Yet another question about I-864

[mayaandcorey 0]

Hi,

I arrived in the US a month ago now and we're more than ready to finally get married, but we haven't been able to figure out what to do with the I-864 yet. We would really appreciate any help you guys can give us. I have searched the forums, but am still at a loss, so please bear with me.

My MIL is willing to be the joint sponsor, but we're not sure her wages are enough. She is the only person in her household, but would I and my fiance be counted too? The poverty guidelines don't mention smaller households than 2 people, so I don't know what the poverty guidelines are for 1 person. We don't live together and she doesn't claim any dependents on her tax returns.

I'm really sorry if I'm asking a stupid question.

If she can't joint sponsor we need to figure out another way. My fiance doesn't have anywhere near enough, and I have less (I wish I could just start working at once). What if my fiance's uncle deposited enough money every month for MIL to break the 125 % of poverty lines? (His uncle is well off and was willing to joint sponsor, but his wife refuses.) Or, what if we just had 18 000 in our bank account at some point?

We're getting soooo frustrated by this whole thing. Ever since we started the K-1 process it's just been one problem after another. Now that I'm finally here it seems again like it'll all have been for nothing - the money, time and feelings invested... and I'll have to go back home because we can't prove that we have enough money? It's not as if we won't be fine. I'll be working full time as soon as the government will let me. But they prohibit me from working while asking for proof of financial fluency?!

(Sorry about the mini rant, I just really needed to get that off my chest.)

Again, thankful for any advice.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

If the MIL sponsors, her household is herself + immigrant = 2

I'm not following the monthly money idea you have so can't comment on the rest. What is MIL's income? If there is a shortfall, then assets can help make the difference.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

About the assets--

For 2 people, MIL needs to make $18,212.

Let's say she makes $16,212 so is $2000 short on income. If she has 5 times that in assets--savings, stocks, equity in her home--she would qualify.

$2000 short x 5 = $10,000 needed in assets.

[Boiler 47,264]

Has to be at least 2, Sponsor and you.

Basically the same deal as the I 134 except this one is legally binding.

[Nik+Heather 122]

Also, strictly speaking about the requirements for the I-864, the aunt doesn't need to agree if the uncle can prove his individual income is sufficient. However, this might be bad for their marriage.

Don't let the I-864 get in the way of your getting married. While both Marriage and AOS before I-94 expiry are important, it is more important that the marriage take place.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

My MIL is willing to be the joint sponsor, but we're not sure her wages are enough. She is the only person in her household, but would I and my fiance be counted too? The poverty guidelines don't mention smaller households than 2 people, so I don't know what the poverty guidelines are for 1 person. We don't live together and she doesn't claim any dependents on her tax returns.

Your MIL would claim the immigrant and herself as members of the household. Therefore she needs to make at least $18,212.

If she can't joint sponsor we need to figure out another way. My fiance doesn't have anywhere near enough, and I have less (I wish I could just start working at once). What if my fiance's uncle deposited enough money every month for MIL to break the 125 % of poverty lines? (His uncle is well off and was willing to joint sponsor, but his wife refuses.) Or, what if we just had 18 000 in our bank account at some point?

The Aunt does not need to agree if the Uncle is willing to co-sponsor. He simply provides their tax returns but lists ONLY his income on the I-864, and only he signs it. The Aunt isn't involved and neither is she "on the hook" so she shouldn't have a problem with it.

Of course if MIL makes the required income amount I would stick with that because as Nich-Nick stated, it mightn't be best for their marriage, but it IS an option if MIL doesn't make enough.

[JimVaPhuong 4,864]

There actually are poverty guidelines for one person. They just don't print them on the I-864P because a sponsor's household size is always at least two people - the sponsor plus the immigrant.

[mayaandcorey 0]

Thank you so much for your replies!

Okay, so it's the sponsor + the immigrant in the household. That makes sense.

