I-864 or I-864a

[matlm 1]

Feel bad hijacking this guy's thread. I started my own:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/481532-complicated-aos-question/?p=6831144

[pushbrk 14,244]

He works for the government and has a high security clearence. I suspect this is more along the lines of being a huge hassle for him rather than being strictly forbidden.

Is it absolutely essential that he fills out an I-864A? My mother has all the documentation showing her individual income (it's about 100k). When you file jointly, does that mean that whatever you income you earn individually is lawfully considered as someone else's income as well?

If you fully document her own income and it's that high, I expect there's a good chance you can get by without the I-864a from dad, but there's never any guarantee. I think it's worth a try though. Maybe have the beneficiary carry the I-864a to the interview just in case, but only hand it over if required by the consular officer. Your dad could even write a cover letter for it explaining why he prefers not to provide it.

[matlm 1]

You guess incorrectly. The I-864a is used only when combining income or when the sponsor is a married couple filing taxes jointly. This is probably the most common affidavit of support misunderstanding we see here.

So now I think I understand: If my mom and I don't independently meet the income requirements, we can combine because we are of the same household.

If my neighbor bill and I wish to sponsor, but neither of us meet the requirements, we can't combine because we are not of the same household.

The core of the I-864A is combination, and so it's not really necessary if a hosehold member doesn't need to combine; an i-864 is suitable.

[pushbrk 14,244]

So now I think I understand: If my mom and I don't independently meet the income requirements, we can combine because we are of the same household.

If my neighbor bill and I wish to sponsor, but neither of us meet the requirements, we can't combine because we are not of the same household.

The core of the I-864A is combination, and so it's not really necessary if a hosehold member doesn't need to combine; an i-864 is suitable.

Pretty much, yes, combining, OR joint filing of taxes are the triggers for the I-864a.

[matlm 1]

So my filling out an i-864 is just a necessary formality? Do I have the option of having my mom do an I-864A? It seems like less work.

[pushbrk 14,244]

You can exercise that option if you want to get denied and have to do it the right way anyway. The right way is not always the easy way.

[matlm 1]

You can exercise that option if you want to get denied and have to do it the right way anyway. The right way is not always the easy way.

Gotcha. so for mine I should just leave item 13 blank (asks if I submitted a tax return and how much the income was on the previous tax returns)?

[pushbrk 14,244]

No. You should hand write, "Not required to file, no income."