LouisePaul

Thank you so much for everyone's responses! You guys have been so helpful!

Oh really? I'm surprised!

Doesn't it ask on some of the forms if you've used government assistance though? Throughout this whole process he has/we've been his sponsors and will continue to be. So we wouldn't want to mess up our situation, I figured because we're married they'll look at both of us and if I'm using a government assistance program they'd count that as a bad thing?

We also make above the poverty line though so that's gotta count for something lol.

Hello there!

It's been a while!

I had a question about the new US Health Care "Obama Care". I applied for health care for both of us through Covered California and Paul is qualified to pick a plan but for me it says I can use Medi-Cal, so my question is can I use Medi-Cal if he is on a green card? Doesn't it count as using government resources? It won't give me an option to pick a plan myself because i'd rather spend the money than risk anything.

Call me over-paranoid but I wanted to make sure that if I apply for it, it won't affect anything with his immigration status/green card. (Side note: he's on a 2 year conditional green card, and came over on a K-1 visa)

Thank you so much for your time!

Louise

Thank you so much!! lol That's a relief

Hey everyone!

I just remembered something that could pose as a problem.

When Paul and I were filing for our K-1 I was living with friends and he was in the UK of course, so when filling out form DS-230 Part1 for question 10 I put unknown because we weren't sure where we would be living because we knew we would be renting an apartment (which we are now). For question 11 I put my friend's house address.

Since this wasn't listing our address I didn't think we had to update this information and wasn't sure where we would do that.

When filing for AOS we filed with our current address (our apartment) and all has been fine in that regard.

My question is how do I tell them where to send the green card now?

I'm sorry for the confusing post I'm kind of all over the place at the moment lol.

As always Thank you so much for your time!!

Louise

I just notice you married in 2012. You can file a joint tax return with him if you want to. If you earned less than $3800 (your income) then you wouldn't need to file so probably not worth it. But it's an option if you earned income or had any withholding you want to get back. I did a thread about it --a walk-through for doing it with TurboTax. He qualifies for foreign income exclusion for 2012. He can file jointly with you, even without having his greencard yet. It works out as an advantage for Americans with a good ncome, so don't know how it would work out for you with low income.

Oh wow good to know, I'll have to add up and see how much I made form the job I had. I think I mad just under that, maybe a little bit more than that. Since I don't have that job anymore for the I-864 question #23: My current individual annual income is: do I put $0 because I'm currently unemployed? I'm assuming I do.

I think the "source" of his income is Apple and Android or whoever writes the checks as far as immigration is concerned. That's why they allowed his sponsorship for the K1 visa. Had he gone to the interview and said " I earn x amount of money at Sainsbury's", they would have figured he couldn't physically get to work at Sainsbury's after he moved so that money wouldn't count. His "source" of income was Sainsbury's.

Now he's in the US, so erase all that came before. It's a new process. He needs to prove his income. Does he still get paid weekly, monthly? Prove the income.

The P85 is more about who gets to tax his income. I think it's an income tax question and he needs to keep excellent records because filing taxes in the US for 2013 is going to be complicated. He will be self-employed to the IRS which includes self-employment tax and paying in quarterly since there is no employer to withhold. He's told HMRC a date for leaving and to stop taxing him, so the US is going to want to tax the money from that date on I would guess. Do the IRS, HMRC, and USCIS talk to each other and compare notes on individuals? Highly unlikely. Can the IRS just look up his P85? No. Does he have to report foreign earned income to the IRS on his 2013 tax return? Yes. But these are tax problems not immigration as I see it.

Thank you so much for your response this has once again eased a whole boat load of stress, still work to do obv, but it's not as overwhelming. Luckily we're both good about saving paperwork (asside from when we sent off our I-129F without taking copies because we were in a rush, big mistake) and have finally got a filing cabinet for our apartment, also my parents have done these kind of taxes before (not immigrating taxes but self employed and corporate taxes) so hopefully things will go smoothly. Also he used to get paid once a month but Android changed the system and now he gets paid twice a month/ they're in the process of chaining to that.

