I-134 Questions

[fpc95 0]

Hello Everyone,

I have a few questions for some of you seasoned VJ'ers. I just lost my job in the 5th month of my K1 process and this is really bad timing. They seem to be very slow on my petition so this may benefit us right now since we applied around Dec 1, 2009 and we haven't received our NOA2 as of yet. I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with;

Question 1: If I have a co-sponsor for my I-134 at the time of filing can this be switched back to myself as soon as I make the required amount of money? Knowing this would make it much easier for me to get a co-sponsor since I should easily meet the requirements shortly.

Question 2: I am purchasing a franchise and it should be up and running in the next 6-7 months and want to know if they look at projected earning potential in any circumstances?

Question 3: I have 4 children and I support them 50/50 with my ex-wife. When using the I-134 I selected "partially" responsible for support. Does the USCIS still use all of my children (4) when making the %125 of poverty line determination?

Question 4: I am currently unemployed and would like to know if unemployment benefits are calculated into the picture when providing a Co-Sponsor. My Annualized Unemployment Benefit is $28,200 and should last until I find a job or for 6 months or longer with the present extensions in place by the government now.

I know there are some really bright people on this board so I am hoping someone has some words of wisdom.

Thanks!

Chris

[TracyTN 237]

The I 134 is a consular form, and answers about it can vary from consulate to consulate. Moving thread from K1 process forum to consular forum.

[Darnell 8,478]

The I-134 is turned in and evaluated on INTERVIEW DAY in Guangzhou.

So, you might want to pull out a calendar, figure out a rough date for interview, move backwards in time for yer financial position, and go from there.

You know what yer 2009 TY income was, take that as a BASIS and re-discover yer numbers.

Move forward 3 months from interview date, as well, do another re-evaluation on yer monies - if you feel you'll need a co-sponser for the I-864 for the AOS package.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Darnell

[Audy_Rob 26]

Question 1: You can switch back from a joint sponsor to just yourself before you turn in the I-134 but if you suffer a serious drop in income below the 125% level you might be better off keeping the Joint Sponsor until you go to do AOS in the USA using I-864. HOWEVER, you need to make sure Guangzhou (GUZ) accepts joint sponsor for K-1 Visas not all but most consulates do.

Question 2: Projected or future income is not used.

Question 3: You need to add the equivalent of two full-time dependents to your family size. So you, fiancee and 2 fully dependent children. The I-134 is a very nebulous form and many details are not spelled out. You need to go with conservative numbers and back up all your data. Most people get information from the I-864 and try to showhorn it into the framework of the I-134. The3re is one guy here that picks what he likes from the I-864 and tosses out what he doesn't like when giving advice.

Question 4: Unemployment benefits is a good question. I don't know. SSDI (disability) can be counted, SSI (essentially welfare) cannot be counted. One senior and respected member JimVaPhoung might know.

Good luck

[pushbrk 12,975]

Hello Everyone,

I have a few questions for some of you seasoned VJ'ers. I just lost my job in the 5th month of my K1 process and this is really bad timing. They seem to be very slow on my petition so this may benefit us right now since we applied around Dec 1, 2009 and we haven't received our NOA2 as of yet. I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with;

Question 1: If I have a co-sponsor for my I-134 at the time of filing can this be switched back to myself as soon as I make the required amount of money? Knowing this would make it much easier for me to get a co-sponsor since I should easily meet the requirements shortly.

Question 2: I am purchasing a franchise and it should be up and running in the next 6-7 months and want to know if they look at projected earning potential in any circumstances?

Question 3: I have 4 children and I support them 50/50 with my ex-wife. When using the I-134 I selected "partially" responsible for support. Does the USCIS still use all of my children (4) when making the %125 of poverty line determination?

Question 4: I am currently unemployed and would like to know if unemployment benefits are calculated into the picture when providing a Co-Sponsor. My Annualized Unemployment Benefit is $28,200 and should last until I find a job or for 6 months or longer with the present extensions in place by the government now.

