What if joint sponsor doesn't earn enough?

[DTunda 0]

Hi,

I had my interview for the K1 on June 9th, and was told that my fiance's income for 2009 was not enough to support me (actually including his disability payments his income exceeds the 2009 poverty guideline for his household - 4, including me, but the CO still asked for a joint sponsor).

My aunt agreed to be our joint sponsor. Including me she has a household size of 5 for 2009 (she filed her daughter and her daughter's two children on her 2009 tax return) and her income falls just below the 2009 poverty guideline for a household of 5 people. She's short USD 1385.

My question is will this relatively small shortage of income disqualify her to be our joint sponsor? Would you recommend that I go ahead and submit her documents as our joint sponsor to the embassy or should I find a new joint sponsor all together?

Thx in advance for your help.

[katie & sifa 25]

Hi,

I had my interview for the K1 on June 9th, and was told that my fiance's income for 2009 was not enough to support me (actually including his disability payments his income exceeds the 2009 poverty guideline for his household - 4, including me, but the CO still asked for a joint sponsor).

My aunt agreed to be our joint sponsor. Including me she has a household size of 5 for 2009 (she filed her daughter and her daughter's two children on her 2009 tax return) and her income falls just below the 2009 poverty guideline for a household of 5 people. She's short USD 1385.

My question is will this relatively small shortage of income disqualify her to be our joint sponsor? Would you recommend that I go ahead and submit her documents as our joint sponsor to the embassy or should I find a new joint sponsor all together?

Thx in advance for your help.

Yes, the difference will disqualify her from being a joint sponsor. The person you choose needs to be at or above the poverty guidelines. I would recommend finding someone else. Good luck!

[payxibka 10,044]

moving to consulate forum

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

This is the place to post your experiences or questions related to this last step before moving to the US. Topics relating to I-134's, packets sent from consulate and medical & police certificates should be posted here.

[sachinky 464]

Find a joint sponsor who does earn enough.

[Audy_Rob 26]

A couple of points.

1) Are you using 125% of the poverty line for the household size or are you assuming 100%?

2) The petitioner (USC) should not be counted or included in the joint sponsor's I-134 hoysehold size unless the USC is a dependent of the joint sponsor.

The DoS Consular Officer can request any documents or request a joint sponsor even if the income level exceeds 125% if the CO believes there is a likelihood the foreign beneficiary and/or dependents will become a public charge.

Good luck.

EDITED to add: You probably want to get a different joint sponsor depending on how you calculated the REQUIRED level of income.

Edited June 18, 2010 by Audy_Rob

[DTunda 0]

A couple of points.

1) Are you using 125% of the poverty line for the household size or are you assuming 100%?

2) The petitioner (USC) should not be counted or included in the joint sponsor's I-134 hoysehold size unless the USC is a dependent of the joint sponsor.

The DoS Consular Officer can request any documents or request a joint sponsor even if the income level exceeds 125% if the CO believes there is a likelihood the foreign beneficiary and/or dependents will become a public charge.

Good luck.

EDITED to add: You probably want to get a different joint sponsor depending on how you calculated the REQUIRED level of income.

To answer your first question, we're assuming 125% above the poverty guideline because neither my aunt nor her dependents are active members of the armed forces. Members of the military are the only ones exempted from the 125% above poverty level.

Second, my fiance, the US citizen, is not a member of my aunt's household so he's not included in the household size.

This is how she filled out part 5, section 21 on page 3 of the I-864

Persons you're sponsoring in this affidavit: 01 - that's me

Persons NOT sponsored in this affidavit:

b) Yourself - this is my aunt - 01

c) If you're currently married, enter "1" for your spouse - 0

d) If you have dependent children, enter the number here - 0

e) If you have other dependents, enter the number here - 03

f) If you've sponsored any other person on an I-864 - 0

g) doesn't apply to her

h) Add together lines and enter the number here. Household Size: 05

Again household size consists of ME, MY AUNT, MY AUNT'S DAUGHTER & THE DAUGHTER'S 2 CHILDREN.

That is correct, isn't it? The way the household size should be calculated, I mean.

[DTunda 0]

Find a joint sponsor who does earn enough.

Well, if it was that simple in our case, we would have!

Problem is our family members have been delinquent in filing their taxes (or so they claim) or they simply don't want to take the responsibility of a joint sponsor.

My fiance's father is dead and his mother is sickly and often in hospital. All we have left are extended family members who are not jumping to help us.

I'm hoping that my aunt can claim 7000 or more in savings so we can file that as assets on the I-864. I think that would help meet the income requirement for her household size.

[DTunda 0]

Yes, the difference will disqualify her from being a joint sponsor. The person you choose needs to be at or above the poverty guidelines. I would recommend finding someone else. Good luck!

Thx for answering, however, see my response to sachinky above.

[sachinky 464]

While 'difference made up in assets' is theoretically allowed, most consulates want to see a joint sponsor who qualifies comfortably on 'income' or 'assets' alone.

