RealDrift

Thank you for your response. My mother-in-law was married once before so she’s had two name changes since her birth name. So should I include both marriage licenses? She doesn’t have a passport so this would be the quickest way.

Also, if I do submit both marriage licenses do they need to be certified copies or can I just send photocopies?

thanks again

So I am the beneficiary and I came to the US on a K1 visa. After marriage my wife (the sponsor) filed for AOS. She didn't meet the poverty threshold so her mother was our joint sponsor. We three all live in the same house and her mother claims my wife as a dependent. 

I received a RFE notice asking that my wife submit a I-864 form even though we have a joint sponsor. The RFE also asked for the joint sponsor's proof of citizenship. Now my questions are:

1) My mother-in-law's birth certificate has her maiden name and obviously on the I-864 her last name is her married name. Is it okay to submit her birth certificate as proof of citizenship? Or should I submit a copy of her license which shows her married name?

2) My mother-in-law submitted the I-864 in the AOS package and for Part 5 she wrote:

1. 1

2. 1

3. 0

4 .1 (this is my wife)

5. 0

6. 0

7. 0

8. 3

When my wife now fills out the same section on her I-864 she has done it like so:

1. 1

2. 1

3. 0

4 .0

5. 0

6. 0

7. 0

8. 2

The problem is that this creates a household size of 2 for my wife when her mother's I-864 said 3. Would that not pose a problem?

3) Does my wife need to fill out Part 6 Item 3 and include her mother there? The instructions says to only include individuals here if they are submitting an I-864A - but my mother-in-law has submitted an I-864. Should my wife leave this blank?

I would really appreciate someone's help, I am already gutted about getting an RFE (I know it's my fault for not double-checking I'd submitted everything).

Thank you

I don't think there is a way. A Co-sponsor is an absolute must if she hasn't enough income. No way around it. Do not risk such a long process only to be rejected or put in AP. There is still time before the interview, are you sure no family can co-sponsor?

I am over the moon, this whole process has taken over a year and I just want to get on that flight now!

I fly out next week Tuesday.

Has your case been updated today? Don't feel down, your visa will come through this week, I am sure of it.

I picked up m visa on Friday, any movement on yours?

I shall be moving to Michigan

So I got my tracking number today and my passport will be available to pick up at the depot tomorrow

All in all I wanted to leave some advice for anyone reading this in the future. I chose to self-sponsor and the interviewing officer did not accept it despite me having a significant amount in my bank account. London allows self-sponsorship but this I think depends on who interviews you. Considering that you need a US sponsor at AOS stage anyways I would advise anyone wanting to self-sponsor at their k1 interview to strongly think against it. You might as well get the US sponsor who will be sponsoring you at the AOS stage to sponsor you now for your k1. It'll not only save time come AOS but you will protect yourself from any personal bias of the interviewing officer you get.

This episode cost me 3 extra weeks and flight costs to change my departure date. Err on the side of caution and just get a US Sponsor from the get go. AP is a really disheartening thing to be stuck in, not only because you already waited so long to get to the interview but also because you have no strict timeline. You are at the mercy of the embassy once you submit the requested documents.

Good luck to anyone who finds themselves with a 221(g).

I got my tracking number today and my passport will be available to pick up at the depot tomorrow.

Any movement on yours?

I haven't gotten a tracking number. Hopefully tomorrow since I lost a day because the Embassy was closed yesterday.

If your case updated it means they are working on it and haven't forgotten about it as they do most cases in AP. I'm hopeful you hear something back very soon. I doubt you'll be able to collect this week. The case will say Issued after AP and once it does that it takes 5-7 days for you to collect or get your passport home delivered. Earliest I see you getting your passport with the visa is probably next Friday, that's if it says Issued by this Friday.

Where are you moving to?

Thanks, I can wait another few days. I am just glad I got through AP as quick as I did

When did you send them everything? Was it via email or post?

I had to submit info on my sponsor after my interview. They gave me the 221(g) form and gave me an email to send the documents to.

Once I'd emailed the documents it took them 7-8 to look at the documents, another 3-4 days for CEAC to show Issued. It has been three days since it said Issued and I am still waiting for my passport.

All in all, Monday is out of the question but I'm hoping it won't be longer than a week after that. Hope everything goes well. If it makes you feel better I haven't seen my Fiancee in nearly a year.

So the application finally says Issued on CEAC tracking

Below is the timeline for anyone who comes across this thread in the future and finds themselves in similar shoes:

21st June - Submitted the relevant documents via email (we ended up not posting hard copies)

27th June - CEAC tracking changes from 'Administrative Processing' to 'Application Received'

28th June - CEAC tracking changes back to 'Administrative Processing'. This time however it says 'NonImmigrant' (which is apparently a sign the application will be approved

3rd July - CEAC tracking changes to 'Issued'

It is now the 5th and I am still awaiting information on the passport being posted back to the collection depot I selected when I booked my interview. Any ideas? Should I call that DXS depot?