My husband filed for P85 before he left england basically so he won't have to pay taxes in the UK (this is my understanding), now what is he supposed to do? They told him to contact the IRS and post date when he came out here. Is this what we're supposed to do? My other question relates to our income, right now he makes about 20K a year, its just the two of us living in our apartment, we need to file for AOS using HIS income, he is a game developer for android and iphone and even when he is not working on games hes still selling them thus earning an income thus not working in the US - the problem is I don't have a job, we need to file for AOS with his income, but since he is a sole trader/sole proprietor he doesn't have a business in the UK he kinda is the business. We're freaking out now because does this mean he can't use his income for AOS ince the only way to use the imagrants income is if it will continue form the same sorce but since he did the P85 will it still count as form the same source? meaning does it have to be source like SAME JOB or source as in same COUNTRY? Will he be paying US taxes on it now since hes a sole trader/ sole proprietor? We don't really understand how this works we just want to file for AOS and move on so he can get back to work and boost his income even more with more apps.

Other information:

He came out on a K-1 visa, he self sponsored with his income and it was accepted.

We don't have a co sponsor, we don't have anyone we could ask we're doing this all on our own which is why we're freaking out.

He devlops apps for apple and android on his computer he does not need to be in the uk to work on his business

He has NOT worked on his business at all since entering the US

Thank you for your time,

Louise

^If I remember correctly I think the business is only 1 year old.

Louise- Your best option is to do a combination of Kay and Aarons advice- as Kay suggests- "file your I-864 listing your husband's income. Provide proof of the source and that it will continue when he becomes a permanent resident. Make it clear he is working remotely for a foreign company so no EAD is needed for it. Look for a joint sponsor in the meantime, just in case you get an RFE and they won't accept his foreign income alone."

Write your employment letter as Aaron presented it- showing the income more as 'royalties' then daily work he has to perform remotely from the US. Because it will seem more stable then hes attempting to operate a company there from here and will be more likely to be approved. (also include that he is easily able to develop new apps from the US and earn new royalties and does so every day- maybe include examples of his work- if its not copyrighted or I dont know, you know what Im saying, proof that hes doing something or has something pending)

Have a co-sponsor just in case.

Worst case scenario- your husband comes on the K1- he doesnt leave the US (its a one time entry visa- if he does he can not get back in with out AP. You can not get AP with out applying for it with your AOS. If he leaves you have to file for a spousal visa with an 864 again, so he cant leave, unless you want to go through the waiting and filing again. He'll just be an out of status k1 until you do file for AOS. He could be one for years if you need to. I wouldnt recommend it and you shouldnt need that long to meet the requirements of the 864, but its not a big deal if it plays out that way. (there are things that can happen that arent pleasant if your out of status- like if you hang around the borders you can get picked up and forced to file AOS as you are out of status but for most people its not something to be concerned about) His out of status days will be forgiven when he gets his GC.

The business was started in 2011

Thank you for your input I will do those things so fingers crossed lol

The source of her husband's income is not because he needs to form a company immediately in the US. He receives money without doing anything. It's like royalty payments that keep flowing in because people continue to buy his apps from the AppStore for their iPhones, as well as from wherever Android devices download their Apps. It may not be called royalties, but it's like Elvis and Michael Jackson still making money from previous endeavors.

My thoughts are show his stream of income from Apple and Android over the past year, or even two to establish the amount. Quantify the existing apps by naming them and their price and his income from each download, as well as the number of downloads to date. And establish how that money will follow him to the US. Even if it's deposited in his current UK account, show transfer receipts from xe.com (or specifically state how he will transfer that money to his US bank account.) Good documentation ought to meet the requirements.

(4)

Use of Intending Immigrant’s Income

. If the sponsor does not meet the income requirement on the basis of his or her own income and/or assets, the sponsor may also count the intending immigrant’s income if (1)(a) the intending immigrant is either the sponsor’s spouse or (b) has the same principal residence as the sponsor, and (2) the preponderance of the evidence shows that the intending immigrant’s income results from the intending immigrant’s lawful employment in the United States or from some other lawful source that will continue to be available to the intending immigrant after he or she acquires permanent resident status. The prospect of employment in the United States that has not yet actually begun does not count toward meeting this requirement.

I disagree with that. It does not say it can't come from overseas. It just has to be from a lawful source.

Thank you so much for your input! We will do all that. I'm thrilled with the clarification because we were always under the impression we could use his money. We will still try and get a co sponsor but fingers crossed for this! Thank you so much!

So our only options are:

A. Somehow find a co sponsor

B. Hope that they'll count money from the UK even though they only count US money

or

C. Try and get his business over to the US but also violate the work aut. in the process

How do you ask someone for so much though? I realize they don't have to pay it but to ask for information like what their SSN is and how much they make a year sounds like a lot to ask of someone. I know you can have more than one sponsor but what if we can only get one and they don't make enough?

