I-864 Foreign Income Question

[edeltraut 0]

Hello,

I filed an I-130 in Frankfurt for my husband last week. I am starting to worry about what to do when it comes time to send in the I-864 (Affidavit of Support). The instructions say to include US tax returns. I have never filed taxes in the US, because I am a student and have been working as a freelancer in Germany. I have recently discovered that I am supposed to be filing taxes in the US, too.

My income is definitely not enough to support my husband in the US, and I have planned to quit working starting in December. So I will have to find a co-sponsor.

My question is, how do I prove that my income is not enough, if I do not have any US tax returns? Do I need to file them for the past three years and wait until I can get a "tax transcript" from the IRS? Or can I list my income as $0 since I will be unemployed when I move to the US?

I appreciate any help in this matter.

[Dbkrantz 16]

Hi,

I was a student, so I didn't have any income and I wrote a letter explaining why I hadn't filed tax returns in the past 3 years and attached it to the affidavit of support. For this, they were very appreciative of that explanation and thanked me for the letter at the interview.

Since you are a freelancer, you have two options. Either your income was too low to justify tax returns, in this case, you should consult the rules below, which you can find online on this website: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf (page 3 and 4). If exempt to filling taxes then you should write a letter explaining why that was the case.

Single dependents—Were you either age 65 or older or blind?

No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.

1. Your unearned income was more than $950.

2. Your earned income was more than $5,950.

3. Your gross income was more than the larger of—

a. $950, or

b. Your earned income (up to $5,650) plus $300.

Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.

1. Your unearned income was more than $2,400 ($3,850 if 65 or older and blind).

2. Your earned income was more than $7,400 ($8,850 if 65 or older and blind).

3. Your gross income was more than the larger of—

a. $2,400 ($3,850 if 65 or older and blind), or

b. Your earned income (up to $5,650) plus $1,750 ($3,200 if 65 or older and blind).