Denied becauase of disability?

[grayalexanderj 1]

Hello

 

We are currently waiting on NOA2, and I fear that come time to do the afadavit of support I may be unemployed. I am currently a university student working on a Bachelor's degree. My father who would cosponsor meets (just barely) the requirements, but it is with disability income (actually I think it switched over to social security now).

 

Will the fact that he is disabled and "could die soon", or the fact that it's disability or social security money, plus me being an unemployed student affect their decision?

 

I am working hard towards a degree and tech certifications, I desperately want a career and to make enough, and I think I will soon. Does any of this matter? It's not like I'm a welfare bum or something.

 

She's from Russia, we are at the California service center waiting on NOA2.

Edited June 27, 2018 by grayalexanderj

[GreatDane 366]

3 minutes ago, grayalexanderj said:

Hello

 

We are currently waiting on NOA2, and I fear that come time to do the afadavit of support I may be unemployed. I am currently a university student working on a Bachelor's degree. My father who would cosponsor meets (just barely) the requirements, but it is with disability income (actually I think it switched over to social security now).

 

Will the fact that he is disabled and "could die soon", or the fact that it's disability or social security money, plus me being an unemployed student affect their decision?

 

I am working hard towards a degree and tech certifications, I desperately want a career and to make enough, and I think I will soon. Does any of this matter? It's not like I'm a welfare bum or something.

 

She's from Russia, we are at the California service center waiting on NOA2.

Does you father meet the 125% of poverty line or just the 100%? You will need 125% to adjust status.

Once you meet the threshold you are good, however, as an unemployed student what is your plan after you get married to support the two of you? Your spouse won't be able to work for about six months.

[grayalexanderj 1]

3 minutes ago, GreatDane said:

Does you father meet the 125% of poverty line or just the 100%? You will need 125% to adjust status.

Once you meet the threshold you are good, however, as an unemployed student what is your plan after you get married to support the two of you? Your spouse won't be able to work for about six months.

He meets the 125% requirement for 2 people, but he hasn't filed taxes in years. Might be for 3 people even with some assets to make up the difference. As long as i show proof of that income, it's ok right? I need to recheck the requirements and start getting ready, I've been putting it off but we were NOA1'd in April so NOA2 is coming in 2-4 months.

 

Hopefully I'm going to start working part time again--It's a long story. I was at a kitchen for 13 months, took a retail management internship but hated it and quit, and now I may go back to the kitchen part time, maybe not it depends if they need me.

 

In the mean time, I'm almost done my bachelor's and I'm getting my CCENT in August, CCNA soon after which are two nice tech certifications. So my plan for the two of us is finish school and get a good job with my degree. We will live at my father or mother's house until I can get us out on our own. He hasn't claimed me or anything in years.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

Your father will need to file his taxes, at the very least for the most recent year. The most recent year's return is required for all petitioners AND joint sponsors. We sent the past two for both my husband and our joint sponsor (husband's dad). When your dad fills out the I-864, his household size is him + his spouse (if he still married) + any dependents he'd claim on his taxes (children etc)+ your spouse (the intending immigrant). From your posts, I am guessing your father doesn't have any other dependents (except maybe your mom if he is married to her). If that's the case, he needs to make enough for three people, NOT two people. They will send your I-864 back to you or issue an RFE if you calculate the incorrect household size. Hope that all makes sense.

 

RE: Assets need to make up 3x the difference between his actual income and the poverty guideline. It's not enough for the assets to cover the difference. For example, if your dad makes $15,000 and the poverty guideline is $20,000 (not accurate numbers because I don't have the papers in front of me), then the difference is $5,000. Your dad's assets need to be 3x that so his assets must total $15,000 or more. 

Edited June 27, 2018 by mushroomspore

[grayalexanderj 1]

2 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Your father will need to file his taxes, at the very least for the most recent year. The most recent year's return is required for all petitioners AND joint sponsors. We sent the past two for both my husband and our joint sponsor (husband's dad). When your dad fills out the I-864, his household size is him + his spouse (if he still married) + any dependents he'd claim on his taxes (children etc)+ your spouse (the intending immigrant). From your posts, I am guessing your father doesn't have any other dependents (except maybe your mom if he is married to her). If that's the case, he needs to make enough for three people, NOT two people. They will send your I-864 back to you or issue an RFE if you calculate the incorrect household size. Hope that all makes sense.

