samnrong

6 hours ago, Hemutian said:

Thanks for the reassurance. That they're simply busy is a perfectly logical explanation. 

It just seems strange that this other girl in her Wechat group was interviewed after her, and got her status switched to Issued within just 1 day of the interview. But again, every case is different, so it's no use to compare. 

 

Exactly. Unless you hear something from the embassy I wouldn't start to worry.

3 minutes ago, Hemutian said:

Doing the email check you suggested gets this response: "There is no status update available for the passport number submitted."

You probably won't get an update on the passport until it transfers to NIV.

Not sure of the current workloads in GZ, but could just bet that they're busy. Your fiancee was given the "acceptance" letter and not given anything requesting further information. Also, as others mentioned, they would not take her passport if they needed additional info.

It's possible that while going through the final checks something has popped up and you'll soon get a mailed letter requesting more information, but I think this is less likely than the consulate just being backlogged and processing of visas is taking a bit longer.

Remember, they are not just processing K-1's, they are processing all types of visas (tourist, work, etc.).

For what it's worth, I called the number on the UStraveldocs website and was able to speak with an individual. Maybe just keep trying that line (I think there's only one number per the website).

20 minutes ago, Hemutian said:

I've seen other users recommend checking whether her visa is still filed under "Nonimmigrant" or "Immigrant" as a sign to whether it's made any progress yet. I don't see anywhere where it actually displays this status. What I see is, on the CEAC login page, there are two choices, one for "Immigrant" and one for "NonImmigrant". When we log into the "Nonimmigrant" section, that's where we get her status as "Administrative Processing". When we try to got into the "Immigrant" section, it says there is no record of her case. Is this how you check "Immigrant" vs "Nonimmigrant" status? @samnrong suggested checking Immigrant/Nonimmigrant status on the USCIS website, but when I check the USCIS website, it still shows the latest status update as way back in May when they issued her NOA2 and shipped the case to the NVC.

Yes, this means that your visa is in the NIV unit. They've already transferred from IV to NIV and now they are getting ready to issue the visa. The status will read "ISSUED" when the Visa is issued and ready to mail.

Weird that you can't see the status of the passport anymore per the website. Could be a systems issue. Try checking through the email option.

I wouldn't start to worry yet. 10 business days is still within a normal processing timeframe. Maybe there is just high volume and they have a lot of visas to process.

On 8/30/2019 at 4:57 PM, Plaxerous said:

The NVC produced my Case # on Aug 27 for me and my fiancee in China, only a week after they received my documentation! They told me to await an email with further instructions. Sorry for the plethora of questions...

1. My fiancee already has her red/white book and police certificate prepared. Is there anything else we can do ahead of time?
2. What's the difference between DS-160 and DS-260, and which one should we fill out?
3. I'm looking to switch jobs with a 3 week break in-between, which I'm planning to use to visit my fiancee in China, and we plan on scheduling her Guangzhou interview at the same time as my trip. However, I'm also planning to submit employment confirmation as part of Form I-134. Will the embassy care that the employment letter may be slightly outdated, and that I may not currently be employed?
4. How far in advance should the medical examination be scheduled ahead of the interview date?

1) You can fill out the DS-160. You need the DS-160 as the K-1 is a non-immigrant visa.

2) See answer to #1

3) Is your employment letter from your new employer and state your new salary (it is a bit hard to tell from the way you worded your question)? They are interested in your current salary, as they are looking towards the future. If letter is from new employer, being slightly outdated (a month or two) won't matter. If letter is from old employer, it's worthless. Get one from new employer.

4) Medical exam is good for 1 year, so you want to plan it alongside with your plans for coming to the US. You need to file AoS within 1 year of the medical to prevent having to get a new one stateside. Other than that it's up to you. Can schedule as far in advance as you want (note that you will only be able to schedule once you've received P4).

6 hours ago, Hemutian said:

That's what I wanted to hear. I'll let her know. Thanks, @RandyW. 

The AP that you are seeing is normal processing. Technically what happens is that up until this point you have been processed in the Immigrant Visa channel. Once approved, they need to switch everything into the Non-Immigrant Visa channel since K-1 is technically a NIV. The IV unit will send the visa to AP and transfer it over to NIV. Once it gets into NIV it will again undergo normal AP while they prepare everything. It will then state issued under NIV channel when it's ready to go out.

