I-864 Immigrant income Affidavit of Support k1

[lashidalgo 0]

Hi,

We got to the point where we have to file the I-864 and I have some questions. First let me tell you the story.

I'm a software engineer, worked in Chile for a multi national company for a year. I came to the states in a fiancée visa (k1) and got married two months ago.

Before traveling here (US) I talked to the company managers and they decide to hire me in the San Francisco office once I get my permission to work from UNCIS so I accepted the job offer (over $100k year), and for now I will keep working remotely, they'll keep paying me to my Chilean account in Chilean pesos all within the Chilean law.

I just started reading that it seems like it's illegal to be working remotely before given permission to do so from the UNCIS. (Some sites will say is legal others don't, is weird).

I have been working remotely now for almost three months, and certainly I'm able to support myself with my income which is currently about $30k year (converted from Chilean currency). I have the pay stubs and all the documentation to prove that.

My wife (sponsor) is a state employee and doesn't make enough money to fulfill the 125% poverty lines. She makes around $16k year working as teacher assistant (till she get's her teacher certificate which will raise her income), and we where wondering if we can use our combined incomes to fulfill the poverty lines under the household size of two. (me and her)

In a summary:

• I'm a k1 holder and I'm looking to become a resident
• My wife make $16K year, which is not enough for the 125% poverty lines for household of two (Teacher assistant, working towards certification)
• I'm working remotely now from the US for the Chilean office earning $30k year (Software engineer)
• I have a job offer once I get permission to work with the same company but in the US office for over $100k year (Software engineer)

So here are the questions:

1) Is it legal to work remotely?

2) Can we use our combined income?

• If the answer is yes, how would I prove that? (Past pay stubs, employee letter, job offer, story on the cover letter, bank statement ...etc)
• If the answer is yes, Where is my income stated on the form?

As a hint I read number four in this site, but I still confused, it says something about 24b, but that line is a 'last name' field in the latest version of i864.

https://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,1128-wheeler.shtm

Thanks, I really appreciate any help with this. The process is confusing and this form become a nightmare, certainly the hardest part.

[Caryh 5,206]

As your income is from employment outside the USA and paid outside the USA, I am of the understanding it does not fall under the definition of illegally working.

From the I-864 instructions.

If you included the income of the intending immigrant who is your spouse (he or she would be counted in Part
5., Item Number 1.), you must provide evidence that his/her income will continue from the current source after
obtaining lawful permanent resident status, and the intending immigrant must provide evidence that he or she is living
in your residence. He or she does not need to complete Form I-864A unless he or she has accompanying children.

[AngelaP 13]

Hi there,

I've been in the same situation a couple of months ago and came accross the same websites and forum discussions as you. The start-up i worked for offered to employ me remotely until i get all my paperwork sorted out and then the US office would follow up.

This is my comprehension after research and talked to several lawyers: this is a gray area.

This is where i stand: as soon as you step foot on the US soil with a K1 visa, you are not allowed to work until you get the EAD (Work authorization). Even working remotely for a foreign country is considered "WORKING", because you are on the US soil and on a K1 visa, it's illegal. So we decided that i wouldn't risk anything and just take sometime for myself and get to know the area.

But since it's a gray area and that the USCIS probably doesn't have the resource to enforce that, even if you decide the other way, you should be fine, just do it submarine and don't shout it on every rooftops. ;-) (for example on this forum).

So i would advise not to fill the form with your 2 incomes, but with her's only and add a separate sheet to explain your story:

- her actual income,

- how it gonna raise when she gets the certificate, by when and the expected numbers,

- your future situation with a proper job offer with all the basic and incentive compensation, additional benefits (add that it'll be under condition that starts as soon as you are administratively authorized to work on the US soil) provided by your company.

- if you guys have some savings, it'll be good to add that part too (with bank statement). It'll show them that you are well organized and that you won't be a burden for the States since you have a well paid job waiting for you.

