I864W Rejected

[AZCactus1425 4]

My husband and I submitted the I864W because he already has his 40 social security work credits (he's the immigrant) and we got a notice that it was rejected because I (the petitioner don't qualify and need to fill out an I864 instead) Does anyone know why it would be rejected? From my understanding you're exempt from needing the 1864 as long as the intending immigrant has 40 credits.

Edited March 30, 2023 by AZCactus1425

[Lil bear 4,247]

3 minutes ago, AZCactus1425 said:

My husband and I submitted the I864W because he already has his 40 social security work credits (he's the immigrant) and we got a notice that it was rejected because I (the petitioner don't qualify and need to fill out an I864 instead) Does anyone know why it would be rejected? From my understanding you're exempt from needing the 1864 as long as the intending immigrant has 40 credits.

What supporting documentation did you send 

[Timona 4,207]

Where did he get 40 credit hours from? @Mike E is an expert here

[AZCactus1425 4]

Just now, Lil bear said:

What supporting documentation did you send 

I added his Social Security statement. 

[AZCactus1425 4]

1 minute ago, Timona said:

Where did he get 40 credit hours from? @Mike E is an expert here

From different jobs throughout the years. He was 17 when he first got DACA and has had it ever since then. 

[Mike E 11,740]

1 hour ago, AZCactus1425 said:

My husband and I submitted the I864W because he already has his 40 social security work credits (he's the immigrant) and we got a notice that it was rejected because I (the petitioner don't qualify and need to fill out an I864 instead) Does anyone know why it would be rejected? From my understanding you're exempt from needing the 1864 as long as the intending immigrant has 40 credits.

This seems be a perennial problem at NVC.

 

This VJ member over came NVC’s cluelessness

 

Unfortunately the attachments are gone. Later in the thread the OP reported success:

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Mike E

[AZCactus1425 4]

6 minutes ago, Mike E said:

This seems be a perennial problem at NVC.

 

This VJ member over came NVC’s cluelessness

 

Unfortunately the attachments are gone. Later in the thread the OP reported success:

 

 

"I, (my name), have not submitted any of my financial documents since we are filing using I864W and not I864. Per the Financial Evidence Assistant provided by the travel.state.gov website (under the US Visas section), if you are filing using I864W then the only financial documentation needed is the Social Security statement. We have already submitted *husband's name* SS statement and it was approved."

A few days ago I submitted a screenshot of the financial evidence assistant along with the message above. They haven't reviewed it yet though. Do you think this would be enough to get it approved or would it be better to just call and ask for a supervisor? It's so frustrating that they have people working there who don't even know what they're doing. 

[Mike E 11,740]

46 minutes ago, AZCactus1425 said:

"I, (my name), have not submitted any of my financial documents since we are filing using I864W and not I864. Per the Financial Evidence Assistant provided by the travel.state.gov website (under the US Visas section), if you are filing using I864W then the only financial documentation needed is the Social Security statement. We have already submitted *husband's name* SS statement and it was approved."

A few days ago I submitted a screenshot of the financial evidence assistant along with the message above. They haven't reviewed it yet though. Do you think this would be enough to get it approved or would it be better to just call and ask for a supervisor? It's so frustrating that they have people working there who don't even know what they're doing. 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/financial-evidence-assistant.html.html

Quote

 

You filed an I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative and the applicant has earned or can be credited with at least 40 qualifying quarters under the Social Security Act. Please submit your Social Security Administration (SSA) Earnings Statement.

 

 

There are two problems:

 

First: SS quarters are not a thing any more. Read on,

 

Second, there was another thread -- which I cannot find -- where we discussed the same problem. And the problem is that a Social Security Administration (SSA) Earnings Statement does not exist at ssa.gov . 

 

This my SSA account page today:

 

 

Welcome, Michael!

You last signed in on March 18, 2023 at 2:44 PM ET. 

Your Social Security Statement

You can download your statement as a PDF or XML file. 

