grad student and Affidavit of Support

[chicurious 0]

I'm going back to school for my masters and will not be working during the time of the interview. I'll be funding my masters fully on grants, scholarships and loans (mainly loans). I am wondering in terms of the Affidavit for Support at the embassy interview, would that be considered income to prove support? The thing is that is not counted as income for tax purposes, so I wondered if it can be considered living expenses. Would it be a case where I would just bring my financial aid package from the university? Also, it would be just a few thousand dollars over 125% on the poverty line- do they legally have to abide by that guide or do they ever get very picky and expect the support to be more?

I'm just trying to explore all options before I ask for co-sponsorship from my parents.

[thepizzadude 26]

I'm going back to school for my masters and will not be working during the time of the interview. I'll be funding my masters fully on grants, scholarships and loans (mainly loans). I am wondering in terms of the Affidavit for Support at the embassy interview, would that be considered income to prove support? The thing is that is not counted as income for tax purposes, so I wondered if it can be considered living expenses. Would it be a case where I would just bring my financial aid package from the university? Also, it would be just a few thousand dollars over 125% on the poverty line- do they legally have to abide by that guide or do they ever get very picky and expect the support to be more?

All these items you have listed have a particular use, i.e. paying for your schooling and nothing to do with income.

I'm just trying to explore all options before I ask for co-sponsorship from my parents.

Time to hit the parents up.

Good Luck

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I'm going back to school for my masters and will not be working during the time of the interview. I'll be funding my masters fully on grants, scholarships and loans (mainly loans). I am wondering in terms of the Affidavit for Support at the embassy interview, would that be considered income to prove support? The thing is that is not counted as income for tax purposes, so I wondered if it can be considered living expenses. Would it be a case where I would just bring my financial aid package from the university? Also, it would be just a few thousand dollars over 125% on the poverty line- do they legally have to abide by that guide or do they ever get very picky and expect the support to be more?

I'm just trying to explore all options before I ask for co-sponsorship from my parents.

Generally NO. No for loans, they are not income. If they were we could all count our mortgage loan as income? If you receive a GRANT or ALLOWANCE for housing, YES it can be counted. If the money is for tuition or books, NO it cannot be counted. Housing allowances or grants must be specified and documented as such.

It is not important if it is TAXABLE income, for example, child support is not taxable income but it counts if court ordered and payment is documented. You do this by showing your income tax return PLUS documentation of non-taxable income.

They do not legally have to abide by anything. The consulate makes a judgement call as to whether your fiancee will become a public charge based on the evidence of support YOU present. The guidelines are just that...guidelines. They are not "pass/fail" points. You can be approved without meeting the guidelines, you can meet the guidelines and not be approved. Generally if one can show a regular form of reliable income which exceeds the guidelines (even by a small amount) you will get approved. But there is no guarantee and no legal requirement. You have no "right" to this visa, you have to prove you meet the requirements and different consulates apply different standards. If there is any question, it is best to have a co-sponsor.

[chicurious 0]

Thanks for the detailed response, Gary and Alla. So, the way it would work is I would be given enough for whatever tuition is not covered and then an additional $20K or so for living expenses for the year. Plus, (and I'm not suggesting the embassy would take this into account, just for the record) it would be a masters program in nursing so definitely employable and earning well afterward.

Also, he would be able to continue working remotely in the work he does. I don't think that is illegal since he wouldn't be working for a U.S.-based company and he wouldn't be working for an Argentine company based here. It would be as if I did free lance writing for a U.S. magazine, but I wrote it from another country. But that aside, I know that his income will not be able to be counted.

Thanks again.

[chicurious 0]

Also, I promise, promise, promise I did a fairly extensive search on this, but I did just find these two other posts, for anyone else that comes across this one in a similar situation and wants more information.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120649

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...;p=1011373&

Again, thank you!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks for the detailed response, Gary and Alla. So, the way it would work is I would be given enough for whatever tuition is not covered and then an additional $20K or so for living expenses for the year. Plus, (and I'm not suggesting the embassy would take this into account, just for the record) it would be a masters program in nursing so definitely employable and earning well afterward.

Also, he would be able to continue working remotely in the work he does. I don't think that is illegal since he wouldn't be working for a U.S.-based company and he wouldn't be working for an Argentine company based here. It would be as if I did free lance writing for a U.S. magazine, but I wrote it from another country. But that aside, I know that his income will not be able to be counted.

Thanks again.

