Reporting $0.00 Income on I-864

[David Borgeson 5]

Hi everyone,

 

I have gained a lot of super valuable information from this forum, and appreciate everyone’s comments, advice, and wisdom. I have questions about how to proceed with reporting income and about our plan for the I-864 Affidavit.

 

Quick primer on our situation;

Me - American citizen, wife - Japanese citizen

We live in Japan, got married here, and have had two children here. The children have US citizenship.

We are immigrating to the US and applying for a Green Card for my wife through Consular Processing and have successfully submitted our I-130. Our case is now at the National Visa Center, and we are getting going on the I-864 Affidavit.

 

I have a job here, as does she. As we will be immigrating next summer (hopefully!), neither of us has income secured for once we arrive in the US. Furthermore, my US income tax returns going back to the beginning of my stay in Japan (20 years!) lists my adjusted gross income as $0.00, due to the Foreign Earned Income exclusion.

 

Question 1) how do I report income on the I-864? I assume I’ll be listing my income as 0.00, since a) the instructions state that it should be income going forward, i.e. income that can be used to support my wife so she doesn’t require state support, and b) that’s my adjusted gross income according to my income tax returns. Is this the correct assumption/interpretation/path forward?

 

Question 2) I have assets in the States but barely enough to cover the threshold the officers reviewing my case will (presumably) want to see, so I have enlisted my sister and her husband as joint sponsors. Funny enough, earlier this year my sister quit her job and returned to school to get an advanced degree, so she has plenty of income from past years but nothing now or going forward. I assume therefore her income as far as NVC is concerned is 0.00, which means we’re planning on having her husband the be actual joint sponsor for my wife’s case. My sister would be the Household Member since her and her husband file their taxes jointly (as I have understood advice I saw elsewhere on this awesome forum, even if my sister can’t materially support my wife, she should still be a part of the process through the I-864A, as her and her husband file jointly).

Me (sponsor) - I-864 and supporting docs

Brother-in-law (joint sponsor) - I-864 and supporting docs

Sister (Household Member) - I-864A and supporting docs

Is this the correct assumption/interpretation/path forward?

 

Thank you all so much for your consideration!

[JFH 12,190]

You are correct but there is no need for your sister to submit an I-864A as she is contributing nothing to the sponsorship. Your brother-in-law will file an I-864. That’s all you need from them. 

Edited November 2, 2020 by JFH

[David Borgeson 5]

Thanks for your reply. Glad to hear we're on the right track with reporting income.

 

I've read elsewhere on this forum in similar situations that even though there is no need to include my sister in this process since, as you said, she is contributing nothing to the sponsorship, when it comes down to the individual officer reviewing our case they may want to see her included through the I-864A since her and her husband file taxes jointly. But they may not want to see it - it really comes down to the individual officer. Might it be better to have her do an I-864A straight form the top rather than risk having to spend time going back and forth if it becomes necessary later? Dunno, may be just a gray area judgement call thing.

[Chancy 6,241]

On 11/3/2020 at 9:09 PM, David Borgeson said:

Might it be better to have her do an I-864A straight form the top rather than risk having to spend time going back and forth if it becomes necessary later?

 

I agree that it would be better to have the I-864A ready, even if it is not required according to the form instructions.  No need to upload unless NVC asks for it.  Just bring to the interview to avoid any delays in case the consul officer asks for it.  Some VJ members reported being asked for I-864A from the spouse of a joint sponsor filing MFJ, to document that the spouse consents to using their shared resources to financially support the immigrant.

 

[David Borgeson 5]

21 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

I agree that it would be better to have the I-864A ready... Just bring to the interview to avoid any delays in case the consul officer asks for it.

 

Thanks for this, I think it sounds prudent. Perhaps a bit over the top but I'd rather be too prepared than under.

[Gaby M 1]

Hello! Sorry to jump on this post a little late. But I’m in a similar situation and have a question. 

 

I’m a fellow expat in Japan, sponsoring my husband. My I-864 is full of 0.00s too, so we found joint sponsors. I also don’t have enough in assets back in the states (a U.S. bank savings account used over my time in Japan) to cover the minimal requirement. But technically, assets do exist there!

 

To @David Borgeson, did you end up writing any of your assets on your own I-864, even though they were not enough to cover y’all?

 

I will include my bank account statement in the application to show I plan to reestablish U.S. domicile, so I believe my savings total will show up in there...I just don’t know whether to write the number into my I-864. 

 

If the answer is elsewhere and I didn’t see it, I’m sorry! These boards are quite helpful, so I’d appreciate any direction or advice! Thanks in advance. (And best of luck with y’alls own visa journey!)

[David Borgeson 5]

1 hour ago, Gaby M said:

did you end up writing any of your assets on your own I-864, even though they were not enough to cover y’all?

Hi Gaby, 

 

I did end up claiming my US assets on my I-864, even though I know that you can't combine assets with your co-sponsor to meet the threshold. I am going by the "too much information is better than too little information" approach to this whole thing. I'd rather avoid having to go back and provide more information or have a question I can't answer come up during the interview.

 

Best wishes and good luck to you guys, too!

[Gaby M 1]

19 hours ago, David Borgeson said:

Hi Gaby, 

 

I did end up claiming my US assets on my I-864, even though I know that you can't combine assets with your co-sponsor to meet the threshold. I am going by the "too much information is better than too little information" approach to this whole thing. I'd rather avoid having to go back and provide more information or have a question I can't answer come up during the interview.

 

Best wishes and good luck to you guys, too!

Thank you so much for your quick reply! I agree- better be safe than sorry. 

 

Thanks again!

