New Joint Sponsor questions

[Misty1979 0]

With one week to go, I'm still struggling with my joint sponsor issue, and I can't find a phone number to call with any sort of helpful information.(My father in law who was my joint sponsor passed away suddenly on October 9th, so my MIL is going to be my new joint sponsor.) I just got off the phone with USCIS, and they told me in more words or less that my joint sponsor's $90,000 in the bank cannot be used as assets since that money could easily be spent up in a day and would therefore be no help to me if I was to need it. They said it would need to be locked away somewhere in order for us to use it. We have it in some sort of Money Market account, so I'm not sure if that helps us at all.

But what they said to me makes no sense because if the money is locked away in some account, it would not be available if we needed it anyways. Also, the I-864 itself says that it needs to be accessible within one year.

I already called the DOS to try to ask them some questions, but they gave me USCIS's number. USCIS just proved to be useless, and I'm going to try emailing MTL, but I highly doubt they are going to answer with any helpful info, if they even answer at all.

Does anyone know what kind of bank account exactly we need to put this money in?

Also..we are having one of our properties appraised tomorrow to help back up the money in the bank, but the house itself will be worth no more than $70-80k we figure, so we do need to figure out this bank issue pretty quickly.

[Dakine 26]

With one week to go, I'm still struggling with my joint sponsor issue, and I can't find a phone number to call with any sort of helpful information.(My father in law who was my joint sponsor passed away suddenly on October 9th, so my MIL is going to be my new joint sponsor.) I just got off the phone with USCIS, and they told me in more words or less that my joint sponsor's $90,000 in the bank cannot be used as assets since that money could easily be spent up in a day and would therefore be no help to me if I was to need it. They said it would need to be locked away somewhere in order for us to use it. We have it in some sort of Money Market account, so I'm not sure if that helps us at all.

But what they said to me makes no sense because if the money is locked away in some account, it would not be available if we needed it anyways. Also, the I-864 itself says that it needs to be accessible within one year.

I already called the DOS to try to ask them some questions, but they gave me USCIS's number. USCIS just proved to be useless, and I'm going to try emailing MTL, but I highly doubt they are going to answer with any helpful info, if they even answer at all.

Does anyone know what kind of bank account exactly we need to put this money in?

Also..we are having one of our properties appraised tomorrow to help back up the money in the bank, but the house itself will be worth no more than $70-80k we figure, so we do need to figure out this bank issue pretty quickly.

I just got off the phone with USCIS, and they told me in more words or less that my joint sponsor's $90,000 in the bank cannot be used as assets since that money could easily be spent up in a day and would therefore be no help to me if I was to need it.

Sounds reasonable but at the same time ALL assets a person has can be used up in a couple hours if you are a bad gambler.

Sounds like the person you talked to didn't know what they were talking about. Nothing new for the "mis" information line.

[Misty1979 0]

Phew! It's nice to hear that others at least agree that what I was told was most likely misinformation. Sounds like we'll just leave the money where it is, gather the bank statements, appraise the house, and cross our fingers and hope for the best. It's sad when people on this board are more knowledgable than the folks on the phone at USCIS who actually get paid to babble ####### over the phone which may or may not be true

[rjp44 1]

Phew! It's nice to hear that others at least agree that what I was told was most likely misinformation. Sounds like we'll just leave the money where it is, gather the bank statements, appraise the house, and cross our fingers and hope for the best. It's sad when people on this board are more knowledgable than the folks on the phone at USCIS who actually get paid to babble ####### over the phone which may or may not be true

If your joint sponsor has an income from either wages or pension that can be counted also.

[pushbrk 12,282]

Phew! It's nice to hear that others at least agree that what I was told was most likely misinformation. Sounds like we'll just leave the money where it is, gather the bank statements, appraise the house, and cross our fingers and hope for the best. It's sad when people on this board are more knowledgable than the folks on the phone at USCIS who actually get paid to babble ####### over the phone which may or may not be true

If your joint sponsor has an income from either wages or pension that can be counted also.

