Tax Transcripts requirements for I-864 - Need to be Certified?

[emiloo 4]

Hello! We are preparing our Form I-864 with my us citizen husband among with the I-130 and supporting documentation.

1/ For the I-864, does the sponsor need to provide certified tax transcripts using the form 4506-T (as mentioned in the I-864 instructions) or would the tax transcripts that he can directly download on the IRS website work? I saw different answers online about this matter.  

 

2/Also, the petitioner will be using a joint sponsor for making the income requirement (him and the joint sponsor will provide 3 years income transcripts.) Do I (the beneficiary) need to provide my tax transcripts as well? We will not be using my incomes to make the requirement but since I have worked in the usa for more than 8 years I thought that they might want to see that I paid taxes. Thank you for your help!

[Crazy Cat 39,941]

1.  Downloaded transcripts are fine.

2.  Your tax records are not needed for the I-864.  They are required for the primary sponsor and joint sponsor. 

[emiloo 4]

Thank you so much Lucky Cat. 

[pablo2752 106]

Nope. Tax transcripts are the strongest form of evidence for the financial proof. 

[emiloo 4]

Thank you again on the previous help.

I have another question about supporting documentation for I-864: 

If we provide IRS Tax Transcripts for the last three years for the sponsor and for the joint sponsor, do we also need to submit their W2, 1099, and other income documents or are the transcripts sufficient proof?   

[Ayrton 965]

3 minutes ago, emiloo said:

Thank you again on the previous help.

I have another question about supporting documentation for I-864: 

If we provide IRS Tax Transcripts for the last three years for the sponsor and for the joint sponsor, do we also need to submit their W2, 1099, and other income documents or are the transcripts sufficient proof?   

No W2 or 1099, unless the joint sponsor filed a joint return and their spouse's income is not being used.

 

I would still send current employment verification letter and paystubs if available.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Ayrton

[emiloo 4]

Thank you!

[emiloo 4]

Can we only include the paystub and other relevant documents for the joint-sponsor (besides tax transcripts) or do we also need these for the main sponsor even if his income is too low? 

[emiloo 4]

Dear VisaJourney Community, 

 

My US husband and I (married since august 2020) are finishing preparing all the documents for the I-130 and I-485 along with I-131 and I-765. Our joint sponsor (father of my husband) sent us his transcripts for 2019, 2018 and 2017. We know that we are close to the tax season deadline for 2020 and our goal was to include his 2020 tax transcript but unfortunately he had to amend it after filing a month ago because of a mistake. It might take 1 to two months before he gets his 2020 transcript. Also, we are trying to find the best move knowing that my actual work visa ends in May 2022. I would love to have your ideas on the further possibilities and actions to take:

 

1/ We could send our actual package with our joint sponsor I-864 form showing the years 2019, 2018 and 2017 with their respective transcripts, and indicating at the end of the form that the joint sponsor is still waiting for his 2020 transcript and that for now we have included his Amended Individual Tax Return paper for 2020. He also included his 6 last months of pension and SSN Benefit Verification letter for year 2020. But this would probably lead to an RFE.

 

or 

 

2/ We could wait until he gets his transcripts (between 1-2 months.) This seems safer than option #1 if there is not a drastic change in wait time. I want to be sure that I receive permission to work and travel before May 2022. I looked at the USCIS processing time and it seems that the office that will end up processing our forms (Vermont) has a very long wait time right now compared to other locations. Anyone knows how long it could take for east coast applications, especially for the I-131 and I-765 and if their website is up to date? 

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by emiloo

[Ayrton 965]

On 5/5/2021 at 9:01 PM, emiloo said:

Dear VisaJourney Community, 

 

My US husband and I (married since august 2020) are finishing preparing all the documents for the I-130 and I-485 along with I-131 and I-765. Our joint sponsor (father of my husband) sent us his transcripts for 2019, 2018 and 2017. We know that we are close to the tax season deadline for 2020 and our goal was to include his 2020 tax transcript but unfortunately he had to amend it after filing a month ago because of a mistake. It might take 1 to two months before he gets his 2020 transcript. Also, we are trying to find the best move knowing that my actual work visa ends in May 2022. I would love to have your ideas on the further possibilities and actions to take:

 

1/ We could send our actual package with our joint sponsor I-864 form showing the years 2019, 2018 and 2017 with their respective transcripts, and indicating at the end of the form that the joint sponsor is still waiting for his 2020 transcript and that for now we have included his Amended Individual Tax Return paper for 2020. He also included his 6 last months of pension and SSN Benefit Verification letter for year 2020. But this would probably lead to an RFE.

