He is on several times a week, this was his last one.
The I 864 and its notes? My reading is that there are 2 issues, you need to show your current income meets the requirements and that you have filed taxes, separate requirements.
Hacking always says you need to do both, you need to show that your last 3 year tax returns meet the requirements. As always it is a question of interpretation. I do not see people who to use your example have just graduated and now are earning $500k for a few months having an issue.