This is very important. I take it the MIL at least has social security, if not other income. If the $90k plus SS is all she has, and she's quite elderly, they may not consider this all that favorably. A younger relative like a sibling would be a better choice unless the full picture you can paint looks pretty good.

[Misty1979 0]

Phew! It's nice to hear that others at least agree that what I was told was most likely misinformation. Sounds like we'll just leave the money where it is, gather the bank statements, appraise the house, and cross our fingers and hope for the best. It's sad when people on this board are more knowledgable than the folks on the phone at USCIS who actually get paid to babble ####### over the phone which may or may not be true

If your joint sponsor has an income from either wages or pension that can be counted also.

This is very important. I take it the MIL at least has social security, if not other income. If the $90k plus SS is all she has, and she's quite elderly, they may not consider this all that favorably. A younger relative like a sibling would be a better choice unless the full picture you can paint looks pretty good.

I was afraid of that, to be honest. I know a lack of a regular income may not go over very well when it comes interview time, so I guess I'm just going to have to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

On top of the $90k, she owns three properties. We are having one assessed tomorrow, which we expect to be valued at about $70-80k. I would rather not spend the money getting the other two appraised unless I am absolutely sure that it will help our situation. To make matters more complicated, I just found out that $40 of this money is in a bank here, and the rest is in a Money Market where we will have to call tomorrow and try to have the fax us a copy of the amount in deposit there.

She isn't elderly, and will most likely start working again early next year. My FIL was my joint sponsor before, but he passed away suddenly last month, so she is still in the grieving process over losing her husband and can't really stomache the thought of returning to work yet. I don't really have any other options for joint sponsorship at the moment, so I really just need to try and make this work what ever way I can.

In your opinion, would it be worthwhile for us to go ahead and get the other two properties appraised?

Edited November 29, 2007 by Misty1979

[Misty1979 0]

I should also add that my husband's income is only about $2000 of the required income. He is a full-time college student and receives benefits from Veteran's Affairs for serving in the Coast Guard. We considered having him pick up a part time job, but by the time we realized we had a problem (when my FIL passed away) we figured it was not enough time for him to secure a part time job and all the necessary documentation before the interview.

I'm hoping they take his *almost* sufficient income into consideration when they review the truckload of paperwork I bring in for my interview next week.

[rjp44 1]

Phew! It's nice to hear that others at least agree that what I was told was most likely misinformation. Sounds like we'll just leave the money where it is, gather the bank statements, appraise the house, and cross our fingers and hope for the best. It's sad when people on this board are more knowledgable than the folks on the phone at USCIS who actually get paid to babble ####### over the phone which may or may not be true

If your joint sponsor has an income from either wages or pension that can be counted also.

This is very important. I take it the MIL at least has social security, if not other income. If the $90k plus SS is all she has, and she's quite elderly, they may not consider this all that favorably. A younger relative like a sibling would be a better choice unless the full picture you can paint looks pretty good.

I was afraid of that, to be honest. I know a lack of a regular income may not go over very well when it comes interview time, so I guess I'm just going to have to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

On top of the $90k, she owns three properties. We are having one assessed tomorrow, which we expect to be valued at about $70-80k. I would rather not spend the money getting the other two appraised unless I am absolutely sure that it will help our situation. To make matters more complicated, I just found out that $40 of this money is in a bank here, and the rest is in a Money Market where we will have to call tomorrow and try to have the fax us a copy of the amount in deposit there.

She isn't elderly, and will most likely start working again early next year. My FIL was my joint sponsor before, but he passed away suddenly last month, so she is still in the grieving process over losing her husband and can't really stomache the thought of returning to work yet. I don't really have any other options for joint sponsorship at the moment, so I really just need to try and make this work what ever way I can.

In your opinion, would it be worthwhile for us to go ahead and get the other two properties appraised?

It might be less expense than going through the process again, and it's going to raise the co-sponsor's net worth quite a bit. Also, if there are rental incomes from these properties, I would think it would help to show that also.