It makes sense. He is not married, no one he would claim as a dependent.

 

Does he really have to file taxes? Because in the instructions for I-864 it just says Bank statements, statement from employer if employed, or tax return if self employed. I'll just have him file his taxes to be safe.

 

Do I need to do an I-864 if I'm not supporting? Should I like get letters from my university or something, or it dosen't matter if the sponsor meets requirements? He also owns real estate, that would definitely cover the whole 5 years. What shows proof of that, copies of the title?

 

Where can I find more detailed info on evidence submitted with this form?

[mushroomspore 3,044]

15 minutes ago, grayalexanderj said:

It makes sense. He is not married, no one he would claim as a dependent.

 

Does he really have to file taxes? Because in the instructions for I-864 it just says Bank statements, statement from employer if employed, or tax return if self employed. I'll just have him file his taxes to be safe.

 

Do I need to do an I-864 if I'm not supporting? Should I like get letters from my university or something, or it dosen't matter if the sponsor meets requirements? He also owns real estate, that would definitely cover the whole 5 years. What shows proof of that, copies of the title?

 

Where can I find more detailed info on evidence submitted with this form?

1. Yes he has to file taxes. Page 8 of I-864 instructions make it clear that tax returns are required. Since your dad will be filling out the I-864 as a joint sponsor, he needs to do it. 

 

2. You still need to file I-864 even if you are not making money. You're the petitioner, which means "main sponsor". Your dad is a joint sponsor. Letters from your university won't do anything as they are for your education, not a place of employment that pays you money.

 

3. To be honest, I'm not so sure about the real estate paperwork. Page 12 of the I-864 instructions at the bottom states that the monetary value of the assets need to be reasonably available and be able to converted to cash within a year without any undue harm to the sponsor and his/her family in the scenario that assets need to be used to support the intending immigrant. I am not sure if real estate fulfills these "requirements". We didn't use assets in our I-864 so I can't give specific advice on this aspect. Sorry.

 

4. Use the search bar on this site and Google. You'll also need a copy of your dad's birth certificate or US passport to prove his US citizenship. The I-864 is definitely the most confusing form. We got an RFIE for ours but we got a joint sponsor and everything was kosher after that. Good luck and hope this helped.

Edited June 27, 2018 by mushroomspore

[grayalexanderj 1]

1 hour ago, mushroomspore said:

1. Yes he has to file taxes. Page 8 of I-864 instructions make it clear that tax returns are required. Since your dad will be filling out the I-864 as a joint sponsor, he needs to do it. 

 

2. You still need to file I-864 even if you are not making money. You're the petitioner, which means "main sponsor". Your dad is a joint sponsor. Letters from your university won't do anything as they are for your education, not a place of employment that pays you money.

 

3. To be honest, I'm not so sure about the real estate paperwork. Page 12 of the I-864 instructions at the bottom states that the monetary value of the assets need to be reasonably available and be able to converted to cash within a year without any undue harm to the sponsor and his/her family in the scenario that assets need to be used to support the intending immigrant. I am not sure if real estate fulfills these "requirements". We didn't use assets in our I-864 so I can't give specific advice on this aspect. Sorry.

 

4. Use the search bar on this site and Google. You'll also need a copy of your dad's birth certificate or US passport to prove his US citizenship. The I-864 is definitely the most confusing form. We got an RFIE for ours but we got a joint sponsor and everything was kosher after that. Good luck and hope this helped.

I was looking at instructions for the wrong form somehow. This memo on adjudicating form I-864 tells everything, and I will highlight what pertains to me and send it with everything else. We're just gonna do three years taxes.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives 1998-2008/2006/affsuppafm062706.pdf

[mushroomspore 3,044]

10 minutes ago, grayalexanderj said:

I was looking at instructions for the wrong form somehow. This memo on adjudicating form I-864 tells everything, and I will highlight what pertains to me and send it with everything else. We're just gonna do three years taxes.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives 1998-2008/2006/affsuppafm062706.pdf

As in, you're planning on sending a copy of this memo with your I-864? Don't do that. This memo is not part of the supporting documentation required with the I-864. They won't appreciate a packet that has something unexpected and not part of the usual regulations. The memo is also more than a decade old.

[geowrian 22,337]

Just to clarify a few things...