Check on the USCIS website. Is the visa showing as NIV yet? That's a good indication that it is close to being sent out.

21 minutes ago, Hemutian said:

That's good to know. Thanks.

Out of curiosity, do you think that the CO who does the interview has actually read through all the evidence front-loaded in the I-129F? Or at least, skimmed through it? 

It's my understanding that they have at a minimum skimmed through it. They have the case file ahead of time and I am under the impression they look at it previously. They have a computer screen with them that they look at, which I believe has all the information pulled up in real time.

1 minute ago, Hemutian said:

Hope so, but since my situation is kind of unusual (i.e currently unemployed, but have significant income from dividends and capital gains) figured they might ask about it. I've read a lot of peoples' interview experiences, and while most don't ask about this, it appears that it is occasionally something that is asked so best my fiancee be prepared in that event.

Never hurts to over prepare.

1 minute ago, Hemutian said:

No, that's not the document I was looking at. The document I'm referring to is labeled "K Visa Instructions". I included a link to it in my reply above. Here it is again: https://imgur.com/a/c6SUkV8

 

It seems like maybe someone at the Consulate made a copy-and-paste error, including pieces of the Immigrant visa in this set of instructions when it shouldn't have been there. 

 

I'd go based on what is on the US Travel Docs website. That is the official website the consulate uses and seems to have been updated for August.

2 minutes ago, Hemutian said:

Thanks for the advice.

I'm confused, because I definitely have a document in my files titled "K Visa Instructions" from the US Consulate in Guangzhou, but I have no idea where I got it. It is different than the "K Visa Instructions" available here: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn/K Visa Instructions-English Aug2019.pdf

I tried to find the source of the document by Googling chunks of text in it, but found nothing.

I can't attach it here because it exceeds VisaJourney's size limit, but I converted the PDF to a graphic and uploaded it to Imgur here so you can see what I'm talking about: https://imgur.com/a/c6SUkV8 (I circled the "resume" part in green).

This document looks mostly the same as the "K Visa Instructions" at ustraveldocs.com, with the exception of the resume requirement. 

Since my fiancee is not involved in any special or sensitive field, and since the requirements on ustraveldocs.com don't mention a resume, I guess we'll just ignore this.

 

One more question: I notice that the instructions also say that any "documents not in English" must be translated by a certified translator and notarized. 

I'm assuming that this applies to "official documents" such as birth certificate and police certificate, any document issued by the Chinese government.

However, we have lots of other pieces of evidence in our "evidence of relationship" folder which were in Chinese originally, and which I personally translated into English (I included a statement of translation, stating that I'm fluent in Chinese and English, with date, and signature). This includes things like plane tickets, train tickets, hotel reservations, and WeChat chat transcripts. Do you think that for this type of evidence, my personal translations are sufficient? Did you include anything like this? If I had to take all these files to an official translator AND get them notarized, that would be thousands of dollars in fees because there are so many pages of evidence. I'm perfectly fluent in Chinese so I really hope they don't disqualify us because I did the translations myself. I guess it comes down to the what the definition of "document" is , and I'm assuming "document" means "official documentation" not "personal receipts, chats, etc"

 

 

They only mean official documents (birth certificate, police certificate, marriage/divorce, etc.)

No need to get plane tickets and the like translated officially. For what it's worth, I also compiled a large pile of evidence including plane tickets, hotels, and WeChat transcripts. The CO didn't look at any of this. Better to have in case they ask for it, but likely they won't even go through the trouble of looking at this, especially not if you had frontloaded your application with this info.

2 hours ago, visafrompa said:

You should have still filed your US taxes.  Did you?  If not once you marry and try to do anything stateside the system may catch up to you.

 

So YES:  you have file US tax retruns on income made outside of the US (although there is a fairly high exemption of like $60k)

And YES: even if you made $0, you still have to file US taxes.

 

So the answer is 'you screwed up' and you should have filed your taxes.  Short of that, the I-134 states (for self employed)

 

C. If self-employed:
(1) Copy of last income tax return filed; or
(2) Report of commercial rating concern.

 

You're not going to just say 'I worked in China' and get around the I-134 and I-864 without income being documented, somehow.  Technically you can't even get a bank account without a working visa (I couldn't) and mixing it with your GF does not prove YOUR income.

