questions about I-864 (merged topics)

[pushbrk 12,111]

1 hour ago, Karim2018 said:

I'm trying to be proactive here so I downloaded the I-864EZ form and started to fill it out... I came across question #4 "Current Individual Annual Income" and I'm not sure what put in there since the "current year" 2019 isn't over yet, and my income consists of base salary + commission. My commission check varies every month, so one approach I thought about, was to compute Jan-Aug total commission, divide that by 8 to get the average monthly commission for the past 8 months, then use that average # to compute my "projected" annual commission to which I will then add my annual base salary. And of course, if need be, I can back this up by sending copies of my last 3 (or even 8-months) pay stubs... Is that acceptable? Your input is appreciated. Thanks.

You're on the right track.  Don't misinterpret current income with current year income.  The question is about current income.  For a salaried person, it would simply be their salary, or one full pay period times the number of pay periods in a full year.

 

In your case, yes an average of the past 8 months/8X12 would be fine.  Doesn't ONE pay stub for the end of August have your YTD income on it already?  If so, one pay stub is all you need.  Do your calculation so that it is current at the time you submit the form though.  You have the right concept.

[Karim2018 99]

34 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

You're on the right track.  Don't misinterpret current income with current year income.  The question is about current income.  For a salaried person, it would simply be their salary, or one full pay period times the number of pay periods in a full year.

 

In your case, yes an average of the past 8 months/8X12 would be fine.  Doesn't ONE pay stub for the end of August have your YTD income on it already?  If so, one pay stub is all you need.  Do your calculation so that it is current at the time you submit the form though.  You have the right concept.

Thanks Dear! Just to clarify, the exact quote from question #4 on I-864EZ is actually asking for "My current individual annual income". And You're correct,. I think 1 pay stub should have YTD pay information and might be sufficient.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Karim2018

[pushbrk 12,111]

57 minutes ago, Karim2018 said:

Thanks Dear! Just to clarify, the exact quote from question #4 on I-864EZ is actually asking for "My current individual annual income". And You're correct,. I think 1 pay stub should have YTD pay information and might be sufficient.

If you get a new job tomorrow at 50k a year, your "current annual income" is 50K, no matter what your total for 2019 is.

[Karim2018 99]

15 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

If you get a new job tomorrow at 50k a year, your "current annual income" is 50K, no matter what your total for 2019 is.

Yes, but the challenge with that is my salary consists of base + comm, so even if I get a new job tomorrow (as you said), I wouldn't know what to put, b/c I wouldn't how much comm. I could potentially earn. For someone with a fix salary that's a no-brainer, you just put 50K, but in my case, I can only guess how much I would earn in the current year.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Karim2018

[JeanneAdil 6,198]

You may include evidence supporting your claim about your expected income for the current year if you believe that submitting this evidence will help you establish ability to maintain sufficient income. You are not required to submit this evidence, however, unless specifically instructed to do so by a U.S. Government official

 

per I 864 instructions

NVC instructed me that even though my income is steady as it comes from a paid up annunity that they wanted figure for current income to be the last tax year filed / i know it says current but they want the most current tax transcripts

it says further down in  instructions:

 

For purposes of this affidavit, the line for Total Income on IRS Forms 1040 and 1040A will be considered when determining income. For persons filing IRS Form 1040 EZ, the line for adjusted gross income will be considered.

 

The lady i spoke to said many make the mistake to think they are talking about THIS YEAR

if you are not sure ,  call and speak to Tier 2 at NVC 

[Karim2018 99]

53 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

... they wanted figure for current income to be the last tax year filed / i know it says current but they want the most current tax transcripts

it says further down in  instructions:

 

For purposes of this affidavit, the line for Total Income on IRS Forms 1040 and 1040A will be considered when determining income. For persons filing IRS Form 1040 EZ, the line for adjusted gross income will be considered.

 

The lady i spoke to said many make the mistake to think they are talking about THIS YEAR

if you are not sure ,  call and speak to Tier 2 at NVC 

Thank you guys, but now that's quite different from what @pushbrk mentioned above!!! To me, "CURRENT" means NOW (i.e. 2019), else why would they be asking for most recent tax year total income (which means 2018) again in 6.a of I-864EZ or 24a. in I-864?!

[pushbrk 12,111]

15 hours ago, Karim2018 said:

Yes, but the challenge with that is my salary consists of base + comm, so even if I get a new job tomorrow (as you said), I wouldn't know what to put, b/c I wouldn't how much comm. I could potentially earn. For someone with a fix salary that's a no-brainer, you just put 50K, but in my case, I can only guess how much I would earn in the current year.

"YOU" can do more than "guess".  As already discussed, average what you HAVE made for the past few months or year to date and "calculate" not "guess".  My point is that the issue is not "current year" it's "current annual income".  If you got a new base plus commission job, you could only state your base, as you have no evidence or history.  The hypothetical is to make a point of the difference between current annual and current year.

[pushbrk 12,111]

2 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

You may include evidence supporting your claim about your expected income for the current year if you believe that submitting this evidence will help you establish ability to maintain sufficient income. You are not required to submit this evidence, however, unless specifically instructed to do so by a U.S. Government official

 

per I 864 instructions

NVC instructed me that even though my income is steady as it comes from a paid up annunity that they wanted figure for current income to be the last tax year filed / i know it says current but they want the most current tax transcripts

it says further down in  instructions:

 

For purposes of this affidavit, the line for Total Income on IRS Forms 1040 and 1040A will be considered when determining income. For persons filing IRS Form 1040 EZ, the line for adjusted gross income will be considered.

