US Immigration from South Africa

Hi everyone. Can anyone please guide me where to start getting medical/ vaccination records, if i dont have them.

Do i contact my medical aid? If ive had different doctors over the years,do i have to contact each and everyone of them and the different clinics?

Im trying to gather my documents timely.

Thank you

If the instructions for bringing a parent over say:

A copy of your birth certificate showing your name and your mother s name
If your name or your mother s name is different now than at the time of your birth, you must provide evidence of the legal name change.

On a South African unabridged birth certificate it only calls for "Mother's MAIDEN SURNAME".

So if my mother's maiden surname was Apple, but she married my father (before my birth) and at the time of my birth was know as Mrs Peach. So since then she and my father divorced and he has since passed away but she is still known as Mrs Peach. Another spanner in the works was that she was previously married (before my father). So she was born Miss Apple, got married the 1st time and became Mrs Banana - got divorced and married my father - went from Mrs Banana to Mrs Peach and is still Mrs Peach.

Will I need all the below supporting documents (I hope not):

- Her birth certificate (Miss Apple)

- Her first marriage certificate (Mrs Banana)

- Her first divorce certificate

- Her second marriage certificate (Mrs Banana to Mrs Peach)

- Her second divorce certificate

- My father's death certificate

Hi there VJ'ers

When receiving an RFE asking for additional docs or to find a joint sponsor, what do you do if you have both.

We feel like we have enough evidence to get my wife(the petitioner) approved on her own but don't want to take any chances, is it acceptable for her to send in a redo of her I-864 form (some info has changed since first mailing) with the requested evidence and also include a joint sponsor in case the IO for some reason does not accept her I-864 for the 2nd time?

When we first applied she ticked the box NO : Have you filed income tax for the 3 most recent years, because in 2017 she earned no income and therefore didn't file an income tax return. Since the RFE, she has filed, even though it reflects zero income for 2017, but we have a copy of the return that obviously doesn't include a W-2 or any other schedule, just the 1040A. This year she is earning way more than the poverty guidelines and has pay stubs and letter of employment to prove it. But we still worried the IO is just going to look at the 2017 tax year box and see zero and automatically deny/2nd RFE. That's why we want to send the joint sponsor forms in at the same time, just in case.

This RFE has caused so much confusion but we getting through it slowly.

Would really appreciate your advice.

Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I am struggling to get this figured out 100%. We got an RFE for I-864 (wife didn't make the poverty guidelines for some strange reason) and have decided to use my wife's mother as a joint sponsor, she files as married filing jointly, her husband (my FIL) is retired and earns roughly $6.8k in SS benefits and $500 in dividends/year as indicated on their 2017 tax transcripts. My MIL makes about $57k in wages currently as per her recent pay stubs.

Okay so I know she has to fill out I-864 form but this where I get stuck:

Do we include FIL SS benefits and add him to the household income even though she makes more than enough without it? Her household size = 4 (herself, husband, son, and me).

I understand its better to include an I-864A for joint tax filers since it demonstrates consent from the spouse, but I really do not want to bother him further to provide evidence of his SS benefits, he is not well. Are the taxable SS benefits listed on their tax transcripts acceptable if we go this route or must we provide further evidence? I also understand if you provide transcripts, you must not submit W2's since they are joint tax filers and are both consenting through the I-864A.

alternatively

Do we we only include her (MIL/joint sponsor) current annual income as the household income, provide tax transcripts and W2's and recent pay stubs.(Does this have to be 6 months worth? She gets paid weekly, that's a lot of pages)

Additionally I could then just fill out a I-864A for FIL, put 0 for current annual income on his form and hers , this might satisfy IO's concern for consent and avoid having to get SS benefit documents?

I am aware no matter what we do, since they are joint tax filers, you always fill in the exact figure of line 22 on 1040 for Part 6, line 24a on the I-864 form.

1 last question, I honestly believe the RFE was unnecessary and the IO didn't examine my wife's petition thoroughly, he/she probably just saw no taxes filed for 2017 and sent RFE immediately. She did not file because she did not earn any income whatsoever during that year. We explained this in a letter, also that she started working again in April '18 and based on her salary would meet the poverty guidelines by 4 x, we provided pay stubs, employment letter. Since submitting original application she has taken on a new job with even better pay, she has recently filed for 2017 even though the figures were zero. Now would it be advisable to include an updated I-864 for her reflecting her new pay stubs and/or job letter, tick the yes box asking "have you filed for the 3 most recent tax years" and just put a zero for the 2017 amount and additionally submit her mother as a joint sponsor, in case they for some reason don't bite based on her application alone?

Phew what a mouthful, sorry about that just don't want to get denied and so many ways to go wrong with this stuff.

Happy Halloween folks.

Hi everyone,

I am struggling to get this figured out 100%. We got an RFE for I-864 (wife didn't make the poverty guidelines for some strange reason) and have decided to use my wife's mother as a joint sponsor, she files as married filing jointly, her husband (my FIL) is retired and earns roughly $6.8k in SS benefits and $500 in dividends/year as indicated on their 2017 tax transcripts. My MIL makes about $57k in wages currently as per her recent pay stubs.

Okay so I know she has to fill out I-864 form but this where I get stuck:

Do we include FIL SS benefits and add him to the household income even though she makes more than enough without it? Her household size = 4 (herself, husband, son, and me).

I understand its better to include an I-864A for joint tax filers since it demonstrates consent from the spouse, but I really do not want to bother him further to provide evidence of his SS benefits, he is not well. Are the taxable SS benefits listed on their tax transcripts acceptable if we go this route or must we provide further evidence? I also understand if you provide transcripts, you must not submit W2's since they are joint tax filers and are both consenting through the I-864A.

alternatively

Do we we only include her (MIL/joint sponsor) current annual income as the household income, provide tax transcripts and W2's and recent pay stubs.(Does this have to be 6 months worth? She gets paid weekly, that's a lot of pages)

Additionally I could then just fill out a I-864A for FIL, put 0 for current annual income on his form and hers , this might satisfy IO's concern for consent and avoid having to get SS benefit documents?

I am aware no matter what we do, since they are joint tax filers, you always fill in the exact figure of line 22 on 1040 for Part 6, line 24a on the I-864 form.

1 last question, I honestly believe the RFE was unnecessary and the IO didn't examine my wife's petition thoroughly, he/she probably just saw no taxes filed for 2017 and sent RFE immediately. She did not file because she did not earn any income whatsoever during that year. We explained this in a letter, also that she started working again in April '18 and based on her salary would meet the poverty guidelines by 4 x, we provided pay stubs, employment letter. Since submitting original application she has taken on a new job with even better pay, she has recently filed for 2017 even though the figures were zero. Now would it be advisable to include an updated I-864 for her reflecting her new pay stubs and/or job letter, tick the yes box asking "have you filed for the 3 most recent tax years" and just put a zero for the 2017 amount and additionally submit her mother as a joint sponsor, in case they for some reason don't bite based on her application alone?

Phew what a mouthful, sorry about that just don't want to get denied and so many ways to go wrong with this stuff.

Happy Halloween folks.