RFE on I-864 - sponsor with foreign income for last tax year

[mgentili 0]

Hello, I am currently a J-1 and filed for AOS. My wife is sponsoring my GC.

 

We have received an RFE reading: "Based on the documents submitted, we could not determine that the petitioning sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, is qualified. In order to be a qualified sponsor, the petitioning sponsor's Form I-864 must be properly completed and signed, and the supporting documents must establish that the petitioning sponsor's income meets 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline for the sponsor’s household size."

 

Our case is a bit complicated. My wife was employed abroad until April of this year. She used Form 2555 to exclude her foreign income from being taxed, so the Total income line for her 2019, 2020 transcripts and 2021 tax return (1040 - transcript not yet available) shows 0.

We reported on form I-864 the total income before exclusion for her foreign income and not 0.

 

She moved back to the US in April and started a new job in May. We filed for AOS at the beginning of August.

In attachment to I-864, we sent her offer letter stating salary and position and paystubs for pay period ending 6/10 (unfortunately our lawyer did not catch this and we did not submit paystubs up to the submission date).

 

I have a couple of questions:

- Is there a reason why the USCIS officer would not take into account her job offer letter and paystubs as proof of current US income? Should we submit a letter from her HR department stating her employment and position and all paystubs up to the date we will respond to RFE?

- How problematic will it be to report 0 Total Income in 24.a,b,c for tax year 2019-2021? From 2555 was included in our file for Tax Year 2021. Should we submit a cover letter explaining why the total income is 0/excluded from taxation? Should we also submit the translated of the W-2 equivalent of the foreign country to show income?

- If reporting Total Income of 0 will be problematic, we could use assets. Will savings in a foreign bank account be accepted as an asset? The bank statements will be translated. The RFE mentions that bank statements will be averaged for the past 12 months.

 

Open to hear if anyone was in a similar situation and how you addressed this.

 

Thanks!

 

[Verrou 1,962]

1. cover letter from HR stated her job title, full / part time, salary is always better than job offer letter. try to collect more paystubs, we submitted 6 months of most current paystubs. 

2. can you find joint sponsor? seems its a good idea to have joint sponsor. 

[mgentili 0]

Thanks Misscloud.

 

Unfortunately we cannot find a joint sponsor at the moment.

 

I got a letter from my employer stating I will still be employed if the GC will be adjudicated (I am getting sponsored for an H1B), will that be of any help to show I won't be a burden for the government?

 

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by mgentili

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from Bringing Family of USC forum to AOS from Work/Student/Tourist Visas forum -- topic is about AOS of spouse already in the US ***

 

[Verrou 1,962]

22 hours ago, mgentili said:

Thanks Misscloud.

 

Unfortunately we cannot find a joint sponsor at the moment.

 

I got a letter from my employer stating I will still be employed if the GC will be adjudicated (I am getting sponsored for an H1B), will that be of any help to show I won't be a burden for the government?

 

 

uscis only look on the petitioner's income and not the beneficiary. ur income doesnt count for marriage petition

[mgentili 0]

3 hours ago, Misscloud said:

uscis only look on the petitioner's income and not the beneficiary. ur income doesnt count for marriage petition

The instructions of I-864 mention:
If your income alone is not sufficient to meet the requirement for your household size, the intending immigrant will be ineligible for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status, unless the requirement can be met using any combination of the following:
2. Income from the intending immigrant, if that income will continue from the same source after immigration, and if the intending immigrant is currently living in your residence. If the intending immigrant is your spouse, his or her income can be counted regardless of current residence, but it must continue from the same source after he or she becomes a lawful permanent resident;

 

I have a letter from my employer mentioning they will sponsor me until 2029.

Edited August 24, 2022 by mgentili