How to respond to I-864 RFE? I’m on a pension (Split)

[ThailandR 40]

I am on a pension and only get a 1099R form.  My Pension letter and pension pay stubs show how much I make yet only a small amount is taxed and shown as total income. I received an RFE for the I-864 of which i am sponsoring my wife.  I own a house which I did not list as an asset.  How do I get USCIS to understand 

[powerpuff 5,907]

*** Above was split off from another member’s thread into its own thread and moved to AOS k1 forum ***

[OldUser 4,827]

4 hours ago, ThailandR said:

I am on a pension and only get a 1099R form.  My Pension letter and pension pay stubs show how much I make yet only a small amount is taxed and shown as total income. I received an RFE for the I-864 of which i am sponsoring my wife.  I own a house which I did not list as an asset.  How do I get USCIS to understand 

Do you have a joint sponsor?

Can you download tax return transcripts from IRS website?

 

I doubt you can use your house since it's not a liquid asset, especially if it is your primary residence.

Edited November 29, 2023 by OldUser

[ThailandR 40]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

Do you have a joint sponsor?

Can you download tax return transcripts from IRS website?

 

I doubt you can use your house since it's not a liquid asset, especially if it is your primary residence.

No joint sponsor available as I am the last of my family alive except for my kids who have there own lives.  I downloaded 3 years worth and sent them with the I-864. I make over 100k from my pension  which is a lifetime pension and goes up annually with COLAs. I am medically retired and will be 60 this year.

[OldUser 4,827]

2 minutes ago, ThailandR said:

No joint sponsor available as I am the last of my family alive except for my kids who have there own lives.  

If not kids, any LPR or US citizen can be a joint sponsor. They don't have to be related to you.

 

It looks as if USCIS is not happy with your income. Did mention joint sponsor in the letter? If yes, you should look hard for one. Otherwise, no qualifying sponsor = no visa.

 

[ThailandR 40]

21 minutes ago, OldUser said:

If not kids, any LPR or US citizen can be a joint sponsor. They don't have to be related to you.

 

It looks as if USCIS is not happy with your income. Did mention joint sponsor in the letter? If yes, you should look hard for one. Otherwise, no qualifying sponsor = no visa.

 

My 1099R's for the past three years were not submitted, my mistake.  I will include my Roth IRA's and Bank statements for my accounts, which should put the amount well above the threshold.  Other than that not much else to be done.  She is already here in the states, (K-1 Visa) and then this is for the AOS after we were married in October.  The I-134 was accepted for her to come to the US, so I am not sure what happened here.  I will also include a detailed explanation with the additional forms I will send as well as now amending the original submitted I-864.

Edited November 29, 2023 by ThailandR

[D-R-J 153]

If you make over 100k a year you should be able to sponsor your spouse. In addition to the documents, I would write a cover letter that explains your situation in detail and gives a clear picture of the resources you have to support your wife.

 

Maybe one of your children would be willing to act as a joint sponsor considering you are unlikely to actually need their support. I like the kitchen sink approach so their is the least chance of being denied.

[ThailandR 40]

2 minutes ago, D-R-J said:

If you make over 100k a year you should be able to sponsor your spouse. In addition to the documents, I would write a cover letter that explains your situation in detail and gives a clear picture of the resources you have to support your wife.

 

Maybe one of your children would be willing to act as a joint sponsor considering you are unlikely to actually need their support. I like the kitchen sink approach so their is the least chance of being denied.

Thank you. I just finished putting together a letter of explanation along with the cover sheet indicating the contents I will be including in the packet.  The issue I believe was that my tax transcripts show my total income as low and I did not include my 1099R's for the past 3 years, each show a gross distribution.  With a smaller taxable income.  Since I retired on a disability retirement a large portion of that monthly income is un-taxed.  I had included a pension verification letter which shows what my lifetime defined benefit income is monthly, annually its over 100k. It looks like they ignored that or did not see it, but its in the scanned documents on the site. 

