I-134 question

[ADAMandKAREN 15]

People keep talking about submitting the last 3 years of tax returns with the I-134. I read the instructions for the I-134 and it says to only submit the previous year's tax return (1 year) if you are self employed and doesn't mention any need to submit any tax returns at all for those who are employed. Am I missing something? the instructions are here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-134instr.pdf

[sjr09 155]

People keep talking about submitting the last 3 years of tax returns with the I-134. I read the instructions for the I-134 and it says to only submit the previous year's tax return (1 year) if you are self employed and doesn't mention any need to submit any tax returns at all for those who are employed. Am I missing something? the instructions are here: http://www.uscis.gov.../i-134instr.pdf

If you are self employed you will need to submit your tax return just like everyone. They will go by line 22 of your SC 1040 ITR

[pushbrk 12,102]

People keep talking about submitting the last 3 years of tax returns with the I-134. I read the instructions for the I-134 and it says to only submit the previous year's tax return (1 year) if you are self employed and doesn't mention any need to submit any tax returns at all for those who are employed. Am I missing something? the instructions are here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-134instr.pdf

What you keep reading about is what is recommended as well known best practice, not what is required. Does that explain it for you?

Edited December 27, 2010 by pushbrk

[ADAMandKAREN 15]

If you are self employed you will need to submit your tax return just like everyone. They will go by line 22 of your SC 1040 ITR

Well I understand that if you are self employed you need to submit your tax return. What i'm asking is if those who are not self employed need to. I keep seeing people talking about submitting the last 3 years tax returns but I don't see anything in the instructions that require any tax returns unless you are self employed.

What you keep reading about is what is recommended as well known best practice, not what is required. Does that explain it for you?

Yes that answers my question perfectly. Thank you.

[thaiv 15]

Actually since you are petitioning for someone from the Philippines you should be very careful about this. The consulate there is known to strictly follow what is laid out in the I-864 which is THE official Affidavit of Support which you will eventually use at the AOS stage. In that form it says that the most recent tax return is required and you can submit up to three if you think that will help your case. If you are dealing with the consulate in the Philippines (probably Manila) you want to have your most recent tax return ready. Someone on this forum was recently denied their visa at the Manila Consulate for being a likely public charge even though their current income was above the federal poverty guidelines. They based their decision on the fact that the previous year's income was not sufficient. This is not a typical case, but I would not take the chance if I were you.

[payxibka 10,044]

moving thread to:

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.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

People keep talking about submitting the last 3 years of tax returns with the I-134. I read the instructions for the I-134 and it says to only submit the previous year's tax return (1 year) if you are self employed and doesn't mention any need to submit any tax returns at all for those who are employed. Am I missing something? the instructions are here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-134instr.pdf

The I-134 was crafted by INS many years ago. It's original purpose was as an affidavit of support for sponsors of immigrants. INS (now USCIS) stopped using the form in the mid 1990's because the contract portion of the form was poorly written, and therefore not legally binding. US consulates abroad still use the I-134 because it's a handy way of summarizing the financial status of a sponsor for a non-immigrant visa.

The original instructions for the I-134 were written by USCIS for a completely different purpose than the US consulate is going to be using the form for. The details in the form instructions about what sort of supporting evidence is required is utterly useless when submitting the form to the consulate. They aren't bound by USCIS original guidelines for the form, and can require virtually anything they want.

In other words, ignore the form instructions. The consulate will usually provide instructions with packet 4 detailing what sort of evidence they will require. Most will want, at a minimum, a copy of the most recent year's tax return or an IRS transcript of that return. Do not believe for a moment that you won't be required to submit a tax return or transcript unless you're self-employed, as the form's instructions imply. The consulate makes the rules, in this case.