I-134 Proof of Income - I'm unemployed, but have plenty of liquid assets

[VisaPerson 12]

Hello! I'm currently filling out the Form I-134 for the K-1 Visa. I'm wondering if it's possible to be the sole financial sponsor of my fiancé, given that I'm unemployed but have enough liquid assets to prove I am above the HHS poverty line * 5 for a household size of 2.

 

Here is my "financial" background:

 

• Currently unemployed (last paystub from this year was in February 2021); Current income: $0
• Tax returns from last 3 years show steady income
• Checkings & savings balance: ~$103k
• Stocks and bonds: ~$21k
• I own two vehicles, low-balling a value estimate of ~$14k
• Life insurance cash surrender value: ~$67k
• I have a job offer letter stating that I will start in November 2021 with a 6-figure salary

 

Current situation: I currently live in South Korea with my fiancé. We're both unemployed at the moment, we've been waiting for this visa process to finish.

 

When my fiancé goes into his interview on August 10, I'm planning on attaching the following documents with the I-134 form (as proof of income and proof of domicile in the U.S.):

 

1. Cover Letter (1 page)
2. Form I-134 (8 pages)
3. U.S. Federal Income Tax Return for 2020 (21 pages)
4. Letter from [American Bank] confirming my accounts (1 page)
5. Employer Letter (1 page)
6. Offer of Employment E-mail (1 page)
7. Paystubs from January and February 2021 (2 pages)
8. 2020 Year-End Bank Statements (5 pages)
9. Account Balance at [Korean Bank] (1 page)
10. International Wire Transfers from [Korean Bank] to [American Bank] (5 pages)
11. 2021 Stocks & Bonds Portfolio Statement (3 pages)
12. Bitcoin Portfolio Balance (1 page)
13. Life Insurance Policies and Cash Values (3 pages)

 

I'm wondering, is this enough to prove that I'm financially capable of sponsoring my fiancé alone? Is this too much information? 

 

Any and all feedback is much appreciated! Thank you very much!

Edited July 21, 2021 by VisaPerson

[Nasirlahore 28]

19 minutes ago, VisaPerson said:

•  

 

Current situation: I currently live in South Korea 

 

I'm wondering, is this enough to prove that I'm financially capable of sponsoring my fiancé alone? Is this too much information

Adding a regular working co sponsor might also help,if you can find one

[VisaPerson 12]

Just now, Nasirlahore said:

Adding a regular working co sponsor might also help,if you can find one

At the moment, I think it'd be difficult to find a currently working co-sponsor. Do you think there is a good chance that the visa application will be rejected because I do not have a currently working co-sponsor?

[Nasirlahore 28]

9 minutes ago, VisaPerson said:

 

At embassy level they will look for income which last through AOS interview stage, in my opinion,but again its upto IO interviewing you,some are good and some ........lol

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

The proof of assets and job offer letter with high salary should be enough, BUT no one can ever tell you definitely one way or another the decision of a CO. It's up to their discretion, so piling on the proof of assets and future job/salary in the US is vital and really all you can do without a joint sponsor.

 

Just to mention this for you and others that want to use vehicles as assets, you cannot use a vehicle if it is your only one. This means since you have 2, you would need to choose which one you would be willing to sell if need be. You must provide proof of the value of the vehicle and any liens against it. You can't just guess.

[TWISTIE 30]

On 7/21/2021 at 1:57 AM, Nasirlahore said:

Adding a regular working co sponsor might also help,if you can find one

Do you think a co-sponsor could be used for I-134 as well? I thought a co-sponsor comes into play only for I-864. And I-864 is only for immigrant visa, not for fiancé visa.

[TWISTIE 30]

Can people use life-insurance policy as an asset? If so, then sponsor has to be the owner of the policy or insured person? What about owner of the policy wherein insured person is someone else?? I think OP would be ok as asset is enough than required amount so long OP can prove how she got that much cash in the bank if that cash will be used as an asset...

[Adventine 3,201]

3 hours ago, TWISTIE said:

Can people use life-insurance policy as an asset? If so, then sponsor has to be the owner of the policy or insured person? What about owner of the policy wherein insured person is someone else?? I think OP would be ok as asset is enough than required amount so long OP can prove how she got that much cash in the bank if that cash will be used as an asset...

 

From the I-864 instructions, which will be needed after the immigrant enters the US on the K1 visa:

 

"How Can I Use Assets to Qualify?
You may use assets to supplement income if the consular or immigration officer is convinced that the monetary value of  the asset could reasonably be made available to support the sponsored immigrant and converted to cash within one year without undue harm to the sponsor or his or her family members. "

 

A life insurance policy will only pay out if someone dies. So no.

