Daniel_B

Cherico - my joint sponsor is a family friend. How do I acknowledge this relationship in the AOS? Do I mention it in my cover letter?

Should I preemtpively obtain a I-864A from my joint sponsor's spouse, or just hope for the best?

Thanks

Does anyone know what happens if I am using a joint sponsor for an AOS, but this person has filed a JOINT tax return (with their spouse)? On Form I-864, we have put my joint sponsor's individual income (Q23), but their tax returns Q25 it shows the joint household income with their spouse. Is this ok? I also have a letter of employment and W-2s stating my joint sponsor's individual income, but I don't want this to be confusing for whoever reads it.

Many thanks

Hi all,

thanks for your replies. I did file backdated tax returns last year, and I can concur that there is an approx. $90,000 amount of foreign earned income before you need to start giving money to the IRS. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it), I earn under that amount and it was fine. I'm just hoping that they accept this for the AOS.

Hi Visajourney-ers,

So I'm at the stage when I need to submit my AOS documents. Basically, I'm a US citizen but have lived in the UK for the past 5 years (I recently moved back this last August). Last summer, I filed my US tax returns at the London Consulate. This was 5 years worth of Form 1040 and 5 years worth of Form 2555-EZ (this is the form for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion). I asked the consulate to return these forms to me with a stamp saying 'received'.

I'm confused as to what IRS documents I need to submit with my AOS (if this is helpful, I have a cosponsor who is providing most of the income requirements). The info on the visa journey guides say I need to have "Federal Tax Return, W2 and 1099INT" but I have no ideas what these are. The first tax documents I have ever submitted were the ones I just listed so I am unfamliar with what is required. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks so much

Daniel

So am I correct in assuming that she will only be turned away if there is a legitimate concern that she will overstay her tourist visa and remain illegally in the country? What would be the best strategy when speaking to the immigration official at the Port of Entry? To say that she is visiting her husband, her visa is pending and here is proof that she intends to return in a weeks time (showing the necessary documentation?)

I am just worried that we waste a huge amount of money on a flight ticket and then be turned away!

Dear VisaJourney-ites,

I'm having trouble finding a definitive answer for this question and would be interested to hear what people thought here. I am currently in the midst of applying for a spouse visa for my wife, who is currently living out the country in London. Although we are at the NVC stage already and *hope* to get everything sorted by early April, she wants/needs to fly out to the US to see me in early April. So, my two questions are:

- Is it impossible to enter the US whilst the visa application has not yet been granted? I have yet to see this stated on the USCIS website, but have read about this informally a couple of times.

- Second, if she cannot come in April, is there a maximum time period between obtaining the visa and needing to enter a port of entry in the United States?

Thanks all!

Hi all!

I am filing an affidavit of support for my wife (I am the petitioner) and a family friend is very kindly agreeing to be a joint sponsor. Can someone just tell me I am doing everything correctly?

1) I should have two copies of I-I84 filled, one by myself and one by the family friend.

2) We both submit copies of last years tax returns. I have read elsewhere that I need letters from employers. Is this the case, as it doesn't appear anywhere on the USCIS documentation? As I am a graduate student who is not "salaried" but gets paid a pittance by doing odd teaching jobs over the year, should I get one? The family friend, however, has a stable job so perhaps it isn't necessary for him.

3) I have also read about pay stubbs being necessary, but again this information isn't mentioned by the UCSIS.

4) Finally, what is this "bar coded cover sheet" that I keep reading about when submitting the AOS documents? I'm not exactly sure where this can be found.

Thanks in advance for your help

Daniel

wow, that is quick! thanks for the link, exactly what I needed.

Hi all,

I’m in the midst of my CR-1 visa application for my wife (currently living in London while I live in the US). I’m just a little confused about what’s happening now and how I can make the process go as fast as possible.

Back in December, I had the good news that my application was passed to the NVC in NH. I paid the appropriate filing fee to kick-start the process, and my wife eventually received a “Choice of Address and Agent” form which we are about to send off (she got this in London). I presume my wife only receives the packet of other forms once this “Choice of Address and Agent” form has been completed and sent back?

