Documentarily Qualified but...help!

[HandL 1]

I'm a US citizen and my wife is a UK citizen. Her case recently became Documentarily Qualified but we don't have an interview date yet. At the exact same time as the DQ notice though, we got a Case FE Review note:

"This case does not meet the minimum income requirement to sponsor the intending immigrants. To avoid delays, an additional Affidavit of Support Form I-864 from a joint sponsor may be submitted. The consular officer will make a decision regarding this requirement at the time of the interview."

I make $37k and we're a two-person household, so I'm not sure why this happened. Maybe because I wasn't making enough last year so it's not reflected on my tax return?  I'm a PhD student and my income (part salary, part living stipend) is guaranteed for five years. I included an official letter from my department (employer) as supporting evidence.

My wife and I think we should probably have one of my parents fill out an I-864 as a joint sponsor, in case they say (at the interview) that my income isn't sufficient. I can also give her additional evidence of my own income in case they thought the employer letter wasn't enough, but it seems like if they wanted more evidence they would've asked us to submit it rather than DQed us?

We'd really appreciate it if anyone has any insights into why I don't meet the minimum income requirement and what we should do. If we do the joint sponsor form, should we submit it on CEAC, or just take a physical copy to the interview? Would submitting new documents on CEAC cause delays given that our case is already DQed?

Thank you so much in advance for any advice, we really appreciate it!!
 

[SalishSea 17,928]

8 minutes ago, HandL said:

I'm a US citizen and my wife is a UK citizen. Her case recently became Documentarily Qualified but we don't have an interview date yet. At the exact same time as the DQ notice though, we got a Case FE Review note:

"This case does not meet the minimum income requirement to sponsor the intending immigrants. To avoid delays, an additional Affidavit of Support Form I-864 from a joint sponsor may be submitted. The consular officer will make a decision regarding this requirement at the time of the interview."

I make $37k and we're a two-person household, so I'm not sure why this happened. Maybe because I wasn't making enough last year so it's not reflected on my tax return?  I'm a PhD student and my income (part salary, part living stipend) is guaranteed for five years. I included an official letter from my department (employer) as supporting evidence.

My wife and I think we should probably have one of my parents fill out an I-864 as a joint sponsor, in case they say (at the interview) that my income isn't sufficient. I can also give her additional evidence of my own income in case they thought the employer letter wasn't enough, but it seems like if they wanted more evidence they would've asked us to submit it rather than DQed us?

We'd really appreciate it if anyone has any insights into why I don't meet the minimum income requirement and what we should do. If we do the joint sponsor form, should we submit it on CEAC, or just take a physical copy to the interview? Would submitting new documents on CEAC cause delays given that our case is already DQed?

Thank you so much in advance for any advice, we really appreciate it!!
 

Your income is kind of borderline for life in the  US.   It does not change your DQ status, but the consulate has final say about public charge based on totality of circumstances.

 

I would get the joint sponsor lined up, plus provide your wife with current payslips.

[HandL 1]

3 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Your income is kind of borderline for life in the  US.   It does not change your DQ status, but the consulate has final say about public charge based on totality of circumstances.

 

I would get the joint sponsor lined up, plus provide your wife with current payslips.

Hi,

Thanks so much - we are getting the joint sponsor sorted now. Do you think it's okay to just bring the I-864 to interview or should I be uploading it onto CEAC?

 

[SalishSea 17,928]

1 minute ago, HandL said:

Hi,

Thanks so much - we are getting the joint sponsor sorted now. Do you think it's okay to just bring the I-864 to interview or should I be uploading it onto CEAC?

 

Good question, and I’m not sure because I have heard that uploading additional documents can lead to a delay as the NVC then has to review everything new.

 

Maybe @pushbrk can answer that.

[pushbrk 12,977]

5 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Good question, and I’m not sure because I have heard that uploading additional documents can lead to a delay as the NVC then has to review everything new.

 

Maybe @pushbrk can answer that.

I can.  If you have qualifying US income currently, just ignore the message.  No need for a joint sponsor. It's a standard message when the latest tax return does not show qualifying income, but THAT is not the decision criteria used by Consular Officers.

[HandL 1]

11 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

I can.  If you have qualifying US income currently, just ignore the message.  No need for a joint sponsor. It's a standard message when the latest tax return does not show qualifying income, but THAT is not the decision criteria used by Consular Officers.

Thank you for the insight - we wondered if it was something to do with the tax return. Do you think it's a good idea to take the joint sponsor form just in case - like will they accept it at interview if there ends up being a problem? The message just made us nervous as we thought we met the minimum but now we are second guessing everything haha.

[African Zealot 1,455]

2 hours ago, HandL said:

Thank you for the insight - we wondered if it was something to do with the tax return. Do you think it's a good idea to take the joint sponsor form just in case - like will they accept it at interview if there ends up being a problem? The message just made us nervous as we thought we met the minimum but now we are second guessing everything haha.

At worst it can’t be a bad idea. It can never hurt

[Wuozopo 4,293]

4 hours ago, HandL said:

Thank you for the insight - we wondered if it was something to do with the tax return. Do you think it's a good idea to take the joint sponsor form just in case - like will they accept it at interview if there ends up being a problem? The message just made us nervous as we thought we met the minimum but now we are second guessing everything haha.