Thanks

I was indeed interviewing in London. In theory you can interview without the medical and they will process your visa once the results get to them. BUT there is always a chance that the results will take longer than usual to get to the embassy. And then you have to contend with how quickly the embassy get to looking at your results and approving everything. Nothing beats going to your interview with everything and getting approved on the spot.

I would not risk going to an interview without the medical or anything that could lead to a 221(g). But again assess the risk as it pertains to you.

Please do not go to the interview if it hasn't been atleast 7-10 days since the Medical. While it is true that you can go and you'll just receive a 221(g) form pending your medical results being sent to the embassy, it is an absolute hassle. The embassy take their sweet time with 221(g) administrative processing. In my experience, once you are in AP you are not a priority as you would be had you gone to the interview with all the correct documents with your medical having reached there by your interview.

But again, this is my experience, feel free to take the gamble. I know I did and had to reschedule my flight due to the delay. Your post says your flight is on the 25th of July, is that correct?

Sorry I forgot to answer about the income. The reason I chose to self-sponsor was because my Fiance didn't meet the income requirements. I took my Fiance's I-134 and my bank statements to the interview. Now that the officer has thrown out my self-sponsor attempt I shall have my fiance's mother sponsor me. She would have sponsored me at the AOS stage anyways so maybe it's good she get her paperwork in order now. 125% for 3 in a household is around $25k I believe?

I shall keep you updated on the outcome. I hope they will be satisfied with the email because if they wait upon the hard copies then the matter will be delayed by another couple of weeks on top of the time it takes for them to make a decision once they have everything.

I don't know whether she'll file it online or by mail but both options will work as you say. I plan on submitting the following:

I-134

3 year's past tax returns/transcripts

3 year's past W2s

Past 6 month's pay stubs

Is there a difference between a tax transcript vs a tax return? Will both serve the same purpose?

I shall submit the above via email and then via post too and just hope and pray. It's been nearly a year since I last saw my Fiance so it's a bit disheartening to have to go through yet another step which will end up delaying things for God knows how long. Even if I get them everything by next week I have heard it could take them weeks to process it?

Thank you very much for the replies.

Once she files the return how does she go about giving me a copy of the return? Does she literally just photocopy it or will it show up on the IRS website?

Just as I thought. So my sponsor needs to file her 2016 return and then order the transcript online. Where can W2's be obtained from? are they sent in the mail by the employer at the end of each year or can they too be obtained online?

I hope someone else can pitch in about whether it's the I-864 or I-134 form.

Thanks

2 minutes ago, prenouveau said:

I think you'll be able to get this sorted. I don't have answers to all your questions, but a few things:

 

-I don't think many people have luck asking them to re-consider, general advice is to just give them what they ask for

-Your sponsor wouldn't have filed 2017 taxes yet, that doesn't happen until 2018. So 2016 is the most recent. She can get her tax transcripts online from irs.gov and print them out, this is the better than a copy of your return. I would include recent W-2s as well, since they specifically asked for it.  

-You could email electronic versions AND courier the hard copies, that's probably what I would do.

 

Not sure about the 864 vs 134, hopefully someone else can answer that.

 

Thank you for your reply. In April when all Americans are to file their taxes do they not file for the previous year? So this April they would file taxes for 2016? Is that correct? If so the most recent return she'd have is 2015? Or maybe I'm getting it wrong, I'm sorry.

So I got the dreaded 221(g) form at my K1 interview. I wanted to self-sponsor and despite having a few tens of thousands of pounds in my bank account the officer decided I needed a US sponsor.

My questions are:

1) Is there any point in contacting them to re-consider my self-sponsorship, the officer barely looked at my bank statement.

2) The 221(g) form seems to be incorrect as it states the sponsor must submit an I-864 which I understand is required at the Adjustment of Status stage. Has the officer just mistakenly given me the wrong form or should I indeed have my sponsor submit an I-864 form instead of the I-134?

3) The form says the sponsor should submit their most recent tax return, W2 wage and tax statement. Do they require both documents or just one will suffice? I don't think my fiance's mother has filed her taxes for 2017 yet and so will the 2016 return be good? I don't know how US tax works and I presume if she hasn't submitted her 2017 tax return then she won't have her 2017 W2 from her employer either right? Can paystubs for past 6 months or something count for anything?

4) The officer gave me an email address my sponsor can submit the documents to. Later today I received an email from the us-visa.info website (where UK applicants go to schedule their interview) that I must courier them to the London consulate. What should I do. Was the officer being nice by giving me a direct email to save me time or did he give me incorrect information and I must indeed submit by post? If I submit via email they will not have my sponsor's "wet signature", will that not pose a problem?

I am really gutted by the outcome but I can't get bogged down in the negativity and must look at the positives. I have filled out the online form on the the consulate's website but I doubt they'll reply. I really hope someone on here can give me some advice.

Thanks