Hello

I'm trying to get information on co sponsors and looking around via search and the forms is just making me more confused and on top of that I feel very frantic, although I realize I don't have to be I'm just overwhelmed.

This whole time I had AOS wrong, I thought that since my now husband (also immigrant) makes over the 125% he would be able to use his funds to be the sponsor because the paperwork says as long as the source will continue form the same place - today I found out that apparently it has to be US money it can't come from overseas. Well that really changes things since I don't have a job and his income won't count. Our only option now is to try and hurry up and get a co sponsor/sponsor to help us. I have someone in mind who MIGHT be able to do it but I am no sure. I realize that it doesn't entail actually paying money it's to show that the immigrant won't be a drain on the government. That I understand. Since I thought we weren't going to do this I never looked into this option and since it seems like our only option I'm franticly trying to figure out how to use/get/have a co-sponsor/sponsor.

Can someone please explain it to me? ie: which forms do they need to fill out and what do they need to show to prove they can do it? When everyone says it won't actually cost them money, when would it cost them money? Is there an example?

I realize all this information is out there but I'm too all over the place to find it atm. I will continue looking but help will be so greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Louise

They dont know if the person is going to be laid off. Thats why they look at your past returns. The past is an indication of the future.

They base whether or not to approve your 864 on whether or not they believe your income is sufficient for the current year and if it is sustainable. Its a judgement call on their part on whether or not its sustainable.

How do they determine sustainability? 'Your income shall be given the greatest evidentiary weight; any tax return and other information relating to the sponsor's financial history will serve as evidence tending to show whether the sponsor is likely to be able to maintain his or her income in the future. If the projected household income for the year in which the intending immigrant filed the application for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status meets the applicable income threshold, the affidavit of support may be held to be insufficient on the basis of the household income but only if, on the basis of specific facts, including a material change in employment or income history of the sponsor or other relevant facts, it is reasonable to infer that the sponsor will not be able to maintain his or her household income at a level sufficient to meet his or her support obligations.'

(I kind of snipped out a few words like co-sponsor and other aliens sponsponsored, just to condense it, so its not an exact quote)

Theyre going to look at your history, how long you held the job, 'other relevant facts' like the type of job, material change in employment- is this a new job? is it established? The 864 can potentially last a long time.

For self employed people its a little harder because there is no company, its all you. They usually like to see one year of the business being operational and profiting above the poverty guidelines- proved by having a US tax return showing a schedule C.

You seem like you may fall into one of two possible scenarios. The first-

They can count income from a foreign source if they can show the income will remain from the foreign source. ( I really dont know how this would work though. I know if I had a job where I was working at home online for a company based overseas and I was paid 35k for it, and I was paid on 1099misc and I filed a sched C tax form as self employed, my income would count. I would be a self-employed USC. My earnings would be US based earnings. It wouldnt make them foreign earnings because they came from overseas anymore, once I declared them on my taxes in the US, they are now US earnings.- thats not what you would be doing. You would be continuing to operate the business as a UK business, continuing to pay taxes in the UK and simply withdrawing the money from the UK and spending it in the US. Do you see the difference?)

So you could leave the company in the UK and say we have foreign source income that will remain a source of income for us to be able to access. Will it be approved? I do not know.

Your second choice would be to convert the business to a US business. This would involve saying the date he arrived, the business arrived. He began working that date (yes w/o auth) His business is now taxable in the US since that date. (im kind of looking at your timeline and thinking since he came in Dec maybe you want to do this effective Jan 2013 just because of the tax calendar (?) otherwise youd have one month of 2012 taxes and that would be messy) So his business became a US business Jan 1 2013. It has a strong history of being a UK business for a year prior proven by tax history in the UK and profit statements. No reason to believe anything will change by it being a US business now. The income is US income. The only snag is hes working w/o auth, it will be forgiven but like Harpa said above (which I had no idea about) someone was RFEd for proof they were working legally. Youre asking them to count money hes earning w/o work auth. Most people are unable to get jobs and earn money w/o work auth as companies will not hire them. If youre self employed, you basically hire yourself.

