Have literally 0 income

[GoldenBakri 0]

Ok, a little background. I am a US citizen, but I got married at 16 to a Pakistani and have lived there since. But my mother recently passed away and now my father is left alone and wants me to live there. I want to, but I would like to bring my husband over on a spouse immigrant visa so that I wouldn't have to travel back and forth constantly with our 2 small children. But since I got married young I've never had a job. If I use my father as a joint sponsor, would they approve a visa? even though I have no tax forms, no bank account, no net value. Or is it impossible? :-( Any help would be greatly appreciated, I really need help figuring this out.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Ok, a little background. I am a US citizen, but I got married at 16 to a Pakistani and have lived there since. But my mother recently passed away and now my father is left alone and wants me to live there. I want to, but I would like to bring my husband over on a spouse immigrant visa so that I wouldn't have to travel back and forth constantly with our 2 small children. But since I got married young I've never had a job. If I use my father as a joint sponsor, would they approve a visa? even though I have no tax forms, no bank account, no net value. Or is it impossible? :-( Any help would be greatly appreciated, I really need help figuring this out.

As long as your father can show that he meets the poverty guidelines for his family size which includes himself and your husband and you can show proof to the USCIS as to why you were not required to file an income tax return--i.e. no income and a spouse that is a non-resident. Just remember that as a USC your are required to FILE a US tax return based on all world-wide income. Whether you have to pay taxes is another matter, but the USCIS expects you to have filed a tax return or show using the IRS tax laws why you do not need to file--this is typically under the "Who must file a tax return" section on the IRS website.

If your father makes over $30K per year he can be a joint sponsor if you meet all the qualifications. If not, than he can be a co-sponsor. Look over the I-864 form for the differences.

Good luck,

Dave

[GoldenBakri 0]

As long as your father can show that he meets the poverty guidelines for his family size which includes himself and your husband and you can show proof to the USCIS as to why you were not required to file an income tax return--i.e. no income and a spouse that is a non-resident. Just remember that as a USC your are required to FILE a US tax return based on all world-wide income. Whether you have to pay taxes is another matter, but the USCIS expects you to have filed a tax return or show using the IRS tax laws why you do not need to file--this is typically under the "Who must file a tax return" section on the IRS website.

If your father makes over $30K per year he can be a joint sponsor if you meet all the qualifications. If not, than he can be a co-sponsor. Look over the I-864 form for the differences.

Good luck,

Dave

Thank you very much for your quick response. I've actually never had a job in Pakistan as well. Does that affect anything? What would I write in the forms allocated to tax returns and what not?

[Ryan H 3,911]

As long as your father can show that he meets the poverty guidelines for his family size which includes himself and your husband and you can show proof to the USCIS as to why you were not required to file an income tax return--i.e. no income and a spouse that is a non-resident. Just remember that as a USC your are required to FILE a US tax return based on all world-wide income. Whether you have to pay taxes is another matter, but the USCIS expects you to have filed a tax return or show using the IRS tax laws why you do not need to file--this is typically under the "Who must file a tax return" section on the IRS website.

If your father makes over $30K per year he can be a joint sponsor if you meet all the qualifications. If not, than he can be a co-sponsor. Look over the I-864 form for the differences.

Good luck,

Dave

Mostly correct except the part about showing USCIS about the tax filing requirement. It's the Embassy in Islamabad that the OP will have to satisfy. USCIS is not involved in the decision making process regarding an Affidavit of Support in a spouse visa case.

[pushbrk 13,664]

As long as your father can show that he meets the poverty guidelines for his family size which includes himself and your husband and you can show proof to the USCIS as to why you were not required to file an income tax return--i.e. no income and a spouse that is a non-resident. Just remember that as a USC your are required to FILE a US tax return based on all world-wide income. Whether you have to pay taxes is another matter, but the USCIS expects you to have filed a tax return or show using the IRS tax laws why you do not need to file--this is typically under the "Who must file a tax return" section on the IRS website.

If your father makes over $30K per year he can be a joint sponsor if you meet all the qualifications. If not, than he can be a co-sponsor. Look over the I-864 form for the differences.

Good luck,

Dave

Theoretically, the father can be a "joint sponsor" if he qualifies. However, there is no such thing as a "co-sponsor" in an immigrant spouse visa case. This one would be an IR1 visa.

Another correction, is that the father's family size (actually household size) would only be two if he's single with no dependents. Additionally, elderly parents are often not great choices for sponsorship. It depends on his age and how well qualified he is. Father's only option is "joint sponsor" unless somebody else in his household is earning money.

No , USCIS will have no expectations with regard to sponsorship in an immigrant "visa" case. The National Visa Center and the Consular Officer will be who has expectations regarding tax filing, in this case. Since this petitioner has never worked, she has never been required to file a US tax return. On her own affidavit of support, she will indicate zero current income and in the past tax information section, simply hand write, "Not required to file. Never earned any income."

Edited May 20, 2014 by pushbrk

[GoldenBakri 0]

Pushbrk, my father is 55. He owns his own house and seafood business and makes around 200 thousand a year. Is he a good candidate? By the way, I am applying for the Ir1, just called it by a different name :-)

[pushbrk 13,664]

Pushbrk, my father is 55. He owns his own house and seafood business and makes around 200 thousand a year. Is he a good candidate? By the way, I am applying for the Ir1, just called it by a different name :-)

If that is approximately the income shown on line 22 of his 1040 form for 2013 (Ask him?) then yes, he's a fine candidate. You are not applying for anything though. You will file a petition in behalf of your spouse. When your petition is approved, it is your spouse who will apply for an IR1 visa.