 

 

OP can consult the official I-134 (needed for K1 process before arrival in the US) and I -864  (needed after arrival in the US) for the exact assets and acceptable evidence needed.

 

[TWISTIE 30]

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

 

From the I-864 instructions, which will be needed after the immigrant enters the US on the K1 visa:

 

"How Can I Use Assets to Qualify?
You may use assets to supplement income if the consular or immigration officer is convinced that the monetary value of  the asset could reasonably be made available to support the sponsored immigrant and converted to cash within one year without undue harm to the sponsor or his or her family members. "

 

A life insurance policy will only pay out if someone dies. So no.

 

 

OP can consult the official I-134 (needed for K1 process before arrival in the US) and I -864  (needed after arrival in the US) for the exact assets and acceptable evidence needed.

 

Thank you so much...

[VisaPerson 12]

Hello! I just wanted to provide the results of our interview today and follow-up responses to some of the opinions made earlier.

 

Appointment: August 10, 2021 @ 7:45am (South Korea)

 

General process:

• Arrived at the premises at 6am (my fiancé and I practiced some potential questions, mostly about both of our unemployed statuses) and waited at a local café
• Got in line at the US Embassy in Seoul at 7:10am, and people were being checked into the U.S. Embassy at around 7:20am
• What surprised me was that they were not only expecting my fiancé (beneficiary), but also me! (U.S. petitioner/sponsor). I went to the reception desk thinking that I'd just cheer on my fiancé as he went inside, but they suddenly asked "Who is [U.S. petitioner name]?" and I said it was me and they said "you should go inside too."
• We went to the 2nd floor to submit the preliminary documents (appointment confirmation letter and US passport photos) and was admitted to the next floor to wait for our appointment at 7:35am.
• During the waiting time, we were given a checklist of documents to prepare in a specific order (i.e. passport, medical exam, birth certificate, etc.)
• We were called to one of the counters at 7:50am, where the employee double-checked all documents we were submitting. It was a little funny as we had prepared quite a bit of "other documents" to support our application so the employee asked "there's more?!" haha (53 pages in total for I-134 plus supporting documents, 80 pages for a copy of our I-129F petition, 10 pages documenting some of our preliminary wedding plans, 25 pages of extra copies of all documents that I thought would be nice to have just in case). Everything except the extra copies was submitted and approved BUT they didn't need the copy of our I-129F petition since they already printed out a copy. They also needed the ORIGINAL Citibank receipt that was used to pay for the visa application. Also, I was asked if I (U.S. petitioner) currently resided in South Korea and I said yes, and as she was confirming documents, she pointed out to my employer's offer letter and said "Is this an offer letter?" I said yes, and she nodded her head.
• We were told to wait again until the interview officer was ready for us. We were called up to the counters again at around 8:15am. The process was simple. My fiancé was told to raise his right hand and swear that everything stated in the documents was true and that going forth anything said during the interview is true. They then scanned his fingerprints. 
• Our interview officer was extremely kind, thoughtful, and super sweet. My fiancé gets very nervous at interviews and it was pretty obvious, he even blurted out "oh my gosh, I'm so nervous!" And the officer said "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry! It'll be alright." It was very touching! She asked questions in a mix of English and Korean (reason stated below), and my fiancé responded in mostly Korean (his English isn't the best at the moment), with me occasionally helping translate a few words he might not have understood. He was asked very few questions:
  • How did we meet?
  • When did your relationship start?
  • Have you met any of your fiancée's family? Has your fiancé met any of your family?
  • [Question for U.S. Petitioner] How do you two communicate?
    • Before the interview officially started, it was obvious my fiancé's English wasn't the best, so the interview officer asked us how we communicated. I said "Konglish" (a mix of Korean and English), but it's like 98% Korean and 2% English words sprinkled in our conversations. Our officer said "Okay, then I will use Konglish too!" oops, lol. Probably should have said Korean - my fiancé was struggling a little.
  • [Question for U.S. Petitioner] You're currently working in South Korea?
    • I explained that I stopped working in March 2021, but received a job offer back in America and am going to start my new employment as soon as I arrive in the U.S.
• The interview took probably 5 minutes tops. It was in front of the entire waiting area (with all the counters), so I'm pretty sure most of the people waiting heard our interview lol. Also, I was really taken aback that it was out in public, and the interview was extremely short, and I (U.S. Petitioner) was asked a question directly! After the interview concluded, our officer handed back our wedding plan packet (10 pages) and said "Have fun!" She then said our Visa Application was approved and to expect the visa to be mailed to us within a week.
• We left the premises at 8:25am, and when we retrieved our electronics from the security room, the guards were shocked and said "Wow, they must have started really early today."