 

I will also be including my last 3 years 1099Rs as well as the tax transcripts again along with 6 months of paystubs, 12 months of Bank statements, and a new Pension verification letter.  I have included all of the above in my letter of explanation as well indicating I also own my home and my monthly pension pays for it and all of our daily living expenses.

 

Not sure how having one of my kids do a I-864A for me could help as they all have families. I guess I could ask if one of them could and include it as well.

 

 

[D-R-J 153]

If you are over 100k, there is no way you need a joint-sponsor, the question is whether or not the person reviewing your case understands your situation. Did they ask for or mention a joint sponsor in your RFE? If not, maybe they just needed the documents you are providing.

 

I think it would be a separate i864 if your children aren’t in your household and you decide to go that route. Their spouse would fill out an i864A.

Edited November 29, 2023 by D-R-J

[ThailandR 40]

17 minutes ago, D-R-J said:

If you are over 100k, there is no way you need a joint-sponsor, the question is whether or not the person reviewing your case understands your situation. Did they ask for or mention a joint sponsor in your RFE? If not, maybe they just needed the documents you are providing.

The RFE is a generic one, that includes everything regarding what the I-864 should have.  I just looked at mine (RFE) and it says this in one portion: The "Total Income" line on IRS Form 1040 is used to determine qualifying income for a sponsor, not the
"Gross Receipts" line from IRS Schedule C or C-EZ.  My 2022 1099R shows Gross Distribution as over $100K, but the Total Income on the latest Tax transcript shows only a little over $32K. which would still be enough for a household size we have.  a Line above that which is labeled "Total Pension and annuities total shows the over $100K.  I also looked at the I-864, and I did put the incorrect amounts in Part 6 section 24a, 24b, and 24c, the total income was the Gross income I listed and not the Total Income from the Total income line...my mistake.  Yet i show that in Part 20 my current annual household income is over $100k.  Guess I should have put the right amounts in those bottom boxes and submitted the 1099R's with everything and I would not have received an RFE....just surmising here.

 

I also included a 1 in the box 3 of Part 5, which when you add it and box 1 and box 2 makes the household size 3. Should I have not put the 1 in that box, yet we are married, so is it counting her twice?

Edited November 29, 2023 by ThailandR

[powerpuff 5,907]

13 minutes ago, ThailandR said:

also included a 1 in the box 3 of Part 5, which when you add it and box 1 and box 2 makes the household size 3. Should I have not put the 1 in that box, yet we are married, so is it counting her twice?

It says to not count a person twice. So put 1 in box 1 and do not put her in box 3

[ThailandR 40]

8 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

It says to not count a person twice. So put 1 in box 1 and do not put her in box 3

Box 3 says if currently married, so I should ignore that one then...thanks.

[powerpuff 5,907]

Just now, ThailandR said:

Box 3 says if currently married, so I should ignore that one then...thanks.

Because you’re already counting her in box 1. As a result, you can’t count her twice and put her in 3. Matter of fact, we put 0 in that field where it says currently married. 

[ThailandR 40]

1 minute ago, powerpuff said:

Because you’re already counting her in box 1. As a result, you can’t count her twice and put her in 3. Matter of fact, we put 0 in that field where it says currently married. 

Got it.  Thanks.  I also was married before and sponsored that one many years ago.  Not sure if she is a citizen or has worked the 10 years yet, so I still need to put a 1 in box 6, and that would make my total household size 3, even though she is also re-married, which does not absolve my sponsorship......sad really.  That marriage ended in 2018 after 6 years.

[powerpuff 5,907]

18 minutes ago, ThailandR said:

Got it.  Thanks.  I also was married before and sponsored that one many years ago.  Not sure if she is a citizen or has worked the 10 years yet, so I still need to put a 1 in box 6, and that would make my total household size 3, even though she is also re-married, which does not absolve my sponsorship......sad really.  That marriage ended in 2018 after 6 years.

Sorry to hear that. You made the right decision to include her in the household size to avoid any issues.