Japan origin, on F-1 visa currently, want to get married. Please help. (Newbie)

[AlohaMahalo 0]

Shauneg,

Life saver ....thank you. I will cite the same #'s the person mentions, provide a written statement explaining myself, a couple screenshots of deposits in my bank acct, and of course the original letter I received from the VA detailing the benefits I qualified for and have received ever since, as well as some kind of documentation that I'm receiving post-911 GI-bill.

Hopefully all of this will eliminate any need to worry about my tax years...however, I still have a question about my I-864. On page 6, section 6 - those 3 lines where it wants me to list income for each year - should I put the $ amount I received from my benefits? I guess if I didn't report it to the IRS - then I shouldn't be listing anything right? Just put $0 for 2014?

[blahblahblog 36]

If you get an RFE you'll have a limited time to respond. Only if you fail to respond adequately they'll deny. So you'll have plenty of opportunities to fix the I-864 application. It'll just delay the process.

[NikLR 13,220]

You can use your BAH and your VA disability income I believe You just have to document that you get it, how much, and how often.

Any self employment income is documented on your yearly tax return.

Send in bank statements, not screen shots from your bank account. Normally you can print them out yourself online if you have paperless banking.

On the I-864 you need to list what is on your tax return. The onus will be on you to prove your current income is more and why.

[GurkenSalat 48]

@Gurken

You mentioned in a past response that the application is over $1,000. Since I might be treading a line here with my personal income - showing proof that I make >125% of the poverty level - what if I get that dreaded RFE? Do I have to pay an additional $1,000? Will there be any kind of penalty?

The even more important question - if we get held up throughout this process with a RFE, etc....how can she legally stay in the US? Because of the I-485?? This packet thing makes it seem like even the I-485 is an application process - with absolutely no guarantees. Before I looked over all the paperwork I thought this would be a simple one-sheet form...but now I see its a wholllllle lot more than that. How much time does this buy her then? In the event we get held up because of some stupid proof that they need for the green card app...can she be sent back home? Again, the lawyer made it sound like we would be LUCKY to get all this done "in time" and that she might have to leave.

Thanks again...I appreciate you guys being patient and understanding with me.

If you get an RFE (which is a request for more evidence or forms you may have made mistakes on), you do NOT have to pay any more fees. The USCIS fees are listed on the forms, you only pay those ONCE and your application will be processed.

While her AOS is pending, your wife is legal here, and if she has applied for an EAD, she can work too. The waiting may be nervewracking, but just know that USCIS can sometimes take forever, and they will likely still approve you in the end, so just take care of your life in the meantime.

Also, what do you mean by "in time". I took a couple of weeks to put my stuff together. I had a weird situation too, so I was a bit rushed (had to apply within a month of having come back from seeing my family). Got it done, even joined our bank accounts in that month and it was all fine. We'd been together for so long, we worked really well together and the IO seemed to have decided to approve us before he even talked to us (it was a very relaxed interview).

What I mean to say is - I did all the work myself, I was in a bit of a hurry and in the end I had a great experience. Yes, it's a lot of stuff. But it can be done, and I was quite proud of my nicely organized files ready to mail in when they were done