Received RFE for I-864 - need some help please

[Cyrusxs 0]

Hello all,

So I'm on an H-1B, and my wife is a US Citizen. We're both in the U.S. and we recently filed the I-130 along with the I-485.

My wife and I were married last year, and she had been living with her parents before we were married. Also, she hasn't been working for the past few years.

As part of the I-485 packet, I also submitted the I-864, Affidavit of Support on her behalf. Since she hasn't had any income for the past few years, we attached a written document explaining the situation that she hasn't filed any tax returns as she has had no income (as per the I-864 instructions). Additionally, I submitted my pay stubs for the most recent 6 months, as well as a letter from my company basically stating that I would have continued employment with them, and that receiving a change of status wouldn't affect anything.

I received an RFE last week stating, "The household member on the petitioner/sponsor's Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, must submit the Federal Income Tax Return submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the most recent tax year."

I called the USCIS confirming that they were indeed asking for the petitioner and not the beneficiary's tax returns, and they said that was true. I also made an InfoPass appointment with the local USCIS office, where the lady also said the same thing. Turns out that they often misplace documents, and lose things (kind of concerning since this is really important stuff).

Anyway, my question to the forum is this:

1. I'm planning on sending the same document back again, along with another explanation of why my wife hasn't filed any tax returns due to no employment. Is there anything else you think I could/should send?
   
2. My wife suggested that I should also send copies of my tax returns to prove that we have income and that I've been filing taxes - is this necessary? Is there a risk of me confusing things further since they don't really ask for the beneficiary's tax information on the I-864.
   

For reference, this is what I've typed up so far:

My Name

My Address

My Phone #

My Email

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

P.O. Box 648004

Lees Summit, MO 64002

RE:

RFE

issued on [date] for application [application #] requesting Federal Tax Return for household member on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support submitted to the IRS for the most recent tax year.

Petitioner: [Wife's name]

Beneficiary: [My name]

Form #: I-864, Affidavit of Support

USCIS A #: [My A#]

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing in response to the Request for Evidence (

RFE

) I have received in response to my Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485).

The

RFE

has requested that the household member, my wife [wife's name], must submit the Federal Income Tax Return submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the most recent tax year.

My wife, who is the petitioner for the application in question ([application #]) has not earned any income during the past 3 tax years, and was therefore not required to file any Federal Income Tax returns. As per the instructions for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, I had submitted a document on behalf of my wife, explaining that she had not filed an income tax return for the past 3 tax years as she had no income. I have once again included this document within this packet for your reference.

Enclosed is the following document:

• Letter explaining why [wife's name] (Petitioner) has not filed tax returns for the 3 most recent years.

Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

[My name]

I hope that I don't need to do anything else - I would appreciate if anyone could lend their advice/thoughts. It would help greatly.

Thanks much!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You, the person on H1B, qualifying based on your income, need to send copies of your own complete tax returns. That is clearly what they are asking for when they say "the household member on the sponsor's I-864 must submit copies of federal tax returns." You are the household member, she is the sponsor. Thee 1-800 number you call are not USCIS employees,and they read from a script. They should not interpret for you what the RFE means. If you send your letter, your case will be denied for failure to properly respond to the RFE. They want your Federal tax returns.

[jdh 103]

Don't send them a repeat of what you already sent...obviously that was not enough. I believe harpa is correct - that's how I would interpret the wording as well.

However, If they were indeed asking for something further in regards to your wife it would be proof of why your wife did not need to pay taxes. Not according to you but according to IRS. The instructions actually indicate that you need to send the applicable tax law according to 1040 instructions that exclude her from having to pay taxes - you would put that in the letter and print off the portion of 1040 instructions that display that and include those pages as well.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I agree with Harpa. If they were asking for your wife's tax returns then they would have said "sponsor" and not "household member". Never rely on a USCIS customer service rep for accurate information. They're not always wrong, but they're wrong often enough that they have a bad reputation on this forum. You should have asked to speak with an immigration officer at the InfoPass appointment. Someone who actually issues RFE's would have a much better understanding of what the RFE was asking for.

The next question is how, exactly, did you fill out the I-864? Your wife is still the primary sponsor, so the information in part 4 would be about her. Also, the income information in part 22 and 23 would be her income information. Your income should have been added in section 24.b, and you should have checked box 24.e and written your name in the box. As the intending immigrant you are exempt from having to submit an I-864A as a qualifying household member, but you'd still be bound by the requirement to submit a copy of your most recent tax return.

