I-485 RFE due to I-864

[IndianaJones 0]

Hello all, I am new to this forum and my wife's adjustment of status is currently pending. At the moment it is on hold due to an RFE which states that the federal income tax return was not submitted for 2015 and that I needed to provide additional support of my current income.

In 2015 I was not required to file a tax return as I was not required to by federal guidelines. I did state this on the I-864 in the additional information section. Was this not enough? Do they want a separate piece of paper that is also signed by me?

As for the current income. I am on an internship at the moment and will be returning to school in January, but this internship does provide sufficient income to meet and exceed the poverty levels. I started in January and currently only have 5.5 months of pay statements. January-current. I did get an offer/letter of employment from them stating what they were offering me, the hourly wage, quantity of hours per week, how often I get paid, and the dates of employment. What it doesn't contain is the prospect of future employment and advancements. Which as I stated it is an internship.

I figured none of this would make too much of a difference as we are using my father (her father-in-law) as a joint/co sponsor. He well meets the guidelines, so even if I didn't/don't this shouldn't matter correct?

Please advise, would like to solve this quickly, I have around 80 days to respond and the letter scares us as it says failure to respond exactly as they are expecting will result in a denial...

Any and all help/advice is appreciated!

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

Still need to prove income for last 3 years

Just writing a letter is not enough

it must be in legal form such as an affidavit (example forms online)

state your legal name

address

DOB

county and state you live in

1. state you are a student

2. state you are using father as joint sponsor

get it notarized and signed

many say affiavits are not looked at by immigraiton but i was told by them to send them in

[IndianaJones 0]

As for the last 3 years, submitted my W2's for both 2013 and 2014, I had no earned or unearned income in 2015 so I was not legally required to file a tax return which is what I will be stating in the letter you are suggesting.

Along with the original packet, I had already included my father's I-864, so I would imagine that I wouldn't need to reiterate that in the letter as it should be clear especially since it states joint sponsor on his I-864.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You have to write a separate statement saying that you were not legally obligated to file. Writing it on the I-864 itself is not good enough.

[IndianaJones 0]

As for the proof of income that they have suggested, will all pay stubs/statements up to this point be enough ~ 5 months? I know that it asks for the previous 6 months. But will they deny if I provide 5 months worth as that is all I have to this point?

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Still need to prove income for last 3 years

Just writing a letter is not enough

it must be in legal form such as an affidavit (example forms online)

state your legal name

address

DOB

county and state you live in

1. state you are a student

2. state you are using father as joint sponsor

get it notarized and signed

many say affiavits are not looked at by immigraiton but i was told by them to send them in

No. You do not have to prove income for the last 3 years, nor do you need to include a notarized affidavit with the I-864.

OP> When they ask for recent tax return that is missing, the RFE will always state the income didn't meet the requirement. It is a boiler plate letter. Provide a statement that explains exactly why you were not legally obligated by the IRS to file taxes. You can add in any recent pay stubs for your current income, but should also point out that you are using a joint sponsor. Your income should not matter. You could be unemployed and use a joint sponsor that meets the requirement instead.

This thread is about AOS and an RFE for an I-864 though, not a tax and finances thing.

Edited June 15, 2016 by KayDeeCee

[MariaR323 199]

Just to add to this... you can also get a verification of non-filing from the IRS OR simply file a return with 0 income (if that's the case). If you earned just a tad bit of money, under the filing requirement, you may want to file it anyway since it helps protect you, continues a documentation trail and heck you might even get something back if they withheld anything.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Just to add to this... you can also get a verification of non-filing from the IRS OR simply file a return with 0 income (if that's the case). If you earned just a tad bit of money, under the filing requirement, you may want to file it anyway since it helps protect you, continues a documentation trail and heck you might even get something back if they withheld anything.

A verification of non filing will not be accepted by USCIS. They require a letter stating WHY you didnt file not proof you didnt file. I mean you can include it if you want but its not asked for or required.

Filing 0 income returns is good practice for the future but for right now if he was to file late it would take months to get it processed (even with zero income) and he needs to respond to the RFE now.

[E and R 8]

I would call them first, ask for tier 2 and take down name date/time. I would then send in everything you can with a separate letter of explanation that people here mentioned... With that said... It's still a ####### shoot..

I got the same RFE after already providing 3 years of tax returns and W-2's for both the I-864 and even included them in the I-485. The point of course would be to ensure that it was VERY easily identifiable and found and even if one was lost there would still be the redundant second. Even with that I'm pretty sure part if not all of the information was just lost during processing. I hope not but it seems pretty strange. At day 75 for my EAD I am calling tier 2 to escalate based on this:

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/tip-sheet-employment-authorization-applications-pending-more-75-days