Big Mistakes on I-864 after DQ - Please Help!

[F3MTL 9]

Hi all, 

 

We are noticing now that there are some big mistakes on the I-864 submitted to CEAC. I'm a little worried and panicking now as we have been DQ'd for almost a year and are noticing these mistakes now. These include: 

 

- Incorrect household size (wrote down "8" instead of "4").

- Left Part 7 (Use of Assets to Supplement Income) blank even though main sponsor's income is less than the poverty guidelines.

- Included main sponsor's supplemental income but realizing now that only social security income can be used. 

 

To give more context into our case, main petitioner sponsored an F3 case (married daughter + their husband + their child). Main petitioner lives with adult child and the adult child has 3 dependent children. We originally included the adult child as a household member but are thinking that using them as a joint sponsor might make more sense. This is because we received a message from NVC on the day we got DQ'd saying "sponsor" does not meet the income requirements and an additional joint sponsor may be submitted. 

 

Here are my questions: 

1) How should I correct the original I-864 after submitting it already? On CEAC, there is no option to reupload. Should I call NVC first to apologize for not correcting this earlier and request to resubmit it? 

 

2) If I submit an additional joint sponsor on NVC, will we have to be DQ'd again (as in, will we lose our spot for an interview and have to wait for NVC to review and accept the JS form)? 

 

3) Is it a bad idea to just wait until the actual interview and explain what happened with the mistakes then? My original plan was to just take a completely new I-864 for the main petitioner and a completely new I-864 for the joint sponsor and explain we made mistakes on the original one. But I'm not sure if we should do this.

 

Thank you.

Edited September 18, 2021 by F3MTL

[Crazy Cat 39,831]

If you have been DQ'd, then make corrections (corrected documents) at the interview.  If you submit new documents, your case will, likely, go through the entire NVC process again. 

[JeanneAdil 6,292]

If message says "sponsor is does not meet income requirements"  you are not DQ and would have to seen new I 864 and joint sponsor 1864a with supporting documents 

[F3MTL 9]

8 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

If message says "sponsor is does not meet income requirements"  you are not DQ and would have to seen new I 864 and joint sponsor 1864a with supporting documents 

Really? NVC shows "Accepted" under every single file submitted. I've been receiving CEAC updates every 2 months. This was sent on Aug. 17th 2021: 

 

"...This notice is to inform you that your case for an immigrant visa is documentarily complete at the National Visa Center (NVC) and has been since 31-Jul-2020.  NVC has received all of the fees, forms and documents required prior to attending an immigrant visa interview. Your petition is awaiting an interview appointment. At this time, no further action is required.  We appreciate your patience.

 

Your case will remain at NVC until an appointment is scheduled, at which time we will send it to the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate General.  We will notify the applicant, petitioner, and attorney (if applicable) when an appointment is scheduled."

 

The message we received about the additional joint sponsor said that we may upload an additional joint sponsor to avoid delays. It also mentioned the CO would make the decision at the end. So I'm really confused now as to what to do. 

Edited September 18, 2021 by F3MTL

[Crazy Cat 39,831]

1 minute ago, F3MTL said:

Really? NVC shows "Accepted" under every single file submitted. I've been receiving CEAC updates every 2 months. This was sent on Aug. 17th 2021: 

 

"...This notice is to inform you that your case for an immigrant visa is documentarily complete at the National Visa Center (NVC) and has been since 31-Jul-2020.  NVC has received all of the fees, forms and documents required prior to attending an immigrant visa interview. Your petition is awaiting an interview appointment. At this time, no further action is required.  We appreciate your patience."

 

The message we received about the additional joint sponsor said that we may upload an additional joint sponsor to avoid delays. It also mentioned the CO would make the decision at the end. So I'm really confused now as to what to do. 

That is DQ notification.......

[F3MTL 9]

36 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

If you have been DQ'd, then make corrections (corrected documents) at the interview.  If you submit new documents, your case will, likely, go through the entire NVC process again. 

Is this common? I've tried to search for other posts on here where it mentioned bringing a new I-864 to the interview but most of what I'm seeing is to submit it before the interview. But there's no submit or resubmit button anywhere...so confusing. 

Edited September 18, 2021 by F3MTL

[Crazy Cat 39,831]

1 minute ago, F3MTL said:

Is this common? I've tried to search for other posts on here where it mentioned bringing a new I-864 to the interview but most of what I'm seeing is to submit it before the interview. But there's no submit or resubmit button anywhere...so confusing. 

The consulate officer is the sole approval authority for visas.....not NVC.  I would just wait and submit any new evidence at the interview. 

[F3MTL 9]

1 minute ago, Crazy Cat said:

The consulate officer is the sole approval authority for visas.....not NVC.  I would just wait and submit any new evidence at the interview. 

Alright. It just feels weird knowing our affidavit of support is a legal binding document but it has so many errors. Surprised it was accepted in the first place despite missing Part 7. Hopefully the CO or the staff at Montreal embassy will understand. 

[Crazy Cat 39,831]

1 minute ago, F3MTL said:

Alright. It just feels weird knowing our affidavit of support is a legal binding document but it has so many errors. Surprised it was accepted in the first place despite missing Part 7. Hopefully the CO or the staff at Montreal embassy will understand. 

It is not unusual to submit updated documents at the time of the interview.

[saksnoot 31]

NVC’s job is clerical in nature. They are making sure that you have the appropriate documents for the interview so that the CO can adjudicate whether to approve or deny the visa and also that there is nothing in your documents that would lead to an automatic denial. That way, the consulate can function more efficiently by having prepared interviewees.

 

If you’re DQ and there is a necessary change to your documents due to a change in circumstance or a mistake, then you are well within your rights to present new documents or evidence at the interview.

[F3MTL 9]

3 hours ago, saksnoot said:

NVC’s job is clerical in nature. They are making sure that you have the appropriate documents for the interview so that the CO can adjudicate whether to approve or deny the visa and also that there is nothing in your documents that would lead to an automatic denial. That way, the consulate can function more efficiently by having prepared interviewees.

 

If you’re DQ and there is a necessary change to your documents due to a change in circumstance or a mistake, then you are well within your rights to present new documents or evidence at the interview.

Thanks for your reply, makes me feel a little more calm. I guess now it's mostly a waiting game for the final interview. We'll make sure to take all the updated docs to it. 

[saksnoot 31]

3 hours ago, F3MTL said:

Thanks for your reply, makes me feel a little more calm. I guess now it's mostly a waiting game for the final interview. We'll make sure to take all the updated docs to it. 

Some cases avoid NVC checking docs all together (cases expedited at NVC, direct consular filing cases, and K1s too). In those cases, the first time the State Dept sees your documents is at the interview. Those still get processed fine and regularly approved. So new docs at the interview is nothing out of the ordinary. You didn’t ask for the info, but I thought this context might help too

[Emily8460 13]

On 9/19/2021 at 4:41 AM, F3MTL said:

Thanks for your reply, makes me feel a little more calm. I guess now it's mostly a waiting game for the final interview. We'll make sure to take all the updated docs to it. 

Hey! Having  similar situation. Did you update online or just bring updated i864 to interview?Did it work out okay?  Hope it worked out. 

[F3MTL 9]

29 minutes ago, Emily8460 said:

Hey! Having  similar situation. Did you update online or just bring updated i864 to interview?Did it work out okay?  Hope it worked out. 

Hey! We did both - updated the I-864, brought a hard copy to the interview and also uploaded to NVC the weekend before the interview.

 

I honestly have no clue if the consular officer looked at it, he just said “the financial information looks sufficient”. I’d say it’s best practice to bring updated copies in case.

 

Best of luck!