I know there are some really bright people on this board so I am hoping someone has some words of wisdom.

Thanks!

Chris

Get a cosponsor for insurance as you're going to have a difficult time stating a current income from a business at the same time you are claiming unemployment income. Conoffs know this is illegal and they know unemployment is temporary. Hopefully you have yourself in a position to show a profit for 2010 on your next tax return because as a self employed person, it's line 22 on the 1040 they use as your "current income"

You must count all four children as dependents. A cosponsor counts only their own family plus your fiancee.

Edited April 28, 2010 by pushbrk

[fpc95 0]

Get a cosponsor for insurance as you're going to have a difficult time stating a current income from a business at the same time you are claiming unemployment income. Conoffs know this is illegal and they know unemployment is temporary. Hopefully you have yourself in a position to show a profit for 2010 on your next tax return because as a self employed person, it's line 22 on the 1040 they use as your "current income"

You must count all four children as dependents. A cosponsor counts only their own family plus your fiancee.

/quote]

Thank everyone for sharing their knowledge with me. I did notice that there were two different responses to if "All" my children needed to be counted as dependents or if 2 could be counted since I only have 1/2 the financial responsibility for them? Another quick question, since I am working on getting the business up and running is there anyway to delay or pause the K1 process to avoid getting a denied? If there was anyway to do this that would be great.

Thanks again!!

Chris

[Darnell 8,478]

Chris - sure - you can delay this casefile a bit -

She can delay sending back the P3 document for a few months.

[fpc95 0]

Chris - sure - you can delay this casefile a bit -

She can delay sending back the P3 document for a few months.

Oh, that is music to my ears friend. I am talking to her right now and will let her know this.

Thanks so much!!

Chris

[Audy_Rob 26]

Hi,

A couple of things.

1) What Darnell said is right on for delaying the process if things start to move too fast. This just happened to one poster where the K-1 visa was granted and the six months will expire before her fiance is ready to move to the US.

I also will be delaying our Visa interview at the Embassy because my Fiancee has responsibilities to her job with the Thai Government which she needs to complete before moving here.

2) About how to count the children. Everyone here will give you a different answer. Tomorrow some poster will come back and contradict my answer here. You are marking partial support which is correct. Usually in the case of a fair divorce (not mine) the parents alternate years the children are claimed as tax exemptions or divided the number evenly every year.

You are not carrying the full support. But you only list the children and partially dependent or responsible. But you do not make the actual calculation and show the number of 125% of the poverty line for your family size. There is no place for that number on the form I-134. The only time the number will be written down is if the Consular Officer chooses to make the calculation.

So you are not the one calculating the number, the CO is. You have an absolutely 100% valid argument that it is you, your fiancee and 2 (full) children.

Good luck.

[Audy_Rob 26]

Often, when people do not know the commonly accepted answer for something on the I-134, they will use the instructions for the I-864 which is the Affidavit of Support used when your fiancee is in the USA and Adjusts Status.

Regarding counting family size, it says;

"Your household size includes yourself and the following individuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return..."

How many of those children are listed as dependents on your tax return depends on the court orders regarding the division of the children between you and ex-spouse or any simple agreement or other understanding you may have. Then as far as the statement any dependent children under the age of 21, it does not break it up into partially dependent or wholly dependent.

[pushbrk 12,975]

Often, when people do not know the commonly accepted answer for something on the I-134, they will use the instructions for the I-864 which is the Affidavit of Support used when your fiancee is in the USA and Adjusts Status.

Regarding counting family size, it says;

"Your household size includes yourself and the following individuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return..."

How many of those children are listed as dependents on your tax return depends on the court orders regarding the division of the children between you and ex-spouse or any simple agreement or other understanding you may have. Then as far as the statement any dependent children under the age of 21, it does not break it up into partially dependent or wholly dependent.

The bold above is a partial quote. The complete quote in context is...

