Sponsor problem

[prbola 0]

hi guys, my spouse has not filed taxes for the last 4 years. She is planning to file it soon though. Meanwhile is there any other evidence that I can send instead while filing my applications? She has pay stubs from last 6 months and employer letter. She told me she did not file because she was not required to and that she did not owe any money instead they owed her. She makes sufficient income. I believe she did not file because of procrastination. Please suggest I have to file my application soon as time is running out on my h1 visa. What are my options should I get another sponsor?

[baron555 934]

hi guys, my spouse has not filed taxes for the last 4 years. She is planning to file it soon though. Meanwhile is there any other evidence that I can send instead while filing my applications? She has pay stubs from last 6 months and employer letter. She told me she did not file because she was not required to and that she did not owe any money instead they owed her. She makes sufficient income.

She better file now. She may have to pay penalties, even if they initially owed money to her. This is not good.

I believe she did not file because of procrastination.

Huh?

Please suggest I have to file my application soon as time is running out on my h1 visa. What are my options should I get another sponsor?

Yes

[Otto 83]

hi guys, my spouse has not filed taxes for the last 4 years. She is planning to file it soon though. Meanwhile is there any other evidence that I can send instead while filing my applications? She has pay stubs from last 6 months and employer letter. She told me she did not file because she was not required to and that she did not owe any money instead they owed her. She makes sufficient income. I believe she did not file because of procrastination. Please suggest I have to file my application soon as time is running out on my h1 visa. What are my options should I get another sponsor?

You can't 'get another sponsor' unless you get another spouse (Spouse will always be the primary sponsor) - you could get a co-sponsor but that doesn't help much.

Your spouse (sponsor) will need to complete the affidavit of support as per the instructions - at least the most recent tax return is required as part of the supporting evidence - if this can not be provided the sponsor should include a letter explaining why they did not file taxes.

Am not sure procrastination is the best reason for not filing, especially if the tax payer is owned money. If it were me - I would file the tax return for at least 2008 or at least complete the 2008 tax return (it doesn't necessarily have to have been filed).

[prbola 0]

Thanks guys..Two contradicting solutions. Russian says get another sponsor and the German says no i can't LOL

[Minya's wife 24]

Thanks guys..Two contradicting solutions. Russian says get another sponsor and the German says no i can't LOL

The Russian also has only been a member of this site since 14 January 2009, while the German has been around since 27 September 2006. The Russian is still waiting for K-1 petition to be approved, meaning he's got quite along way before he even gets to AOS, while the German has already successfully completed AOS. Which person's solution is more credible? IMO, there's no contradiction.

[prbola 0]

Hungarian, I actually liked the German solution better. I did not look at the time lines so did not know which to go with. So if wifey files for 2008 I will be good to go then Thanks for the insight.

[Otto 83]

Thanks guys..Two contradicting solutions. Russian says get another sponsor and the German says no i can't LOL

Well just to clarify - I was being a bit 'cute' in my comment about getting another sponsor - I knew what you meant even though you said it the way you did.

At any rate - a co-sponsor doesn't/wouldn't eliminate the need for your spouse to be able to complete (and show proof of) the affidavit of support (a co-sponsor would help if your spouse did not meet the minimum income requirements for your household size though).

[prbola 0]

Thanks guys..Two contradicting solutions. Russian says get another sponsor and the German says no i can't LOL

Well just to clarify - I was being a bit 'cute' in my comment about getting another sponsor - I knew what you meant even though you said it the way you did.

At any rate - a co-sponsor doesn't/wouldn't eliminate the need for your spouse to be able to complete (and show proof of) the affidavit of support (a co-sponsor would help if your spouse did not meet the minimum income requirements for your household size though).

Wifey meets the min income req, has pay stubs for last 6 months or more and employer letter. All the income in the last four years is through a payroll. Just has not filed taxes even though she's gonna get the money back. According to your last post, if she can file 2008 tax return and that is all is needed to file my application it will be great coz I want to send in my app in a cpl of weeks .

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

hi guys, my spouse has not filed taxes for the last 4 years. She is planning to file it soon though. Meanwhile is there any other evidence that I can send instead while filing my applications? She has pay stubs from last 6 months and employer letter. She told me she did not file because she was not required to and that she did not owe any money instead they owed her. She makes sufficient income. I believe she did not file because of procrastination. Please suggest I have to file my application soon as time is running out on my h1 visa. What are my options should I get another sponsor?

You can get a co-sponsor. But your wife will have to file an affidavit also and she will need to explain why she did not file taxes. If she owes no taxes, she can file all previous years now without penalty, and may even get some money back. If she does not want her money back she can forward the endorsed checks to me. My friends call me "cash".

Not being required to pay tax is not the same as not being required to file a return.

[prbola 0]

ha ha Ukranian I will let her know that. She is planning to file all her taxes. Can you please tell me what exactly I need to send is it the w2s or/and 1040 etc with my application.

[JeremyR 8]

Two of the three tax returns that we submitted with our affidavit of support were filed late. It didn't matter to USCIS. No co-sponsor was required.

[Anh map 2,098]

OP's spouse will have to file the tax returns from the past 3 years before submitting the affidavit of support. See below from the I-864 instructions:

If you were required to file a Federal income tax return during any of the previous three tax years but did not do so, you must file any and all late returns with IRS and attach an IRS-generated tax return transcript documenting your late filing before submitting the I-864 Affidavit of Support. If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law because your income was too low, attach a written explanation. If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law for any other reason, attach a written explanation including evidence of the exemption and how you are subject to it. Residence outside of the United States does not exempt U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents from filing a U.S. Federal income tax return. See"Filing Requirements" in the IRS Form 1040 Filing Instructions to determine whether you were required to file.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Anh map