I really really do not know much about the first scenario, but from my understanding of it, its not going to be approved. If you leave the company in the UK and pay UK taxes on it and not US taxes and its not US source income- then it doesnt exists in the US. It only exists here cause youre spending it here. Its not going to be reflected in your adjusted gross income on your US tax return. You as a USC would probably be eligible for government aid as your adjusted gross income is very low and subsequently not be eligible to sign an 864 to support an alien. My understanding of how it works is that youre going to need your joint US tax return for 2013 to show over 125% on the adjusted gross income line. Having your husbands company in the UK is not going to make that happen. (Im definitely NOT saying youre going to need your 2013 taxes- theyre not going to be due until apr 2014 (!) But you get what Im saying right? what you earn and how you earn it in 2013 will be reported on your taxes at the end of the year. So whats your return going to look like for 2013? whats the adjusted gross income going to be for 2013? Thats how youll know if you qualify.

Would we still have enough time to find a co sponsor? / get all the paperwork done in time for us to file for it? It doens't look like this will be a good option for us and all we can do is get a co sponsor somehow. Because even if I did get a job it wouldn't be enough for 125% and if I can't use/add his income we're screwed really. He just can't go home we need this to work.

I'd think it should work because he is not actually working. Although having said that, is it possible to prove that his income will continue steadily? What if everyone stops buying his apps?

If you do get a new job then that will be sufficient. A letter from your employer stating your income and your first pay stubs.

I see what your saying but you can say that with any job, how do you know the person won't be laid off? He has bank statments of steady income because the amount he makes every month is generally the same. I still want to get a job and am looking for one but I know any job I get won't be enough alone.

Also he did self sponsor from the UK to the US to get the visa based on his continuing income, which I know is only supposed to support you for the 3 months your visa lasts whilst your here but still I guess it's a little track record with his income being enough/acceptable, obv it's different because they were looking for ammount of money in savings too but they weren't like oh no this business of yours is no good to do this this way.

When you read the instructions it doesn't say about US earnings it just says that if it will continue form the same source when hes adjusted which is will - from his business

I really wish I could get some more input on this

Actually her husband would be on the same 864 as her. He doesnt fill out the 864a.

Shes going to fill out one 864 form, on it she would list her income and assets and her husbands income and assets (the only time the 864a is needed with the USCs 864 is when theyre using another family members income- the intending immigrant does not have to fill out the 864A (line24e) or they have dependents.)

But in order for her husbands income to be counted it has to be US source income. Im not sure how this is going to play out... He doesnt have work auth yet. He can continue to run his business from the US because his business is based overseas. Hes earning overseas money. Hes working remotely. Hes here- his business is there. If he claims these are US based earnings- well then wait a minute, he cant have US based earnings, hes not authorized to earn money in the US, or operate a company in the US with out an EAD card. BUT unauth work is forgiven when AOS through marriage.

So in order for this to work, your husband is going to need to show these are now US based earnings. As stupid as it sounds to show hes working in the US w/o his EAD, its the only way his earnings are going to count. Hes got to say his company is now in the US.

You make a lot of good points. The thing that makes me wonder is since his company is with apple and android and he sells apps all over the world like every other developer he is technically getting money from the US via people form the us buying his product - hes still earning money but it all goes to this UK bank account and we will be moving his company over when he gets his work aut. - and since he doesn't have that yet since hes come to the US and a little bit before he has not worked on his business at all so that he doesn't get in trouble.

the thing that scares the hell out of us is that he'll have to go home because I don't have an income (YET still fingers crossed) or anyone that could help us out with a co-sponsor - and it sucks because like I said his income is above the right ammount - we really don't know what to do about this because even when I get this job or any other I won't be earning enough we always thought he could add his income because we thought his income counted - Kinda panicing now then lol heh

What should we do? Would his income not count then? Would he have to go back to england?

Also when he left the UK he contacted the tax people (dunno the name) there and they said that when he comes over to call up the IRS and post date so they know when to stop charing him taxes in the UK and the US will know when to start charing him taxes - also side note his business isn't incorporated hes self employed as a sole trader or self proprietor - so does it still matter where his business is if its essentially him?

Hello everyone!

I had a question about the AOS process, we're getting things all ready with it but heres a problem. When my fiance (now husband) came out to the states I had a job I loved, the only problem was we needed to move a few hours away so that we could rent our own place because at the time I was living with family, now that we've moved up here I've been looking for another job and have had an interview that seem keen but their hiring process is a long one (they said so and my last job was very very similar and it too was a long one, about a month). I'm sure you can see the problem, I don't have a job atm so I can't show my income for AOS yet, which means we can't file for AOS yet. My husband came to the US on December 7th so time is really getting on - I don't have anyone I could ask to co sponsor us so that's that's not an option. I could get the job in time (I'm also looking for other ones too with hopefully sooner start dates) but say I got the job and had 2 weeks before we filed for aos and only had 1 pay stub, is that enough along with a letter form my employer to prove I have a job with income?