MIL makes $12,000 and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have enough assets - $6k short, multiplied by 5 = $30k. The idea was for the uncle to transfer the extra $6k ($500 a month) as if she were working for him, and then she'd make enough. He'd let her keep whatever she needed to pay in tax. I'm not sure how we'd be able to prove that anyway though since it'd be starting from now. The other suggestion was having the $18k in our bank account at one point, but I suppose they'd probably be wary of that.

I personally agree with what Vanessa&Tony and Nik+Heather say about the aunt, but they share their money so IF he'd have to give me money it'd affect her too, so he can't just make that decision on his own. He would have had the papers signed in the blink of an eye; if only everyone were like him!

So if we don't know what to do about the I-864, should we still get married ASAP? Obviously we'll get married before the expiry of the I-94, but we were planning to wait as long as possible because of the I-864 situation. Maybe we might as well go ahead and get married?

[Boiler 47,264]

Can not whoever did the I 134 do the I 864?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

$18000 in your bank account? Are you thinking that because $18K is the poverty level for you + husband.? If he has no income then his assets have to be 5 x $18K.

And they would likely want to see a series of bank statements or a letter fom the bank showing that money has been his for a period of time, not just suddenly deposited. They have seen it all and know most of the tricks by now. And the uncle can't "gift" that much money without tax implications. Over $13000, he has to file a Form 709: U.S. Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.

[JimVaPhuong 4,864]

Thank you so much for your replies!

Okay, so it's the sponsor + the immigrant in the household. That makes sense.

MIL makes $12,000 and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have enough assets - $6k short, multiplied by 5 = $30k. The idea was for the uncle to transfer the extra $6k ($500 a month) as if she were working for him, and then she'd make enough. He'd let her keep whatever she needed to pay in tax. I'm not sure how we'd be able to prove that anyway though since it'd be starting from now. The other suggestion was having the $18k in our bank account at one point, but I suppose they'd probably be wary of that.

I personally agree with what Vanessa&Tony and Nik+Heather say about the aunt, but they share their money so IF he'd have to give me money it'd affect her too, so he can't just make that decision on his own. He would have had the papers signed in the blink of an eye; if only everyone were like him!

So if we don't know what to do about the I-864, should we still get married ASAP? Obviously we'll get married before the expiry of the I-94, but we were planning to wait as long as possible because of the I-864 situation. Maybe we might as well go ahead and get married?

First, the I-864 has nothing to do with your marriage. You don't need an I-864 to get married, and getting married doesn't trigger any sort of clock that requires you to file an I-864 within a specific amount of time. There's no reason the I-864 should affect your decision about when to get married.

I would be very careful of any plan that involved moving cash around. USCIS is on to this trick. If you use cash assets they're going to want to see bank statements. When they see the deposits they may ask for proof that this was income and not a temporary loan. They're looking for proof that the sponsor will be able to maintain qualifying income. Borrowing your way across the threshold won't do it. It's also an intentional attempt to deceive USCIS. Don't go there.

I'd forget about the mother in-law. She barely makes enough to be required to file a tax return. Unless she had substantial verifiable assets, like a big chunk of equity in her home, it's unlikely they'd consider her. She can barely afford to support herself.

The uncle sounds like a good bet. Whether this ever ends up costing him any money is entirely YOUR choice. The government is not going to force him to support you unless you sue him for support in a civil court, using the affidavit as a basis. The government is not going to demand any money from him unless you collect taxpayer funded means tested benefits from the government. As long as you don't do anything that would cause him to be liable, he won't ever have to pay anything.

[mayaandcorey 0]

My fiance did the I-134.. We didn't need 125 % of poverty level for that, and we used his school money. Some of which is means based, which won't work for the I-864. At the embassy they said he'd have to find something better for the AOS.

I would never ever sue the uncle. Nor would I ever put him in a situation where the government would demand his money because of me. The problem is he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, he doesn't seem at all interested in trying to convince his wife, and the contact is all between him and my fiance. I've met him a few times but I definitely don't know him well enough to push it at all, I can't even get in touch with him.

[Boiler 47,264]

Another family member/friend?