To add on to this, as visafrompa states, you will need to file a US tax return for every year that you missed. The US taxes worldwide income and even if no tax is due, there is still a requirement to file a tax form with the IRS. So from the likes of it, it sounds that you have not filed for the past 5 years (2014 - 2018?) and will need to start by filing a Form 1040 for all of these years.

Keep in mind that the exemption the other posters are speaking of is the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. This is a tax law that excludes up to $103K of foreign earned income. However, in order to qualify for this exclusion you need to meet a number of qualifying tests: Bona fide resident test and physical presence test. Under the bona fide resident test the taxpayer must be a resident of the foreign country for a period that includes a full tax year. For the physical presence test, you must spend at least 330 days of the year outside of the US.

Now, based on what you have stated, you never declared residency in China as you were on a tourist visa and had no right to work in the country. You never paid taxes to the Chinese government nor did you inform them nor did they consider you a resident. You kept your address in the US and maintained the US as your country of residence. This will exclude you from meeting the bona fide resident test and you are not eligible for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.

There are also Foreign Tax Credits that reduce your US Income Tax Liability. Without going into too much detail, these essentially work as a reduction in your US taxes owed for taxes paid overseas in a country that the US has a valid tax treaty with (US does not have tax treaties with 100% of countries, so if you have income earned and pay taxes in one of these countries you end up getting taxed double as the US doesn't recognize the taxes paid). However, in your case, you mentioned that you NEVER paid taxes to China, nor did you claim the income with China, so you would not have any Foreign Tax Credits to offset your US liability. In short, since you never paid foreign income taxes you have nothing to reduce the US income taxes you would have owed and will therefore have to pay them to the US.

Now, since it sounds like you had taxable income, for which you never claimed and never paid taxes on, when you file you will also be subject to a penalty plus accrued interest from the IRS for failure to pay your taxes in a timely manner.

So to recap you need to do the following:

1) File Form 1040 with the IRS for every year that you did not file

2) Pay all taxes owed + penalties + interest

Strongly suggest doing this ahead of time. Technically you have committed tax evasion, which is punishable through fines and even jail time (see Wesley Snipes). Self reporting the missing years and paying all back taxes and penalties is much prerferable to the government catching this when you start filing your immigration forms. Due to the nature of the questions on your immigration forms, it's unlikley that this won't come up (since you need to explain why you have no work history for the past 5 years). The longer you wait, the larger the penalties and interest get on the back taxes owed so recommend to do this ASAP.

There's current talk that the administration will deny passports to citizens who owe back taxes as a means of enforcement. I can only imagine that something similar may impede your immigration journey. Best to get your tax situation taken care of prior to going the immigration route.

On 6/22/2019 at 10:13 AM, Amy Versyp said:

Hello everyone,

 

Could someone tell me if European degrees are recognized in the States?

I obtained my Masters degree in Criminology here in Belgium and I’m wondering if this will be valid when applying for jobs (in the Los Angeles area). 

 

I’ve been searching for answers online but I haven’t been successful so far. 

Thanks in advance!

 

Unless a valid degree is a requirement for licensure (for example, CPA, MD, etc.), it may not be an issue.

I think your work experience would be more relevant here. For example, if you're a criminologist and the job your applying for does not mandate a degree (i.e., not that the position requests one but the licensing board actually mandates that all professionals have degrees to obtain the license), and you have 20 years of experience as a criminologist in Belgium, this would likely factor much more into an employers decision of whether to hire you.

Generally speaking, if you're going for an advanced level job that requires years or a decade + of experience, chances are that the technicalities of whether the degree is accepted are far less relevant than your work experience and history. 

I only see degrees being relevant if you're looking at entry-level jobs (where you don't have the relevant experience to overcome the fact that your degree isn't accepted) or where one is mandated for licensure.

On 8/19/2019 at 11:01 AM, Hemutian said:

Gotcha. My question wasn't copy vs originals. My question was 1 copy vs. 2 copies. 

I-134 is original, with my wet signature. 

Plan's to provide one copy of each tax transcript and tax return for the window, and a 2nd copy of just the tax transcript with income highlighted and stickied for fiancee to take to interview and point to when CO asks about my income. 

Doubt the CO will ask about your income. Once the documents are collected at the intake they will go into your file and be available for the CO to see. I don't know why they would ask your fiancee any questions about your income. The documents provided should speak for themselves (i.e., the CO can read the affidavit of support form and tax transcripts themselves without any need to ask your fiancee).

