I-134 dilemna for K-1 interview

[dale7570]

hello to all. i am self-employed with $0 taxable income thanks to many deductions on equipment, depreciation, etc. i own my house (worth about $150k) and i have some savings in the bank, so i qualify based on assts. will the vo accept my assts or will he say i don't make enough money? i have read that the vo's like to see income so i am wondering if you guys think i will have a problem? if i had to i could do an income statement and show my bank deposits which will show i make about $25k per year. would this be helpful?

Edited April 15, 2008 by dale7570 (see edit history)

[Randy W]

They look at your total income, which should qualify, but I think I would include assets and bank account. Some overkill helps here.

[georgeandli]

Right on Randy. Maybe get a letter from your bank saying you've been a long time client with funds on deposit. The I-134 thing is easier to handle then the I-864, yes?

[dale7570]

i just spoke with an attorney with holmes and lolly and he really scared me. he told me the vo doesn't care about assets or an income statement. he told me they only look at the income from the tax returns.i'm really worried and hope this attorney is wrong. why would he tell me this? can anyone help to ease my mind please?

[chilton747]

i just spoke with an attorney with holmes and lolly and he really scared me. he told me the vo doesn't care about assets or an income statement. he told me they only look at the income from the tax returns.i'm really worried and hope this attorney is wrong. why would he tell me this? can anyone help to ease my mind please?

 

I have seen cases where this is true but often the cases have other problems associated with it. The VOs might use this against you if they have other reasons in which they want to deny the case. Perhaps having a cosponsor might be in your best interest.

[Randy W]

i just spoke with an attorney with holmes and lolly and he really scared me. he told me the vo doesn't care about assets or an income statement. he told me they only look at the income from the tax returns.i'm really worried and hope this attorney is wrong. why would he tell me this? can anyone help to ease my mind please?

 

They look at your total income, before deductions:

For purposes of this affidavit, the line for gross (total) income on IRS Forms 1040 and 1040A will be considered when determining income. For persons filing IRS Form 1040 EZ,the line for adjusted gross income will be considered.

This is from the I-864 instructions.

[georgeandli]

dale 7570, I was in the same boat a few years back. At her original interview the VO asked LiWen why I made such a small amount of money. Adjusted gross was $3,572 on the 1040. If you send a copy of your 2007 tax stuff for her to take make sure you put the Schedule C on top of the 1040 so he sees that first. After we filed for the K-1 I went out and got a "real" job just so there wouldn't be any questions about support. Now that she is here I'm gearing back up on my own again. You have to love the deductions ya get self-employed but it gets dicey when you are trying to prove things sometimes. Bottom line is don't fret it. If it worked out for us it should work out for you.

[david_dawei]

i just spoke with an attorney with holmes and lolly and he really scared me. he told me the vo doesn't care about assets or an income statement. he told me they only look at the income from the tax returns.i'm really worried and hope this attorney is wrong. why would he tell me this? can anyone help to ease my mind please?

 

They look at your total income, before deductions:

For purposes of this affidavit, the line for gross (total) income on IRS Forms 1040 and 1040A will be considered when determining income. For persons filing IRS Form 1040 EZ,the line for adjusted gross income will be considered.

This is from the I-864 instructions.

but the Total Income is after the Business(profit/loss).... so if business net is $0, then Total income is $0 , right?

[dale7570]

here is more detail. my 1040 shows prior year NOL -62,000 on line 21. this causes line 22 my gross income to be -25,000. i think nol is depreciation of assets, but i'm not sure. so the bottom line is -25,000 gross income and 0 taxable income. if i need a co-sponser that will be difficult for me to find one. any suggestions are greatly appreciated as i am stressing out!

[david_dawei]

You have a dash (or a negative) in front of the number which is now confusing... Whatever the sign of the number, you will use the Total Income line, as Randy said... (and deductions don't matter)

 

If the total Income is ok, then you should be ok...

 

I would probably provide something which shows the current year income to date, as of the interview... this will be the current income and if this looks good, it may nullify anything looking bad for previous year taxes.

 

If the Total Income is knocked down too low due to a business profit/loss line, then you could follow George's idea of putting the schedule C on top but you don't know the outcome till it's tried... and then the worse case is a blue slip for a co-sponsor.

[Randy W]

hello to all. i am self-employed with $0 taxable income thanks to many deductions on equipment, depreciation, etc. i own my house (worth about $150k) and i have some savings in the bank, so i qualify based on assts. will the vo accept my assts or will he say i don't make enough money? i have read that the vo's like to see income so i am wondering if you guys think i will have a problem? if i had to i could do an income statement and show my bank deposits which will show i make about $25k per year. would this be helpful?

 

I would include the income statement. I'm also a believer in paperwork in a situation like this. Any paperwork you can add to the pile - mortgage statements, brokerage statements, homeowners tax statements - to add to an impression of wealth - I believe will help your case.