 

========================

 

There were some claims here about how I should have filled out my I-134, and I will address them down below. Please note I did extensive research of what I should be putting in re: assets in the form (resources included Nolo.com, which stated that proof of personal property does not need to be included)

• I kept Part 3, field 5 (Value of my other personal property) at $14,000, even though I initially arrived at this number based on the value of my two cars. But after considering my other "expensive" items I own, I came to conclude this was still appropriate through the following personal assets: my SECOND car (~$7k), gaming computer (~$3k), DSLR camera (~$2k), jewelry (~$4k) and being modest, I rounded down to $14k. 
• I stated in Part 3, field 7.a. (I have life insurance in the sum of) an estimate of $854k as that is the amount I am insured in the case of death.
  • I am the insured, but not the policy owner. A copy of my policy insurance was included with my supporting documents, which showed my life insurance amount, insured (me), policy owner, and cash surrender value.
• I stated in Part 3, field 7.b. (With a cash surrender value of) an estimate of $67k as that is the amount of cash I would be receiving if I wanted to "cash out" my life insurance policy.
  • @Adventine stated that life insurance cannot be used as assets, but this is untrue for I-134. There is a specific field asking about life insurance and cash surrender value (which is only applicable on specific life insurance policies that have a "Whole Life Policy"). Thought this might be helpful @TWISTIE
  • Here is a snippet of one of the life insurance policies that I submitted to the embassy with redacted information (I have 3 whole life insurance policies): https://i.imgur.com/c2K6MpV.png
• I stated in Part 3, field 38 that I intend to make specific contributions to the support of the person named in Part 2, with a special note on Part 7. (Additional Information) stating the following: "Once I begin my new place of employment, I intend to support my fiancé with housing, food, a car, and lump sum cash whenever needed to sustain our marriage.
• I did NOT get a co-sponsor (it was difficult to obtain one in my personal situation). I believe I read that it's possible to include a co-sponsor for I-134, but I did not pursue research in this route as I could not get one anyways.

My final thoughts:

• @Nasirlahore mentioned that the interview was heavily dependent on the interview officer and I 100% completely agree from my experience. I read blogs about other people's experience and believed it to be a bit more intense than I experienced. Our officer was extremely nice and comforting and reassured us everything would be alright alright.
• @TWISTIE Yes, you can use life insurance policy as an asset (since it is a field on the I-134 form), although I think it's more meaningful if it comes with a cash surrender value as that's immediate liquefiable finances. 
• I think our interview experience was very unique, and I've received responses stating that South Korea's K1 visa application process has been extremely lenient compared to other countries. I started the entire process back in February 25th (date I mailed the I-129F petition to USCIS), and have been fully approved on August 10th. A 6-month journey!

Edited August 10, 2021 by VisaPerson

[Adventine 3,201]

Thanks for the extremely detailed review and glad to know you had a good interview experience!

 

You are correct, I was thinking of term life insurance, which is the "plain vanilla" life insurance that only pays out when someone dies, and does not have any kind of cash surrender value. I believe your life insurance policy is a different type that has some form of investment linked to it.

 

In any case, good to know it worked out well for you. Good luck with the rest of the process!

Edited August 10, 2021 by Adventine

[VisaPerson 12]

1 hour ago, Adventine said:

Thanks for the extremely detailed review and glad to know you had a good interview experience!

 

You are correct, I was thinking of term life insurance, which is the "plain vanilla" life insurance that only pays out when someone dies, and does not have any kind of cash surrender value. I believe your life insurance policy is a different type that has some form of investment linked to it.

 

In any case, good to know it worked out well for you. Good luck with the rest of the process!

 

Thanks so much for the encouragement! And yes, I too had to dig a little of what "cash surrender value" meant and how it's only tied to "Whole Life Insurance" policies. Thankfully that's what mine was!

[TWISTIE 30]

On 8/10/2021 at 6:36 AM, VisaPerson said:

 

Thanks so much for the encouragement! And yes, I too had to dig a little of what "cash surrender value" meant and how it's only tied to "Whole Life Insurance" policies. Thankfully that's what mine was!

Congratulation...I am very happy for you that everything worked out just fine...Speaking of life insurance policies, then whole life policies and I think Universal life insurance policies have cash value upon surrendering , but then there are many companies out there that will buy from you any kind of life insurance policy including term life...

 

I think your case was very compelling given the totality of financial assets...and you got good officer as well...What worked for you, doesn’t necessarily will work for others unless they would have everything what you got...totality of whole circumstances + nice officer....Enjoy...