Regarding our Affidavit of Support (I-864)

[withinja 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm a Canadian citizen, married to an American, been living in America for 5 months now.

We're are completing our Change of Status paper work and are stuck on the I-864, Affidavit of Support.

We've been teaching English in Asia for the past 4 years.

During that time, my wife was not filing taxes in America, so she has no recent IRS history.

She is presently employed, but not making very much.

We have been told to seek out a co-sponsor.

We approached her parents about it, but they are unwilling to do so, as they fear they would be financially responsible for us in the case of a medical emergency and they are unwilling to risk their life savings. At present, we have no medical insurance.

We have a couple of questions pertaining to our situation:

1) Would our co-sponsor be financially responsible for us in the event of accidental medical emergency?

2) Could the government clear out the account of our co-sponsor, if there was an accident?

3) Is there any way for my wife to qualify as my sponsor?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated,

thank you,

[pushbrk 12,968]

Hi everyone,

I'm a Canadian citizen, married to an American, been living in America for 5 months now.

We're are completing our Change of Status paper work and are stuck on the I-864, Affidavit of Support.

We've been teaching English in Asia for the past 4 years.

During that time, my wife was not filing taxes in America, so she has no recent IRS history.

She is presently employed, but not making very much.

We have been told to seek out a co-sponsor.

We approached her parents about it, but they are unwilling to do so, as they fear they would be financially responsible for us in the case of a medical emergency and they are unwilling to risk their life savings. At present, we have no medical insurance.

We have a couple of questions pertaining to our situation:

1) Would our co-sponsor be financially responsible for us in the event of accidental medical emergency?

2) Could the government clear out the account of our co-sponsor, if there was an accident?

3) Is there any way for my wife to qualify as my sponsor?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated,

thank you,

1. Unlikely, but possible.

2. Unlikely and it would take quite a while, but yes, possible. The real obligation is in the contract. Honest people don't go ahead and sign contracts they have not intention of fulfilling.

3. Your wife can qualify if her current income is sufficient. If it is not, she'll need more income. Previous tax returns are not an actual requirement if the foreign income was below the filing threshold. If it was above the threshold, she should file the returns but the foreign income would be exempt from tax anyway, as long as under $90,000 or so for any year.

There are always practical aspects to marriage and immigration. One of them is how the couple or family supports themselves. Looks like you've got some practical aspects to sort out.

Edited August 20, 2013 by pushbrk

[NikLR 13,227]

**Moved to AOS from work, student or tourist visa from IR1/CR1 process and procedures because OP has stated they are adjusting status. Please let us know if you arrived in the USA as K1 visa holder.

The IR1/CR1 is for spouses who are going through the consular processing visa type, not adjusting status. ***

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Your wife was required to file taxes even if she was working in Asia, unless she made like less than $5k all year.