• For the K-1 visa, you (and your co sponsor) would file an I-134. The I-864 comes into play for AOS. I just wanted to make sure this was clear, as most of the discussion above is about the I-864 but the OP is still on the K-1 visa process.
• Taxes are required to have been filed, unless one was not required to file taxes (in which case their income wouldn't qualify anyway). The most recent tax return is often requested from the embassy for the K-1, and is strictly required for AOS (or a letter stating why you weren't required to file).

 

2 hours ago, mushroomspore said:

RE: Assets need to make up 3x the difference between his actual income and the poverty guideline. It's not enough for the assets to cover the difference. For example, if your dad makes $15,000 and the poverty guideline is $20,000 (not accurate numbers because I don't have the papers in front of me), then the difference is $5,000. Your dad's assets need to be 3x that so his assets must total $15,000 or more. 

For a joint sponsor, it needs to be 5x the level still. The 3x level exception is when you are a sponsor for your spouse or child (not the primary sponsor's spouse or child).

[mushroomspore 3,044]

@geowrian Thank you for the wisdom and clarifications! I'm not well versed with K1 and didn't notice that that was the visa process OP is pursuing.

[grayalexanderj 1]

8 hours ago, geowrian said:

Just to clarify a few things...

• For the K-1 visa, you (and your co sponsor) would file an I-134. The I-864 comes into play for AOS. I just wanted to make sure this was clear, as most of the discussion above is about the I-864 but the OP is still on the K-1 visa process.
• Taxes are required to have been filed, unless one was not required to file taxes (in which case their income wouldn't qualify anyway). The most recent tax return is often requested from the embassy for the K-1, and is strictly required for AOS (or a letter stating why you weren't required to file).

 

For a joint sponsor, it needs to be 5x the level still. The 3x level exception is when you are a sponsor for your spouse or child (not the primary sponsor's spouse or child).

For some reason, he is not required to file (doesn't owe taxes), but his income is just over $25k. We're just filing back 3 years to be safe, but I think I will only send the most recent year's. The memo is very clear, if the income is sufficient in the most recent year when the form is filed, the form is sufficient. It's highlighted yellow with an IMPORTANT: tag.

 

I guess I shouldn't have to send the memo, because the officers should know how to adjudicate properly. I was just going to send some excerpts with highlighted passages that pertain to SSDI income, and how it is qualifying.

 

They won't consider his age and that he may die within 5 years? He's only 65.

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, grayalexanderj said:

For some reason, he is not required to file (doesn't owe taxes), but his income is just over $25k. We're just filing back 3 years to be safe, but I think I will only send the most recent year's. The memo is very clear, if the income is sufficient in the most recent year when the form is filed, the form is sufficient. It's highlighted yellow with an IMPORTANT: tag.

The requirement to file is based on your earned income, not your net tax liability.

There's no legal penalty for not filing if you owe nothing, but the requirement to actually file remains. Most likely, he can use the FEIE and Foreign Tax Credit to reduce his taxable income form those periods abroad to $0 (the FEIE alone is good up to about the first $100,000/year).

 

Yes, current income is what matters. But at the same time, a requirement to file an I-864 is having filed at least the most recent 3 years of tax returns.

 

1 hour ago, grayalexanderj said:

They won't consider his age and that he may die within 5 years? He's only 65.

They will look at the totality of the circumstances, but unless they have reason to suspect he may pass away, I don't think it would be an issue. Many other elderly parents have been joint sponsors fine.

Not sure where the 5 years comes from...? There is no hard time limit on the affidavit of support.

[CEE53147 559]

My concern is not with the qualifying for the support test but the fact that your father does not need to worry about another mouth to feed. Being disabled he will not be able to supplement his retirement income with a part time job. Real estate is not a liquid asset.  Health care costs even with Medicare are non-trivial. Prescriptions are a burden for even those with twice his income.

 

What is the rush? Wait until you can support yourself and your intended without burdening your father.  He could end up doing without medications and care essential to his life because of the additional responsibilities once you are married.

[Loren Y 2,755]

19 hours ago, grayalexanderj said:

I've been putting it off but we were NOA1'd in April so NOA2 is coming in 2-4 months.

Probably more like 4-5 months with the current processing times. Hopefully October or November for your NOA2. Hopefully next month if you win the K1 Lottery!!!!!!! LOL Best of luck to you.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

My father was my cosponser for my husband when we were in the k1 process and he is disabled/on disability. He files taxes because it is an income. We had no problem with him being the cosponser on disability.