 

or 

 

2/ We could wait until he gets his transcripts (between 1-2 months.) This seems safer than option #1 if there is not a drastic change in wait time. I want to be sure that I receive permission to work and travel before May 2022. I looked at the USCIS processing time and it seems that the office that will end up processing our forms (Vermont) has a very long wait time right now compared to other locations. Anyone knows how long it could take for east coast applications, especially for the I-131 and I-765 and if their website is up to date? 

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

1. Never delay your AOS for something that is not required at the time of filing. 

 

2. Your AOS application will be sent to the Chicago lockbox and will be adjudicated first by the NBC. They are also the ones that are gonna approve your EAD/AP, and that's taking 6-9 months (this doesn't depend on your local office). After they verify the forms and supporting documents, they put it in the line for an interview at your local field office.

 

3. After saying that, you should know that a tax return transcript will only show the original filing information. Any changes made by amending your taxes won't generate a new transcript.

 

"Q13. My transcript information doesn’t appear to be correct. What should I do?

In some cases, we may have changed the reported figures on the original return you filed due to input errors or incomplete or missing information. If we changed the figures on your return during processing, a tax return transcript will show your original figures, labeled “per return,” and the corrected figures labeled “per computer.” It won’t show amendments or adjustments made to the account after the original return has posted. If you filed an amended return or we adjusted your account after it was processed, request a record of account transcript. If the transcript obtained doesn’t appear to be correct or contains unfamiliar information due to possible identity theft, call us at 800-829-1040."

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript-faqs

 

4. Don't overload your application with so many documents. Only the latest tax return transcript is required. So do that. Send a copy of the 2020 + a copy of the 1040x and a small note saying the return was amended and the 1040 shows the new numbers, and w2/1099 if married and only his income is being used.

 

To show proof of current income, send the pension stubs.

 

Remember that current income and tax transcript are two different requirement. There's shouldn't be an issue with a tax return transcript showing a Total Income lower than the poverty line because what matters is the current income.

 

[Penguin_ie 5,988]

***** two threads on similar issues merged. ******

[emiloo 4]

Hi Ayrton,

Thank you so much for your help! 

 

After reading your post, we asked my father in law (joint sponsor) about his tax transcript for 2020 and it seems that he has not received it at all. He actually filed and then realised of a mistake he did in his filing, and amended before it was even processed. This means that for now, he has no transcript at all for 2020, just the 1040X (amended tax return.)  Should we then only include his 2019 income in the form with his 2019 transcript and forget about 2020 for now? His income for 2020 is lower than the one he has in 2019 because he has now retired but it is still a lot higher than the minimum policy for a household of 3. We are including his last 6 months retirement and pensions stubs.

 

Also, he always files jointly with his wife. In the income part of the form, we should include the total income on their joint transcript correct? For the section on the form "expected individual income" it should also be what they expect as total income in their next tax transcript, correct? 

 

Sorry for all these questions but I want to make sure we understand and fill up with the right numbers and material. 

 

[emiloo 4]

I did a mistake in my previous post - we included the "Adjusted Gross Income" amount, not the "Total Income" as mentioned in my previous post. 

[Ayrton 965]

21 hours ago, emiloo said:

Hi Ayrton,

Thank you so much for your help! 

 

After reading your post, we asked my father in law (joint sponsor) about his tax transcript for 2020 and it seems that he has not received it at all. He actually filed and then realised of a mistake he did in his filing, and amended before it was even processed. This means that for now, he has no transcript at all for 2020, just the 1040X (amended tax return.)  Should we then only include his 2019 income in the form with his 2019 transcript and forget about 2020 for now? His income for 2020 is lower than the one he has in 2019 because he has now retired but it is still a lot higher than the minimum policy for a household of 3. We are including his last 6 months retirement and pensions stubs.

 

Also, he always files jointly with his wife. In the income part of the form, we should include the total income on their joint transcript correct? For the section on the form "expected individual income" it should also be what they expect as total income in their next tax transcript, correct? 

 

Sorry for all these questions but I want to make sure we understand and fill up with the right numbers and material. 

 

He's not going to receive a transcript. You need to go to the IRS website to print it or request it by phone. Did he file online or by paper?

 

Since he's married and file jointly, I would just include his wife by filing a 864a for her. You don't need to, but you would have to include w2 and 1099 for him to show only his part of the income.

 

Now current income (question 7 - part 6): if you use only his income, that's his retirement and pension gross income calculated for a 1 year period. You can prove this income by sending the paystubs. If you include his wife income you add her as a household member on the form and also send a 864a for her. 

 

Tax return Total Income (question 24): you will write down the Total Income as it shows on the tax return/transcript, not adjusted gross income (unless he filed a 1040EZ). You will send the return that matches this number. You have the option to send the whole return 1040+w2+1099+schedules or send just a transcript. Like I said before, if you use only his income, you must also submit his w2+1099+schedules, because the total income is gonna be for both spouses, and they need to know what's the total income for only the sponsor.