On the bright side! My husband is a self employed game developer for android and iphone and has an income that continues without him working on anything or touching anything, and even beter it's above the 125% poverty limit. So my main question is could he use just his income for AOS if I don't get an income in time? Or do I need to have SOME kind of income to add to?

Thank you so much for your help!

Louise

so the fee of I-765 is $380

Also I don't understand why the page is talking about children as well?

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b11747a55773d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

I'd recommend filing. For one, he'd essentially be cutting off his availability should an opportunity come up to develop a new app in the U.S. Or, perhaps he finds an opportunity with a software company. You just never know what could happen, so why not take advantage of getting the EAD now in case something comes up?

So to create an app in the US he would need to file? Also is this just while your waiting for your application to be processed? We will file for it, thinking about it your right it makes sense we were just unsure if he needed to to work on apps - like I said he hasn't done anything with the business since entering the US just checking

Thank you!

Hello everyone!!

Basically should by husband file for I-765 if he is a sole proprietor and sells apps via android and apple? He started this in the UK - but since hes a sole proprietor its not really based in the UK, the company isn't incorporated hes just listed as self employed and since the form is to be able to accept employment would he still need to file for it?

He has not worked on apps or anything to do with the business since hes come into the US so that we don't do anything wrong but we're unsure weather he would be doing anything wrong to ie release any new apps?

Any advise/input would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Louise

The first lady doesn't count because she's just a document collector and file organizer. Yay for Paul! Can you give some details about the self-sponsor part because nobody ever does. What kind of documents did he take for his proof? Is it too cheeky to ask how much in dollars they found acceptable because that's what everybody always asks and there is no set number. I remember personally only two reports. One had around $53K and the other had about $40k. Just curious if he was approved with less than that.

He took only 12 months of bank statements as proof of income (along with the other documents the embassy usually requires, passport, birth cert, etc) and the interviewer asked a few questions about his business, he only had $8,500 and they accepted that, but I think the reason they did was because his income will continue in the US without working (he makes roughly 1-2K a month) because he makes smartphone apps. Plus I have a job now too so that might have helped. Other than that our situation was pretty normal and easy, no past marriages, a 6 year relationship, no kids yet, we both have jobs, and we want to rent a place when he comes out here.

Paul doesn't have a drivers licens or a photo ID, His only form of ID has always been his pasport - How should we go about accepting the visa when it arrives if he doesn't have photo ID? I was thinking maybe he could use his Police certificate since it has a passport style photo and his name on it - what do you guys think?

Thanks

Louise

WE GOT IT!! Visa Approved! Paul just got home and told me what happened! YAY We self-sponsored too!

The first lady/person he had go up to was mean though but that's okay doesn't matter we got it!!

I'll post a review later

Louise

It doesn't matter if in carry on or checked. The reference is because checking valuables is stupid because they will be stolen.

Louise. You are thinking too literally. How do they know when he bought his shaver? Or iPad? Or jewelry? Well let's see....packed in a brand new box with tags still on the item would be a clue. They aren't going to necessarily open his bags and ask when he bought each item. Everybody has an iPhone. Quite normal. But what if he had 20 iPhones all packed with the boxes and instructions? That might look like he was importing to sell and not likely his personal effects. Or what if he had things all gift wrapped? Probably will be considered a gift. If I bought sunglasses at the airport, I would peel off the labels, throw away the receipts , and put the glasses on my face. Voila...my "old" sunglasses. Just saying'.

Thank you so much! That cleared up a lot lol Your right I was over thinking it, I *was* picturing them asking when you got things if you were over the limit so thank you so much for easing that worry!!

Android Smart Phone (Over a year)

Iphone (I think 11 months to maybe a year - i'll need to ask him)

Ipad (4 months)

Wedding rings (it'll be 2 weeks at POE)

Clothing (Over a year except a few things)

Drawing tablet (Over a year)

Electric shaver (9 months)

Some books (over a year)

Home videos (in DVD form) (he burnt them to disk about 8 months ago, still declare?)

So this means he'll need to declare:

Iphone (maybe)

Ipad

Wedding Rings

Electric Shaver

Home videos (these too?)

Thank you for your help!

Louise