[Cyrusxs 0]

You, the person on H1B, qualifying based on your income, need to send copies of your own complete tax returns. That is clearly what they are asking for when they say "the household member on the sponsor's I-864 must submit copies of federal tax returns." You are the household member, she is the sponsor. Thee 1-800 number you call are not USCIS employees,and they read from a script. They should not interpret for you what the RFE means. If you send your letter, your case will be denied for failure to properly respond to the RFE. They want your Federal tax returns.

Thanks Harpa. When I read the RFE notice, I too thought it meant me and not my wife. I wanted to confirm which is why I called USCIS and I guess I should mention that I spoke to someone as a "first level" support, and they then transferred me to someone else, who I'm assuming was an immigration officer, but I can't remember for sure. Anyway, it's the second person who said that it was my wife who needs to send her tax information, but like you said, it's quite possible they didn't know what they were talking about

Don't send them a repeat of what you already sent...obviously that was not enough. I believe harpa is correct - that's how I would interpret the wording as well.

However, If they were indeed asking for something further in regards to your wife it would be proof of why your wife did not need to pay taxes. Not according to you but according to IRS. The instructions actually indicate that you need to send the applicable tax law according to 1040 instructions that exclude her from having to pay taxes - you would put that in the letter and print off the portion of 1040 instructions that display that and include those pages as well.

Thanks jdh. So I took yours and Harpa's advice, and I've printed out my tax return for last year (2011) and along with it, I'll be sending in a copy of the page from the Form 1040 Instructions, that has a chart which shows that she need not file an income tax return. (Pages 7 and 8 from http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf)

I agree with Harpa. If they were asking for your wife's tax returns then they would have said "sponsor" and not "household member". Never rely on a USCIS customer service rep for accurate information. They're not always wrong, but they're wrong often enough that they have a bad reputation on this forum. You should have asked to speak with an immigration officer at the InfoPass appointment. Someone who actually issues RFE's would have a much better understanding of what the RFE was asking for.

The next question is how, exactly, did you fill out the I-864? Your wife is still the primary sponsor, so the information in part 4 would be about her. Also, the income information in part 22 and 23 would be her income information. Your income should have been added in section 24.b, and you should have checked box 24.e and written your name in the box. As the intending immigrant you are exempt from having to submit an I-864A as a qualifying household member, but you'd still be bound by the requirement to submit a copy of your most recent tax return.

Thanks JimVaPhuong. It was my first InfoPass appointment, so I didn't really know who to ask for. I figured the person I spoke to would know the correct information. Foolish of me to assume I guess.

With regard to your questions about how I filled out the I-864:

• Yes, the information in Part 4 of the form is about her.
  
• Yes, the information in #22 and #23 (Part 6) is also about her. She checked box d for #22, and for #23, she entered $0.00.
  
• #24.b was indeed my information, and yes, I had checked 24.e and put my name on the line.
  

Glad to know I had filled that information out correctly

Like I mentioned above, I'll be submitting a copy of my most recent tax return for last year (2011), along with the page from the instructions for the Form 1040 that show why my wife hasn't had to file an income tax return.

Hopefully this should suffice for them. If anyone thinks I should do more, or do something differently, please advise.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Mike X Man 37]

Need to put name of the RFE respondent, their SSN and "form I-864" on the top right corner of the accompanying letter. Include the subject and question number of the I-864 you are responding to, sign and date letter. Make sure to include the RFE letter you were sent in the response packet WITH evidence they required.

[Cyrusxs 0]

Need to put name of the RFE respondent, their SSN and "form I-864" on the top right corner of the accompanying letter. Include the subject and question number of the I-864 you are responding to, sign and date letter. Make sure to include the RFE letter you were sent in the response packet WITH evidence they required.

Thanks MikeX. In my response packet to the USCIS, do I need to include the original RFE letter I was sent by the USCIS, or a copy?

Also, I'm not sure what question number on the I-864 this issue would correspond to, since the I-864 never asks for the beneficiary's tax returns. Would it be question 24, where I list my income? Or would it be Question 25 where I list my wife's income for each of the past 3 tax years (which is $0)? Or is it some other question?