Blue for Financials

[celiothrkn]

Our interview was 7:30am but I did not receive a phone call until 11:15am. Long wait at the Consulate.

 

My wife was told that our files looked great, except for my income. My current income is 2X the 125% of poverty line for my household size, but we were still told that we needed a co-sponsor and his/her 3-year tax returns. My wife was told to mail (by China Post) the documents to the Consulate.

 

1. Can we send copies? If I get the I-864A and 3 tax returns ASAP and scan them, my wife could print it while in Guangzhou and mail it to the Consulate. Or does the Consulate need the forms with original signatures?

 

2. Does my wife have to physically show up to deliver her passport after the Consulate approves of the financials?

 

3. On the way downstairs, my wife was approached by a law firm on the 1st floor which offered to serve as an intermediary (similar to a passport / visa expediting company). Are they reliable?

[shenzhen]

Our interview was 7:30am but I did not receive a phone call until 11:15am. Long wait at the Consulate.

 

My wife was told that our files looked great, except for my income. My current income is 2X the 125% of poverty line for my household size, but we were still told that we needed a co-sponsor and his/her 3-year tax returns. My wife was told to mail (by China Post) the documents to the Consulate.

 

1. Can we send copies? If I get the I-864A and 3 tax returns ASAP and scan them, my wife could print it while in Guangzhou and mail it to the Consulate. Or does the Consulate need the forms with original signatures?

 

2. Does my wife have to physically show up to deliver her passport after the Consulate approves of the financials?

 

3. On the way downstairs, my wife was approached by a law firm on the 1st floor which offered to serve as an intermediary (similar to a passport / visa expediting company). Are they reliable?

 

Item 1 - Why do you need a co-sponser is you have more than the 125% poverty line for income? Did you provide three years of tax transcripts or returns? Was your income above the 125% for all three years?

 

Item 2 - Not sure. Just call or email the consulate and ask them what to do.

 

Item 3 - I would not recommend using them.

[dnoblett]

Note I-864A is for a member of your household like a spouse or working son or daughter to ADD their income to yours to help sponsor.

 

If joint sponsor is not a member of your household then they provide an I-864.

 

1 needs to be origional signed I-864 if you are doing CR-1 IR-1 I-134 if K-3. The return can be a copy, OR simple transcript from IRS.

 

2 she will get a call in letter to drop off passport

 

3 Many say stay away from them, you only need to send the consulate what they are asking for, a lawyer not needed to do that.

[celiothrkn]

Note I-864A is for a member of your household like a spouse or working son or daughter to ADD their income to yours to help sponsor.

 

If joint sponsor is not a member of your household then they provide an I-864.

 

1 needs to be origional signed I-864 if you are doing CR-1 IR-1 I-134 if K-3. The return can be a copy, OR simple transcript from IRS.

 

2 she will get a call in letter to drop off passport

 

3 Many say stay away from them, you only need to send the consulate what they are asking for, a lawyer not needed to do that.

 

Can you clarify number 1? We are CR1.

 

Mailing documents to China takes about a week. I was going to scan the signed forms, have my wife print it out, and walk downstairs to the 5th floor with it. So in that case, my wife would be sending "copies."

 

My wife told me that she needed to include the blue / green slips with the documents when it's mailed in. If they needed originals, I would need to mail her originals (1 week) and have her mail the entire package in with the two slips, thus adding more delay.

Edited March 8, 2010 by celiothrkn (see edit history)

[RobertH]

Are you in China?

 

I had something like this happen to me. I made more then the required income also, however I did not have the W-2's for 2009. So they asked for a Co-sponsor.

 

I went to the ACH in GUZ the monday after my girlfriends interview and asked to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor listend to what I had to say and changed my Co-sponser requirement to just providing them copies of my 2009 W-2's.

 

Also if you made more then 2 times the amount required whats the problem? Are you self employed? is there anything odd with your income\job that would raise questions.

[Randy W]

Our interview was 7:30am but I did not receive a phone call until 11:15am. Long wait at the Consulate.

 

My wife was told that our files looked great, except for my income. My current income is 2X the 125% of poverty line for my household size, but we were still told that we needed a co-sponsor and his/her 3-year tax returns. My wife was told to mail (by China Post) the documents to the Consulate.

 

1. Can we send copies? If I get the I-864A and 3 tax returns ASAP and scan them, my wife could print it while in Guangzhou and mail it to the Consulate. Or does the Consulate need the forms with original signatures?

 

2. Does my wife have to physically show up to deliver her passport after the Consulate approves of the financials?

 

3. On the way downstairs, my wife was approached by a law firm on the 1st floor which offered to serve as an intermediary (similar to a passport / visa expediting company). Are they reliable?