On 8/20/2019 at 5:01 AM, Hemutian said:

Do you actually need the P4 letter at the interview? The P4 letter instructions say "bring this letter to the medical exam" but they don't say say "bring this letter to the interview." Also, the P4 letter does not contain the CGI/UID number that is the key piece of information in the "online registration confirmation page" in the question above.

 

There's another thread on the general K1 forum from September 2018 in which @TomandQi writes that he contacted the Consulate in Guangzhou and was told that it was okay if his fiancee did not have a copy of the original CGI online confirmation page to bring with her to her interview, that the interview appointment letter fulfills this same requirement since it contains the UID number and barcode on it. 

 

Lastly, I'm pretty sure that the P4 letter is not what they are asking for when they ask for the appointment letter. The appointment letter is what you get once you've scheduled the interview through the CGI website. 

I just brought everything to CYA. If you have all the items, what harm is it to include an additional 2 pieces of paper to carry around?

On 8/20/2019 at 5:57 AM, Hemutian said:

Just reviewing the latest K1 Visa Instructions as published by the Guangzhou Consulate, and stumbled across a requirement I don't recall seeing before. 

I actually believe you are looking at the wrong instructions. The resume is listed on the IV Instructions, but there is no such requirement for K visas.

http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/cn/IV Instructions-English Aug2019.pdf

http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/cn/K Visa Instructions-English Aug2019.pdf

Make sure that you are following the K Visa Instructions rather than the IV Instructions. Technically the K Visa is a non-immigrant visa that is processed similarly to an immigrant visa due to the immigration intent.

Can you please provide the link where you saw this information as required? We did not see this when preparing for our interview, so it would be helpful to see the link.

To answer your question, we did not prepare a resume for my fiancee. The topic did not come up with the CO. My guess here is that this is relevant for individuals that will be working in classified fields in the US, as the government likely will need to perform additional background checks. For example, if your fiancee was working as a rocket scientist or AI researcher and had an advanced degree in these areas, there would be some risk that she may be an intelligence risk and they'd want to vet that further. IMO this is the risk they're worried about, so if your fiancee only has a high school degree and does not work in a classified field, doubt that they will request.

As far as evidence goes, recommended to CYA here and bring everything. We brought a copy of everything included in the 129-F (although they should already have this on file), additional evidence of relationship from the I-129F filing through the interview date, and updated letters of intent to marry.

Of these items, the one that I hear as the most important is the updated letters of intent to marry. However, I don't believe that the consulate looked at any of this (we had provided a lot of evidence with the I-129F, as I had already made 3-4 visits) and they solely relied on the interview. In my opinion, better to be over prepared than under prepared. I'd much rather prepare evidence that is not looked at than have them request evidence that I do not have and be put into AP.

They did ask about the last time we saw each other. She was able to provide my passport to the CO (I accompanied her to GZ for the interview and gave her my passport for this purpose) to show that I was in-town for support. Not sure if this matters, but if you're going to be there for support, it can't hurt.

Overall the process was smooth. She went into the consulate, delivered the Affidavit information to a counter and then went on to the interview. The interviewer spoke both Chinese and English, so your fiancee should be able to use whichever language she is more comfortable in.

Hopet his helps and good luck!

Can you please provide the link where you saw this information as required? We did not see this when preparing for our interview, so it would be helpful to see the link.

To answer your question, we did not prepare a resume for my fiancee. The topic did not come up with the CO. My guess here is that this is relevant for individuals that will be working in classified fields in the US, as the government likely will need to perform additional background checks. For example, if your fiancee was working as a rocket scientist or AI researcher and had an advanced degree in these areas, there would be some risk that she may be an intelligence risk and they'd want to vet that further. IMO this is the risk they're worried about, so if your fiancee only has a high school degree and does not work in a classified field, doubt that they will request.

As far as evidence goes, recommended to CYA here and bring everything. We brought a copy of everything included in the 129-F (although they should already have this on file), additional evidence of relationship from the I-129F filing through the interview date, and updated letters of intent to marry.

Of these items, the one that I hear as the most important is the updated letters of intent to marry. However, I don't believe that the consulate looked at any of this (we had provided a lot of evidence with the I-129F, as I had already made 3-4 visits) and they solely relied on the interview. In my opinion, better to be over prepared than under prepared. I'd much rather prepare evidence that is not looked at than have them request evidence that I do not have and be put into AP.

