Do we need a joint sponsor or not?

[Rocio0010 5,573]

5 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

I wouldn't even bother with assets

Because I don’t have much faith in officers and I’m not really sure the officer would know what to do with them, sending me a RFE or a denial. But that’s me, catastrophizing. If I had a joint sponsor, I’d use them

[Canucklehead 58]

48 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Nonsense.  Liquid assets are liquid assets.  They contribute to the totality of circumstances, which is very important in a marginal situation like this.  It might even be enough to get DQ'd.  Ultimately though, a new US job before interview or a qualified joint sponsor is what will carry the day.

 

To the OP directly, unless the Canadian income will continue in the USA, her current income would be stated as ZERO.  Read the applicable question carefully, and note the words "that you are using to qualify" are part of the question.  

Thank you for this information! We will be sure to put '0' for Part 6, Number 7 on the I-864.

Should we also include a letter indicating US spouse is currently is working in Canada so that they are aware she has been working (as a way to explain why it is 0). Or, would our letter indicating everything we have done to reestablish domicile (I.e. voter records, notarized letter from her parents stating we will be living with them, 3 previous US tax forms for sponsor, and applications for jobs in US) suffice?

With all of the advice above, we will also be using a joint sponsor too but just want to give us best chance of success!

[pushbrk 12,243]

12 minutes ago, Canucklehead said:

Thank you for this information! We will be sure to put '0' for Part 6, Number 7 on the I-864.

Should we also include a letter indicating US spouse is currently is working in Canada so that they are aware she has been working (as a way to explain why it is 0). Or, would our letter indicating everything we have done to reestablish domicile (I.e. voter records, notarized letter from her parents stating we will be living with them, 3 previous US tax forms for sponsor, and applications for jobs in US) suffice?

With all of the advice above, we will also be using a joint sponsor too but just want to give us best chance of success!

For Montreal, the only sure thing to deal with the Domicile issue is for the US Citizen to actually move to the US before the interview.  Many have been successful with other measures though.  It's still a judgment call each time.  No need to notarize a letter from parents.  It's just a plan.  Doesn't really carry much weight without other evidence.

 

No need to explain the primary sponsor's work situation.  She's working and you'll indicate that accurately, but the income number will still be ZERO.

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by pushbrk

[Canucklehead 58]

27 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

For Montreal, the only sure thing to deal with the Domicile issue is for the US Citizen to actually move to the US before the interview.  Many have been successful with other measures though.  It's still a judgment call each time.  No need to notarize a letter from parents.  It's just a plan.  Doesn't really carry much weight without other evidence.

 

No need to explain the primary sponsor's work situation.  She's working and you'll indicate that accurately, but the income number will still be ZERO.

 

Thank you very much for this info!

[Cathi 5,624]

9 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Because I don’t have much faith in officers and I’m not really sure the officer would know what to do with them, sending me a RFE or a denial. But that’s me, catastrophizing. If I had a joint sponsor, I’d use them

You need to stop giving bad advice, especially to people that go through such tough consulates. Montreal is one of the toughest out there. Your catastrophizing is irrelevant.

[Rocio0010 5,573]

2 minutes ago, Cathi said:

You need to stop giving bad advice, especially to people that go through such tough consulates. Montreal is one of the toughest out there. Your catastrophizing is irrelevant.

My advice was clearly personal and based on how little faith I have in consulates and USCIS. I even said “but that’s me”. Precisely because Montreal is a tough consulate, I would err on the side of caution and go with a joint sponsor. OP has received plenty of advice and will chose whatever they think is best for them. 

[Redro 4,602]

17 hours ago, Canucklehead said:

Hi there, my wife (USC) and I (Canadian citizen) are currently living in Canada and are finishing up our NVC stage of the application. We were told that it's best if we have a joint sponsor, but I'm thinking that we arguably do not need one.

 

Our background: My wife's current income (at her job in Canada) is roughly $50,500 USD (converted at today's market rate). Our total value of liquidable assets in Canada is equivalent to $69,000 USD. Given that our household size is 2 (should we not use a joint sponsor) and the Federal Poverty Guideline is $22,887 - we are well beyond the FPGx3 number ($68,661 USD).

 

My wife and I are not going to be continuing our current jobs after we arrive in the United States. Therefore, I have 2 questions:

 

1. Is my wife's current income (at her Canadian job) countable towards our net worth as it relates to our application or not? Do not count her income. Her income is zero. 

2. Do we actually need a joint sponsor, given all of the information above, or can we just apply as a 2 person household and be sure to include evidence for all of our assets currently in Canada (i.e. savings accoutn statements, investment account statements, etc.)?  You are not well beyond the FPGx3 number. It is marginal at best. You should account for fluctuation, cost of cashing out your investments and any taxes you would pay on them, and transfer costs of sending money to the US. Add to the fact The money would be better if it was in a US bank account. $68, 661 is the minimum. The successful cases I've seen with assets involve savings of over $100K (or FPGX5 for household) You might DQ with proof of assets but it might not be sufficient at interview.

