BeefedRamen

@Dashinka Thank you!

Hi! Is there a way I can changing my mother's status from household member to joint sponsor in the CEAC website? We realized the i864 and not the i864A is best for our situation. Or, would it be better to just bring the i864 joint sponsor documents to the interview and not worry about changing the status in the website? Thanks!

Hi. Does my wife need a renewed Thai Police clearance for the interview or CFO? She got her's back in May 2025. And she hasn't been back to Thailand for work for many years now. Another concern: if she renews her clearance, will she still use the previous passport number and her previous name? She was still single when she was in Thailand. She has a new passport now with her married name. And her previous passport was deactivated.

Thank you.

Hi! Two questions: 1) For the CR1 Interview, my Retired Joint Sponsor only has Tax Transcripts from 2022-2024 for my beneficiary. Would that be sufficient? Or is she required to send the Interviewers W2s and 1099s as well? My Joint Sponsor has been retired since 2007, and she has never seen a 1099 or 1099-R before. At least she doesn't recognize them. What can we do? 2) Also, since I'm an independent contractor, should I write a letter to the Interviewer saying I only receive 1099-NEC and I do not receive W2s? Thanks!

Thank you @appleblossom 🙏

Hi! Two questions: 1) For the interview, does the proof of asset (ie. Property Title) need to be an original document as well? Or can it be a copy? 2) Has anyone been successful in the CR1 interview with just a petitioner and his household member who merely applied for an i864a? No joint sponsor.

Thanks y'all. The visajourney community has always been insightful and helpful.

Hi. For the i864A, is it necessary for my joint sponsor (my mother) to have the correct employment status checked under Part 3? She's retired, but she insists on putting "housewife" even though her husband died a few years ago. She refuses to check "retired" because she's ashamed of her last job as working in a supermarket. The last time she worked was back in 2007. What should I do in this situation? Does it matter for the Embassy Interview?

Hi! If my (the US Citizen's) birthplace is incorrect on the Certificate of Marriage, should it be a concern for the CR1 interview at the Manila Embassy and CFO?

Hi! After reading this, I'm guessing that I should be concerned and do something about my errors on my Philippines marriage certificate? Especially for the Embassy interview or CFO? My US Birthplace for the Philippines Marriage Certificate is not actually my actual US birthplace, they're completely different locations in California.

Any advice would be appreciated. I do intend to go back to the US when my wife is finally done with her CR1 Embassy interview and CFO. I want to travel back to America with her. Over two months is to anticipate maybe the Embassy may need more proof from us, or there may be delays in getting the visa, and to say farewell to our Filipino friends and family, etc. Thank you.

Thank you!

Hi! Trying to plan ahead. How does the interview scheduling work? What can we expect? Does the Manila Embassy allow us to choose dates for the interview? Or if we won't be able to make it to the interview date that the Embassy arranged, may we request it to have the interview at a later date? How much later can we schedule it? Say, we got an IL mid October/November, can we schedule an interview in January ourselves? Thanks!

Thanks you two!

For the CFO, I have questions regarding the FBI clearance for the petitioner: 1) Does the FBI clearance have an expiration date? Will it be ok if I get one a few months early? It seems like this only lasts for a day? 2) Will an FBI clearance suffice, or do I need a clearance from the local police as well? 3) Does the FBI clearance need to be apostilled?

As title says: for those DQ'd in August of any year, when was your interview date?

Thank you!

Thank you so much for the quick response! Sorry for not including this detail but my step dad passed away. Would my mother still do i864 then?

Hi! Two questions about the I864A: 1) If my household sponsor, my mother, doesn't know her retirement date, should we just leave out filling in the date? Or should she give an approximate date? 2) If my mother's surname on my birth certificate is now different, will I have to ask my mother for her marriage certificate with my step dad? For example...her name on my birth certificate says Jennifer Smith, but now she's Jennifer Smith Jones. Or, will this detail not matter to USCIS?

I've been lurking, no worries. I've been very ignorant of all things tax-related for the past few years but with each post from you guys I've learned something of value. Thanks everyone! I've decided to follow many of your(plural) insights and instructions and asked my original CPA about the amendments and possible tax penalties, etc. Turns out, if I were to follow CPA Two's instructions regarding amending to above the poverty guideline, I would owe around $2000 + interest + penalties + around 8 weeks to process. In addition to that, the interviewer I would wager would get confused and ask for a sponsor anyway. But I'm also amending my previous taxes as well as what CPA Two said, but not to the point where "I get enough to show the NVC that I beyond the poverty line". And yes, my goal is to find a joint sponsor. And yes, I do have details I'm withholding since it is far too embarrassing for me to say. Even anonymously. The details that I'm withholding are my main frustrations. Thanks again everyone. You all helped lighten my frustrations.

Hi! Petitioner here. Context: Originally, when I filed my taxes with a CPA and on my own for the past few years, the total income for each year fall 50% below the i864p poverty guideline. But I showed my tax documents to a different CPA about a week ago. He realized I've been filing wrong all these years. My total income for every year should actually be around $36000 for every year, which is $10,000 above the poverty line! So, the current CPA recommended that I amend all my federal tax returns for the past few years and send the amended forms to the NVC so that I will not need a joint sponsor. However, I've been DQ'd recently, my original 3 tax forums have already been submitted to the NVC, and the NVC requested that "may" need to find a joint sponsor. I have not received the interview letter yet. Questions: 1) Would it be wise to follow the current CPA's advice? 2) Won't the Interviewer be suspect of the amendments? Or will the interviewer accept the amendments? 3) Should I contact NVC regarding my situation? Or is there a likelihood that they'll see my situation as a red flag? 4) Will amending tax forms delay the NVC process by months and months? 5) Even having earned $36000 per year for all three years and its anticipated for 2025, should I still have a joint sponsor?

Hi! For the CR1 interview, were any of you refused and requested a joint sponsor by the mere fact that the sole petitioner did not make enough, even though the petitioner made around $10,000 over the poverty guideline? For example, the poverty guideline is $26,437, but he/she every year made $36000 per year for the past four years?

Hi! Petitioner here. Context: Originally, when I filed my taxes with a CPA and on my own for the past few years, the total income for each year fall 50% below the i864p poverty guideline. But I showed my tax documents to a different CPA today. He realized I've been filing wrong all these years. My total income for every year should actually be around $36000 for every year, which is $10,000 above the poverty line! So, the current CPA recommended that I amend all my federal tax returns for the past few years and send the amended forms to the NVC so that I will not need a joint sponsor. However, I've been DQ'd just yesterday, my original 3 tax forums have already been submitted to the NVC, and the NVC requested that "may" need to find a joint sponsor. I have not received the interview letter yet. Questions: 1) Would it be wise to follow the current CPA's advice? 2) Won't the Interviewer be suspect of the amendments? Or will the interviewer accept the amendments? 3) Should I contact NVC regarding my situation? Or is there a likelihood that they'll see my situation as a red flag? 4) Will amending tax forms delay the NVC process by months and months? 5) Even having earned $36000 per year for all three years and its anticipated for 2025, should I still have a joint sponsor? Thanks in advance for answering these questions!

Thank you so much!