I-864: dumb checklist request re. gross income when it's ZERO

[aelix 2]

Just for the benefit of others who are filling out their I-864s and find themselves in a similar situation to us:

If the petitioner did not have to file US tax returns for any of the most recent 3 financial years because they earned no income at all (or earned so little that they were below the filing threshold)... they MUST STILL enter e.g. "2013" at item 13a and "0.00" at item 13.a.1

We didn't do this, choosing instead to explain in great detail why we had entered no info there, and they sent us a checklist with that as the only required item. It's utterly ridiculous since we explained the situation and it's a nonsense to fill in those items if one hasn't filed anything with the IRS, but that's how it works according to the NVC rep we spoke to.

So... now we have to fill out the whole form again, waste another $23 on express international postage from Australia, and our case gets delayed by several more weeks while we wait for them to get around to looking at it again.

Needless to say I am not pleased.

[TeaCup 65]

Just for the benefit of others who are filling out their I-864s and find themselves in a similar situation to us:

If the petitioner did not have to file US tax returns for any of the most recent 3 financial years because they earned no income at all (or earned so little that they were below the filing threshold)... they MUST STILL enter e.g. "2013" at item 13a and "0.00" at item 13.a.1

We didn't do this, choosing instead to explain in great detail why we had entered no info there, and they sent us a checklist with that as the only required item. It's utterly ridiculous since we explained the situation and it's a nonsense to fill in those items if one hasn't filed anything with the IRS, but that's how it works according to the NVC rep we spoke to.

So... now we have to fill out the whole form again, waste another $23 on express international postage from Australia, and our case gets delayed by several more weeks while we wait for them to get around to looking at it again.

Needless to say I am not pleased.

Thank you for informing me, we were also going to leave it blank!

[aelix 2]

Glad someone could be spared the inconvenience - these forums are a godsend for those of us trying to navigate the ins and outs of this process.

[jan22 2,898]

The I-864 is a legally binding contract -- so, all the basic information needs to be on the contract. Explanatory information, which may/may not meet the requirements of that contract does not absolve someone from completing the form --it serves to support the information you put on the for,. When a line is left blank, there's no information to explain. May not like it -- and I certainly understand why -- but thought some explanation of why they need precision on documents like this might help relieve some of your pique (although probably not).

Edited May 15, 2014 by jan22

[pushbrk 12,124]

Just for the benefit of others who are filling out their I-864s and find themselves in a similar situation to us:

If the petitioner did not have to file US tax returns for any of the most recent 3 financial years because they earned no income at all (or earned so little that they were below the filing threshold)... they MUST STILL enter e.g. "2013" at item 13a and "0.00" at item 13.a.1

We didn't do this, choosing instead to explain in great detail why we had entered no info there, and they sent us a checklist with that as the only required item. It's utterly ridiculous since we explained the situation and it's a nonsense to fill in those items if one hasn't filed anything with the IRS, but that's how it works according to the NVC rep we spoke to.

So... now we have to fill out the whole form again, waste another $23 on express international postage from Australia, and our case gets delayed by several more weeks while we wait for them to get around to looking at it again.

Needless to say I am not pleased.

The checklist was not "dumb". The affidavit asks for a number. Zero is a number. Left blank is not.

[apple21 953]

By leaving that blank it could also mean that you just "forgot" to put a number there, that's why they want to see 0.00 written.

[aelix 2]

I understand the above responses, but I would argue that writing anything at all in those fields when we did not actually file returns with the IRS is misleading and incorrect. The question says:

"My total income ... as reported on my Federal tax returns for the most recent 3 years was:"

This implies that tax returns have been filed (even if they had a zero total income) when in fact nothing was filed with the IRS. We left the fields blank because we didn't want to suggest that my wife had actually filed something with the IRS when she hadn't.

[NikLR 13,220]

appropriate would have also been to write "did not file"

[pushbrk 12,124]

I understand the above responses, but I would argue that writing anything at all in those fields when we did not actually file returns with the IRS is misleading and incorrect. The question says:

"My total income ... as reported on my Federal tax returns for the most recent 3 years was:"

This implies that tax returns have been filed (even if they had a zero total income) when in fact nothing was filed with the IRS. We left the fields blank because we didn't want to suggest that my wife had actually filed something with the IRS when she hadn't.

In those situations, I would not check the box for filing any return, then hand write in the tax section, "Not required to file. Income below filing threshold." Now that you've indicated zero was also not the correct answer, that's the solution.

So, you're first assertion that you are required to write 0.00, even if you filed no returns, is actually incorrect. It's an uncommon but hardly unique circumstance. The solution I offered above works every time it's tried. You might want to send two new affidavits, one the way you think it should be with $0.00 and one the way I suggest. Just complete one form in PDF, and edit that section. You don't need to complete a new form from scratch unless you didn't save your original PDF.

Edited May 16, 2014 by pushbrk

[aelix 2]

Well, the lady from the NVC said we should just write "0.00" against each of the three tax years, so that's what we did (despite my view that it's strictly the wrong response). I presume they'll accept what we've done, if not I may have to argue with them a bit because I'm not posting yet another copy of the form @ $23 and 3-4 weeks delay.

[pushbrk 12,124]

Well, the lady from the NVC said we should just write "0.00" against each of the three tax years, so that's what we did (despite my view that it's strictly the wrong response). I presume they'll accept what we've done, if not I may have to argue with them a bit because I'm not posting yet another copy of the form @ $23 and 3-4 weeks delay.

If there's an argument, you will lose, and if you want to clear NVC, you'll certainly send another. I take it you've already posted the new one?

[aelix 2]

If there's an argument, you will lose, and if you want to clear NVC, you'll certainly send another. I take it you've already posted the new one?

Yes, we posted the new one the day after we got the checklist. I did just get another AOS checklist letter today which had no further requests in it... hoping that means they've accepted the AOS. I do accept that you're right about the fruitfulness of arguing, so I can only hope it doesn't come to that.

[aelix 2]

Well, the lady from the NVC said we should just write "0.00" against each of the three tax years, so that's what we did (despite my view that it's strictly the wrong response). I presume they'll accept what we've done, if not I may have to argue with them a bit because I'm not posting yet another copy of the form @ $23 and 3-4 weeks delay.

Just reviving this thread because I don't want to leave others with incomplete or incorrect information. We followed the instructions given by the lady from the NVC and wrote zero for the income reported to the IRS for the most recent three tax years. This was not accepted.

While the NVC completed our case and forwarded it to the Sydney consulate who have scheduled my interview, we also received another checklist letter advising that item 13.a. and 13.a.1. were incorrect/incomplete. The letter explicitly states that we shouldn't send another I-864 to the NVC; instead my wife is to sign a new one and I'm to bring it on Tuesday.

I'm now going to follow pushbrk's advice and have my wife write 'not required to file - income below filing threshold' in the relevant sections, because as far as I can tell there is no other option remaining. It does make me a bit nervous though, because if for some reason they're not happy with how we've done it this time I have no way to satisfy them (my wife will be in Melbourne so she can't even sign another new one on the spot).

I'll report back on what happens...

[aelix 2]

Just to close the loop on this issue: I showed up to my visa interview armed with two further versions of my wife's I-864 having been told to bring a completed form to the interview... but the issue wasn't even raised.

Seems a bit odd since I'd been notified that the form was incorrect/incomplete and presumably the officer had that info in front of them, but maybe I just got a picky NVC reviewer and the consulate staff decided it didn't matter (since I wasn't claiming any support from my wife and had a co-sponsor).

[silverjetplane 34]

Thanks for the updates and congratulations!