AOS i864 - Leaving Job for Self Emplpyment

[Sarah&Facundo 577]

2 hours ago, H&M_SUIT said:

So helpful to hear! Do you think that it's a red flag to change jobs during this process, or no? It's to make more money, tbh, but no guarantees USCIS would see that as reasonable. 

 

I wouldn't think that changing jobs in it of itself would be an issue, as long as you can provide proof of your income. But I am also not an immigration officer, so...

 

Are you an LLC? I'm an LLC taxed as an S-Corp. This means I pay myself a salary on the books and pay taxes quarterly. Basically I am an employee of myself. I issue myself a W2 each year. If you can get a CPA to help you set that up, you would be able to provide yourself paystubs and a W2.

[H&M_SUIT 3]

On 4/18/2022 at 8:08 PM, Sarah&Facundo said:

Are you an LLC? I'm an LLC taxed as an S-Corp. This means I pay myself a salary on the books and pay taxes quarterly. Basically I am an employee of myself. I issue myself a W2 each year. If you can get a CPA to help you set that up, you would be able to provide yourself paystubs and a W2.

I'm currently a sole proprietorship. I'll look into the LLC thing! Would I still mark self employed on the I864 if I'm an employee (of myself) with a W2? 

[Villanelle 4,121]

https://immigrantsrising.org/resource/working-for-yourself-guide/

 

This is a link for a pdf geared towards DACA individuals explaining the general distinctions between 'employees' and 'self employed'. 

 

Honestly I don't think you will be able to 'trick' them into viewing you as an employee by having your business generate you a W2. But a lot of the review is computer based so who knows if it would be picked up or not. 

 

The whole reasoning behind a W2 employee only needing W2s and a self employed individual needing to show more in terms of stability of the income is related to information in the pdf-- it really comes down to how much control you have over the business and it's success or failure.

 

I suppose if one was to setup as the above post outlines, you would mark both self employed and employee income as you would have both. Shouldn't be hard for them to connect the dots and see you are an employee of a 'company' you own which just brings you full circle back to needing to show stability of the income which needs 1 year of taxes at minimum. 

[Family 3,551]

2 hours ago, Villanelle said:

I suppose if one was to setup as the above post outlines, you would mark both self employed and employee income as you would have both. Shouldn't be hard for them to connect the dots and see you are an employee of a 'company' you own which just brings you full circle back to needing to show stability of the income which needs 1 year of taxes at minimum

It is not viewed as a trick , nor do I think intended as one. It will be treated as W-2 income BUT since the personal ( individual) Federal TAx Returns actually do show income from LLC, then USCIS will ( can and has) issue RFE for the business/LLC tax returns… 

[Sarah&Facundo 577]

12 hours ago, Villanelle said:

https://immigrantsrising.org/resource/working-for-yourself-guide/

 

This is a link for a pdf geared towards DACA individuals explaining the general distinctions between 'employees' and 'self employed'. 

 

Honestly I don't think you will be able to 'trick' them into viewing you as an employee by having your business generate you a W2. But a lot of the review is computer based so who knows if it would be picked up or not. 

 

The whole reasoning behind a W2 employee only needing W2s and a self employed individual needing to show more in terms of stability of the income is related to information in the pdf-- it really comes down to how much control you have over the business and it's success or failure.

 

I suppose if one was to setup as the above post outlines, you would mark both self employed and employee income as you would have both. Shouldn't be hard for them to connect the dots and see you are an employee of a 'company' you own which just brings you full circle back to needing to show stability of the income which needs 1 year of taxes at minimum. 

If you are unfamiliar with how LLCs work, it probably isn't best to give advice about them. If you are an LLC / S-corp (one of the elections), you are REQUIRED by LAW to pay yourself a salary as a W2 employee. This is not a trick. You HAVE TO do this in order to own the company. Those that do not do this (to avoid taxes) can face major consequences.

Another election is a C-Corp where you take an owner's draw. I am not super familiar with the logistics of that one since I don't personally have one. 

[H&M_SUIT 3]

Either way one still has to provide tax returns for one year, correct? It's just how that income is categorized, ie self employment income on schedule C or whatever it looks like to do a w2 as an LLC and show the business tax returns as well? What would be the advantage of setting it up the LLC way if it doesn't inherebtly show more stability?

[Villanelle 4,121]

6 hours ago, H&M_SUIT said:

Either way one still has to provide tax returns for one year, correct?

