i864 Form Question

[gvanderford 0]

Hi,

I am a full time graduate student and am living off of student loans. I don't see a place for this in section 6 of the i864. Should I just put that I'm "employed" as a graduate student and my loans are my income?

I haven't filed tax returns for the last couple years because I've been living abroad. I didn't make much money but I don't have an official exemption from the IRS. I'm not sure what to do about this and I'm worried that if I do my taxes now it will delay the filing process by days or weeks and I need to get this AOS off to the NVC. I do have a joint sponsor so I'm covered there which makes this tax issue really annoying since my financial status isn't important with a joint sponsor, but I still have to complete an i864.

Guidance appreciated!

Greg

[Anh map 2,098]

Page 8 of the instructions tells you what is needed if you were not required to file a tax return. You would submit an affidavit stating the reason and citing the IRS regulation. Not earning the minimum that is required for tax return filing is one of those reasons.

Loans for tuition, books,fees, etc. are not income. A stipend that is for food, shelter, etc, would be.

Student is acceptable "employment."

[Scott & Ale 3]

Hi,

I am a full time graduate student and am living off of student loans. I don't see a place for this in section 6 of the i864. Should I just put that I'm "employed" as a graduate student and my loans are my income?

I haven't filed tax returns for the last couple years because I've been living abroad. I didn't make much money but I don't have an official exemption from the IRS. I'm not sure what to do about this and I'm worried that if I do my taxes now it will delay the filing process by days or weeks and I need to get this AOS off to the NVC. I do have a joint sponsor so I'm covered there which makes this tax issue really annoying since my financial status isn't important with a joint sponsor, but I still have to complete an i864.

Guidance appreciated!

Greg

A. School is not employment, you will need to check the unemployed box

B. Loans are not income and thus no bearing on your income or tax returns to the IRS and cannot be used for support

C. Just because you were out of the country does not mean you should not file US taxes. In fact as a US citizen or Resident alien living abroad you are still required to file and pay taxes on GLOBAL income and doesn't matter which country where you earned it. Although, depending upon the year and your income you may not be required to file a return (approx $9,500 a year of global income is the trigger to require a return, unless someone claimed you as a dependent which then is around $2k). I attached a link to IRS Pub 54 which on page 3 has some of that info.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

[gvanderford 0]

A. School is not employment, you will need to check the unemployed box

B. Loans are not income and thus no bearing on your income or tax returns to the IRS and cannot be used for support

C. Just because you were out of the country does not mean you should not file US taxes. In fact as a US citizen or Resident alien living abroad you are still required to file and pay taxes on GLOBAL income and doesn't matter which country where you earned it. Although, depending upon the year and your income you may not be required to file a return (approx $9,500 a year of global income is the trigger to require a return, unless someone claimed you as a dependent which then is around $2k). I attached a link to IRS Pub 54 which on page 3 has some of that info.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

Thank you for the answers. I am a bit confused now though because Anh Map above said that "student" is acceptable "employment" but Scott and Ale have said that "school" does not count as employment and that I should mark "unemployed". I don't see this information on any instructions for filling out the AOS which is why I'm not sure about this. Are either of you 100% certain and do you have a firm basis for this (i.e. saw this specifically written somewhere)? Thanks again, in advance.

[Anh map 2,098]

Don't sweat it. Either will be fine.

[Scott & Ale 3]

Don't sweat it. Either will be fine.

I agree, doesn't matter since there will be a co-sponsor and that is where it will mean the most.

[gvanderford 0]

Okay! Thanks again

[gvanderford 0]

Final question:

The joint sponsor checklist says I need to send in joint sponsor proof of citizenship, but the checklist for the petitioner that I have doesn't mention this at all. Does this mean I do not need to send in my birth certificate as the petitioner? I only have one original left and wanted to save it for the DS230...

[Anh map 2,098]

Final question:

The joint sponsor checklist says I need to send in joint sponsor proof of citizenship, but the checklist for the petitioner that I have doesn't mention this at all. Does this mean I do not need to send in my birth certificate as the petitioner? I only have one original left and wanted to save it for the DS230...

In the petition you've established your citizenship. The joint sponsor is a person new to the case. Their status needs to be confirmed.

Never send originals unless specifically instructed to do so. Send copies and then bring originals to the interview so that the officer can inspect/compare if needed.