You can bring an alternate I-864 from a parent to pull out when you see the officer (second time called up) if needed. If they have a joint tax return, you will have to clearly prove the sponsor’s separate income because the tax return lumps joint income together. Or the parent not sponsoring can fill out an I-864a to accompany the I-864.

 

However my dozen or so years experience with the UK FORUM and London interviews thinks you will have no problem at the interview if you exceed  $22,887. If you’re over the minimum, London won’t quibble wanting more. Chances are, your form may have been lacking something. When that happens the NVC says get a joint sponsor instead of saying what might be wrong.

A tip is on the section called my current income, Make sure you prove with written evidence the number you put in that box. You mentioned a letter stating your stipend income. Get a letter stating the salary portion as well. (I may have misunderstood and the one letter stated the full $37k.)  If your letter(s) states $36, 990, don’t put $37,000 on your form because you haven’t proven $37k. Do you get monthly pay stubs that would show stipend and salary? Bring six months of those, but again, don’t overstate your income on the form beyond what those add up to (extending over a 12 month period). You can pass on $36k or 35k so don’t state more than you can show in writing.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Wuozopo

[pushbrk 12,977]

5 hours ago, HandL said:

Thank you for the insight - we wondered if it was something to do with the tax return. Do you think it's a good idea to take the joint sponsor form just in case - like will they accept it at interview if there ends up being a problem? The message just made us nervous as we thought we met the minimum but now we are second guessing everything haha.

Not a bad idea but if the want it, you'll need to upload it.  Bad idea to upload it ahead of time.

[Jordanian Bride 268]

6 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Not a bad idea but if the want it, you'll need to upload it.  Bad idea to upload it ahead of time.

Could present it at the interview, receive the 221g for not having it uploaded, and later upload it to CEAC. A small delay but worth it because here you get to choose.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Jordanian Bride

[iwannaplay54 985]

18 hours ago, HandL said:

Thank you for the insight - we wondered if it was something to do with the tax return. Do you think it's a good idea to take the joint sponsor form just in case - like will they accept it at interview if there ends up being a problem? The message just made us nervous as we thought we met the minimum but now we are second guessing everything haha.

It appears to be an automatic flag based on the tax return.  I think you’ll do fine.

[Gabriel5454 19]

I was in a similar situation with my spouse (PhD student with living stipend, over the minimum threshold but not by much).  At the NVC stage I didn't receive any message about my income being too low.  However at the interview the consular decided we needed a joint sponsor.  I think it really depends on your individual circumstances and what side of the bed the consular officer got out of in the morning.    If you already have a joint sponsor lined up, that's great.  As others have suggested you don't need to do anything until the interview, at which point if they want a joint sponsor they will tell you and it will be easy to upload the documents online and get approved.  After finding a joint sponsor and uploading the documents it took a couple days for us to get an approval, so it was not much more time at all.

[HandL 1]

On 1/7/2023 at 4:19 AM, Wuozopo said:

You can bring an alternate I-864 from a parent to pull out when you see the officer (second time called up) if needed. If they have a joint tax return, you will have to clearly prove the sponsor’s separate income because the tax return lumps joint income together. Or the parent not sponsoring can fill out an I-864a to accompany the I-864.

 

However my dozen or so years experience with the UK FORUM and London interviews thinks you will have no problem at the interview if you exceed  $22,887. If you’re over the minimum, London won’t quibble wanting more. Chances are, your form may have been lacking something. When that happens the NVC says get a joint sponsor instead of saying what might be wrong.

A tip is on the section called my current income, Make sure you prove with written evidence the number you put in that box. You mentioned a letter stating your stipend income. Get a letter stating the salary portion as well. (I may have misunderstood and the one letter stated the full $37k.)  If your letter(s) states $36, 990, don’t put $37,000 on your form because you haven’t proven $37k. Do you get monthly pay stubs that would show stipend and salary? Bring six months of those, but again, don’t overstate your income on the form beyond what those add up to (extending over a 12 month period). You can pass on $36k or 35k so don’t state more than you can show in writing.

Thank you for your thoughts/suggestions.

 

The exact income is actually $37,000.01 haha. The letter does include the total as well as the breakdown of salary and stipend - but my wife can also take my pay stubs to the interview. My PhD only started in September though, so I won't have 6 months worth of pay stubs, unless it's a long time till the interview. Do you think that will be an issue?

[HandL 1]

On 1/7/2023 at 6:11 PM, iwannaplay54 said:

It appears to be an automatic flag based on the tax return.  I think you’ll do fine.

Thank you

[HandL 1]

21 hours ago, Gabriel5454 said:

I was in a similar situation with my spouse (PhD student with living stipend, over the minimum threshold but not by much).  At the NVC stage I didn't receive any message about my income being too low.  However at the interview the consular decided we needed a joint sponsor.  I think it really depends on your individual circumstances and what side of the bed the consular officer got out of in the morning.    If you already have a joint sponsor lined up, that's great.  As others have suggested you don't need to do anything until the interview, at which point if they want a joint sponsor they will tell you and it will be easy to upload the documents online and get approved.  After finding a joint sponsor and uploading the documents it took a couple days for us to get an approval, so it was not much more time at all.

Hi, it's really good to hear from someone in such a similar situation, thank you. I'm glad everything worked out for you - fingers crossed the same happens for us