Affidavit of support low income.

[lexash 2]

Hi,

I'm a F-1 student applying for a green card, my wife (US-citizen) is a student too. She'll graduate next Summer, but will then go to med school the next year. Right now I work a part-time job on campus which gives me about ~$9 per hour. She works a low wage job at a hospital and makes about $9/hour too. Our income is very small, we get a ton of help from her parents. At this point I feel like if I submit the form with our numbers it would get rejected. What do you recommend doing? Do I have to have her parents submit an affidavit of support too?

Thanks,

[Raccoon_CA 5]

Your spouse will have to submit an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) no matter what. If her income falls below the poverty guidelines, you will have to include another Affidavit of Support by a joint sponsor. This is made by a third-party using the same Form I-864. The process will be easier if you can find somebody whose income is above the poverty guidelines and filed their taxes for the past three years without a spouse or dependents listed on their most recent federal tax return (1040).

If one of your wife's parents volunteers as a joint sponsor, then the non-sponsoring parent (the one that doesn't file Form I-864) will have to submit the Household Member's Form I-864A. Same thing for any dependents over 18 that her parents may have listed on their last federal tax return.

[lexash 2]

Your spouse will have to submit an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) no matter what. If her income falls below the poverty guidelines, you will have to include another Affidavit of Support by a joint sponsor. This is made by a third-party using the same Form I-864. The process will be easier if you can find somebody whose income is above the poverty guidelines and filed their taxes for the past three years without a spouse or dependents listed on their most recent federal tax return (1040).

If one of your wife's parents volunteers as a joint sponsor, then the non-sponsoring parent (the one that doesn't file Form I-864) will have to submit the Household Member's Form I-864A. Same thing for any dependents over 18 that her parents may have listed on their last federal tax return.

That sounds like an awful mess. Did you have to do that yourself?

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

****** Moving from AOS from Family Visa to AOS from Student Visa forum *****

[Raccoon_CA 5]

That sounds like an awful mess. Did you have to do that yourself?

I would say I do that every week at work

Sounds more daunting than it is. Just carefully follow instructions on each form and you'll be fine.

[Am205 2]

Hi Im having a similar problem

I'm a full time student with a part time job $10/hr but i've never have done my own taxes because my mom always puts me as her dependent. So I don't have any tax returns to put down and I could do it this year for this past year but by the time I wait on my W2's it'll be too late. i want my husband's legal status to stay up to date. My mom doesn't necessarily meet above the poverty line due to getting on permanent disability. So I don't know who would qualify for a joint sponsor? And how do I fill out my own affidavit of support papers without having tax returns?

[mymarriagejourney 112]

My husband and I were both students when he adjusted from an F1 student visa, too. A family friend was our co-sponsor and it's really not that difficult.

[Cathi 5,610]

read the guides. You need a joint sponsor

[lexash 2]

I would say I do that every week at work

Sounds more daunting than it is. Just carefully follow instructions on each form and you'll be fine.

Ah I get it! Well thanks you might have saved me a denial.

[lexash 2]

Hi Im having a similar problem

I'm a full time student with a part time job $10/hr but i've never have done my own taxes because my mom always puts me as her dependent. So I don't have any tax returns to put down and I could do it this year for this past year but by the time I wait on my W2's it'll be too late. i want my husband's legal status to stay up to date. My mom doesn't necessarily meet above the poverty line due to getting on permanent disability. So I don't know who would qualify for a joint sponsor? And how do I fill out my own affidavit of support papers without having tax returns?

My wife hasn't filed any tax returns either, it's until this year that she's made a consistent "salary" to get a W-2, I think it'd be OK if you've never filed for a return, I mean in our cases (F-1's) USCIS should understand that we probably don't make enough money to file returns every year or have a consistent salary.

[lexash 2]

My husband and I were both students when he adjusted from an F1 student visa, too. A family friend was our co-sponsor and it's really not that difficult.

Good you're making me feel much better now. And was this friend married? If so did his/her wife have to file Household Member's Form I-864A too?

[mymarriagejourney 112]

Our friend was not married.

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

Hi Im having a similar problem

I'm a full time student with a part time job $10/hr but i've never have done my own taxes because my mom always puts me as her dependent. So I don't have any tax returns to put down and I could do it this year for this past year but by the time I wait on my W2's it'll be too late. i want my husband's legal status to stay up to date. My mom doesn't necessarily meet above the poverty line due to getting on permanent disability. So I don't know who would qualify for a joint sponsor? And how do I fill out my own affidavit of support papers without having tax returns?

You should double check to be sure you don't have any returns to file. IRS Publication 929 requires ALL legally employable dependants who have an earned income over $6300 for the year to file a tax return (there are other qualifications that raise the income required to avoid filing it's in the link), even if they are claimed as a dependant. So with a $10/hr job, you would need to work less than 12 hours a week to go below the filing requirements.

Read up on the publication to see if you should have filed taxes. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p929/ar02.html

If you should have filed, but did not file, it may come back to bite you later on.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Chris.M

[Am205 2]

You should double check to be sure you don't have any returns to file. IRS Publication 929 requires ALL legally employable dependants who have an earned income over $6300 for the year to file a tax return (there are other qualifications that raise the income required to avoid filing it's in the link), even if they are claimed as a dependant. So with a $10/hr job, you would need to work less than 12 hours a week to go below the filing requirements.

Read up on the publication to see if you should have filed taxes. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p929/ar02.html

If you should have filed, but did not file, it may come back to bite you later on.

Thanks for the information, I just now completed 6 months and have only made half of that and didn't have a job previous to that so thats why I hadn't done taxes before so legally I am fine, just not sure what to put as a substitute for the affidavit of support. Because this year will be the first year I do taxes now that I am married and have a job.