If i were you, i'd send all 2/3 packets for AOS (AOS + EAD (+AP if needed)). Since those are kind of advised separately. The EAD process is quite fast and usually take ~56 days. Focus on getting your EAD so you can start to work and earn an income in the US with paystubs. Meanwhile the AOS being processed, if something is blocking because of your finance situation, you'll be then able to add your recent US paystubs in your case and prove them that it's not a situation and you have a decent household income.

Hope that helps.

Best.

[lashidalgo 0]

Hi there,

I've been in the same situation a couple of months ago and came accross the same websites and forum discussions as you. The start-up i worked for offered to employ me remotely until i get all my paperwork sorted out and then the US office would follow up.

This is my comprehension after research and talked to several lawyers: this is a gray area.

This is where i stand: as soon as you step foot on the US soil with a K1 visa, you are not allowed to work until you get the EAD (Work authorization). Even working remotely for a foreign country is considered "WORKING", because you are on the US soil and on a K1 visa, it's illegal. So we decided that i wouldn't risk anything and just take sometime for myself and get to know the area.

But since it's a gray area and that the USCIS probably doesn't have the resource to enforce that, even if you decide the other way, you should be fine, just do it submarine and don't shout it on every rooftops. ;-) (for example on this forum).

So i would advise not to fill the form with your 2 incomes, but with her's only and add a separate sheet to explain your story:

- her actual income,

- how it gonna raise when she gets the certificate, by when and the expected numbers,

- your future situation with a proper job offer with all the basic and incentive compensation, additional benefits (add that it'll be under condition that starts as soon as you are administratively authorized to work on the US soil) provided by your company.

- if you guys have some savings, it'll be good to add that part too (with bank statement). It'll show them that you are well organized and that you won't be a burden for the States since you have a well paid job waiting for you.

If i were you, i'd send all 2/3 packets for AOS (AOS + EAD (+AP if needed)). Since those are kind of advised separately. The EAD process is quite fast and usually take ~56 days. Focus on getting your EAD so you can start to work and earn an income in the US with paystubs. Meanwhile the AOS being processed, if something is blocking because of your finance situation, you'll be then able to add your recent US paystubs in your case and prove them that it's not a situation and you have a decent household income.

Hope that helps.

Best.

First of all, thanks for the quick answers !

I'm still a little confused since I got two different answers. I read that a job offer is not a credible evidence in a few pages. Anyway, how did your case go?

In the other hand, if I submit everything as you say above, what can be the worst thing that can happen?, request for a co sponsor or a straight denial of the AOS?, I'm a little afraid about having to reapply and pay another grand.

I feel so lost in this case, I think i'l just have to pay some money and ask a lawyer.

[AngelaP 13]

It's a gray area, some would tell you that you can, and some will tell you that you can not. I don't mean to scare you, but i've read somewhere that if you break the law, you can be deported. But again, it's the worst thing. And I still believe that they do not have the resource (time & staff) to enforce that. So really, it's about what kind of risk/chance you want to take.

All I know is that you don't mess up with the rules in the US. Everything is on record. My friend once failed to give the "tourist card" on 2008 when he came to visit New York City. On 2010, I was travelling with him thru one of the Vermont POE, he has been held for 3 entire hours for further enquiry. Last March, he came for vacation and again, he has been held in the immigration office for 2:30 hours. All this for just a piece of paper he forgot to give back on 2008… They never forget so i just sticked to the strict and literal definition of things as you need to ask for a work permit in order to work. Period.

I've spoken with a couple of K-1 immigrants. Several of them did actually work for the foreign company and got paid just like before they immigrated and everything went well for them. But their case were slightly different from yours that is their wife/sponsor had a sufficient income so they didn't have to deal with your kind of burden.

You can indeed pay a lawyer. I did talk with 4 different lawyers. 2 said it was ok. 1 said it's not. 1 say that I can hire him for a deeper study for $500.

If you can afford a co-sponsor, I'd advise you to add the co-sponsor right away to meet the minimum required. What you want is to avoid the straight denial of the AOS. As long as your case is open, they'd just send you Request(s) For Evidence (RFE). If you follow what I was saying earlier, by the time they review your case for AOS, you already had the EAD and started to work and will be able to add your paystubs to the futur potential RFE(s). This is just my opinion and how i would do it. If you can afford to consult a lawyer for that, it's still cheaper than having your case denied right away...

