msantanna

I have a question regarding the Affidavit of Support that we submitted to the NVC in 2019 and is now outdated.

When we submitted our documents to the NVC, my husband didn't qualify for sponsoring me because he had just started a new job and did not make enough income on that year. We submitted our I-184 anyways and planned on getting a joint sponsor. That was in September 2019. Our interview got canceled in March 2020 because of the pandemic and only recently got rescheduled. From then on, a lot of things have changed financially for us. So here's my question:

We already submitted our taxes for 2020 and our tax transcripts show that my husband earned above poverty guidelines. Is it possible and/or necessary to fill out a new i-184 to take with me to the interview with my husband's new income to reflect our current situation? Or should I use the one I already filed and only bring the supporting documents of our current finances (tax transcripts, savings etc)?

Since we couldn't find a joint sponsor, it would be great if we could use the delay caused by the pandemic to our advantage, and have my husband as my only sponsor.

Thank you in advance for your input!

On 2/14/2020 at 9:36 PM, DeParaquedasBrasi said:

Congratulations!!!! Ive been following your case since we're both in Brazil. I got set back due to the police record not being the right one........the Delegada wasng very helpful, but I think we got the right one now. Do you have an interview date?

Oh no! That sucks! I know it varies by state, but where I live I could get my police record online. That made it much easier. I don't have an interview date yet. I'm actually only now trying to find out how that happens. I think I just gotta wait until they schedule it for me? In this process it always boils down to waiting.

1 minute ago, LilyJ said:

As long as it says “submitted” you’re fine, you don’t get an email confirmation for submitting everything and your status will only change once your documents have been accepted and you’ve been DQd

Awesome! Thanks Lily! I suppose then that I should consider the date when I submitted my last documents as the date my application was finished, right?

Hey guys, I finished my application on CEAC a little while ago. You know how it goes, time passed, nothing happened and paranoia starts setting in. So then I started wondering if I ever got confirmation that all of my documents were received. I did get a confirmation page after finishing the IV application. But it took me a while (over a month after that) to submit the financial documentation. After that, I don't recall receiving any confirmation besides the fact that on CEAC's home tab the document's statuses changed to submitted. I tried the "check my visa application status" option on CEAC and got "Action required: Submit requested documents". That's when i panicked. Does that mean that I forgot something? How can I be sure that they have all of my documents and can start reviewing them? Did I do it wrong? Should I have waited to submit my IV application last?

Thank you for your thoughts!

We need to use some assets to bridge the difference between my husband's income for this year and the income requirements for the Affidavit of Support. He started a new job recently, and prior to that he was abroad, so his income this year will be under 125% of poverty guidelines.

To make up for that, we though about using a combination of his 401K and our savings in our personal bank accounts.

My question is regarding my savings: considering most places will advice on presenting 12 months of bank statements, is it ok to show a bigger than average deposit recently in my account? I know that this is a very specific question, but what I can't quite figure out is if they expect me to have had a certain amount over time, or if they only care about the current amount in the bank. And if so, why would they ask for 12 months?

Thank you for your thoughts!

Thank you. I suppose that means I do have to get an updated one then.

Just now, JMPM said:

A birth certificate is a birth certificate

In Brazil a birth certificate gets updated according to a person's life. Say if you get married, or divorced, it shows up on your certificate. Mine was issued before I got married, so that doesn't show up in it. It's not that simple

Hey guys, I hadn't realized until today that I need to upload a birth certificate on CEAC website. I happen to have one that was issued on March 2018. Do you think I could use that one, or should I get a more recent one?

Thank you for your thoughts!

3 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

I can see how it might seem to mean that, but current income is not current year income.  If you lose your job today, it doesn't matter what you made already this year.  Your current income is zero.  If you got your first job today at salary X, salary X is your "current income".

That is a very reasonable point! Makes a lot of sense.

5 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Based on your described circumstances, you don't qualify to use the I-864EZ anyway.

You say that because of the joint sponsor, right? Otherwise, if we don't use one I suppose that I could use the I-184EZ. Or am I missing something?

Thanks again for your thoughts!

30 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

I know of a number of couples where the petitioner just started a job after college or whatever, they Included an employment letter and pay stubs being their tax return showed inadequate income they were approved, but this can vary dramatically from embassy to embassy.   But like already said, have the co-sponsor documents at the ready.    Each of you complete the I-864

I'm glad to hear that you've heard of experiences of people getting approved solely based on their current income. That would be ideal for us. I have no idea though on how strict the consulate in Rio is with these things. I gotta do some research

14 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Current income does not track with any calendar or tax year.  It's the income you will make in the next 12 months, at your current pay rate.  The I-864 requires "information" from three tax returns, but that has nothing to do with "current income".  It's current, not "current year".  Because the public charge concern decision is ultimately a judgment call based on guidelines and the totality of circumstances, even though you DO qualify based on current income, it would be wise to have an affidavit of support package from a qualified joint sponsor, ready to submit at interview, should it be required.

There are no questions about current year income on the I-864.

Thank you for your help!

I found this on the instructions for I-184EZ (Part 5, item 4): "You may include evidence supporting your claim about your expected income for the current year if you believe that submitting this evidence will help you establish the ability to maintain sufficient income."

Don't you think that it seems like they expect me to show sufficient income for this year?

I guess there are two different opinions on this, but it seems like it's an overall consensus that I should have a joint sponsor ready just in case.

I need some help understanding if I qualify to be my husband's sole sponsor, or if I would need a co-sponsor.

I was employed for many years earning well above the minimum income requirements for the Affidavit of Support. I left my job last year and moved to Brazil to live with my husband. I left in March, so for the effect of 2018's taxes I only made around 9k.

