I-864 VA/SS benefits aren't counted as income

[pantonia 39]

I'm not sure if this is a post to let other people know about this information or if I'm secretly hoping for someone to tell me that this info isn't correct, but either way, I felt I had to put it out there.

today I called the USCIS and was transferred to what I was told was an immigration officer. He finally called back and told me that the VA's disability benefits and the Social Security benefits are NOT INCOME (his words) and therefore can't be counted to meet the 125% poverty guidelines. To us, this means that our joint sponsor is disqualified and we need to ge a different one.

Because it negated everything I thought I knew, I called USCIS again and talked to someone else (not an immigration officer, just the regular person who picks up the call) and he told me that I had to go with what this immigration officer had told me, even if I had been to an infopass last week and there they had told me that everything looked fine.

Some extra info/backstory to our case:

Our joint sponsor relies solely on VA's disability compensation and SS benefits (he is retired). Form I-864 instructions states that:

"Receipt of means-tested public benefits does not disqualify anyone from being a sponsor, however, means-tested public benefits cannot be accepted as income for the purposes of meeting the income requirement." However, neither VA's disability compensation nor this SS benefit is considered means-tested (reference is I-864 poverty guidelines).

I had also read it everywhere on the internet (I've kept in mind that not everything online is true, but this seemed solid enough). So far, we hadn't had a problem with the income being from these benefits, since I got the Fiance Visa approved that way and because these benefits are solid and reliable (even more so than a job someone could lose). For his household size, our joint sponsor needs to make $25,200 and his benefits are well above that amount.

Now, I filed for AOS and sent the I-864 with this joint sponsor and got a request for initial evidence. While in the process of gathering the evidence to reply to it, I went to an infopass, where I explained and showed our evidence and I was never told that these benefits weren't counted as income (therefore disqualifying our joint sponsor), even more, I was told that our evidence seemed solid enough to get approved and not to worry. Because I do worry, a lot, about everything and our case is particularly complicated, I called USCIS and was transferred to an immigration officer, who told me that these benefits don't count.

[Rc123rc 528]

I looked at the I-864 instructions. It says you can use retirement income. Social Security is retirement income. However, there is nothing there about Disability Income (SSA Benefits). Disability is not retirement income and can be revoked at any time. So, I think the answer you got from the officer was half right/wrong. If the only income is considered Disability and your sponsor did not pay enough into the Social Security System to earn normal benefits then I think you definitely have a problem.

[pantonia 39]

I looked at the I-864 instructions. It says you can use retirement income. Social Security is retirement income. However, there is nothing there about Disability Income (SSA Benefits). Disability is not retirement income and can be revoked at any time. He gets VA (not SSA) 100% disability compensation because he is a Vietnam veteran, so it is a protected benefit. So, I think the answer you got from the officer was half right/wrong. I do think so too, but I was told to accept that answer, which is troubling since I already know that 1/2 of that answer is wrong, which makes me doubt that he knows at all what he was talking about. If the only income is considered Disability and your sponsor did not pay enough into the Social Security System to earn normal benefits then I think you definitely have a problem. He did pay enough into SS, his benefits are "regular" ones, so to speak.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

That person was incorrect. The USCIS misinformation line strikes again.

Use the documents you were suggested to use in your past thread about your RFE. Income is income. You just need to hold their hands and point out to them all the documents that prove how much they receive each month. Highlight the deposits on the bank statements for the last 12 months.

And just for the record, since it was mentioned above incorrectly, yes you can use SSDI on the I-864. It is SSI that you cannot.

[pantonia 39]

That person was incorrect. The USCIS misinformation line strikes again.

Use the documents you were suggested to use in your past thread about your RFE. Income is income. You just need to hold their hands and point out to them all the documents that prove how much they receive each month. Highlight the deposits on the bank statements for the last 12 months.

And just for the record, since it was mentioned above incorrectly, yes you can use SSDI on the I-864. It is SSI that you cannot.

Thank you!!! so frustrating to be mislead by the USCIS, they're literally toying with our lives here!

I actually talked to a couple people who have successfully used VA and SS as income so I am 100% positive now that the person on the phone was wrong.

oh well, thank you very much!

Edited June 14, 2016 by pantonia

[JM101 14]

I am a 100% P&T disabled Vietnam Vet also collecting Social Security and can tell you positively that the information received was false.

We used my income (VA and SS) alone and qualified well above the 125% poverty level for my wife's visa.

We will be arriving in the USA in November.

Good luck with your case and thank you for your service.

JM101

[pantonia 39]

I am a 100% P&T disabled Vietnam Vet also collecting Social Security and can tell you positively that the information received was false.

We used my income (VA and SS) alone and qualified well above the 125% poverty level for my wife's visa.

We will be arriving in the USA in November.

Good luck with your case and thank you for your service.

JM101

Thank you for your reply. Sadly, we couldn't risk being denied just because we got assigned to a clerk who doesn't know how to do his/her job, so we had to find a different joint sponsor. It seems to have finally worked, since I got a notification saying that my green card was being produced. I hope it isn't a mistake and that this part is over.

Good luck to you on what's to come and I wish you a happy life together