They did ask about the last time we saw each other. She was able to provide my passport to the CO (I accompanied her to GZ for the interview and gave her my passport for this purpose) to show that I was in-town for support. Not sure if this matters, but if you're going to be there for support, it can't hurt.

Overall the process was smooth. She went into the consulate, delivered the Affidavit information to a counter and then went on to the interview. The interviewer spoke both Chinese and English, so your fiancee should be able to use whichever language she is more comfortable in.

Hopet his helps and good luck!

6 hours ago, Hemutian said:

My income is over 125% of the poverty threshold but it is not over $100,000. And most of it is not from wages, it's from capital gains. Which makes me feel they may scrutinize it more than usual. Which is why I want to include assets as well, just as a form of insurance. Also, with the recent update to the guidelines from the Trump administration, it just seems like I should be extra careful, and that it is in my interest to share any evidence I can to guarantee that my fiancee will not become public charge. In this case, my assets, in addition to my income, would certainly count as such evidence. 

 

Above, iwannaplay54 writes that 3 years' tax returns are not necessary. But I notice that you did provide 3 years' tax returns. Were you just trying to be extra careful?

Best to provide assets to CYA. If they're not necessary the consulate will just ignore, but can't hurt to have.

I provided 2 year's tax returns (I believe). As others mentioned, only 1 year is required per the instructions. I gave more just to be careful. However, I provided transcripts, not returns, as I am not self-employed.

Suggest you provide the transcripts along with the returns. Returns are lower evidence, as they are not official forms and can be altered on your end. Transcripts are official IRS records of what they have on file.

Good luck!

4 hours ago, Hemutian said:

I am self-employed, so that explains why I do need to include my 100-page tax return. I'm not sure where I got the "3 years of tax returns" info. I'm pretty sure I got it off of this forum. Maybe that's for AOS? In any case, I agree, based on re-reading the instructions you sent it sounds like for the interview she only needs to bring the previous year's tax return, not three years.

Plus, dozens of pages  from my 1099 listing all the stocks, since that IS required by the I-134, and dozens of pages of broker statements proving my assets. 

 

As for my initial query, do I need a SECOND copy of all this, I'm thinking maybe its enough to army my fiancee with just an extra copy of last year's tax transcript rather than a copy of the entire return, since it's got all the pertinent information on it, and she can point to it as evidence of my income surpassing the threshold.

If you’re using income to qualify then listing our assets is not necessary. For example, if your income is $150k and clearly over the threshold, you don’t list any assets on the form. You just leave that section blank since you qualify with your income and don’t need assets to prove the “public charge” criteria.

We used only income on the form, did not list any assets or real estate, and had no trouble with the process. Obviously this will hinge on what you’re income is showing, but if you are showing sufficient income in past 3 years tax returns (I’m assuming you’re income is over $100k and more than sufficient due to the size of your returns) then no assets are necessary.

The consulate did not even take the bank letter and bank statements that I provided (still include these since the instructions say to), which shows that if you’re more than qualified on income they don’t care about assets.

Just now, samnrong said:

If you’re using income to qualify then listing our assets is not necessary. For example, if your income is $150k and clearly over the threshold, you don’t list any assets on the form. You just leave that section blank since you qualify with your income and don’t need assets to prove the “public charge” criteria.

 

We used only income on the form, did not list any assets or real estate, and had no trouble with the process. Obviously this will hinge on what you’re income is showing, but if you are showing sufficient income in past 3 years tax returns (I’m assuming you’re income is over $100k and more than sufficient due to the size of your returns) then no assets are necessary.

 

The consulate did not even take the bank letter and bank statements that I provided (still include these since the instructions say to), which shows that if you’re more than qualified on income they don’t care about assets.

We had only one copy. Second copy not necessary.

1 hour ago, visafrompa said:

Have you divorced a Chinese woman?  I have.  So unless your lawyers were really bad, there is no such thing as hiding assets from the court.

 

So unless you have divorced a Chinese woman and can speak from EXPERIENCE, could you PLEASE stop posting on things you may have no idea about?  PLEASE.  PRETTY PLEASE?!?!?!?!?!

 

And no Judge is going to buy 'hiding foreign assets'.  She's in a US court, pleading for a US Divorce.  She cannot waive the magical Chinar wand and say 'I don't have any assets' when the spouse can prove otherwise.

