I-485 Request for Initial Evidence (I-864) - NO TAX REPORTS

[Basti 0]

We received a request for initial evidence supporting our i-485 application.
1st request:
Tax statements, W2 etc from the most recent tax year etc.
My wife(sponsor)lived and worked abroad for the most part of the last 5 years. For the last 3 we lived together in Taiwan. That's where we paid our taxes.
Accordingly she does not have any IRS tax statements/reports etc.
We provided this information incl. her Taiwan tax reports and working contracts (in english) to USCIS. 
>What's the problem here? What do they actually need/want to see?? 
She obviously does not have any relevant US tax reports to show for.

2nd request:
Our assets and income (my wife was still unemployed when we filled out the i-485) are not 125% of the FPG (= $20,300 for a 2p household).
By now she has started a new job - but our assets that used to be above 20,300$ have shrunk to just about that limit.
What's the problem here: Not enough assets to exceed 20,300?
Stating "unemployed" or "no current income" in the i-485?

Do we need to get a joint sponsor?  If we do, does USCISA still require to get all the requested evidence from us/my wife anyways?
We'll probably have to go see a lawyer this week...
 

[Crazy Cat 39,769]

16 minutes ago, Basti said:

What's the problem here? What do they actually need/want to see??

They probably want to see that she filed US taxes.  US citizens are required to report world-wide income.

[Crazy Cat 39,769]

This is what the IRS web site says about it: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-filing-requirements

Unfortunately, it is the law.  

[geowrian 22,336]

1 hour ago, Basti said:

She obviously does not have any relevant US tax reports to show for.

Was she not required to file, or was she required to file and did not do so?

If it's the former, then she writes a letter stating that she was not required to file because xyz (i.e. she made under the threshold required to file).

If it's the latter, then she needs to file taxes for those years and then submit evidence of filing those taxes.

 

See the link below for the a guide and rules concerning who is required to file or not.

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/do-i-need-to-file-a-tax-return

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501 (specifically, see Table 1)

 

1 hour ago, Basti said:

Our assets and income (my wife was still unemployed when we filled out the i-485) are not 125% of the FPG (= $20,300 for a 2p household).
By now she has started a new job - but our assets that used to be above 20,300$ have shrunk to just about that limit.
What's the problem here: Not enough assets to exceed 20,300?
Stating "unemployed" or "no current income" in the i-485?

Assets must be at 3x the required income level for a spouse or minor child (and 5x for all others). So you're looking at $60,900 in assets, not $20,300.

You may add assets (at the 3x multiplier) in some circumstances to cover an income level gap.

She can include her current employment income, although it's at the IO's discretion to use it to satisfy the requirements since it's such a new job. She should provide her pay stubs and an employment letter as supporting evidence.

 

I would also note that the "does not meet the 125% level" is included in nearly all (if not all) RFEs/RFIEs for the I-864. If there is not sufficient evidence to support the necessary income/assets, then they cannot consider that aspect and therefore they don't meet the 125% level requirement.

 

1 hour ago, Basti said:

Do we need to get a joint sponsor?  If we do, does USCISA still require to get all the requested evidence from us/my wife anyways?

If you don't meet the income or asset level requirements, then yes, you will need a joint sponsor. I don't know your full situation.

Your wife must be the primary sponsor and provide an I-864 + all supporting evidence (including the tax returns). A joint sponsor, if utilized, would provide their own I-864 + supporting evidence (including tax returns).

[Basti 0]

Thanks guys! We'll see a lawyer this week to figure out what to do.
 

[trymypi 0]

I wanted to post this somewhere, and this seems like the right place! We got a similar RFE for our I-485 (following K-1) regarding the I-864.

 

We have lived abroad for a few years, so my US tax information exists, but I was making very little money in the states. I didn't have any salary information translated from my jobs abroad. In the I-864, I didn't have enough assets to meet the threshold, but I started a new job in the US about 3 months before we submitted the AOS packet. This job meets the requirements, but we still go the RFE.

 

In short: it looks like my salary wasn't enough to sponsor. My best guess is that it's because I only started making that money shortly before the sponsorship. In the end I added my parents as sponsors.

 

I'm not 100% why the RFE came, I thought my salary would be enough. But i wanted to share for other VJers

[Basti 0]

@trymypi Thanks a lot for your input. If I get you right, you don't have any tax reports in/from the US for the period you worked abroad? 
Did that have any impact on your reply to the rfe?
This US tax info is the most confusing part to us. During my wife's time working outside of the US we were told by a tax accountant that she doesn't have to file anything with the IRS. We provided tax reports+employment contracts+bank statements from abroad, but we just don't have any W2s etc. Now this seems to be a problem. 
The other problem being our assets, we will get a relative to help out as a joint sponsor, so that should be fine.