  Replace your Social Security Card

Your Benefit Verification Letter

Your letter proving you receive or do not receive Social Security Benefits. 

Eligibility and Earnings

You have the 40 work credits you need to receive benefits! 

 

This includes credits not yet reported on your earnings record from last year and this year if you continued to work. 

You earned $0 in 2022. Is this correct?

Review your full earnings record now

 

There is a Social Security Statement. When I click on mine, near the top of first page, left column I have:

 

Retirement Benefits

You have earned enough credits to qualify for retirement benefits. To qualify for benefits, you earn credits through your work - up to four each year.
Your full retirement age is 67, based on your date of birth: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM DD, YYYY. As shown in the chart, you can start your benefits at any time between ages 62 and

70. For each month you wait to start your benefits, your monthly benefit will be higher—for the rest of your life.
These personalized estimates are based on your earnings to date and assume you continue to earn $XXXXXXXXXXXXXX per year until you start your benefits. Learn more at ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/learn.html .

 

 

There is an Earnings Record on page 2, but mine just shows my total earnings decade by decade and then year by year. One cannot expect an NVC worker to know how many credits one earned for X dollars in decades or years ago. I mean, I saw a question here this month from a U.S. citizen asking me: "What is a social security credit?"  

 

The aforementioned Review your full earnings record now link for me also doesn't list my credits.

 

The other problem is that https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-864winstr.pdf says:

 

Quote

 

1. You have earned or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act (SSA). If you have 40 quarters of SSA coverage, you are exempt from the requirement to file Form I-864 or Form I-864EZ. You can acquire 40 qualifying quarters in the following ways:

A. Working in the United States for 40 quarters in which you received the minimum income established by the Social Security Administration;

 

B. By being credited under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 213A(a)(3)(B) with quarters worked by your spouse during the marriage or a parent during the time you were under 18 years of age; or

 

C. A combination of the above.

 

If you are claiming credit for quarters worked by a spouse or parent, you may not count any quarter in which your spouse or parent was receiving means-tested public benefits. Include all SSA forms necessary to establish that you have or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage.

 

 

The form is using an archaic term. Back in the old days, if you earned $1M in one single day and did not work the other 364 days, you got exactly 1 SS quarter. That was not fair to seasonal workers. So it was changed to credits. But USCIS is not using that term. So by letter of USCIS instructions, nobody with 40 SSA credits can file I-864W. However, https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-864w.pdf says:

 

 

Quote

 

Part 2. Reason for Exemption

I am EXEMPT from filing Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA, because:

1. 1.a.  I have earned (or can be credited with) 40 quarters (credits) of coverage under the Social Security Act (SSA). (Attach SSA earnings statements. Do not count any quarters during which you received a means-tested public benefit.)

 

 

In addition to what you have submitted, I would submit the screenshot of the SSA page that says the beneficiary  has earned 40 credits and the full earnings record.

 

Also submit something from SSA that says quarters are not a thing.  https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/QC.html

 

Quote

Latest amount & QC explanation
The amount of earnings required for a quarter of coverage (QC) in 2023 is $1,640. "Quarter of coverage" is a legal term, but you may also see the term "Social Security credit" (or just "credit") used elsewhere. A QC is the basic unit for determining whether a worker is insured under the Social Security program. No matter how high your earnings may be, you can not earn more than 4 QC's in one year.

History
See historical series of earnings needed to earn one quarter of coverage, 1978-2023.

For years before 1978, an individual generally was credited with a quarter of coverage for each quarter in which wages of $50 or more were paid, or an individual was credited with 4 quarters of coverage for every taxable year in which $400 or more of self-employment income was earned. Beginning in 1978, employers generally report wages on an annual, instead of quarterly, basis. With this change to annual reporting, the law provided that a quarter of coverage be credited for each $250 of an individual's total wages and self-employment income for calendar year 1978 (up to a maximum of 4 quarters of coverage for the year). After 1978, the amount of earnings needed for a quarter of coverage changes automatically each year with changes in the national average wage index.