 

 

This is the issue I thought was being discussed.

 

Apparently I upset some people with my choice of words, specifically 'tricked'. I realized it as soon as I posted it but honestly just didn't have time to go back and edit it into a less triggering word. 

 

VJ has strict guidelines about discussing illegal activities and I understand the word trick implies crossing the line so I apologize.

 

Back on topic- the answer to your question is yes and no because its not specific enough of a question.

 

A W2 employee does not need a tax return showing the current W2 income to qualify.

 

So if I am an employee of Kmart for the last decade and I have tax returns showing I earned 100k/yr; and Kmart just closed it's final store and I lost my job, so I just started working at Wmart. I get paid as an employee.  I will get a W2 in the future but I haven't gotten one yet. Wmart is not on my last tax return. 

 

I do not need to show a W2 from Wmart. I can show paystubs and it won't matter if I just started the job. I have a solid history of earnings and paystubs of current income.

 

Now the general rules are:

 

*Everyone needs to show at least 1 year, the current year tax returns regardless of if you have W2 income or not. This means the last return filed based on IRS deadline. Presently 2021 return. Ideally you send them copies of last 3 years.

 

*You have to disclose last 3 years amounts. You take these numbers directly from the returns.

 

*If you were not required to file you need to send a statement of such 

 

*you must show proof of current income.

 

This is where the thread got muddled. Evidence of current income for an employee is paystubs. Eviddence of current income for a self employed individual is typically profit/loss spreadsheet, pending contracts, etc. Your situation will be unique to you.  

 

**USCIS requires you have at least one year of self employed income on a tax return to consider it. 

 

This means if I started my self employment a few months ago, I have to wait until I  have  my 2022 tax return. They will not care about my current profit loss statement because my business has not been established yet. They consider it established once you have 1 year of tax returns for it.

...

 

It was suggested that one could pay themselves as an employee (paystubs that generate a w2 ultimately). There are many reasons why one might do such.  All valid and logical and yes completely legal. You will find having W2s is helpful in many scenarios and perhaps others may be able to discuss it further with you. Or you may be able to find threads about such in the taxes and finances subforum.

 

But paying yourself as an employee will not help nor hurt your 864. It will have no impact on how they view your income if its properly disclosed that you are ultimately the one paying yourself on the paystubs if that makes sense.  

 

If I started a business today and paid myself on paystubs/W2 and then attempted to submit the 864 with paystubs as a way to bypass needing to show 1 year of business taxes for the requirement of stability needed as self employed--no. 

 

I included a link for a rather basic overview of self employment relating to taxes and such as a reference for those unfamiliar with the topic in general; and also because it seemed to explain the concept of your personal responsibility intersecting with the stability and success or failure of the business rather well. 

 

This concept is important to understand if one is trying to submit evidence of self employment income for the 864. 

 

 

 

 

[H&M_SUIT 3]

On 4/24/2022 at 5:57 PM, Villanelle said:

Now the general rules are:

 

*Everyone needs to show at least 1 year, the current year tax returns regardless of if you have W2 income or not. This means the last return filed based on IRS deadline. Presently 2021 return. Ideally you send them copies of last 3 years.

 

*You have to disclose last 3 years amounts. You take these numbers directly from the returns.

 

*If you were not required to file you need to send a statement of such 

 

*you must show proof of current income.

 

This is where the thread got muddled. Evidence of current income for an employee is paystubs. Eviddence of current income for a self employed individual is typically profit/loss spreadsheet, pending contracts, etc. Your situation will be unique to you.  

 

**USCIS requires you have at least one year of self employed income on a tax return to consider it. 

 

 

Thank you so much for your detailed reply on this topic! It is super helpful when I feel there's not always a clear right answer about what's likely to get approved vs denied.

 

I have a separate question regarding the last three years amounts on tax returns- how do I show it was foreign income? I was abroad in 2020 and with the FIEC it makes it look like my total income was zero. Any tips on that? 

[Boiler 43,721]

24 minutes ago, H&M_SUIT said:

Thank you so much for your detailed reply on this topic! It is super helpful when I feel there's not always a clear right answer about what's likely to get approved vs denied.

 

I have a separate question regarding the last three years amounts on tax returns- how do I show it was foreign income? I was abroad in 2020 and with the FIEC it makes it look like my total income was zero. Any tips on that? 

You just need to show you filed