Evidence for fee waiver for i-751

[dawning 212]

My husband and I are getting his ROC paperwork ready to send in.

I had been planning to file for a fee waiver on the basis of both our income being below 150% of the poverty level and the USC spouse (me) having Medicaid. I have tax transcripts for the bona fide relationship part of the i-751, so I can just submit a copy of last year's return for the income requirement. The problem is the Medicaid. I spoke to the social worker who manages my case at social services and she printed out a letter I had been sent back in the spring confirming my eligibility for Medi-Cal (California Medi-caid).

The problem is, when I first got that letter last spring, I called to let her know there had been error, that the letter included my same income and family size from 2014, not 2015. I had a larger family and more income in 2015, and while I had provided them information on that, they didn't update the letter. Our income is still below the minimum listed in the letter, but the figures they quote for income (and family size). My social worker told me not to worry about it, and I had forgotten about it until I reread the letter yesterday and saw that they still hadn't changed it. So while it shows I have medi-cal, neither the income nor the family size match the information on my tax returns or what I will fill out on the 1-912.

What should I do?

I could file the request with only the income requirement.

I could bother the social worker to fix it, but if she hasn't done it since last spring I am guessing it's not a high priority, and I would like to mail the ROC out tomorrow.

I could include the letter and add a letter of my own explaining that the numbers are wrong. But wouldn't that kind of negate its value as evidence?

Does anyone have any ideas? How much weight does Medi-Cal for a spouse add?

Thanks in Advance!

[EM_Vandaveer 2,369]

It's fine to file it based only on the income requirement. You only need to qualify based on one of the reasons.

[dawning 212]

It's fine to file it based only on the income requirement. You only need to qualify based on one of the reasons.

Thanks for the information. I am leaning towards that path.

[Villanelle 4,121]

It doesnt matter that the numbers dont match. I can understand why you think so, but thats an assumption on your part and its wrong.

When reviewing your waiver its a process. First they check if you get mean tested benefits. If so, its usually a yes for the waiver. Dont matter what or why or the circumstances. It ends there. If you send NO proof of that, they go on to number 2, your income. If you show thats under 150% then its usually a yes. If not then it goes to 3, showing a hardship.

If you are going to send things for 1 and 2 and they have conflicting info you can send a letter explaining why. If they bother to even look at the evidence for number 2 and notice it, or read the letter you send with evidence for 1 and 2 Im sure they will appreciate your attempt at clarifying the discrepancy. But its not needed. You can send what you want. Either just number 1, just number 2, or numbers 1 and 2 with explanation of why they dont match.

[dawning 212]

It doesnt matter that the numbers dont match. I can understand why you think so, but thats an assumption on your part and its wrong.

When reviewing your waiver its a process. First they check if you get mean tested benefits. If so, its usually a yes for the waiver. Dont matter what or why or the circumstances. It ends there. If you send NO proof of that, they go on to number 2, your income. If you show thats under 150% then its usually a yes. If not then it goes to 3, showing a hardship.

If you are going to send things for 1 and 2 and they have conflicting info you can send a letter explaining why. If they bother to even look at the evidence for number 2 and notice it, or read the letter you send with evidence for 1 and 2 Im sure they will appreciate your attempt at clarifying the discrepancy. But its not needed. You can send what you want. Either just number 1, just number 2, or numbers 1 and 2 with explanation of why they dont match.

Thank you so much for writing this. It seems encouraging. There's just a paragraph about how if anything knowingly false is submitted they can deny not only the fee waiver but also the immigration benefits, that makes me nervous about sending in something with information I know is outdated. It was correct for the tax year 2014/benefit year 2015, but they didn't update the info in the letter when they renewed our benefits for 2016.