Is the petitioner allowed food stamps?

[Meg&Andrew 297]

you've posted a few threads about income for the affidavit of support and such. My best advice to you still is, try to find a co-sponsor and eliminate all your worries. Friends, Family, Church members, you'd be surprised at the people that are willing to help when you ask.

[Umka36 781]

Another option is to get a stable job first before moving forward with the immigration process especially with the K1 route since the beneficiary cannot work right away.

[KayDeeCee 4,903]

Would that mean that for the initial i-134 petition, she would only have to make 100% of the income guidelines? If they go by the 100% guidelines, she would have earned enough for the petition, but if they go by the 125% guidelines she is under. However, if she qualifies for the 100% guidelines but they see that I have income that could be combined with hers for the 1864 and I864A, would the chances of them approving it be good? Because my earnings would be over the 125% guideline. Thanks for the help.

Some consulates accept the 100% with the I-134 for the K-1 visa. Australia might be one of them. You can contact the consulate directly and ask them if they accept 100 or 125% of the poverty level when using an I-134 for a K-1 visa.

Consulates are not supposed to accept the I-864 for a K-1, but some have. It would be another thing you could ask them. Though the instructions for Sydney state the joint sponsor submits an I-134 >

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/K1/SYD%20-%20Sydney.pdf

If the petitioner is not able to meet the sponsorship requirement through income or assets, the applicant will require a joint sponsor, which is another U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) domiciled in the U.S. who completes the I-134 Affidavit of Support.

Also, the instructions point to the I-864P for minimum income threshold, so seems they want to see the 125%.

(Edited to add new info about consulate instructions.)

Edited August 26, 2016 by KayDeeCee

[Cathi 5,888]

either way at 16k your mom doesn't earn enough with or without claiming you. You need another joint sponsor, that is if they even allow for a joint sponsor for a k-1

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

Petionioner getting food stamps would indicate not able to meet the 125% poverty guidelines

[amishbaby 407]

No. No matter what, for your mom to be a sponsor or cosponsor, she has to make 125% of the federal poverty guidelines.

If you are not claimed as a dependent, her household size would be counted as two (herself and your fiance, because he's the one being sponsored, whether or not he lives in her household). That means she needs to make over $19,660 a year.

If you ARE claimed as a dependent and she is a co-sponsor, your household income must be $24,737.

If your mom makes $16k and you don't have a job yet, I think your fiance will have a hard time convincing the CO that he won't need government assistance.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/affidavit-support

I'm not filing it yet. I thought I said something on here about that. I'm waiting until I have a job to show the CO that I will have the earnings. I heard that for the i-134 some consulates do go by the 100% income guidelines. If she reaches that and I can also show them that we will be over 125% of the guidelines for when I have to fill out the i-864 I can't see why they won't. If I didn't have a job then I can understand them not approving it. But I'm not even filing this until around next year, after I have a job and I've been working for a few months so I have pay stubs to prove it. So basically, what if I am working, she's not using me as a dependent, and they see that my earnings are consistent? My mom makes 16,430.50. She is a little over the 100% guidelines and I believe she earned a bit more for 2016.

[amishbaby 407]

you've posted a few threads about income for the affidavit of support and such. My best advice to you still is, try to find a co-sponsor and eliminate all your worries. Friends, Family, Church members, you'd be surprised at the people that are willing to help when you ask.

Trust me, I've been asking almost everyone. People are concerned about doing it, and some use the excuse that they are making money under the table and don't want to raise any alarms, etc; I've had many different excuses. I'm still looking. Because if I could have a sponsor and they also see me and my mom are making money (enough that goes over the 125% guidelines), I'm sure they would approve. I've seen a couple people have success on here.

[amishbaby 407]

Another option is to get a stable job first before moving forward with the immigration process especially with the K1 route since the beneficiary cannot work right away.

Yes, that is the plan. I don't want to file this until I have a job, so that when it comes time to petitioning they will see that although she doesn't make 125% on her own, she does make 100%. And if they can see that I do have income with hers that go over the 125% guidelines for the I-864, they might be lenient. I can understand if she just reached 100% and there was no other income for the household, but if I'm working and we end up making about 30k a year, it's over the 125% guidelines for when the time comes to fill out the I-864.

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

You could find 2 jobs before the end of the year and it will help a whole lot..

**I worked 3 jobs during our K-1**

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

You could find 2 jobs before the end of the year and it will help a whole lot..

**I worked 3 jobs during our K-1**

OP mentioned in another thread that she is in college. Working 3 jobs while trying to keep your grades up isn't always possible.

[amishbaby 407]

Some consulates accept the 100% with the I-134 for the K-1 visa. Australia might be one of them. You can contact the consulate directly and ask them if they accept 100 or 125% of the poverty level when using an I-134 for a K-1 visa.

Consulates are not supposed to accept the I-864 for a K-1, but some have. It would be another thing you could ask them. Though the instructions for Sydney state the joint sponsor submits an I-134 >

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/K1/SYD%20-%20Sydney.pdf

If the petitioner is not able to meet the sponsorship requirement through income or assets, the applicant will require a joint sponsor, which is another U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) domiciled in the U.S. who completes the I-134 Affidavit of Support.

Also, the instructions point to the I-864P for minimum income threshold, so seems they want to see the 125%.

(Edited to add new info about consulate instructions.)

I'm gonna try contacting them to get some information and hopefully I'll be able to relay the information back here to give others insight. I'm hoping they will give me some leeway, just as long as they see we have income that will be substantial and over 125% of the income guidelines for a household of 2 in 2016, maybe they will approve it.

Edited August 26, 2016 by amishbaby

[amishbaby 407]

You could find 2 jobs before the end of the year and it will help a whole lot..

**I worked 3 jobs during our K-1**

I wish I could do that. I'd have to stop going to college and I don't think it's reasonable. I'm still trying to go the joint sponsor route. Wish me luck.

OP mentioned in another thread that she is in college. Working 3 jobs while trying to keep your grades up isn't always possible.

1 job with college is hard enough, can't imagine 3 jobs and college. Not sure if I would even have time to do my assignments.

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

I wish I could do that. I'd have to stop going to college and I don't think it's reasonable. I'm still trying to go the joint sponsor route. Wish me luck.

1 job with college is hard enough, can't imagine 3 jobs and college. Not sure if I would even have time to do my assignments.

I know I wouldn't be able to do it. As a law student I have hours upon hours of work outside of class I do every week so one job is hard enough.

I definitely agree that you should not stop going to college in order to get a job just to sponsor your fiance for immigration yourself.

I really hope you can find a good sponsor and your K-1 journey goes well.

[N-o-l-a 7,169]

I wish I could do that. I'd have to stop going to college and I don't think it's reasonable. I'm still trying to go the joint sponsor route. Wish me luck.

1 job with college is hard enough, can't imagine 3 jobs and college. Not sure if I would even have time to do my assignments.

It might be worth it to think about waiting then for the K1. Sometimes one has to figure out where their priorities are.

Immigration is very expensive and so are the ensuring expenses. One person supporting a family of 3 with only 16k during the process is going to be hard, really hard.

[amishbaby 407]

I know I wouldn't be able to do it. As a law student I have hours upon hours of work outside of class I do every week so one job is hard enough.

I definitely agree that you should not stop going to college in order to get a job just to sponsor your fiance for immigration yourself.

I really hope you can find a good sponsor and your K-1 journey goes well.

Yeah, it's not easy and in the long run it would do me more harm than good cutting college. I'm in college for marketing, and already 2 years in. I don't want to end my studies for this. The joint sponsor route would be the way to go. I have some options right now and might possibly have someone, not sure yet. Thank you!