I am sponsoring and am an unemployed student who receives financial aid

[AmericaninEurope 0]

Hello all,

I am filling out the I-130 and I-485 with my wife, who is living in the US with me.

I am a US citizen and am sponsoring her. I just quite my job to start my graduate studies but have some savings and a stipend.

My questions would be the following:

• Do I need to check "unemployed" in Form I-864?
• I am adding my wife's income in Form I-864, which brings us both over the poverty guideline for 2 people. I also have savings of some tens of thousands of dollars. Will that be sufficient proof that, despite my unemployment, I can support my wife in the US?
• Should I also provide proof of my stipend, which is non-trivial, and if so, how?

Thank you for your help!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Assets need to be 5x the poverty line requirement to be used solely.

[AmericaninEurope 0]

Thanks for the response.

Does anyone have any answers to the other questions? Especially the one on checking unemployed or not?

I gather people in my position often put down that they're employed as graduate students.

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

Unemployed means no job, which you are now.

What is your wife status? If she can't prove her income will be from same source after she is adjusted, you can't use her income.

It is time to find joint sponsor.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

You are not unemployed. You are a graduate student. Your stipend is your compensation for being a graduate student.

List your stipend as income. After all, you do get an income tax form from the school. Many people are unaware that some graduate students have income in the form of a stipend.

If your income does not meet the 125% poverty line, you need 3x the shortfall. It's not 5x. 3x for a spouse. 5x for other immigrants.

You may want to get a Joint Sponsor.

Best of luck.

[AmericaninEurope 0]

Excellent response, thank you, aaron2020!

My stipend already puts us well over the poverty guideline (more than 125%), and my savings alone are also more than 3x poverty guideline.

Nonetheless, since my wife works for the World Bank, I will add her work contract as well.

That should do the trick, right?

Thanks again!

Hi,

You are not unemployed. You are a graduate student. Your stipend is your compensation for being a graduate student.

List your stipend as income. After all, you do get an income tax form from the school. Many people are unaware that some graduate students have income in the form of a stipend.

If your income does not meet the 125% poverty line, you need 3x the shortfall. It's not 5x. 3x for a spouse. 5x for other immigrants.

You may want to get a Joint Sponsor.

Best of luck.

[Cheezees 1,514]

You said you just quit your job and are pursuing graduate studies that provides a stipend.

1. What do you mean by "just"? A month ago? Last week? Yesterday?

2. Did you already start graduate school? Are you registered to start in the fall semester?

3. Did you quit and then start school? Or did you work and attend school and subsequently quit the job but not the school?

If you have already started (or started this summer - odd, but possible) and are just on break over the summer, you are not considered unemployed.

If you are starting in the fall and the stipend is future money to be earned, you are considered unemployed.

[AmericaninEurope 0]

Thank you, Cheezees,

I quit my job at the end of May. Graduate school starts on the 10th of August, so by the time I mail these forms I'll be about to start attending classes.

I guess according to your logic that makes me unemployed? I could just wait until the 10th of August and then apply saying I'm employed.

IF I apply as unemployed, should I still put down the stipend as current income?

You said you just quit your job and are pursuing graduate studies that provides a stipend.

1. What do you mean by "just"? A month ago? Last week? Yesterday?

2. Did you already start graduate school? Are you registered to start in the fall semester?

3. Did you quit and then start school? Or did you work and attend school and subsequently quit the job but not the school?

If you have already started (or started this summer - odd, but possible) and are just on break over the summer, you are not considered unemployed.

If you are starting in the fall and the stipend is future money to be earned, you are considered unemployed.

[AKOL 3]

Hello all,

I am filling out the I-130 and I-485 with my wife, who is living in the US with me.

I am a US citizen and am sponsoring her. I just quite my job to start my graduate studies but have some savings and a stipend.

My questions would be the following:

• Do I need to check "unemployed" in Form I-864?
• I am adding my wife's income in Form I-864, which brings us both over the poverty guideline for 2 people. I also have savings of some tens of thousands of dollars. Will that be sufficient proof that, despite my unemployment, I can support my wife in the US?
• Should I also provide proof of my stipend, which is non-trivial, and if so, how?