Given that your fiance is disabled / receiving disability payment, the consulate will want to see a stable, qualified joint sponsor. Not someone who is barely scraping by themselves.

Remember, the I864 instructions are merely guidelines. The CO has a lot of latitude in evaluating the I-864 at the time of the interview. They view the 'totality of circumstances.'

I know this is not what you want to hear. But you need to find someone more qualified.

[Audy_Rob 26]

Yes, I think you have calculate the household size correctly. I misread your first posting thinking the USC was being counted in the joint sponsor's household size.

Sachinky wrote a fairly good summary of the situation as a Consular Officer at the Embassy/Consulate would likely evaluate your circumstances. They will look at the totality of the circumstances. Due to a weak position by the USC, the joint sponsor should be very solid.

$7,000 cash will translate to $1,400 to $2,300 in annual income depending on how the CO counts it if it is considered at all.

You might want to postpone your interview if you can take more time to locate a more suitable joint sponsor.

Good luck.

[DTunda 0]

While 'difference made up in assets' is theoretically allowed, most consulates want to see a joint sponsor who qualifies comfortably on 'income' or 'assets' alone.

Given that your fiance is disabled / receiving disability payment, the consulate will want to see a stable, qualified joint sponsor. Not someone who is barely scraping by themselves.

Remember, the I864 instructions are merely guidelines. The CO has a lot of latitude in evaluating the I-864 at the time of the interview. They view the 'totality of circumstances.'

I know this is not what you want to hear. But you need to find someone more qualified.

Actually it isn't my aunt who is scraping by, it's her daughter. My aunt only volunteer to support her daughter and her kids in 2008 because she was struggling. It's not something she does on the regular.

It is unfair that they will judge her capabilities of providing for me based on her circumstances last year because they're not the same this year.

Her daughter is now gainfully employeed and have moved into her own accommodation with her children and husband. For 2010 my aunt's income is more than enough (2 times above the poverty guideline actually) to provide both for herself and me.

But with that said, you guys are right. It is best to find someone on whom the CO can cast no doubt -- if she was able to reject the earnings of my fiance (over 45 000 in 2007, 51 000 in 2008) just because he hurt himself and earned just under 30 000 in 2009, then I'm sure she won't accept the circumstances of my aunt.

I'm not sure who else we can use at this point, but I'm hopeful we'll find someone eventually.

Thx a lot for your advice, guys. They were very sound. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Audy_Rob 26]

...

It is unfair that they will judge her capabilities of providing for me based on her circumstances last year because they're not the same this year.

... For 2010 my aunt's income is more than enough (2 times above the poverty guideline actually) to provide both for herself and me.

I am not sure the information you just provided in this post was clearly stated in any other post. By far, the most important and suitable income is the current income situation. If your Aunt can legitimately claim only herself and the Alien beneficiary, and clearly document current income with many current recent pay stubs, then that is the way to go over the objections of the tax forms. You might need to have the Aunt provide a cover letter stating the change in circumstances (daughter moving out, self-sufficient, etc...) that allows her change in dependents and clearly easily making above the 125% of the poverty threshold.

If the Aunt can document the 2X required poverty threshold that is EXCELLENT.

This should work for you quite well.

Good luck.

[DTunda 0]

I am not sure the information you just provided in this post was clearly stated in any other post. By far, the most important and suitable income is the current income situation. If your Aunt can legitimately claim only herself and the Alien beneficiary, and clearly document current income with many current recent pay stubs, then that is the way to go over the objections of the tax forms. You might need to have the Aunt provide a cover letter stating the change in circumstances (daughter moving out, self-sufficient, etc...) that allows her change in dependents and clearly easily making above the 125% of the poverty threshold.

If the Aunt can document the 2X required poverty threshold that is EXCELLENT.

This should work for you quite well.

Good luck.

Thx a lot for your reply.

What if she's unable to provide the pay stubs?

My aunt sent the package, but she only included a cover letter stating her change in circumstances. She said she doesn't know where to find her pay stubs right now. Sigh ...

Would you recommend that I submit the package without the pay stubs or is that just asking to be rejected?

[sachinky 464]

Hi.

I thought I'd post my response to your comment on my profile.

If you have no one else to turn to, then you have no option but to submit your aunt's sponsorship documents and hope that it's enough.

You have a comprehensive list from the looks of it, so hopefully, your bases are covered.

I'd add the 2008, 2007 taxes if they show a strong history of steady income.

If you can get a letter from your aunt's cousin stating that she's moved out and may be provide a copy of her employment letter to show that she is now self-sufficient. I'm just brain storming and seeing if there's anything you can do to bolster your position.

If you can have your aunt locate the paystubs, that'd be helpful as well.

Good luck!

[DTunda 0]

Thx Sachinky.

My aunt says she can't find her pay stubs, but she did provide a letter from her job stating the income she earned last year and the income she has earned thus far this year.