RFE for I-485 and federal poverty guidelines

[scottybrittas 1]

Just when you think things are going smoothly... Please can someone help me?

 

I've just received an RFE following my I-485 AOS submission (copy attached). They are asking for two things...

 

1 - all supporting tax documentation (W2s, 1099s, Form 2555, all supporting tax schedules) for most recent tax year.

2 - Based on the I-864 Affidavit of Support for the petitioning sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. Obtain and qualifying joint sponsor.

 

Here's why I need some help and guidance...

 

1 - I did submit those documents with the I-864, along with previous 6 months of pay stubs.

2 - The annual income on the form was stated as £22,182, which is above the minimum for the 2 person household. I evidenced this with the 6 months most recent pay stubs submitted. Unfortunately my husband only worked in this job for 5 months in 2018 and before that was a full time student. So the 2018 tax year total income field and the tax return only shows as £7594. My guess is that this is the part which has triggered them to ask for a joint sponsor. Is this correct? Are they needing one full tax year of employment and income above the federal poverty minimum to approve?

 

Any advice or information to help me through this would be greatly appreciated. Is there a phone number I can call to actually talk with a case officer at USCIS because the number I've tried just puts me in an endless loop of automated messages.

 

Thank you

Scott

[Ed&Midori1031 330]

I received the same thing when I applied for my wife's AOS.  Even though I submitted all my financial documents, they still wanted to see them again for some reason.  Do exactly what the RFE is requesting, and go from there. 

[Fe.Ta 857]

18 minutes ago, scottybrittas said:

Just when you think things are going smoothly... Please can someone help me?

 

I've just received an RFE following my I-485 AOS submission (copy attached). They are asking for two things...

 

1 - all supporting tax documentation (W2s, 1099s, Form 2555, all supporting tax schedules) for most recent tax year.

2 - Based on the I-864 Affidavit of Support for the petitioning sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. Obtain and qualifying joint sponsor.

 

Here's why I need some help and guidance...

 

1 - I did submit those documents with the I-864, along with previous 6 months of pay stubs.

2 - The annual income on the form was stated as £22,182, which is above the minimum for the 2 person household. I evidenced this with the 6 months most recent pay stubs submitted. Unfortunately my husband only worked in this job for 5 months in 2018 and before that was a full time student. So the 2018 tax year total income field and the tax return only shows as £7594. My guess is that this is the part which has triggered them to ask for a joint sponsor. Is this correct? Are they needing one full tax year of employment and income above the federal poverty minimum to approve?

 

Any advice or information to help me through this would be greatly appreciated. Is there a phone number I can call to actually talk with a case officer at USCIS because the number I've tried just puts me in an endless loop of automated messages.

 

Thank you

Scott

Hello!

 

Here is a more detailed PDF with instructions:

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

 

If this does not make sense, maybe contact USCIS to ask what other things they need to confirm the income does meet the requirements.  One of the things they look at is that whether the income is sustainable, which by only having 5 months in 2018, it does not show that to them.  This might be the reason why they are requesting for a joint sponsor.

[geowrian 22,336]

Under the minimum = cannot be approved.

Above the minimum = judgement call.

 

In your case, it sounds like you were either missing documentation or they lost it. But even with that, it may still be insufficient for them at that income level.

The second bullet point is generic as a result of the first one. Without sufficient documentation of income, they can't consider it and therefore it is below the 125% poverty level.

 

I believe you can still bash 0, or chose the response that you don't have your case number, to get on with a real person. From there you can ask to speak to a Tier 2. That said, I'm unsure what they could tell you that isn't already in the letter here...they are asking for specific documents, and potentially a joint sponsor.

 

Is your current income sourced in the US or would continue form the same source upon moving to the US? I only ask because you used "£" instead of "$". Foreign-sourced income can only be counted if it continues upon return to the US and documentation of that is provided.

That said, you did note a W2 as well, so presumably there is US-based income now, and the pay stubs would be the best evidence of current income ($/paycheck * #paychecks_per_year).

Edited October 3, 2019 by geowrian

[JFH 12,189]

They have obviously gone with a judgement call as he is only $1045 over. That’s very tight. Are you in an area with a higher than average cost of living? Minimum wage in Seattle, for example,  equates to a little over $30k for a full-time worker. Where I live you can get a nice house on the beach for around $200k but you can’t get a dog kennel for that in Seattle. So they do look at the totality of the circumstances. 