I move back to the US this year and got a job three months ago. Considering my yearly income, I would meet the minimum income requirement. However, if I count the total amount that I will make this year alone (until Dec 31st), since I only started working recently, I won't get there.

I've read some contrasting opinions so far about it. For some people it seems that all that matters to the people at NVC and the embassy is my yearly income, meaning that if I have a job that pays, say 30k per year, that is sufficient for a household of two. For some other people it seems that I would need to be able to earn in total this year more than the minimum income of $21,137 set by the Poverty Guidelines, which I won't.

What do you think? Can I be my husband's sponsor, or do I need to find a co-sponsor, which won't be very easy for us?

Thank you for your thoughts!

1 hour ago, Greentea84 said:

Congrats! We are also in Rio with the same service center. Your post made me super excited because (hopefully) that means that our approval is not too far away! Our priority date is in the beginning of September. Q: You didn't file I129, right? We were going to but gave up because we're so close anyway. Please kindly keep updating the rest of the info as you get them so us Rio filers can get a glimpse of what to expect.

 

Thanks! Abraços

I love how this thread suddenly became full of Brazilians! I thought there weren't so many of us here before. 🇧🇷👯‍♀️🇧🇷

I do think your approval is not that far. If I'm not mistaken, VJ was predicting mine between July13th and 27th. I was freaking out, but I realized now that they only got it wrong for 11 days, since I was approved on August 7th. I did not file an I129 and I don't think it will be of any help if you file now. You're already too close to your PD.

Keep us informed too! Abraço!

15 minutes ago, jademcculloch said:

you have no idea how much reading this actually helps me, I saw 3 approvals with the I-129f between today and yesterday and I was already thinking "I WILL NEVER BE APPROVED, I AM GOING TO DIE HERE AWAY FROMMY HUSBAND" hahahaha (seriously tho), I don't know why, but I have the number "357" on my head and i think i will be approved around that, i am on day 345 now and counting. Really hope the rest of the process goes smoothly for you and thanks!

Thank you! I know exactly how you feel. It's almost like every day has more hours than 24. I spent so much time refreshing USCIS pages, you have no idea! When my PD started getting close it got much more anxious than before. I was calm a few months ago. You are very close now, try not to worry too much. 357 is a very reasonable number. You might get it just right.

2 minutes ago, jademcculloch said:

OMG I so happy for you, some ppl receive it through mail, some thought email, some my USCIS, you never know with them hahahahaha, let us know when you have a case number

Thank you, Jade! I'll keep you guys informed. I'm here secretly hoping that they'll approve you in a Brazil bundle as we were talking about before.

10 minutes ago, jademcculloch said:

I am starting to think that maybe I should apply as well, ppl are clearly getting approved using this method, my PD is august 27th and according to VJ I should hear something this month, but what if they actually take 15 months with my case? Some ppl have waited that long, what if I am one of them? I seriously don't know what to do

If you had asked me yesterday about how long I think your application would take to get approved I would’ve said longer than you think. Now that I just got approved (minutes ago) I just changed my mind. I realized that when my PD started getting close I got extremely anxious and every day seemed too long. To be honest, I got approved not even that far from my PD. It’s very nerve wrecking to just wait for something that is absolutely out of your control. I think you’re stuck in the same mental place that I was a few minutes ago and I think your application will get approved very soon. It doesn’t seem that it happens often that people are approved around 15 months. Trust me, I’ve been researching because I was freaking out! Your time will come soon. Keep us informed. Força!

11 hours ago, jademcculloch said:

there's been a lot of brazil here lately, that's nice. I really hope you get your approval soon, let us know when it happens, nobody deserves to wait this long

I know! I also noticed it. I'm hoping that they'll group us and approve us all together soon. I'll def let you know if and when I get approved. Keep us posted too!

1 minute ago, Kurdish said:

Hopfully you will get prove soon. My case 315 days. Sometimes just about luck. Should your case sent to Vermont. 

Thank you! Yes, I think I'm just out of luck this time. It's annoying but it's not like I can do much about it 😑

I think it's likely that it will take longer, but there's no way to know. When I applied cases were taking some 7-8 months in Nebraska. That time only got longer. I've been waiting for 376 days and still haven't had an update. Who knows, maybe it won't get worse from now on?

Our petition had its first birthday last Friday! Yay! 😑

Jokes apart, I've noticed that there's been some NO2s sent to people that filed in August. So I started wondering if there are more people here that are also still waiting after one year from NO1.

Our registered address is in Brazil, so I'm hoping that maybe they sent the notice a few weeks ago and it still has not arrived. But idk, case status is still as received and when we called them last week they said it hasn't been approved yet. Do you guys think I should call again and insist on talking to a Tier 2 agent? Would they be able to give me any different information? It seems that case tracker is not really reliable, but then, how will I know?

Maybe the wait is making me overthink this and the answer is just patience?

Thank you for your reply, guys! I suppose they must have made a mistake (how lucky am I?). Check seems right, amount seems right. I'll make sure to review everything again once I receive my application back. Maybe it's something else different from the reason specified.

I thought I'd share the picture of my check here just in case someone might notice anything I missed. Picture attached.

Upon checking my case status today, after sending in my I-130 package, I got the notice "My Case Was Rejected Because My Check Or Money Order Is Not Signed". At first I got really disappointed with my lack of attention for such a basic item. Then I decided to check the pictures that I took from my application before send it in, and was surprised to find my check perfectly filled and signed just as it should be. Did this happen to anyone else, or does anyone have any idea of why it could have happened? According to the message on the USCIS website, they emailed my application back to me, but I'm afraid that if I write a new check and send it back, they'll just reject it again, because, as I said it, the check was properly filled! Any help would be much appreciated!