 

The lady i spoke to said many make the mistake to think they are talking about THIS YEAR

if you are not sure ,  call and speak to Tier 2 at NVC 

Bold above simply is incorrect, UNLESS you are self employed.  Note that NVC, does not make the public charge decision.  Consular Officers do.  Only the self employed get their current income figure from a tax return.

[pushbrk 12,111]

1 hour ago, Karim2018 said:

Thank you guys, but now that's quite different from what @pushbrk mentioned above!!! To me, "CURRENT" means NOW (i.e. 2019), else why would they be asking for most recent tax year total income (which means 2018) again in 6.a of I-864EZ or 24a. in I-864?!

It's different and also WRONG unless the sponsor is self employed.

[Karim2018 99]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

Only the self employed get their current income figure from a tax return.

You raised a good point. I do have a side job (self employed) and YTD I've made about $6K from it. In addition to my regular job earnings (base+ comm.), can I include that income as part of my "current individual annual income" in question 4 on I-864E and submit a copy of the check stub to back it up? AND Would that require me to file an I-864 instead of I-864EZ, since the instructions state that "The income you are using to qualify is based entirely on your salary or pension and is shown on one or more Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-2s provided by your employers or former employers." For my side job,  I will get a 1099 not W2 at the end of the year, and that's why I'm asking if I can still complete and EZ form. And just decimate any doubts about this subject, I will use an illustrative example.

 

Again this is to answer Question 4 on I-864EZ form, If I were to fill-it out TODAY

 

4. My current individual annual income:___$44,465.00____

 

YTD (7.5 months) Gross Salary (from my regular job): $18,685  -- from a study pay check of $2,490 monthly, which should come up to $29,880 annual

YTD (7.5 months) Gross Commission (from my regular job): 5,295 -- from an average comm. check of $706 monthly (if all goes well, I should make $8,472 in comm this year).

YTD (7.5 months) Gross Salary (from my self employment job): $6,113 -- I do not anticipate making anymore for the remainder of this year.

 

Therefore my current individual annual income should be approx. 29,880 + $8,472 + $6,113 = $44,465.00

 

Please confirm...

 

Thanks!

Edited August 17, 2019 by Karim2018

[pushbrk 12,111]

6 minutes ago, Karim2018 said:

You raised a good point. I do have a side job (self employed) and YTD I've made about $6K from it. In addition to my regular job earnings (base+ comm.), can I include that income as part of my "current individual annual income" in question 4 on I-864E and submit a copy of the check stub to back it up? AND Would that require me to file an I-864 instead of I-864EZ, since the instructions state that "The income you are using to qualify is based entirely on your salary or pension and is shown on one or more Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-2s provided by your employers or former employers."  Hence, I will get a 1099 not W2 at the end of the year. And just decimate any doubts about this subject, I will use an illustrative example.

 

Again this is to answer Question 4 on I-864EZ form, If I were to fill-it out TODAY

 

4. My current individual annual income:___$44,465.00____

 

YTD (7.5 months) Gross Salary (from my regular job): $18,685  -- from a study pay check of $2,490 monthly, which should come up to $29,880 annual

YTD (7.5 months) Gross Commission (from my regular job): 5,295 -- from an average comm. check of $706 monthly (if all goes well, I should make $8,472 in comm this year).

YTD (7.5 months) Gross Salary (from my self employment job): $6,113 -- I do not anticipate making anymore for the remainder of this year.

 

Therefore my current individual annual income should be approx. 29,880 + $8,472 + $6,113 = $44,465.00

 

Please confirm...

 

Thanks!

Ugg.  "Current income" is NOT ABOUT 2019!  You do not have a "salary" from self employment.  If you won't earn any more from that source going forward, it is not "current income".

 

Your current income is 7.5 X 18,685 + 7.5 X 5,295/12 or 38,368.

 

It's what you WILL earn during the next 12 months, based on what you HAVE earned so far this year from sources that will continue.

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by pushbrk

[Karim2018 99]

58 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

...It's what you WILL earn during the next 12 months, based on what you HAVE earned so far this year from sources that will continue.

Thank you Sir. Your sentence above did "dumb it down" and clarified it for me. However, if I may, your formula doesn't make much sense! "7.5 X 18,685 + 7.5 X 5,295/12" There is no way that what you have up there comes up to 38,368! I think it's more like: [(18,685 + 5,295)/7.5] x 12 = $38,352. Cheers and thank you for your patience and relentlessness... You didn't give up on me

Edited August 17, 2019 by Karim2018

[pushbrk 12,111]

52 minutes ago, Karim2018 said:

Thank you Sir. Your sentence above did "dumb it down" and clarified it for me. However, if I may, your formula doesn't make much sense! "7.5 X 18,685 + 7.5 X 5,295/12" There is no way that what you have up there comes up to 38,368! I think it's more like: [(18,685 + 5,295)/7.5] x 12 = $38,352. Cheers and thank you for your patience and relentlessness... You didn't give up on me

Bad equation writing on my part.  Your calculation is correct.

[pushbrk 12,111]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

Bad equation writing on my part.  Your calculation is correct.

Note also that the self employed cannot use the I-864EZ form.  You are no longer self employed, so no problem, unless your last tax return includes self employment income.  If it does, I would advise you to use the I-864 instead of the EZ.

[Karim2018 99]

35 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Note also that the self employed cannot use the I-864EZ form.  You are no longer self employed, so no problem, unless your last tax return includes self employment income.  If it does, I would advise you to use the I-864 instead of the EZ.

That's exactly what I did. My 2018 tax return shows (2) W2s and (1) 1099. I've looked around and found some of your earlier comments/suggestions pertaining to EZ vs. Standard I-864 forms and I've opted for the full blown version. My only remaining dilemma is how many dependents should I claim.... Maybe you can help: 

Thanks.

Edited August 17, 2019 by Karim2018