 

 

Let me know how many of your ex’s chinese assets you were able to actually get a hold of.

the court can say whatever it wants. Actually getting the assets expropriated from China into your hands is an entirely different matter. But please do tell

how you were able to expropriate your ex wife’s chinese assets. I’d love to hear that story.

On ‎8‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 10:30 PM, visafrompa said:

Have you done an Interview THIS year?  

 

If you have NOT done an interview 'recently (aka in the last 6 months) PLEASE STOP POSTING.  I get that you think you're helping, but your not.  You didn't even read the question, as I never asked for 'wild estimates', did I?

 

So, anyone that's ACTUALLY done an interview and gotten a medical, what are the times like?

You’re just being a ####### now. Look at my timeline #######. I just did this entire process. So yes, my response is valid and my experience is THIS YEAR.

you asked for how crowded the interview timeline is and I gave you an answer. The last piece of help you’ll be receiving from me.

1 hour ago, visafrompa said:

 

If you claim them on your taxes, they are a dependent.  You cannot claim a rando off the street, you have to SUPPORT THEM.  Even in the US, at 18 they are an adult and cannot be claimed unless they are in school or disabled.  This is all tax law.

 

I get that you're confused.

JFC you’re dull. Read the instructions again. It says to list the number of children you have. You can exclude only IF they are adults AND you do not claim as a dependent.

Nowhere does it say you can exclude a minor child who you don’t claim. Learn how to comprehend English.

6 hours ago, visafrompa said:

 

Have service done to her at the airport.. see if CBP will serve it for you.  That would be EPIC.  'Welcome to the US, you're been served!' (queue music, glitter ball and balloon drop.  Any 3rd party can do service as long as they sign the paper that they served it to the right person (aka almost like in the movies).  Get a homeless person and pay them $20 to do it.  lol

 

Claiming abuse etc won't do much.. most divorces are 'not fault' and unless she has a green card she won't be able to stay in the US for the year or two it will take to fight it out.  If she claims 'at fault', well, if you don't have any money then they can't award her anything.

 

If anything make sure, that during the financial discovery phase you make sure she lists EVERYTHING.  She has two houses in the Guo?  Have her get them assessed.  Demand all bank accounts and pensions.  Cars, jewelry, furs, force her to put up or shut up.   Remember, you're entitled to half of the MARTIAL assets, or the growth of premarital assets during marriage. 

Slim chance that US courts have any jurisdiction over Chinese assets. Sounds like all the woman's assets are in China. Doubt OP will see anything. Doubt that US court orders mean diddly squat to the Chinese judiciary.

7 minutes ago, visafrompa said:

Getting close to interview time for my fiance.. should have NVC case number in a week or two to start the in country part of the visa.

 

Anyone recently get a look at the consulate schedule and see how booked up the internviews are?  A week?  A month?

 

Also, her medical will be in Beijing... and one get a medical recently and can give a clue as to the wait time?

You’re likely 2-3 months out from interview. Will take about 2-3 weeks for NVC to send package to GZ. Then another 2 weeks or so for GZ to process and send your fiancée the P3. Once P3 is received you’ll need to pay visa fee (AliPay is easiest but can also pay at CITIC bank), complete DS-160 (I guess you can start to do this now) and return DS-160 confirmation forms and visa photos with P3 through the courier service at CITIC. Plan for another 2-3 weeks for consulate to receive P3, process, and send P4. Once P4 is received you can book your medical and interview. Medical spots are numerous, can probably get one in a few days after receiving P4. Medical takes about 1 week to get all docs back. Interview slows seemed to be plentiful, not much wait there.

Taking all into account that’s about 7-9 weeks out before the earliest you’d interview.

2 minutes ago, visafrompa said:

Yes, YOU DID.  There is an 'AND' between 'age of majority' AND 'you did not claim them as dependents on your Federal...."

 

You claim them on the 1040, they are dependents.  What is a dependent?  Someone who has lived with you for more than 6 months of the year, you provide more than 50% of their living expenses.

 

 

The directions clearly state “you may exclude if they are above the age of majority AND you did not claim them as dependent.” That means you need to meet BOTH criteria. Learn how the English language works.

For the house you may need to get it appraised. Note that if the house is the primary residence you will be living in they may not consider it, since it can’t be liquidated to provide support. They really Are looking for liquid assets, since they are making a judgment on the sponsors ability to pay your living expenses.