj1440
    > > I don't think you'll even
    > need the I-864A for your income to count but it doesn't hurt to have it
    > ready in case they ask for it.
    >
    > This is NOT correct. The very
    > first paragraph in the I-1864A instructions read:
    >
    > Form I-864A,
    > Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, is an attachment to Form
    > I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Immigration and
    > Nationality Act (the Act). The sponsor enters the information above,
    > complete Part 2 of this form, and signs in Part 5. The household member
    > completes Parts 1 and 3 of this form and signs in Part 6. A household
    > member who is also the sponsored immigrant completes Parts 1 and 4
    > (instead of Part 3) of this form and signs Part 6.
    >
    > > ON
    > EDIT: And yes your income does count if you have been married and
    > living together for more than 6 months.
    > >
    > > This is not
    > entirely correct, either. The foreign spouse's income counts if you have
    > been living together for at least six months. You do NOT have to
    > be married for the entire six-month period.
    > >
    > > ~ Jenney

Hi Jenney,
Hi all,

please let me clarify:
- my income from earlier tax years was in U.S., not foreign country.
- my spouse has already submitted an explanation in AOS packet why
couldn't work (school,not able to find job in that area), so should
spouse write that again or more detailed? spouse has been working 1.5
years non-stop full time until now, so my concern is just for the
period of time before she found a job (winter 03).she has had 2 jobs
until now.
- the section you wrote:

Form I-864A,
    > Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, is an attachment to Form
    > I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Immigration and
    > Nationality Act (the Act). The sponsor enters the information above,
    > complete Part 2 of this form, and signs in Part 5. The household member
    > completes Parts 1 and 3 of this form and signs in Part 6. A household
    > member who is also the sponsored immigrant completes Parts 1 and 4
    > (instead of Part 3) of this form and signs Part 6.


means that I am the household member who is also sponsored immigrant,
right? so I need to file I-864A and complete these lines?

sorry for any misunderstanding!we would like to be able to put all of
our paperwork together and show we are financially stable, without
asking spouse's family for affidavits unless we absolutely have
to-that is mostly my wish by the way, right now (and all the time
we were married) we are earning above minimum poverty level they
require.

thank you!

kenneth

Bluegrass Lass

Even if you spouse did not work for the previous 2 years, he/she should still contact IRS and ask for a statement from them stating that he/she was exempt from filing due to low/no income (or some such thing as that). There are many of us on here that were students in previous years, and they still have to show proof to USCIS that they filed taxes, or why they did not file taxes.

On an off note, as a fairly recent graduate, I can't grasp how students think they don't have to file taxes just because they had that low-paying part time job. I think if you make more than $600 you are supposed to file taxes (I could be wrong though). It blows my mind that someone could make less than that for a year's time. Ok, ok..stopping that rant since it has nothing to do with the original question...

Since you've been living together for more than six months, I would include your salary in your Aff. of Support - whether you use the I-864 or I-864A, I don't know. Just show proof why US spouse didn't work, proof that he/she was exempt from filing taxes, show proof of both of your current salaries, and hope that is enough. As other's said, you could always try to get a co-sponsor just to be on the safe side.

Richard Cochran

sunflwrgrl13 <member16206@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > On an off note, as a fairly recent
    > graduate, I can't grasp how students think they don't have to file taxes
    > just because they had that low-paying part time job. I think if you make
    > more than $600 you are supposed to file taxes (I could be wrong though).
    > It blows my mind that someone could make less than that for a year's
    > time. Ok, ok..stopping that rant since it has nothing to do with the
    > original question...

For the record, if you're a student who can be claimed as a dependent
on your parent's return, you can earn up to $4,750 without having to
file taxes. If you are single and can't be claimed as a dependent on
anyone else's return, you can earn up to $7,800 without having to file
a return. And if you're married (K-3 applicant?), the two of you
combined could make up to $15,600 without having to file a return.
The limits are still higher if you're over 65 or head of household.

There are other requirements that might make you have to file a
return (such as having significant unearned income -- like interest
and dividends), so see the IRS publication 17 for details and don't
trust this post. Also, if you had any tax witheld from your paycheck,
you probably SHOULD file a return to get that tax refunded, even if
you aren't absolutely required to file a return.

--Rich

Bluegrass Lass

Interesting...I've worked since I was 16, and my folks claimed up until I was like 22 or something (I think) because I was student. However, I filed taxes every single year and my folks told me I had to file taxes every year, regardless of how much I made or who claimed me. I guess I always figured that if you're working, whether you're a dependent or not, you always file your taxes.

Kenneth

sunflwrgrl13 <member16206@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > Interesting...I've worked since I was 16, and my folks claimed up until
    > I was like 22 or something (I think) because I was student. However, I
    > filed taxes every single year and my folks told me I had to file taxes
    > every year, regardless of how much I made or who claimed me. I guess I
    > always figured that if you're working, whether you're a dependent or
    > not, you always file your taxes.
    >
    > Originally posted by Richard
    > Cochran
    > > sunflwrgrl13 <member16206@british_expats.com> wrote in
    > message news:<[email protected]>...
    > > > On an off
    > note, as a fairly recent
    > > > graduate, I can't grasp how
    > students think they don't have to file taxes
    > > > just because
    > they had that low-paying part time job. I think if you make
    > > >
    > more than $600 you are supposed to file taxes (I could be wrong
    > though).
    > > > It blows my mind that someone could make less than
    > that for a year's
    > > > time. Ok, ok..stopping that rant since it
    > has nothing to do with the
    > > > original question...
    > >
    > >
    > For the record, if you're a student who can be claimed as a dependent
    > >
    > on your parent's return, you can earn up to $4,750 without having to
    > >
    > file taxes. If you are single and can't be claimed as a dependent on
    > >
    > anyone else's return, you can earn up to $7,800 without having to file
    > >
    > a return. And if you're married (K-3 applicant?), the two of you
    > >
    > combined could make up to $15,600 without having to file a return.
    > > The
    > limits are still higher if you're over 65 or head of household.
    > >
    > >
    > There are other requirements that might make you have to file a
    > > return
    > (such as having significant unearned income -- like interest
    > > and
    > dividends), so see the IRS publication 17 for details and don't
    > > trust
    > this post. Also, if you had any tax witheld from your paycheck,
    > > you
    > probably SHOULD file a return to get that tax refunded, even if
    > > you
    > aren't absolutely required to file a return.
    > >
    > --Rich

interesting IRS discussion! yes, my spouse did not work at all back
then (not even part-time) and lived with family during that time. if i
understand you all, we should bring proof of why she didn't work--and
how can she bring proof of that?--and we should complete I-864 new one
and I-864A for showing my funds?

this is a great discussion, thank you all!
kenneth