I-864 Affidavit of Support - Never filed taxes

[Dani&Juli_VE 1]

Hello guys,

We are on NVC stage and my Affidavit of Support fee just appearead as PAID.

We're ready to fill the I-864 form but my case is somehow particular:

• I'm a born US Citizen with passport, birth certificate and SSN at hand
• I have never filed taxes. Short story: I was born in the US but my parents took me out when I was still a baby. Since then we've been living in Venezuela. I'm 29 years old now, married.... so I made my life here, out of the US. I even have a Venezuelan passport. A year ago my wife and I decided to establish in the US. Now we are at NVC stage for her VISA and I just realized I should have declared taxes to the IRS all this time. I honestly didn't know, I just never thought of that.
• I recently moved to Florida alone, to get a job and establish here before she arrives. I was lucky enough to find a job and will begin working October 1st.

My questions are:

1) How should I fill this form? As of today, technically I'm still unemployed right? Should I check "unemployed" on the I-864 form?

2) I've read I have to send a written statement explaining my whole tax situation. Do you guys know if there are any parameters/requirements on how this letter should be done?

3) If I check "Unemployed" should I put Individual annual income as $0 right?

4) We have assets (properties) in Venezuela: two cars, two apartments on my name. I could add those to the equation but is it worth it? Will those really be taken into account?

5) Besides those assets I suppose I need to get a co-sponsor with proper IRS status. What do you guys think?

I don't want to lose time and get RFE'd for not doing things right. So any comments or suggestions for this I-864 submission are VERY welcome.

Thank you all in advance.

Daniel

[newacct 688]

I think you should get back taxes filed first.

[Ryan H 3,901]

My questions are:

1) How should I fill this form? As of today, technically I'm still unemployed right? Should I check "unemployed" on the I-864 form?

2) I've read I have to send a written statement explaining my whole tax situation. Do you guys know if there are any parameters/requirements on how this letter should be done?

3) If I check "Unemployed" should I put Individual annual income as $0 right?

4) We have assets (properties) in Venezuela: two cars, two apartments on my name. I could add those to the equation but is it worth it? Will those really be taken into account?

5) Besides those assets I suppose I need to get a co-sponsor with proper IRS status. What do you guys think?

I don't want to lose time and get RFE'd for not doing things right. So any comments or suggestions for this I-864 submission are VERY welcome.

Thank you all in advance.

Daniel

Answers:

1. Wouldn't be easier to fill out the form after your officially start the job?
2. File back taxes.
3. See my answer for #1.
4. It's unlikely foreign assets will be considered as it will probably be determined that they could not be liquidated within one year if the obligations of the I-864 were not met.
5. Joint sponsor is the proper term, not co-sponsor. There is no such thing as "proper IRS status" that I know of. In order for someone to qualify as a joint sponsor, they must be domiciled in the US and have either income, assets, or a combination of both that meets or exceeds the threshold for their household size as defined by the I-864P. For your specific case, it's highly likely (although not a certainty) that a joint sponsor will be required.

[Dani&Juli_VE 1]

Answers:

1. Wouldn't be easier to fill out the form after your officially start the job?
2. File back taxes.
3. See my answer for #1.
4. It's unlikely foreign assets will be considered as it will probably be determined that they could not be liquidated within one year if the obligations of the I-864 were not met.
5. Joint sponsor is the proper term, not co-sponsor. There is no such thing as "proper IRS status" that I know of. In order for someone to qualify as a joint sponsor, they must be domiciled in the US and have either income, assets, or a combination of both that meets or exceeds the threshold for their household size as defined by the I-864P. For your specific case, it's highly likely (although not a certainty) that a joint sponsor will be required.

Thank you Ryan, I really appreciate your feedback and corrections. With "proper IRS status" I meant that he/she is in good condition with his own taxes (eg. not like me heheh).

Ok now, If I got it right: I should file back taxes, wait for job to officially start and get a qualified Joint Sponsor. Seems logical.

In that case, as "employed", considering I just started, should I put my annual income like... my new monthly payment x 12 months?

Thank you.

[Ryan H 3,901]

In that case, as "employed", considering I just started, should I put my annual income like... my new monthly payment x 12 months?

To ensure that correct formula is used, these are the two questions I have:

• Will you be paid hourly or have a salary?
• How often will you be paid (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly)?

Edited September 21, 2015 by Ryan H

[VZLAN-US-Citizen 11]

My questions are:

1) How should I fill this form? As of today, technically I'm still unemployed right? Should I check "unemployed" on the I-864 form?

2) I've read I have to send a written statement explaining my whole tax situation. Do you guys know if there are any parameters/requirements on how this letter should be done?

3) If I check "Unemployed" should I put Individual annual income as $0 right?

4) We have assets (properties) in Venezuela: two cars, two apartments on my name. I could add those to the equation but is it worth it? Will those really be taken into account?

5) Besides those assets I suppose I need to get a co-sponsor with proper IRS status. What do you guys think?

Hello Daniel,

Your case is very unique. You know, there are lawyers who offer free consultation, or maybe you can go to a lawyer that may help with your questions for only a consultation fee.

1) However, I THINK that you are unemployed as of right now, until you start your job in October. What do you think about waiting until you start your job before you fill out any more paperwork? I believe you have a total of 1 year to give the NVC all the paperwork they need. If I were you, I would begin to gather all the paperwork you will need and wait until you have been at your job for at least 3 months, and THEN file the I-864, with all the information of your job that you will have then.

2) I would definitely include a written statement to explain your situation. There are no parameters or guidelines for those letters, just keep it short and professional.

3) If you are unemployed, that doesn't mean your individual annual income is $0, you could have earnings from sources other than your employment. That is up to you to figure out.

4) Yes, you should definitely add all your assets in the form, you could also explain that you intend to sell or rent those assets and they will provide income in the future (once sold or rented). They are taken into consideration.

5) It would be extremely helpful to have a joint sponsor in your case, if you had a family member or friend who was already established here in the US and had a good history of credit/taxes/jobs/steady income, etc... this will show the government that you have someone to rely on financially, since you don't have established credit/taxes/jobs/income, etc.

Hope this helps.

M