Question regarding income/assets for a sponsor

[jepi 0]

Good evening,

I've been living outside the US for almost 20 years and I am planning on relocating back for studies. I plan to bring my spouse with me, but I've ran into some questions I want to ask your opinion about.

Affidavit of support - income and assets is what's giving me a hard time. I currently work for a local business here in Finland so I have no US income at the moment and the only assets I have are savings towards my future studies and our mutual savings. Giving that information, I've understood that I would have to have around 60k worth of assets to be a sponsor for my spouse?

I am planning on taking a part-time job next to my studies as soon as I relocate. Would this help me out straight away by estimating my yearly income or do you input your income according to previous years tax returns? I have done my taxes for many years now, although after the foreign income exclusion my income is basically zero.

Thank you for your time!

jepi

[teeak 224]

You'll actually need a joint sponsor. Your foreign income will only count if you can expect it to continue after moving back to the US.

Additionally, since you've been out of the US for so long, you'll need to provide evidence that you will re-establish domicile. The below link will give you some tips on the documents you can provide to do this.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process#Step_6_-_Gather_AOS_Package

[afortunada 182]

If your most recent tax return does not meet the guidelines, you are asked to provide proof of CURRENT income, ex. pay stubs and/or letters from your employer. However, this only does you some good if you've held the position for around six months or more; they don't feel confident your income will continue if you've only been employed a short while and they will therefore ask you to get a joint sponsor.

[jepi 0]

Thank you for your replies!

A joint sponsor would be more than helpful, the only con is that I don't have any relatives/friends living in the US anymore(I am the only USC in the family).

Can you confirm that the required assets to meet sponsorship in my case is 3*125% poverty line(with 2016 guidelines thats about 60k)? I'd be only sponsoring my spouse.

Does USCIS care if I loaned some money from my parents to meet the required amount or how strict are they in providing evidence of your assets and where its came from? Is it just a matter of showing them to have enough at the time of applying for the visa or do they keep track of your ability to support your spouse after the application?

I guess I would have a good shot of being a sponsor by getting a job fairly quickly and presenting that amount of assets?

Please share your thoughts, thanks!

jepi

[Penguin_ie 6,002]

You are correct about needing just over $60'000 in assets, assuming you have no kids or other dependents. However, when using purely assets (as opposed to a mix with income), most embassies will want you to be comfortably over, not just skirting the x3 rule. Many also want the assets to be US based, so the government can easily access them if needed.

Yes, USCIS cares where the money comes from; it needs to be yours, not just loaned for the purposes of immigration. Because of that, they usually want a year's worth of bank statements to show you had the money for a while. Once the immigrant is in the USA and has their greencard, it is ok if you fall below the 125% (you are still financially responsible for them, it is just that USCIS won't check on the amounts anymore).

If you are willing to move to the USA first by yourself and work a few month so you can show paystubs to sponsor your spouse then yes, that is an option. Keep in mind you need several month's worth of paystubs, a offer letter won't be enough.

BTW, you didn't ask this, but US citizens need to file taxes with the IRS every year, even when living abroad. If you have not done that, you need to backfile for at least the last three years asap.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Penguin_ie

[jepi 0]

Another informative answer, thank you!

I've actually filed my taxes for several years now so I'm good on that front.

Loaning from someone for immigrational purposes won't go through for sure but what about eg. parents wanting to support their child? Would that be an acceptable reason?

It could and most probably will be a option for me to depart a few months earlier than her and start working but doesnt the I-864 ask for yearly income(writing from my phone, unable to check now)? How would that work if I've only worked for a few months?

Also, I plan to transfer my savings to a US account as soon as I open one.

Edited August 6, 2016 by jepi

[Penguin_ie 6,002]

The "parents supporting child" or "wedding gift" vs "loan you privately agree to give back after immigration" is a tricky one, because how do you prove that to the satisfaction of the CO (Consular Officer); ultimately, it is their judgement call. For example if you have $59'000 of your own, long term savings and your parents give you another $10'000 for moving expenses/ because they recently downsized themselves and have spare money, that will likely be accepted, but if half of your needed assets comes in the form of money deposited into your account within the lats couple of months, then that will likely be rejected.

With income, while previous years taxes is looked at, the most important is current and ongoing income- ie what you will have when the immigrant arrives and you need to support the foreign beneficiary, not what you made looking back 12 months. Because of that, if you can show a few months worth of paystubs (ideally 6 months, but I have seen it go through with less), and a letter from your employer that the job is stable and long term, you should be fine.

[mallafri76 1,012]

My husband and I used assets to meet the financial requirements. We had to send proof that the assets had been in our possession for at least a year, so bank statement, stock portfolio analysis, mortgage deed etc depending on what kind of assets you're using. With our proof, we also sent a letter from the bank manager confirming our assets and that we had owned them for more than a year.

The bare minimum assets for a household of two is just above $60,000 but usually they want a few extra thousand for good measurement...

[jepi 0]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but lets take the scenario where I start working immediately after entering the US.

Because my main focus will be studies for starters, I would only be working part-time but I figured out that could lead to approx. 10-15k / year.

Am I counting correctly with the formula below:

125% poverty line about 20k - income 15k = 5k

5k *3 = 15k assets needed to support income?

Household would be just me and my spouse.

If this is the case then I feel we will get through our application.. Also, I might have a joint sponsor available just in case.

Thanks!

jepi

[Penguin_ie 6,002]

Yes you are correct in your calculations.