 

Thank you so much for your help!

 

14 hours ago, Canucklehead said:

Yeah our immigration lawyer is saying joint would be better but we have just been waiting on someone else to do what we need done and it's taking a while. Perhaps we'll just wait until that comes in as we'd like to be accepted first try and not have to face an extra delay if we don't get accepted first time. Listen to your lawyer. You hired them for a reason and they know your entire story. 

 

11 hours ago, Canucklehead said:

Thank you for your response! We had her parents sign and notarize a letter stating they will be allowing us to live with them upon our arrival - as our evidence of having a US address. In this case, would number 1 be good enough? She will also continue to apply for positions and may even have one by an interview date too.

We're not opposed to spending some time apart but want to move together as much as possible.

What other evidence of domicile do you have?

Be aware the notarized letter could lead to an RFE. If her parents are inviting you to stay at their home you should also upload proof they own the home. 

I've heard of two RFEs in the last few months involving insufficient evidence attached to letter of invitation.

I would also make sure you have extremely strong evidence of domicile as not only is Montreal strict. But, NVC is really scrutinizing domicile when the petitioner lives abroad (think bank accounts and drivers' license are deemed insufficient) 

 

One more thing. She must provide EVIDENCE OF INCOME/EMPLOYMENT. NVC states if your income is not good enough you need to submit proof. Recently, a few people have received RFEs for EVIDENCE of INCOME/EMPLOYMENT because they live abroad and listed their current income as $0. 

Most people upload one or two recent paystubs. 

 

Finally, I recommend you read the monthly threads in the NVC forum. You can see what people submit for first time DQ and the RFEs that are happening. 

Edited May 11, 2022 by ROK2USA

[Canucklehead 58]

To confirm what we plan on sending with our Form I-864 (given advice found on this thread and our previous plan combined).

• Joint sponsor I-864 form and documentation
• I-864 Form for USC (my wife)
• USC's voter card
• Tax returns for 3 previous years for USC
• Chequing account maintained by USC in USA
• Credit card account maintained by USC in USA
• Notarized letter from USC's parents confirming their address and that we will be living with them (same address is listed on all other forms as mailing address)
• Job applications for opportunities in California submitted by USC
• Letter of reference from current employer for USC in Canada, confirming they know she intends on moving to USA
• Evidence of USC applying to join a professional body in USA for work purposes
• Evidence supporting immigrant spouse's assets (bank/savings/investment statements)
• Letter explaining all of the above is evidence of intent to reestablish domicile ON OR BEFORE date of application being approved
• 2 most recent pay stubs from USC's current job in Canada, as evidence she is currently earning money in Canada

Please feel free to let me know if you think I've missed anything/need to edit anything/should remove anything!

 

EDIT: USC is actively seeking employment - if a signed contract were to be obtained, should we add this on the webpage, or wait until interview as well?

Edited May 11, 2022 by Canucklehead

[pushbrk 12,243]

13 hours ago, Cathi said:

You need to stop giving bad advice, especially to people that go through such tough consulates. Montreal is one of the toughest out there. Your catastrophizing is irrelevant.

As are "emotions".

[Rocio0010 5,573]

On 5/10/2022 at 1:16 PM, Canucklehead said:

Do we actually need a joint sponsor, given all of the information above, or can we just apply as a 2 person household and be sure to include evidence for all of our assets currently in Canada (i.e. savings accoutn statements, investment account statements, etc.)?

OP, read what someone just posted. 

 

[Canucklehead 58]

25 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

OP, read what someone just posted. 

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing this! We are hoping to officially submit our I-864 today so will keep everyone posted too!

25 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

 

 

[Rocio0010 5,573]

2 minutes ago, Canucklehead said:

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing this! We are hoping to officially submit our I-864 today so will keep everyone posted too!

 

Good! Are you using assets, or just a joint sponsor?

[Canucklehead 58]

We are going to use a joint sponsor and I list my assets (the principal sponsored immigrant) here in Canada. I converted them at market rate and listed them in USD in our I-864 form. I've also included statements from my savings and investment accounts to back up these numbers.

We figured why not show that the incoming immigrant has savings and liquidable assets as well.

Edited May 21, 2022 by Canucklehead

[Canucklehead 58]

Just an update for everyone - we officially sent in our NVC application as of Tuesday! For those following, we included the following documents:

 

Main forms/documents

I-864 for USC sponsor

2021 U.S. taxes for USC

 

I-864 for joint sponsor

Birth certificate for joint sponsor

Driver's license for join sponsor

2021 U.S. taxes for joint sponsor

 

For proving domicile purposes:

2019-2021 U.S. taxes for USC

U.S. bank statement for USC

Evidence of registration for voting for USC

Voting history for USC

Sworn affidavit from USC's parents indicating we will be living with them

Evidence of applying to join a professional body in U.S. for USC

Evidence of job applications in U.S. for USC

Letter of recommendation from USC's current employer

Savings statement for applicant 

Investments statement for applicant

A letter explaining why each document was included

 

I have not heard anything back since submitting but will keep everyone posted!