[JFH 12,189]

Does he still have the savings that you mentioned when you were preparing for your interview in London? You can use savings.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

1 hour ago, scottybrittas said:

Just when you think things are going smoothly... Please can someone help me?

 

I've just received an RFE following my I-485 AOS submission (copy attached). They are asking for two things...

 

1 - all supporting tax documentation (W2s, 1099s, Form 2555, all supporting tax schedules) for most recent tax year.

2 - Based on the I-864 Affidavit of Support for the petitioning sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. Obtain and qualifying joint sponsor.

 99% of the time you probably didn't send  (or they couldn't find) what is needed. A tax transcript is better, then you don't have to worry about all the pieces of an actual tax return. 

 

If they think you didn't do #1 correctly, they don't really consider the income and shut you down with a "doesn't qualify..get new sponsor" response.  Fix #1 and #2 will go away. Get a tax return transcript .

 

No, the tax return does not have to show enough if you provide additional evidence to show current income is sufficient (employer letter, 6 months of pay stubs)

[carmel34 3,531]

Sounds like a joint sponsor is what they are asking for.

[scottybrittas 1]

Thank you all for the comments and advice. 
 

I think on the basis I don’t want to delay things further I’m just to get them what they are asking for. A joint sponsor. 
 

I’ll also try tomorrow (Monday) to get through to a human in USCIS to understand some more about what the issue was (if they’ll even tell me). 
 

QUESTION: Will this now delay my advanced parole request to work and travel?

[scottybrittas 1]

On 10/3/2019 at 4:41 PM, JFH said:

Does he still have the savings that you mentioned when you were preparing for your interview in London? You can use savings.

Not as much now unfortunately, because we’ve been using them to supplement me living here with no income. 

[scottybrittas 1]

On 10/3/2019 at 3:36 PM, Fe.Ta said:

Hello!

 

Here is a more detailed PDF with instructions:

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

 

If this does not make sense, maybe contact USCIS to ask what other things they need to confirm the income does meet the requirements.  One of the things they look at is that whether the income is sustainable, which by only having 5 months in 2018, it does not show that to them.  This might be the reason why they are requesting for a joint sponsor.

This makes sense but is also a slightly silly position for them to take because NO JOB is guaranteed, so someone in 5 months employment is just as vulnerable as someone who is 3 years in. 
 

I’ll play their game though 

[scottybrittas 1]

On 10/3/2019 at 3:37 PM, geowrian said:

Under the minimum = cannot be approved.

Above the minimum = judgement call.

 

In your case, it sounds like you were either missing documentation or they lost it. But even with that, it may still be insufficient for them at that income level.

The second bullet point is generic as a result of the first one. Without sufficient documentation of income, they can't consider it and therefore it is below the 125% poverty level.

 

I believe you can still bash 0, or chose the response that you don't have your case number, to get on with a real person. From there you can ask to speak to a Tier 2. That said, I'm unsure what they could tell you that isn't already in the letter here...they are asking for specific documents, and potentially a joint sponsor.

 

Is your current income sourced in the US or would continue form the same source upon moving to the US? I only ask because you used "£" instead of "$". Foreign-sourced income can only be counted if it continues upon return to the US and documentation of that is provided.

That said, you did note a W2 as well, so presumably there is US-based income now, and the pay stubs would be the best evidence of current income ($/paycheck * #paychecks_per_year).

Sorry, current income is US based. I was just being a bit quick with the keyboard. He’s in full time employment for an airline, so it’s as secure as any other job. I suppose it’s just the duration in role they are not liking as well as the proximity to the required income minimum. 
 

I’ll do the joint sponsor because I don’t want to risk a rejection or further delay. Now I just need to find a way of explaining it to the sponsor without them worrying that they’ll be financially supporting me! 

[Fe.Ta 857]

On 10/6/2019 at 6:33 AM, scottybrittas said:

This makes sense but is also a slightly silly position for them to take because NO JOB is guaranteed, so someone in 5 months employment is just as vulnerable as someone who is 3 years in. 
 

I’ll play their game though 

Right, I think for them is not so much that the role is at risk of being lost, since (as you said) any job is vulnerable to being lost.  Instead, it is that there is not a prolonged time or proof that the income declared in fact has remained sustainable (including filing the taxes for an entire year) for their desired period (usually a year or so) and not that it fluctuates or goes below that declared amount at any given point.  I know it can be inconvenient.  But, as you said, we just gotta play by their rules.