i-864 or i-864EZ, submitting 2012 or 2013 Tax Returns

[amoebaextinct 0]

Hi there,

This is my first post and I will be grateful if you could help me. I am adjusting from "out-of-status" status. My husband is my only sponsor, he makes x more on W2 than the required 125% minimum. It seems like he is eligible to file the form i-864EZ which is supposed to be simpler than regular i-864. I have 2 main questions and thousands of additional ones.

1. He just opened a small LLC in the second half of 2013. It's just expenses so far, and he will file a separate 1099 form for it. Is he still eligible for filing EZ version of the form? I know that the income he is using for sponsoring must come from W2 and it comes from W2, but please somebody assure us sending a copy of 1099 form won't affect 1-864EZ.

2. Providing a copy of the Federal tax return from the most recent year. We haven't filed taxes yet (and this will be our first joint tax return) for 2013 and I was wondering if it will be okay if my husband provides his tax returns for 2012, 2011 and 2010, excluding 2013, since the deadline is due only in April. It will surely eliminate the problem (anxiety from the possibility from getting RFE?) from question 1. We will be also sending the copies of W2 for 2010-2012, as well as his pay stubs for the last 6 months and a letter of employment. Should we include 2013 W2 without tax return? Does he need to submit an explanation that he did not have a chance to file the taxes yet?

I've been searching through the forum and the only detailed thread I found on this topic is here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/417072-i-864-25-tax-return-questions/ I'm not sure how necessary the explanations are. Can we get RFE, if we don't send the 2013 tax return?

OR Should we just stick it up and file our joint tax return and the regular i-864?

Thanks for your help, folks!

[Terry J 50]

Hi there,

To address your points:

Meeting the 125% income requirement is either via W2's, self-employment income or a combination of the two.

In our case my husband makes well over the 125% just on the W2's but with his S.E. income it really seals the deal.

If you were filing based on submitting the 2013 tax return due to the 1099 form, because your spouse has both types of incomes it would make him ineligible to file the I-864EZ form.

I would suggest not using the I-864EZ anyway. You would submit the 2010-2012 transcripts from the IRS (better because you won't need to send the W2's and actual copies of the tax returns) along with his most recent pay stubs for the last 6 months and a letter of employment. They don't require anything concerning the 2013 tax return unless you submit the I-864 after April 15.

You wouldn't need to mention the LLC business unless you wanted to. If you did it would be just a simple letter explaining the recent LLC venture, nature of the business, date of inception etc... and you would attach it to the form. USCIS wants proof of current income that is over the 125% and not only just past years income.

We're about to submit the AOS package but we had already filed my spouse's 2013 federal tax and were able to download the 2013 transcript from the IRS.gov website. We're submitting recent paystubs as well.

I hope my two cents helps you.

[amoebaextinct 0]

Terry J, thanks for the answers!

If you were filing based on submitting the 2013 tax return due to the 1099 form, because your spouse has both types of incomes it would make him ineligible to file the I-864EZ form.

We will be filing the 2013 tax return based on his both W2 and 1099, but the income only comes from his W2, not 1099 (which is only expenses at this point). If we file before April 15th which is a deadline for the 2013 tax return, can we still file i-864EZ based on the tax returns from 2010-2012 when he did not have any 1099s? Or would you advise against filing i-864EZ in general? Anyway, these two forms don't seem to be that different from each other, except the part of i-864 that lets you use a co-sponsor.

Also, if you don't mind answering, did you get the IRS transcripts downloaded and printed out or ordered them in printed form? We ordered the transcripts, but I'm afraid they will arrive only after a couple of weeks and we would like to send the AOS package in the end of the week, so I was just wondering if the print-out from the electronic form will work for USCIS.

[Terry J 50]

I guess you could technically use the I-864EZ but I tend to be a bit paranoid when it comes to the USCIS so if were you I would just use the I-864

I did download the transcripts and printed them out and they are accepted by the USCIS just as well as the ones you'd receive via mail. I actually did both, downloaded them and requested them via mail.

But we will use the downloaded version for sure because we intend to send in our AOS by the beginning of next week. Best wishes to you!

[amoebaextinct 0]

Thanks again. I know what it feels like "being paranoid", don't want to increase the chance of getting RFE! Will ship i-864 with 2012 tax returns and all additional information like pay stubs and the letter from work. Best of luck to you!