Thank you for your help!

I think it can be tricky to prove support in the form of a graduate assistantship, because, as a grad student your job is only "temporary". If your family can help you through a joint sponsorship I would consider doing that. Me and my husband (he is also a grad student) ended up doing that after talking to some lawyer friends and available lawyers at the university.

[AmericaninEurope 0]

Thank you, AKOL. That's very helpful. I have another question for you:

With my stipend for graduate school, my savings, and my wife's income from working at the World Bank, all of which would individually put us over the poverty guideline, do you really think we need a joint sponsor? If so, could you please point me to the right procedure?

I think it can be tricky to prove support in the form of a graduate assistantship, because, as a grad student your job is only "temporary". If your family can help you through a joint sponsorship I would consider doing that. Me and my husband (he is also a grad student) ended up doing that after talking to some lawyer friends and available lawyers at the university.

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

Thank you, AKOL. That's very helpful. I have another question for you:

With my stipend for graduate school, my savings, and my wife's income from working at the World Bank, all of which would individually put us over the poverty guideline, do you really think we need a joint sponsor? If so, could you please point me to the right procedure?

You keep saying your spouse working for world bank? Is she on H1B or some kind of work visas?

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

Excellent response, thank you, aaron2020!

My stipend already puts us well over the poverty guideline (more than 125%), and my savings alone are also more than 3x poverty guideline.

Nonetheless, since my wife works for the World Bank, I will add her work contract as well.

That should do the trick, right?

Thanks again!

To use the immigrant's income, you need to provide proof that the income will continue from the same source after becoming a permanent resident.

[Cheezees 1,514]

Thank you, Cheezees,

I quit my job at the end of May. Graduate school starts on the 10th of August, so by the time I mail these forms I'll be about to start attending classes.

I guess according to your logic that makes me unemployed? I could just wait until the 10th of August and then apply saying I'm employed.

IF I apply as unemployed, should I still put down the stipend as current income?

No, future income cannot be reported. Even if you start work the day after you apply, you CANNOT claim this income/employment.

It seems like you will have to, by default, apply as unemployed. When I applied I had just stopped teaching in May, moved to another state, and then would begin teaching at another university in August. My income would have placed me well over the poverty line. However, since I could not claim future income, nor past income (technically I was employed by neither school during the summer break), and my husband (the US citizen) was a student with next to no income, we had to get a sponsor.

Could you apply after August 10th an avoid this hassle altogether?

[AmericaninEurope 0]

We're trying to get my wife's travel authorization as quickly as possible. She needs to travel for work in late October, and we're worried that sending the papers on August 10th would put us at a high risk of not being able to get the authorization on time.

My wife just signed a new contract with the World Bank, where she is a contractor with a G-4 visa. The contract runs until March 2016. Would that be proof enough that my wife will receive income from the World Bank even after becoming a permanent resident?

No, future income cannot be reported. Even if you start work the day after you apply, you CANNOT claim this income/employment.

It seems like you will have to, by default, apply as unemployed. When I applied I had just stopped teaching in May, moved to another state, and then would begin teaching at another university in August. My income would have placed me well over the poverty line. However, since I could not claim future income, nor past income (technically I was employed by neither school during the summer break), and my husband (the US citizen) was a student with next to no income, we had to get a sponsor.

Could you apply after August 10th an avoid this hassle altogether?

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

We're trying to get my wife's travel authorization as quickly as possible. She needs to travel for work in late October, and we're worried that sending the papers on August 10th would put us at a high risk of not being able to get the authorization on time.

My wife just signed a new contract with the World Bank, where she is a contractor with a G-4 visa. The contract runs until March 2016. Would that be proof enough that my wife will receive income from the World Bank even after becoming a permanent resident?

Her job needs to be way longer than March 2016, in USCIS perspective, when contract ends, her income source ends. It is time to find Joint sponsor.