[Ali_Z 1]

Hi, 

 

I have a question the same question  about adjusted gross income. Just wondered if you submitted it at $0.00 and entered the same on your tax years? We live in the U.K. so fall under the foreign income exclusion too. if so have you heard back from NVC? 
 

Also re the assets? I was going to submit the same even though we have a joint sponsor. I feel it looks better to show you have money in the bank and assets rather than going with nothing. Did you submit the same? 
 

Thank you 😊 

[David Borgeson 5]

Hi Ali_Z (no relation to Ali G I presume 😄)

 

Quote

Just wondered if you submitted it at $0.00 and entered the same on your tax years? ... if so have you heard back from NVC? 

 

We've had a bit of a delay gathering documents here (Japan), and are expecting to have everything ready to upload within a couple of weeks. So, no, nothing from NVC so far but our plan remains to have the same info that's on my taxes be on the I-864, i.e. $0.00 in income.

 

Quote

Also re the assets? I was going to submit the same even though we have a joint sponsor. I feel it looks better to show you have money in the bank and assets rather than going with nothing. Did you submit the same? 

 

The plan remains the same, with the same underlaying rationale as you. I'll update the thread once we have some word from NVC.

 

Thanks for your interest!

[Ali_Z 1]

20 minutes ago, David Borgeson said:

Hi Ali_Z (no relation to Ali G I presume 😄)

 

 

We've had a bit of a delay gathering documents here (Japan), and are expecting to have everything ready to upload within a couple of weeks. So, no, nothing from NVC so far but our plan remains to have the same info that's on my taxes be on the I-864, i.e. $0.00 in income.

 

 

The plan remains the same, with the same underlaying rationale as you. I'll update the thread once we have some word from NVC.

 

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks very much for getting back to me. We have had delays with ours too and just trying to double check things through while we wait. 
 

hope the rest of the process goes smooth for you 😊

[ProbeGT 47]

On 11/2/2020 at 7:17 AM, David Borgeson said:

Hi everyone,

 

I have gained a lot of super valuable information from this forum, and appreciate everyone’s comments, advice, and wisdom. I have questions about how to proceed with reporting income and about our plan for the I-864 Affidavit.

 

Quick primer on our situation;

Me - American citizen, wife - Japanese citizen

We live in Japan, got married here, and have had two children here. The children have US citizenship.

We are immigrating to the US and applying for a Green Card for my wife through Consular Processing and have successfully submitted our I-130. Our case is now at the National Visa Center, and we are getting going on the I-864 Affidavit.

 

I have a job here, as does she. As we will be immigrating next summer (hopefully!), neither of us has income secured for once we arrive in the US. Furthermore, my US income tax returns going back to the beginning of my stay in Japan (20 years!) lists my adjusted gross income as $0.00, due to the Foreign Earned Income exclusion.

 

Question 1) how do I report income on the I-864? I assume I’ll be listing my income as 0.00, since a) the instructions state that it should be income going forward, i.e. income that can be used to support my wife so she doesn’t require state support, and b) that’s my adjusted gross income according to my income tax returns. Is this the correct assumption/interpretation/path forward?

 

Question 2) I have assets in the States but barely enough to cover the threshold the officers reviewing my case will (presumably) want to see, so I have enlisted my sister and her husband as joint sponsors. Funny enough, earlier this year my sister quit her job and returned to school to get an advanced degree, so she has plenty of income from past years but nothing now or going forward. I assume therefore her income as far as NVC is concerned is 0.00, which means we’re planning on having her husband the be actual joint sponsor for my wife’s case. My sister would be the Household Member since her and her husband file their taxes jointly (as I have understood advice I saw elsewhere on this awesome forum, even if my sister can’t materially support my wife, she should still be a part of the process through the I-864A, as her and her husband file jointly).

Me (sponsor) - I-864 and supporting docs

Brother-in-law (joint sponsor) - I-864 and supporting docs

Sister (Household Member) - I-864A and supporting docs

Is this the correct assumption/interpretation/path forward?

 

Thank you all so much for your consideration!

Not sure if you are aware, but your children can be dual-citizens (Japan-US) until they reach the age of 21 (Japanese Law forbids dual citizenship, but allows it for minors who obtained it involuntarily). 

[David Borgeson 5]

Hi ProbeGT, 

 

Yes, it's such a stupid law, in my opinion, though I'm sure some countries are more draconian in their attitude towards dual citizenship. Fortunately in our quest to move to the States, the kids, since they have US citizenship already, are not an issue (of course they have Japanese citizenship as well). In terms of going back and forth between countries, they're small yet so we've got time for the law to be revised (not holding our breath, though...) This is all for the wife and her immigration.

 

David

[neca 166]

Hi there,

 

For what it's worth, I used a joint sponsor that filed jointly, and I was able to get NVC approval without their spouse filing an I-864A. My joint sponsor went well over the poverty line in just her income alone though, I don't know if it was a factor in them not asking for an I-864A. Like Chancy and others have said, I would be prepared/prepare your sister for having to fill one out, just in case.

 

I got a lot of mixed information specifically on the I-864A when I was at the NVC stage back in the fall; the main thing I picked up and want to reiterate is that every case worker is going to be different so it's kind of a gamble on what they will want to see from you. I chose to gamble that they wouldn't ask for an I-864A and it paid off. Your mileage may vary.

 

I also have marginal assets back in the states so I chose not to include it; while you indicated that yours is barely enough, I think that it's kind of redundant to include it since you're using a joint sponsor. I don't think it will hurt your case to include it, but if you are looking for areas to save yourself some trouble and time then I would probably look to cut there first.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck on your journey!

[Nelly_M 7]

I was wondering the same whether to include any assets such as checking account when there is no income and joint sponsor is been used. Any thoughts on this from someone that has been approved? Thanks.