Actually the consulate CAN consider your future employment and maybe you want to attach a letter to your I-134. The consulate CAN consider anything they want to consider, so why not? Can't hurt. They will usually consider housing allowance or "living expense" money IF it is delineated and documented. The instructions for the I-864 specifically allow this. There are NO specific instructions for the I-134 but the consulates generally use the same guides and rules as the I-864. They will usually not consider "excess" money for tuition or books, even though in many cases it exists, because it is intended for education expenses. The rules for the I-864 do NOT allow counting money designated for education expense.

If he can continue with the same employer as he has now (and yes, there are legal ways to do this) then his income can also be counted, BUT it also has to be documented with employment letters etc. There is specific allowance for the intending immigrant's income to be "counted" IF it continues from the same source. He can even "self sponsor" if he makes enough. If he is self employed (free lance writer for example) and can continue, then it will be difficult to document. Alla continued her work doing translations for business customers when she arrived but it was next to impossible to prove, so we didn't bother to try (didn't need to anyway).

There just really is no hard and fast rules for the I-134, throw everything you can at them and let them sort it out. The bottom line is they need to make a judgement call "Will this person become a public charge?" The more you give them, the more likely the decision is in your favor. Even if they do not directly "count" his income (they don't have to even if they can) they can certainly judge that between both of you he has little chance of becoming a public charge.

[chicurious 0]

Thank you again, Gary and Alla. I guess after doing this research I hadn't realized really how subjective this part of the process is.

So, to be clear the I-134 is for the embassy and the I-864 is for the Adjustment of Status in the US. For the K-1 visa the Adjustment of Status has to happen by when? If that is a stricter process, which from my reading on here it seems to be, what if I'm still in school at the time? Does the employment permission happen before or after that?

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Thanks for the detailed response, Gary and Alla. So, the way it would work is I would be given enough for whatever tuition is not covered and then an additional $20K or so for living expenses for the year. Plus, (and I'm not suggesting the embassy would take this into account, just for the record) it would be a masters program in nursing so definitely employable and earning well afterward.

Also, he would be able to continue working remotely in the work he does. I don't think that is illegal since he wouldn't be working for a U.S.-based company and he wouldn't be working for an Argentine company based here. It would be as if I did free lance writing for a U.S. magazine, but I wrote it from another country. But that aside, I know that his income will not be able to be counted.

Thanks again.

Actually the consulate CAN consider your future employment and maybe you want to attach a letter to your I-134. The consulate CAN consider anything they want to consider, so why not?

According to the I-864 FAQ on the State department website:

Can a credible offer of employment for the visa applicant replace or supplement an insufficient Affidavit of Support?

No. The law does not allow for consideration of offers of employment in place of the I-864. A job offer may not be counted in reaching the 125 percent minimum income.

A job offer can be taken into consideration in determining the ability of the applicant to overcome ineligibility on public charge grounds, but it does not meet any requirement for presenting an I-864.

Source

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks for the detailed response, Gary and Alla. So, the way it would work is I would be given enough for whatever tuition is not covered and then an additional $20K or so for living expenses for the year. Plus, (and I'm not suggesting the embassy would take this into account, just for the record) it would be a masters program in nursing so definitely employable and earning well afterward.

Also, he would be able to continue working remotely in the work he does. I don't think that is illegal since he wouldn't be working for a U.S.-based company and he wouldn't be working for an Argentine company based here. It would be as if I did free lance writing for a U.S. magazine, but I wrote it from another country. But that aside, I know that his income will not be able to be counted.

Thanks again.

Actually the consulate CAN consider your future employment and maybe you want to attach a letter to your I-134. The consulate CAN consider anything they want to consider, so why not?

According to the I-864 FAQ on the State department website:

Can a credible offer of employment for the visa applicant replace or supplement an insufficient Affidavit of Support?

No. The law does not allow for consideration of offers of employment in place of the I-864. A job offer may not be counted in reaching the 125 percent minimum income.

A job offer can be taken into consideration in determining the ability of the applicant to overcome ineligibility on public charge grounds, but it does not meet any requirement for presenting an I-864.

Source

Bobby, this is correct for a job offer. The OP indicates he has a job which would continue. The state department manual to the consulates indicates they can consider an income source which will continue and the intending immigrant can even be "self supporting". As your quote indicates, they CAN consider it, but do not have to. I say throw it all at them and let them sort it out. The guidelines for the I-864 are generally used by the consulates, but t'aint necessarily so.

Yes, the I-134 is for the consulate interview. The I-864 is for the AOS. The AOS should be filed for before his I-94 expires, 90 days after entry, it is best to do so.