Your household size includes yourself and the followingindividuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return, all persons being sponsored in this affidavit of support, and any immigrants previously sponsored with a Form I-864 or FormI-864 EZ affidavit of support whom you are still obligated tosupport.

Nothing in the sentence indicates the reference to dependent children has anything to do with who claims the tax exemption on a tax return. Note the word "other" that separates the reference to children from mention of a tax return.

When you list a person as partially dependent, their age under 21 and as your child, the Conoff will count them as 1 household member not 1/2. While there is no place to state household size there is also no place to state whether the child is claimed on the sponsor's tax return, nor is there any "requirement" to provide a tax return.

The OP has four children. Any truthful I-134 he submits will be evaluated based on a household of 6, not 4. You can take it to the bank.

[fpc95 0]

The bold above is a partial quote. The complete quote in context is...

Your household size includes yourself and the followingindividuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return, all persons being sponsored in this affidavit of support, and any immigrants previously sponsored with a Form I-864 or FormI-864 EZ affidavit of support whom you are still obligated tosupport.

Nothing in the sentence indicates the reference to dependent children has anything to do with who claims the tax exemption on a tax return. Note the word "other" that separates the reference to children from mention of a tax return.

When you list a person as partially dependent, their age under 21 and as your child, the Conoff will count them as 1 household member not 1/2. While there is no place to state household size there is also no place to state whether the child is claimed on the sponsor's tax return, nor is there any "requirement" to provide a tax return.

The OP has four children. Any truthful I-134 he submits will be evaluated based on a household of 6, not 4. You can take it to the bank.

Very nice work! Not exactly the answer I was hoping for, but non the less, it is what i needed to know. I think now the important part lies in what areas of the process can i delay and are there any time requirements for submissions? We are in month 5 now and haven't received the NOA2 as of yet and no touches on the file on the USCIS site. I'm not sure why it is so slow, but i'm not as disappointed now about the slowness now that I need more time. From this point on is it possible to drag this out for 6 months until I can get my business up and running? Thanks again for everyone who has worked hard to help me find the answers!

Chris

[Audy_Rob 26]

...nor is there any "requirement" to provide a tax return...

Every Embassy/Consulate in the world will require at least ONE year's tax return, and for self-employed or complex cases, will ask for three years. It is not written on I-134 form, it is written in the Embassy requirements.

[pushbrk 12,975]

Every Embassy/Consulate in the world will require at least ONE year's tax return, and for self-employed or complex cases, will ask for three years. It is not written on I-134 form, it is written in the Embassy requirements.

Yes, one tax return is required for the self-employed which the OP is.

[pushbrk 12,975]

Very nice work! Not exactly the answer I was hoping for, but non the less, it is what i needed to know. I think now the important part lies in what areas of the process can i delay and are there any time requirements for submissions? We are in month 5 now and haven't received the NOA2 as of yet and no touches on the file on the USCIS site. I'm not sure why it is so slow, but i'm not as disappointed now about the slowness now that I need more time. From this point on is it possible to drag this out for 6 months until I can get my business up and running? Thanks again for everyone who has worked hard to help me find the answers!

Chris

You won't be submitting an I-134 until interview time. There are two key places to insert delay without any real problem.

1. Delay returning the Packet 3 to the Consulate. You can delay this three months and perhaps more without any problem.

2. When returning the checklist for Packet 3, request an interview date after any certain date you wish.

Unless you delay until you can provide a 2010 tax return and I-134 that shows you qualify based on line 22 income or income plus liquid assets, there's no point in delaying though.

If your petition was approved today, I would expect a P3 by around August. Returning it in November with a request for a February interview might work.

GUZ doesn't play silly games with NOA2 expiration dates like some consulates do. If you're in contact with them, they'll extend the validity. Usually they just don't pay any attention to it at all. Lots of NOA2's are expired before they ever get around to seeing the case file anyway.

Edited April 28, 2010 by pushbrk