 

But others will tell you that you might open doors for the VO to demand more information. I believe that any door opened which can be easily closed will gain MANY points - and side-track his scrutiny.

[thewaitiskillingme]

Dale

 

I had the same terror yesterday when at my accountants office I learned that my AGI was just above the poverty line (line 37), and my business income was well above the poverty line (line 12). Of course this was after nearly 100K in deductions for all variety of things. I completely freaked out before I learned that the AGI (line 37 on form 1040) is used on 1040EZ and that for form 1040 the VO is looking at Line 12. I realized that I'm above the poverty line for 2 people for the AGI, but just barely.

 

I decided that I would send my SO a year end financial statement from my bank, recent bank statements from all bank accounts, an asset report with supporting documents and copies of property deeds.

 

I am worried about this, like you. If your line 12 is below the poverty line (and at 0 dollars it is indeed), you will need to send alot of supporting documents to explain why you're not living in a cardboard box on welfare. If you put your schedule C first, as someone here has suggested, then the VO will see real income on line 1, part 1. That number, if large, might offset the line 12/37 problem that you have.

 

Good luck. I think I'm in almost the same boat as you here.

 

 

 

 

 

hello to all. i am self-employed with $0 taxable income thanks to many deductions on equipment, depreciation, etc. i own my house (worth about $150k) and i have some savings in the bank, so i qualify based on assts. will the vo accept my assts or will he say i don't make enough money? i have read that the vo's like to see income so i am wondering if you guys think i will have a problem? if i had to i could do an income statement and show my bank deposits which will show i make about $25k per year. would this be helpful?

 

I would include the income statement. I'm also a believer in paperwork in a situation like this. Any paperwork you can add to the pile - mortgage statements, brokerage statements, homeowners tax statements - to add to an impression of wealth - I believe will help your case.

 

But others will tell you that you might open doors for the VO to demand more information. I believe that any door opened which can be easily closed will gain MANY points - and side-track his scrutiny.

[thewaitiskillingme]

OK. I've got the solution for you. File your tax return showing whatever income you decide. To do this, back out your deductions so that your income shows way above the poverty line. Then, file an amended return a bit later...like after your SO gets the pink. Its perfectly legal to do this...people do it all the time. Nuff said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hello to all. i am self-employed with $0 taxable income thanks to many deductions on equipment, depreciation, etc. i own my house (worth about $150k) and i have some savings in the bank, so i qualify based on assts. will the vo accept my assts or will he say i don't make enough money? i have read that the vo's like to see income so i am wondering if you guys think i will have a problem? if i had to i could do an income statement and show my bank deposits which will show i make about $25k per year. would this be helpful?

[Randy W]

OK. I've got the solution for you. File your tax return showing whatever income you decide. To do this, back out your deductions so that your income shows way above the poverty line. Then, file an amended return a bit later...like after your SO gets the pink. Its perfectly legal to do this...people do it all the time. Nuff said.

Yes, but possibly costly. You'll be paying income tax, late fees, and penalties on the new amount owed. But, at close to the poverty line, it might be worthwhile to look into this - it might also catch someone's eye at the IRS.

 

This is what I found on ilw.com - http://discuss.ilw.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...1/m/78310916241

 

She did filed taxes for 2006 but the income on the tax return was not enough to sponsor me, because she worked just for 2 months for a company before. since her income was not enough to sponsor me, we put her online income on the I864 as her current yearly income(The USCIS said that income was enough to sponsor me but needed to be proved) and also the joint sponsor filled out I864 as well. But the USCIS is asking proof of her income even though there is a joint sponsor.

Apparently, the USCIS want to firm up the primary sponsor's income first, before going after the secondary sponsor. And they are asking for proof of income which does not show on the tax return.

 

. . . and a response -

It sounds like she didnt file the schedule c business return for 2006.

 

Just outline on the statements in highlighter pen the money deposits that were business income. that can correlate with paypal or amazon transfers to support. Cash from craigslist just make list and cash received. if any of cash was deposited.. then show the amounts to the deposits.

 

then have a profit and loss statement made by adding the deposits that were from business and cash on hand that was not deposited from craigs list. This is the total revenue or gross sales.

 

list and subtract business expenses such as phone internet, any purchases relative to sales , office supplies etc. to come up with a net income.

 

ex. 18000 Gross sales/ revenue

- 1000 phone/internet

-2500 supplies

500 merchant fees

-------

14000 NET INCOME

 

The bank statements and amazon/paypal will should support the gross sales revenue number.

 

 

Perhaps, after this the joint sponser will not even be needed. Also, assets such as savings accounts, house equity can also be used towards income for sponser.

 

Good luck.

So they are proving income via profit/loss statements, bank deposits, accounting records, anything which provides transaction records.