 

 

 

https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title02/0213.htm

 

Quote

QUARTER AND QUARTER OF COVERAGE

Definitions

Sec. 213. [42 U.S.C. 413] (a) For the purposes of this title—

(1) The term “quarter”, and the term “calendar quarter”, mean a period of three calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31.

(2)(A) The term “quarter of coverage” means—

(i) for calendar years before 1978, and subject to the provisions of subparagraph (B), a quarter in which an individual has been paid $50 or more in wages (except wages for agricultural labor paid after 1954) or for which he has been credited (as determined under section 212) with $100 or more of self-employment income; and

(ii) for calendar years after 1977, and subject to the provisions of subparagraph (B), each portion of the total of the wages paid and the self-employment income credited (pursuant to section 212) to an individual in a calendar year which equals the amount required for a quarter of coverage in that calendar year (as determined under subsection (d)), with such quarter of coverage being assigned to a specific calendar quarter in such calendar year only if necessary in the case of any individual who has attained age 62 or died or is under a disability and the requirements for insured status in subsection (a) or (b) of section 214, the requirements for entitlement to a computation or recomputation of his primary insurance amount, or the requirements of paragraph (3) of section 216(i) would not otherwise be met.

(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A)—

(i) no quarter after the quarter in which an individual dies shall be a quarter of coverage, and no quarter any part of which is included in a period of disability (other than the initial quarter and the last quarter of such period) shall be a quarter of coverage;

(ii) if the wages paid to an individual in any calendar year equal $3,000 in the case of a calendar year before 1951, or $3,600 in the case of a calendar year after 1950 and before 1955, or $4,200 in the case of a calendar year after 1954 and before 1959, or $4,800 in the case of a calendar year after 1958 and before 1966, or $6,600 in the case of a calendar year after 1965 and before 1968, or $7,800 in the case of a calendar year after 1967 and before 1972, or $9,000 in the case of the calendar year 1972, or $10,800 in the case of the calendar year 1973, or $13,200 in the case of the calendar year 1974, or an amount equal to the contribution and benefit base (as determined under section 230) in the case of any calendar year after 1974 and before 1978 with respect to which such contribution and benefit base is effective, each quarter of such year shall (subject to clauses (i) and (v)) be a quarter of coverage;

(iii) if an individual has self-employment income for a taxable year, and if the sum of such income and the wages paid to him during such year equals $3,600 in the case of a taxable year beginning after 1950 and ending before 1955, or $4,200 in the case of a taxable year ending after 1954 and before 1959, or $4,800 in the case of a taxable year ending after 1958 and before 1966, or $6,600 in the case of a taxable year ending after 1965 and before 1968, or $7,800 in the case of a taxable year ending after 1967 and before 1972, or $9,000 in the case of a taxable year beginning after 1971 and before 1973, or $10,800 in the case of a taxable year beginning after 1972 and before 1974, or $13,200 in the case of a taxable year beginning after 1973 and before 1975, or an amount equal to the contribution and benefit base (as determined under section 230) which is effective for the calendar year in the case of any taxable year beginning in any calendar year after 1974 and before 1978, each quarter any part of which falls in such year shall (subject to clauses (i) and (v)) be a quarter of coverage;

(iv) if an individual is paid wages for agricultural labor in a calendar year after 1954 and before 1978, then, subject to clauses (i) and (v), (I) the last quarter of such year which can be but is not otherwise a quarter of coverage shall be a quarter of coverage if such wages equal or exceed $100 but are less than $200; (II) the last two quarters of such year which can be but are not otherwise quarters of coverage shall be quarters of coverage if such wages equal or exceed $200 but are less than $300; (III) the last three quarters of such year which can be but are not otherwise quarters of coverage shall be quarters of coverage if such wages equal or exceed $300 but are less than $400; and (IV) each quarter of such year which is not otherwise a quarter of coverage shall be a quarter of coverage if such wages are $400 or more;

(v) no quarter shall be counted as a quarter of coverage prior to the beginning of such quarter;

(vi) not more than one quarter of coverage may be credited to a calendar quarter; and

(vii) no more than four quarters of coverage may be credited to any calendar year after 1977.

