I864 Question

[sachinky 464]

Guys, my cousin is filling in form I864 as joint sponsor. He make enough to cover me, and his household. My question is: does his wife STILL need to fill in I864A if his income is sufficient?

If they file taxes separately? My guess in this case is no.

What about if they file taxes jointly? My guess in this case is to go with an I864A.

I keep hearing conflicting information regarding this and I want to give my cousin an exact list of forms to fill up at one go. If you could help me out, I'd really appreciate it.

[sachinky 464]

I'll add in a I864A, just to err on the side of caution.

I'm guessing the wife's citizenship proof also needs to be submitted?

[Darnell 8,478]

is this cousin

1) a USC and

2) related by blood to the USC who's filing the I-130 ?

Edited November 10, 2009 by Darnell

[sachinky 464]

The cousin, is, yes, a naturalized USC. And he's my cousin. Not my USC husband's.

Why? Is any of that important?

[SunDrop 59]

The cousin, is, yes, a naturalized USC. And he's my cousin. Not my USC husband's.

Why? Is any of that important?

Shouldn't be a problem, but double check on the regional board. Each country has different 'quirks' about sponsors.

[Darnell 8,478]

The cousin, is, yes, a naturalized USC. And he's my cousin. Not my USC husband's.

Why? Is any of that important?

There may be some 'difference' for the consulate yer homed to -

but for MOST OTHER consulates -

the co-sponser is USUALLY a relative of the USC Spouse.

Who Knows? You might be ok using one of YER relatives.. I've no idea. IMO, it's strange - the I-864 is filed at NVC, but actually evaluated at the US Consulate.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Darnell

[sachinky 464]

Oh. I didn't even think it'd be an issue. We'd have gone with his parents. But my father-in-law is between jobs at the moment, and I understand that the joint sponsor must be employed. So we went with my cousin.

[christeen 966]

That is fine... A co-sponsor DOES NOT have to be related to you nor do you have to prove relations... I co-sponsor can be anyone who will sponsor you....

However, if you are filing a joint-sponsorship (that is a relative living under the same roof as you who fills out the 864A, then you also have to submit proof of relations).. But since it is a cousin and they live at another address, no worries.. But do submit proof of Legal Residency or Citizenship for them and the other documentation....

[pushbrk 12,232]

Guys, my cousin is filling in form I864 as joint sponsor. He make enough to cover me, and his household. My question is: does his wife STILL need to fill in I864A if his income is sufficient?

If they file taxes separately? My guess in this case is no.

What about if they file taxes jointly? My guess in this case is to go with an I864A.

I keep hearing conflicting information regarding this and I want to give my cousin an exact list of forms to fill up at one go. If you could help me out, I'd really appreciate it.

Only the one joint sponsor is needed even if they file taxes jointly. The tax return with W2 forms will indicate which income belongs to the sponsor. In this case, add up the W2 income for the one person rather than using line 22 of the 1040 which would show joint income.

You better have a very solid visa case if you're using one of YOUR relatives as the joint sponsor.

[sachinky 464]

We met in college in NY where we were doing our undergrads. We started dating in February 2008. He proposed right before graduation in March 2009 and I accepted because we didn't want to go our separate ways after graduation as is what happens with most college couples. I met his parents on two different occasions. We could've gotten married in the U.S. and filed for AOS as I was on a valid F1. However, I wanted him to meet my parents/family/friends before we tied the knot. So I came back to India and filed the notice for marriage and he came to India in August. His parents weren't able to come down because his father was in-between jobs and had a lot of interviews lined up and it wasn't possible for him to shell out a lot of money for his family to come to India at that point of time. We couldn't wait because as you may or may not know Indians are superstitious about wedding dates/days and they are marriage seasons and so on. We got married on the last auspicous date of the month. We decided to do it this way, get married in India first and then once I went back we'd have another wedding ceremony for his friends and family. And our college friends, of course. I have a picture with his parents when they came for graduation and they have both written separate sworn statements testifying to the legitimacy of our relationship and the details I just mentioned. I also have statements from our friends in college.

Now, given our history, what do you think? Should I get another joint sponsor? I might have another family friend (no relation) who probably would, if I asked him and my husband has met him as well. I find that most people are hesitant to become joint sponsors because they don't really understand that is not a big deal. Those who've gone through the process are much more willing to help, in my opinion.

Edited November 11, 2009 by sachinky

[pushbrk 12,232]

We met in college in NY where we were doing our undergrads. We started dating in February 2008. He proposed right before graduation in March 2009 and I accepted because we didn't want to go our separate ways after graduation as is what happens with most college couples. I met his parents on two different occasions. We could've gotten married in the U.S. and filed for AOS as I was on a valid F1. However, I wanted him to meet my parents/family/friends before we tied the knot. So I came back to India and filed the notice for marriage and he came to India in August. His parents weren't able to come down because his father was in-between jobs and had a lot of interviews lined up and it wasn't possible for him to shell out a lot of money for his family to come to India at that point of time. We couldn't wait because as you may or may not know Indians are superstitious about wedding dates/days and they are marriage seasons and so on. We got married on the last auspicous date of the month. We decided to do it this way, get married in India first and then once I went back we'd have another wedding ceremony for his friends and family. And our college friends, of course. I have a picture with his parents when they came for graduation and they have both written separate sworn statements testifying to the legitimacy of our relationship and the details I just mentioned. I also have statements from our friends in college.

Now, given our history, what do you think? Should I get another joint sponsor? I might have another family friend (no relation) who probably would, if I asked him and my husband has met him as well. I find that most people are hesitant to become joint sponsors because they don't really understand that is not a big deal. Those who've gone through the process are much more willing to help, in my opinion.

My opinion is your sponsor will be a non-issue if you tell this story with confidence.

Edited November 11, 2009 by pushbrk

[sachinky 464]

Thanks for your input, everybody!

[sachinky 464]

Some clarifications required:

I just realized there is a form called I864EZ.

1) This is for support ONLY through individual income?

2) Can a joint sponsor (living in a different household than the petitioner) fill this up?

3) If yes, and the joint sponsor is married and/or files taxes jointly with his wife, is a I864A still required even though his individual income is WAY above the required levels to cover his household?

Please reply!

Thankyou in advance.

Edited November 14, 2009 by sachinky

[trailmix 77]

The answer to your first question is actually in the I-864ez instructions, page 1:

Who May Not Use Form I-864EZ?

3. You are a joint sponsor;

Pushbrk actually already answered your joint tax return question in this thread.

That said, sometimes a consulate will ask for the I-864A from the joint tax filer - even though those are not the instructions given - it's up to you if you want to take the extra precaution and get the I-864A from the joint filer or not.

Edited November 14, 2009 by trailmix

[sachinky 464]

Yeah, thanks, I missed that line when I skimmed through it. Just saw it.

My joint sponsor has said that he doesn't want his wife to get involved in this. Probably doesn't want to extend any liability to his wife. So I was just wondering about what to do. I can't push the issue b/c he's been nice enough to agree to do this in the first place. It might be asked for at the interview right, not at the NVC stage?

IMO, should be fine. What pushbrk said makes sense. So I'll just go along with that. We'll see what happens, I guess.

Edited November 14, 2009 by sachinky