I-134 Affidavit of Support --Question,Is it necessary to list all assets?

[Bill & Ivy 6]

I hope someone one VJ can help me with me this.

We are getting close to the time where I need to fill out and send my fiance my I-134 paper along with everything else for her interview.

We are an older couple, and I have had my own business for over 25 years. I pay myself well over the minimum amount needed for the poverty level part of the I-134, and well send my most recent years tax statement to show that. My company is set up as a corporation C , and I am the only owner of it. I have a fair amount of assets and money in various types of bank accounts. I own my home and have no mortgage, or owe any loans.

1. Is it necessary to send my tax records for my company, wont my personal tax returns be enough evidence.

2. Must I disclose all my assets on the I-134.

3. Once we are married, I will add my wife"s name to a joint checking account for the 2 of us.

Since I am nearing early retirement age, and plan to retire at 62, I am just trying to make sure that if our marriage didnt work out, I wont loose everything I have, as is many times the case here is US. We have known each other for close to 3 years, and have spent much time together, but even so, a long distance relationship is not the same as being able to spend time together on a daily or weekly basis like we would if my fiance was close by. I know that by asking this, I probably will sound like a very cold person, but sadly, over 50% of marriages here do not work out for various reasons, but I do pray ours will work out. Since everything I have, was earned before us getting married, I am trying to lookout for myself, cause once I retire, I will not be able to get my business back ever again, if our marriage was to not work out. As time goes by, I will most definitely put things in both our names, but am trying to not put my future wifes name on everything right from the start.

I dont know how to ask this type of question without sounding like such a jerk, cause when I read it, thats how I sound to myself.

Hope I will get some answers, and not all insults, but I do understand how this sounds.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Self-employed use their tax returns to show proof of income. Your personal income is what will count for an affidavit of support. If you have enough income to meet the requirement, Total Income, line 22 of your most recent 1040, then no need to list assets. Leave that part of the I-134 blank.

The I-134 is not legally binding, so you have no problems with signing it. The I-864 that you will sign later, after you are married, for your wife's adjustment of status is the one that is legally binding. The obligations are listed on the form so you know what they are before you sign. If you are uncomfortable with those obligations, then you may not want to file for your fiancee to immigrate. The I-864 is required for her to adjust status. It would also be required if you were already married and filing for a spousal visa.

[Lynkali 163]

You don't sound like a jerk to me, don't worry ... there are lots of people in your situation and finances can be really complicated. Especially so for well-established individuals who are marrying less-fortunate fiancees -- it just means you're aware of the disparity in your incomes/assets, but that is a good thing, not a sign of distrust.

Your first question is simple: if you make well over the poverty guidelines, then you do not need to list ANY assets on the I-134 or the I-864 (used later when filing for adjustment of status after your marriage). That's easy. Use your tax returns/transcripts to show your income, and leave the assets blank.

The harder issue is protecting your assets in the event of "things not working out". Be aware that you are pledging that your fiancee will not receive means-tested benefits from the government -- and that the government could (in theory) sue you to recoup that money if she did try to get benefits. In practice, this rarely happens, but it is what you're promising with the I-134 and I-864.

Even though you don't list your assets on the forms, you are pledging that you will "support" your fiancee and that she will not get mean-tested benefits from the government. In the unlikely event that she does try to that and that the government sues you to recoup the money, you would need to repay them, whatever your assets or income, no matter what you actually listed on the form.

The I-134 and I-864 are not in any way connected to divorce or things "not working out". In order to "protect" your assets in the event of a falling-out, you'll need to look into a prenup agreement, signed privately by you and your fiancee and lawyers. That's not something the government is involved in, and in most cases, the I-134/I-864 don't really deal with division of assets after a divorce. (There are rare exceptions from especially vicious divorce lawyers who try to use it as a way to get a larger divorce settlement, but that's a civil issue and not anything to do with the government.)

Please do inform yourself about what you will need to sign once you are married and filing the I-864 -- that is the more legally binding document, and you'll need to be comfortable with it. But your larger question about protecting your assets is not affected by these forms -- you'll need to look privately at prenuptual agreements and discuss that with your fiancee.

[Hank_ 9,174]

I hope someone one VJ can help me with me this.

We are getting close to the time where I need to fill out and send my fiance my I-134 paper along with everything else for her interview.

