I-485 form denied

[Curreli 0]

Hi everyone, thank you in advance for taking the time to read this topic and willing to help.

I'll try to keep it short and get to the point.

My I-485 just got denied due to the income of my wife (sponsor) being too low for the last year. The reason for this is that she had to undergo multiple surgeries, so she was unable to work for multiple months. Well, it seems that the USCIS doesn't care about the reason, just the numbers, so we are denied.

Now, we received our denial letter today and we have been working all day on looking for a solution.

I understand we can file a motion for them to reopen the case, but obviously it will be denied again due to the same sponsor reason.

Can we file a motion and opt for a co-sponsor, joint sponsor, new sponsor or what do we have to do?

I know we can make up the difference in assets, but we don't have enough.

I hope at least one of you knows the solution for this problem so we can continue to live our lives as we know it, I can't imagine having to leave my wife and the family and friends here.

Thank you.

[christeen 966]

You will definetly need to find a co sponsor... If she cannot show she can support you then get a co sponsor.

[Curreli 0]

You will definetly need to find a co sponsor... If she cannot show she can support you then get a co sponsor.

Thank you Christeen for your quick reply.

Do you have any idea how this works? We already have a few friends here are volunteering to sponsor me, which means a lot to me, but I'm not sure how to go about this. Is it a co sponsor we need, or a joint sponsor, or are they both the same??

Will I need to motion the case, refile all the forms again, have one of our friends fill in the I-864 (sponsor form) and that would do the trick?

I'm sorry about all these questions, it's just my whole life feels like it's ready to get torn apart over something out of my hands!

Edited April 24, 2014 by Curreli

[Marco&Bettina 502]

It should come as no surprise that they don't care about stories. They care about facts & #s.

[Hypnos 6,578]

You will likely need to reapply from scratch, including paying all the fees again ($1,070, plus medical if needed), and remedying the deficiency that your first I-485 was denied for (i.e. have sufficient income or have a joint sponsor). A motion to re-open / re-consider is unlikely to get you anywhere since your application was correctly denied.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Hypnos

[Caryh 5,206]

refile a new petition with the cosponsor. You'll need the I-864 form and tax transcripts or complete tax filings from them.

You will not be able to appeal the decision, as it was correctly done, you didn't meet the income requirements. You cannot add evidence in an appeal, you can only show they did something wrong, which they did not.

[sweet cakes 326]

Agreed with Hypnos and Caryh. I'm no expert in this, but based from what I have read so far, nobody has been reconsidered once a denial has been given. You can search in VJ using terms "AOS denial" and you will see that this is somewhat not uncommon. So, better off to submit a new I-485 application.

For your next AOS, do read the instructions for I-864 carefully as it details how co-sponsorship works: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

Here's the poverty guidelines for your reference: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864p.pdf

All the best.

Edited April 24, 2014 by sweet cakes

[christeen 966]

Others above have put the guides in for you... But luckily you have friends who can help you... Good luck!

[aamirpearl 47]

Did you get a rfe before they denied you? or just get denied without rfe ?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Did you get a rfe before they denied you? or just get denied without rfe ?

They must have gotten a RFE.

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K-1 Process to Family-based AOS Progress Forum~

~Inquiry about AOS case status, not K-1 related~

[Curreli 0]

Thank you everyone for your replies, I love how there's people out there ready to help those that need it.

It seems you know what you're talking about, which gives me hope!

We did receive an RFE, but we had no idea to make up for the loss of the minimum income, you need assets in at least 5x the missing income.

So when they requested the RFE, I showed proof I had assets, but it was not enough to cover 5x the missing income.

Now that I understand why we are denied, I have several friends here that want to be a joint sponsor for me, I'm just not sure if I can still apply for the joint sponsor, if I have to file a motion and pay the fee to do it, or if I have to start all over...

You guys are saying to start the whole process over, but they informed me that in 30 days, they will proceed to the stage of removal with a judge etc, do I wait for that, or do I simply resubmit the i-485 right now, pay the fee, and my case will automatically start over??

I just don't know what my next move needs to be!

[christeen 966]

You should, start over, refile using the co sponsor... Both you and them need to submit the 864 ... Just refile and you should be fine!

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

Its only 3 times in assets for the sponsor, 5times in assets for a joint sponsor. It sounds like you never responded to the RFE, because you thought it was 5times, so it was denied.

Sorry, you just have to start over.

[Hypnos 6,578]

As stated above, an MTR is only for when USCIS made a mistake in your case, and you can prove this (example: USCIS issued you an RFE which they said you didn't respond to and denied the case, but you have the courier receipt showing your RFE was delivered to them). USCIS correctly denied your case, therefore an MTR is going to set you back a few hundred dollars, and waste between 6 and 12 months before your denial is re-affirmed. It's true that if you do nothing, you will likely be referred to ICE to order your detention and begin removal proceedings against you in immigration court.

The correct course of action is to completely re-file your application, starting from scratch. This will (again) place you in a new period of authorised stay which will persist until your new I-485 is adjudicated by USCIS. One of the questions on the I-485 asks if you have ever previously filed for AoS. Make sure that you answer correctly, and give them the full details of your I-485 which has been denied. Provided you have enough income now (or can make up any shortfall with assets, which, as stated, only need to be three times the difference for a spouse), or have a joint sponsor willing and able to complete an I-864, then you should not have any further problems, if this was the sole reason you were denied.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Hypnos