If in the case of an individual who has attained age 62 or died or is under a disability and who has been paid wages for agricultural labor in a calendar year after 1954 and before 1978, the requirements for insured status in subsection (a) or (b) of section 214, the requirements for entitlement to a computation or recomputation of his primary insurance amount, or the requirements of paragraph (3) of section 216(i) are not met after assignment of quarters of coverage to quarters in such year as provided in clause (iv) of the preceding sentence, but would be met if such quarters of coverage were assigned to different quarters in such year, then such quarters of coverage shall instead be assigned, for purposes only of determining compliance with such requirements, to such different quarters. If, in the case of an individual who did not die prior to January 1, 1955, and who attained age 62 (if a woman) or age 65 (if a man) or died before July 1, 1957, the requirements for insured status in section 214(a)(3) are not met because of his having too few quarters of coverage but would be met if his quarters of coverage in the first calendar year in which he had any covered employment had been determined on the basis of the period during which wages were earned rather than on the basis of the period during which wages were paid (any such wages paid that are reallocated on an earned basis shall not be used in determining quarters of coverage for subsequent calendar years), then upon application filed by the individual or his survivors and satisfactory proof of his record of wages earned being furnished by such individual or his survivors, the quarters of coverage in such calendar year may be determined on the basis of the periods during which wages were earned.

Crediting Of Wages Paid In 1937

(b) With respect to wages paid to an individual in the six-month periods commencing either January 1, 1937, or July 1, 1937; (A) if wages of not less than $100 were paid in any such period, one-half of the total amount thereof shall be deemed to have been paid in each of the calendar quarters in such period; and (B) if wages of less than $100 were paid in any such period, the total amount thereof shall be deemed to have been paid in the latter quarter of such period, except that if in any such period, the individual attained age sixty-five, all of the wages paid in such period shall be deemed to have been paid before such age was attained.

Alternative Method For Determining Quarters Of Coverage With Respect To Wages In The Period From 1937 To 1950

(c) For purposes of sections 214(a) and 215(d), an individual shall be deemed to have one quarter of coverage for each $400 of his total wages prior to 1951 (as defined in section 215(d)(1)(C)), except where such individual is not a fully insured individual on the basis of the number of quarters of coverage so derived plus the number of quarters of coverage derived from the wages and self-employment income credited to such individual for periods after 1950.

Amount Required For A Quarter Of Coverage

(d)(1) The amount of wages and self-employment income which an individual must have in order to be credited with a quarter of coverage in any year under subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii) shall be $250 in the calendar year 1978 and the amount determined under paragraph (2) of this subsection for years after 1978.

(2) The Commissioner of Social Security shall, on or before November 1 of 1978 and of every year thereafter, determine and publish in the Federal Register the amount of wages and self-employment income which an individual must have in order to be credited with a quarter of coverage in the succeeding calendar year. The amount required for a quarter of coverage shall be the larger of—

(A) the amount in effect in the calendar year in which the determination under this subsection is made, or

(B) the product of the amount prescribed in paragraph (1) which is required for a quarter of coverage in 1978 and the ratio of the national average wage index (as defined in section 209(k)(1)) for the calendar year before the year in which the determination under this paragraph is made to the national average wage index (as so defined) for 1976,

with such product, if not a multiple of $10, being rounded to the next higher multiple of $10 where such amount is a multiple of $5 but not of $10 and to the nearest multiple of $10 in any other case.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Mike E

[AZCactus1425 4]

4 hours ago, Mike E said:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/financial-evidence-assistant.html.html

There are two problems:

 

First: SS quarters are not a thing any more. Read on,

 

Second, there was another thread -- which I cannot find -- where we discussed the same problem. And the problem is that a Social Security Administration (SSA) Earnings Statement does not exist at ssa.gov . 