As for me, my husband has a decent income, we have some savings so I did not have your issue. But I read a lot about it because I was afraid that we wouldn't meet the requirement. And most of the people with low income added a co-sponsor and all say that it doesn't hurt to add a separate letter to explain your situation in order to ease the IO to process your case. Keep in mind that they have a LOT of cases to process in a short amount of time, so anything that can help them to understand your situation is welcome.

Finally, to be honest, I don't care much about the AOS and greencard. My goal after getting married is file for AOS + EAD + AP as fast as possible so my case would move forward and they'd print my EAD/AP card asap so I can start working because one month without working cost me a lot of money. I added the job offer, explained how long i've been employed in the French company and what I do + added a letter from the CEO of the US company that says how important my work is and why they can't hire someone to replace me. All this hopefully to speed up the process. But I think that can't be faster than what it is regarding the huge amount of cases being processed (on average 80 days).

Good luck with everything. I hope things work out for you.

[AngelaP 13]

FYI, the member ckibs had a RFE about the petitioner does not meet 125% of the poverty guideline for the household size, but this happened after their bio apt. Cf their timeline & posts on thread April 2016 AOS Filers.

[lashidalgo 0]

Thank you for answering. Great idea with the letter, I will definitely have my company write a similar letter. I will leave this case open just to get more opinions on this topic.

It's a gray area, some would tell you that you can, and some will tell you that you can not. I don't mean to scare you, but i've read somewhere that if you break the law, you can be deported. But again, it's the worst thing. And I still believe that they do not have the resource (time & staff) to enforce that. So really, it's about what kind of risk/chance you want to take.

All I know is that you don't mess up with the rules in the US. Everything is on record. My friend once failed to give the "tourist card" on 2008 when he came to visit New York City. On 2010, I was travelling with him thru one of the Vermont POE, he has been held for 3 entire hours for further enquiry. Last March, he came for vacation and again, he has been held in the immigration office for 2:30 hours. All this for just a piece of paper he forgot to give back on 2008… They never forget so i just sticked to the strict and literal definition of things as you need to ask for a work permit in order to work. Period.

I've spoken with a couple of K-1 immigrants. Several of them did actually work for the foreign company and got paid just like before they immigrated and everything went well for them. But their case were slightly different from yours that is their wife/sponsor had a sufficient income so they didn't have to deal with your kind of burden.

You can indeed pay a lawyer. I did talk with 4 different lawyers. 2 said it was ok. 1 said it's not. 1 say that I can hire him for a deeper study for $500.

If you can afford a co-sponsor, I'd advise you to add the co-sponsor right away to meet the minimum required. What you want is to avoid the straight denial of the AOS. As long as your case is open, they'd just send you Request(s) For Evidence (RFE). If you follow what I was saying earlier, by the time they review your case for AOS, you already had the EAD and started to work and will be able to add your paystubs to the futur potential RFE(s). This is just my opinion and how i would do it. If you can afford to consult a lawyer for that, it's still cheaper than having your case denied right away...

As for me, my husband has a decent income, we have some savings so I did not have your issue. But I read a lot about it because I was afraid that we wouldn't meet the requirement. And most of the people with low income added a co-sponsor and all say that it doesn't hurt to add a separate letter to explain your situation in order to ease the IO to process your case. Keep in mind that they have a LOT of cases to process in a short amount of time, so anything that can help them to understand your situation is welcome.

Finally, to be honest, I don't care much about the AOS and greencard. My goal after getting married is file for AOS + EAD + AP as fast as possible so my case would move forward and they'd print my EAD/AP card asap so I can start working because one month without working cost me a lot of money. I added the job offer, explained how long i've been employed in the French company and what I do + added a letter from the CEO of the US company that says how important my work is and why they can't hire someone to replace me. All this hopefully to speed up the process. But I think that can't be faster than what it is regarding the huge amount of cases being processed (on average 80 days).

Good luck with everything. I hope things work out for you.