[MargotDarko 0]

I should also add that my husband's income is only about $2000 of the required income. He is a full-time college student and receives benefits from Veteran's Affairs for serving in the Coast Guard. We considered having him pick up a part time job, but by the time we realized we had a problem (when my FIL passed away) we figured it was not enough time for him to secure a part time job and all the necessary documentation before the interview.

I'm hoping they take his *almost* sufficient income into consideration when they review the truckload of paperwork I bring in for my interview next week.

Are you missing the word "short" here? It seems you're saying that your husband's income is only $2,000 a year below the requirement. I think it would be truly truly weird if your joint sponsor with that much cash plus three properties wasn't considered sufficient. Especially as you're coming from Canada and your husband is currently a full-time student who therefore will have the potential and time in the near future to earn a lot more. The $90,000 (assuming the money market is accessible within one year) plus the assesment of one property is more than enough for a household size of 2 (you and your mother-in-law as I assuming she does not have anyone besides herself in her household at this time) especially when the main sponsor almost earns the requirement by himself.

Hmm... Does she own the property free and clear? If not, will the equity be $70 - $80,000k or will that be just the actual value of the house?

[pushbrk 12,282]

I should also add that my husband's income is only about $2000 of the required income. He is a full-time college student and receives benefits from Veteran's Affairs for serving in the Coast Guard. We considered having him pick up a part time job, but by the time we realized we had a problem (when my FIL passed away) we figured it was not enough time for him to secure a part time job and all the necessary documentation before the interview.

I'm hoping they take his *almost* sufficient income into consideration when they review the truckload of paperwork I bring in for my interview next week.

Are you missing the word "short" here? It seems you're saying that your husband's income is only $2,000 a year below the requirement. I think it would be truly truly weird if your joint sponsor with that much cash plus three properties wasn't considered sufficient. Especially as you're coming from Canada and your husband is currently a full-time student who therefore will have the potential and time in the near future to earn a lot more. The $90,000 (assuming the money market is accessible within one year) plus the assesment of one property is more than enough for a household size of 2 (you and your mother-in-law as I assuming she does not have anyone besides herself in her household at this time) especially when the main sponsor almost earns the requirement by himself.

Hmm... Does she own the property free and clear? If not, will the equity be $70 - $80,000k or will that be just the actual value of the house?

I don't think I'd bother appraising the other properties. Remember, it is equity, not value that matters. I'd just do the best you can and expect a positive result. They understand about college students.

[Misty1979 0]

I should also add that my husband's income is only about $2000 of the required income. He is a full-time college student and receives benefits from Veteran's Affairs for serving in the Coast Guard. We considered having him pick up a part time job, but by the time we realized we had a problem (when my FIL passed away) we figured it was not enough time for him to secure a part time job and all the necessary documentation before the interview.

I'm hoping they take his *almost* sufficient income into consideration when they review the truckload of paperwork I bring in for my interview next week.

Are you missing the word "short" here? It seems you're saying that your husband's income is only $2,000 a year below the requirement. I think it would be truly truly weird if your joint sponsor with that much cash plus three properties wasn't considered sufficient. Especially as you're coming from Canada and your husband is currently a full-time student who therefore will have the potential and time in the near future to earn a lot more. The $90,000 (assuming the money market is accessible within one year) plus the assesment of one property is more than enough for a household size of 2 (you and your mother-in-law as I assuming she does not have anyone besides herself in her household at this time) especially when the main sponsor almost earns the requirement by himself.

Hmm... Does she own the property free and clear? If not, will the equity be $70 - $80,000k or will that be just the actual value of the house?

Yes sorry, I was missing the word short. Was tired last night when I was typing away on here. She does own all three of the properties. All have been 100% payed off. We had her main home appraised just this morning, and they will have the results for us by Tuesday...one day before I leave for the interview.

I think I'll go ahead and take your's and Pshbrk's advice and just try to relax and see how things go. I've also decided to take copies of the deeds of the other two homes, just to prove that if she did have to sell her home, that she still has two other properties, so it would not be putting her into financial hardship.

Thanks everyone for your replies, and sound advice:)