 

This my SSA account page today:

 

 

Welcome, Michael!

You last signed in on March 18, 2023 at 2:44 PM ET. 

Your Social Security Statement

You can download your statement as a PDF or XML file. 

  Replace your Social Security Card

Your Benefit Verification Letter

Your letter proving you receive or do not receive Social Security Benefits. 

Eligibility and Earnings

You have the 40 work credits you need to receive benefits! 

 

This includes credits not yet reported on your earnings record from last year and this year if you continued to work. 

You earned $0 in 2022. Is this correct?

Review your full earnings record now

 

There is a Social Security Statement. When I click on mine, near the top of first page, left column I have:

 

Retirement Benefits

You have earned enough credits to qualify for retirement benefits. To qualify for benefits, you earn credits through your work - up to four each year.
Your full retirement age is 67, based on your date of birth: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM DD, YYYY. As shown in the chart, you can start your benefits at any time between ages 62 and

70. For each month you wait to start your benefits, your monthly benefit will be higher—for the rest of your life.
These personalized estimates are based on your earnings to date and assume you continue to earn $XXXXXXXXXXXXXX per year until you start your benefits. Learn more at ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/learn.html .

 

 

There is an Earnings Record on page 2, but mine just shows my total earnings decade by decade and then year by year. One cannot expect an NVC worker to know how many credits one earned for X dollars in decades or years ago. I mean, I saw a question here this month from a U.S. citizen asking me: "What is a social security credit?"  

 

The aforementioned Review your full earnings record now link for me also doesn't list my credits.

 

The other problem is that https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-864winstr.pdf says:

 

 

The form is using an archaic term. Back in the old days, if you earned $1M in one single day and did not work the other 364 days, you got exactly 1 SS quarter. That was not fair to seasonal workers. So it was changed to credits. But USCIS is not using that term. So by letter of USCIS instructions, nobody with 40 SSA credits can file I-864W. However, https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-864w.pdf says:

 

 

 

In addition to what you have submitted, I would submit the screenshot of the SSA page that says the beneficiary  has earned 40 credits and the full earnings record.

 

Also submit something from SSA that says quarters are not a thing.  https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/QC.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for all your help!! I added the additional screenshots to our documents and am planning on calling them first thing tomorrow morning.

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Progress Reports to the NVC forum ***

 

[klajdi 0]

Hello  i864w crew. I submitted the i864w because I as well earned 40 credits being 14 years in this country and now doing adjustment of status and they send me rfe that my i864 is not properly filled out or signed and explains what documents the sponsor should provide. How did you guys push through? I provided them my SSA statement and as well pay stubs and employer letter that i make 80k a year

[AZCactus1425 4]

Hello! The only thing that worked for us was submitting a public inquiry explaining why the I864W shouldn’t have been rejected and I requested a supervisor review our case. I did get a response from a supervisor to disregard the previous rejection and then we were DQ. Wishing you the best of luck! 

[klajdi 0]

11 minutes ago, AZCactus1425 said:

Hello! The only thing that worked for us was submitting a public inquiry explaining why the I864W shouldn’t have been rejected and I requested a supervisor review our case. I did get a response from a supervisor to disregard the previous rejection and then we were DQ. Wishing you the best of luck! 

Thanks so much. My case is at NBC. I will call my lawyer tomorrow and see what he says. BTW what is DQ? Did you send the message via online portal?

[AZCactus1425 4]

DQ means documentarily qualified, which is basically once you have submitted all the appropriate documents and they were approved. And yes, the message was done online via their portal. 

[Chancy 6,241]

11 hours ago, klajdi said:

My case is at NBC. I will call my lawyer tomorrow and see what he says. BTW what is DQ? Did you send the message via online portal?

 

The resolution for the OP of this thread will not apply to you as you are going through a different process.  OP went through the visa process which is handled by a different agency (DOS) after petition stage, while you will be dealing with USCIS throughout your adjustment of status process.