I’m also not completely sure if the Affidavit of Support form gets sent to me or to her. As we are involving a co-sponsor, I’d like to get him to send the necessary paperwork as far in advance as possible, so we have minimal delays. I assume I’m right that I can just print these out from the UCSIS website and get them completed in advance?

Thanks in advance for your help! ☺

OK thanks all - I'm going to scrap the asset plan and try and find SOMEONE who is willing to be a cosponsor!

You may not like the form and want to parse the wording but it won't help you solve the potential problem. Direct your energy toward finding solutions so that you and your spouse can live together in the US.

It might not be a problem for me now, as I have fortunately had some really helpful advice from you all. But I think it is a shame that future couples in my position - who may not have had such helpful advice from forum members on here - who read that foreign property assets can be used, go through the hassle of valuation and so on, only to be told this is not acceptable and to have their petition delayed for months while they figure out a workaround.

I understand, from the US governments position, that accepting foreign property assets is something of a liability in terms of chasing this up. I get this, from a logistical point of view. My only point is why they then state "You may count the income and assets of members of your household who are related to you by birth, marriage, or adoption"! If this doesn't work in practice, it seems rather misleading to say this clearly in the instructions, or at least not include the caveats that make one person's petition more likely to be accepted than another.

Affidavits of supports are not "complicated", certainly not for a graduate student with English as a first language. The "complication" is that you don't currently qualify to sponsor an immigrant. "Practical aspect"

I appreciate your help, but to be honest, I found your response quite patronising: as many of the similar affidavit of support type posts on this board attest, there is clear ambiguity (and therefore complication) in how the forms are worded and what seems to be the accepted practice at whatever consulate your case gets passed to. This is the case whether one is a "graduate student with English as a first language" or not, in your words. For example, I read that certain consulates are less willing to accept foreign property assets than others; this information only really materialises through word of mouth, it seems. And actually, I do qualify to sponsor an immigrant, by their criteria. My minimum income will be $11,000 and my wife has full equity of a property to supplement it. I also never said it wasn't readily available to be liquidated, I said we would pursue other options first if it came to it.

I just find the ambiguity of their instructions quite frustrating in what is a very stressful separation from my wife.

Thanks all!

kali1229 - Its not that we don't have the assets. My wife does own a property abroad! I just find the whole process so confusing. Why, for example, would they list property assets as a possible way of meeting the support requirements when they seem to not be good enough?

I do, however, as you all suggest, need to start looking for a potential co-sponsor. I just find it a very big thing to ask someone...

Thank you for your replies. I think my wife would rather not sell the property; I know, for a fact, that it would never come to that because if worst came to worst, we would borrow money from family before selling the property, but obviously that isn't good enough!

The problem is, I have never really lived in the US and therefore cannot find a co-sponsor as they need to be US citizens. I'm just incredibly worried about this!

Would you suggest that I contact the London embassy and ask their advice, as this is seemingly somethign that they will eventually deal with?

Hello,

I am currently in the beginning stages of my visa 'journey' for my wife and would really appreciate some advice on this complicated process. I am dual British/US nationality, have been living in the UK for nearly all my life and am moving to the US to go to do a Ph.D this month, with my wife hopefully coming out the following summer (visa permitting).

My only concern with the visa, as a graduate student, will be the affidavit of support. I will be on a graduate student stipend/income, based on teaching and research assistant work, which will get me about minimum $10,500 this year, rising to minimum $19,500 in the third year. I should expect to earn more than this though, and I can get a letter from my school to this effect (and the minimum that can be expected to be earned). Although I have had little income over the past few years due to studying, I can show my past IRS returns. However, there is a shortfall and I have no assets to supplement it.

My wife, however, has a house in Germany. How do I go about including her property in the affidavit of support? It isn't been rented, so could potentially be liquified within a year. Has anyone had any experience in including foreign property assets and which documentation does one need to do so? The information given on the US immigration website is so sparse that I am having difficulty in working out what's what.

Thank you all so much in advance

Daniel