We are an older couple, and I have had my own business for over 25 years. I pay myself well over the minimum amount needed for the poverty level part of the I-134, and well send my most recent years tax statement to show that. My company is set up as a corporation C , and I am the only owner of it. I have a fair amount of assets and money in various types of bank accounts. I own my home and have no mortgage, or owe any loans.

1. Is it necessary to send my tax records for my company, wont my personal tax returns be enough evidence.

2. Must I disclose all my assets on the I-134.

3. Once we are married, I will add my wife"s name to a joint checking account for the 2 of us.

Since I am nearing early retirement age, and plan to retire at 62, I am just trying to make sure that if our marriage didnt work out, I wont loose everything I have, as is many times the case here is US. We have known each other for close to 3 years, and have spent much time together, but even so, a long distance relationship is not the same as being able to spend time together on a daily or weekly basis like we would if my fiance was close by. I know that by asking this, I probably will sound like a very cold person, but sadly, over 50% of marriages here do not work out for various reasons, but I do pray ours will work out. Since everything I have, was earned before us getting married, I am trying to lookout for myself, cause once I retire, I will not be able to get my business back ever again, if our marriage was to not work out. As time goes by, I will most definitely put things in both our names, but am trying to not put my future wifes name on everything right from the start.

I dont know how to ask this type of question without sounding like such a jerk, cause when I read it, thats how I sound to myself.

Hope I will get some answers, and not all insults, but I do understand how this sounds.

Your tax return with supporting documents should be more then fine as long it shows you meet or exceed the poverty guidelines. You do not need to list all your assets.

I understand being cautious

[Bill & Ivy 6]

You don't sound like a jerk to me, don't worry ... there are lots of people in your situation and finances can be really complicated. Especially so for well-established individuals who are marrying less-fortunate fiancees -- it just means you're aware of the disparity in your incomes/assets, but that is a good thing, not a sign of distrust.

Your first question is simple: if you make well over the poverty guidelines, then you do not need to list ANY assets on the I-134 or the I-864 (used later when filing for adjustment of status after your marriage). That's easy. Use your tax returns/transcripts to show your income, and leave the assets blank.

The harder issue is protecting your assets in the event of "things not working out". Be aware that you are pledging that your fiancee will not receive means-tested benefits from the government -- and that the government could (in theory) sue you to recoup that money if she did try to get benefits. In practice, this rarely happens, but it is what you're promising with the I-134 and I-864.

Even though you don't list your assets on the forms, you are pledging that you will "support" your fiancee and that she will not get mean-tested benefits from the government. In the unlikely event that she does try to that and that the government sues you to recoup the money, you would need to repay them, whatever your assets or income, no matter what you actually listed on the form.

The I-134 and I-864 are not in any way connected to divorce or things "not working out". In order to "protect" your assets in the event of a falling-out, you'll need to look into a prenup agreement, signed privately by you and your fiancee and lawyers. That's not something the government is involved in, and in most cases, the I-134/I-864 don't really deal with division of assets after a divorce. (There are rare exceptions from especially vicious divorce lawyers who try to use it as a way to get a larger divorce settlement, but that's a civil issue and not anything to do with the government.)

Please do inform yourself about what you will need to sign once you are married and filing the I-864 -- that is the more legally binding document, and you'll need to be comfortable with it. But your larger question about protecting your assets is not affected by these forms -- you'll need to look privately at prenuptual agreements and discuss that with your fiancee.

[Bill & Ivy 6]

Thanks Lynkali,

I didnt want to go into too much detail in what I wrote, by asking the questions earlier.

Yes, the pre-nup has been discussed in the past, in fact my fiance was the one that first brought it up, and we will definitely be doing one through my lawyer.

As I said, we are older than most of the ones on VJ I think. We have both discussed things, such as if things didnt work out as we hope they will, and what we would do to accommodate each other in such an event. My fiance has already said she would want to return to the Philippines, since thats where all her family is, and I told her at the very least, I would take care of that, plus more.

We plan to move to the Philippines to live, at least part time after I retire anyway, hopefully to stay there most of the time if I can adjust to the differences there, as I do love it there, but living vs going there for a month at a time on vacations are 2 different things, so only time will tell on that adventure.

We do plan to stay here until she can get US citizenship, in fact, that will determine our future schedule for the most part. We plan to travel a lot, and with just Philippine citizenship, its hard to travel to many places from what I understand.

Thanks again everyone, for your help, I appreciate the answers from everyone.