 

Item 1 - Why do you need a co-sponser is you have more than the 125% poverty line for income? Did you provide three years of tax transcripts or returns? Was your income above the 125% for all three years?

 

Item 2 - Not sure. Just call or email the consulate and ask them what to do.

 

Item 3 - I would not recommend using them.

 

 

We are told continuously on this board that "enough" is enough - all you need to do is earn at the 125% level - this is NOT true

 

My OWN view is that $50,000 and up is ENOUGH ($100,000 is even better)! Anything less is open to question by the VO, and a possible blue-slip.

 

He is NOT being denied, just asked for more information.

 

Item # 2 - follow the instructions you are given.

 

Item # 3 - yes - they will reliably accept your money, but can do nothing for you that you can't do for yourself.

[RobertH]

Our interview was 7:30am but I did not receive a phone call until 11:15am. Long wait at the Consulate.

 

My wife was told that our files looked great, except for my income. My current income is 2X the 125% of poverty line for my household size, but we were still told that we needed a co-sponsor and his/her 3-year tax returns. My wife was told to mail (by China Post) the documents to the Consulate.

 

1. Can we send copies? If I get the I-864A and 3 tax returns ASAP and scan them, my wife could print it while in Guangzhou and mail it to the Consulate. Or does the Consulate need the forms with original signatures?

 

2. Does my wife have to physically show up to deliver her passport after the Consulate approves of the financials?

 

3. On the way downstairs, my wife was approached by a law firm on the 1st floor which offered to serve as an intermediary (similar to a passport / visa expediting company). Are they reliable?

 

Item 1 - Why do you need a co-sponser is you have more than the 125% poverty line for income? Did you provide three years of tax transcripts or returns? Was your income above the 125% for all three years?

 

Item 2 - Not sure. Just call or email the consulate and ask them what to do.

 

Item 3 - I would not recommend using them.

 

 

We are told continuously on this board that "enough" is enough - all you need to do is earn at the 125% level - this is NOT true

 

My OWN view is that $50,000 and up is ENOUGH ($100,000 is even better)! Anything less is open to question by the VO, and a possible blue-slip.

 

He is NOT being denied, just asked for more information.

 

Item # 2 - follow the instructions you are given.

 

Item # 3 - yes - they will reliably accept your money, but can do nothing for you that you can't do for yourself.

 

 

Wow, if that happen to me and I made 2 times the req like he did I would be up in the ACH the next monday asking for a supervisor... Asking to explain why they are asking for a co-sponsor when the income req is met.

 

If the income req is not a number they are going to base everything off of why evenhave it. Im not saying this in a snotty screw GUZ type of way. Im just cureious. If they have a secret limit you must make it would be nice to know it...

 

I am sure if you send them what they are asking for you willhave a PINK soon.

 

It took 14 days from the day they recieved our blue paper over come till they sent out the call in letter.

[warpedbored]

I don't understand this either. If you make twice the federal poverty guidelines then your income is adequate. This is for CR-1 not K-1 where the VO can more loosely interpret the income requirement. I don't think you have the complete picture here. Are you sure she had all of your proof of income with her? Tax transcripts etc?

[Randy W]

The requirement is that you satisfy the Visa Officer that your spouse will not become a ward of the state.

 

If you DO NOT satisfy this requirement, they may ask for a co-spnsor. CR-1's are handled by the same department as the K visa's, so they may be just as discretionary there.

 

What I am suggesting is that everyone have their ducks in a row - presenting a true and complete picture will work MUCH better than presenting "enough".

 

I think that Robert was VERY fortunate and skillful in presenting his personal situation to a VO who was NOT his VO, but was willing (and able) to listen and help.

[dnoblett]

Note I-864A is for a member of your household like a spouse or working son or daughter to ADD their income to yours to help sponsor.

 

If joint sponsor is not a member of your household then they provide an I-864.

 

1 needs to be origional signed I-864 if you are doing CR-1 IR-1 I-134 if K-3. The return can be a copy, OR simple transcript from IRS.

 

2 she will get a call in letter to drop off passport

 

3 Many say stay away from them, you only need to send the consulate what they are asking for, a lawyer not needed to do that.

 

Can you clarify number 1? We are CR1.

 

Mailing documents to China takes about a week. I was going to scan the signed forms, have my wife print it out, and walk downstairs to the 5th floor with it. So in that case, my wife would be sending "copies."

 

My wife told me that she needed to include the blue / green slips with the documents when it's mailed in. If they needed originals, I would need to mail her originals (1 week) and have her mail the entire package in with the two slips, thus adding more delay.

 

To clarify #1 since you are doing CR-1 your Joint sponsor will provide an I-864 and (copies of IRS returns OR IRS Transcripts (Free from IRS)). Again I-864A is only used if the joint sponsor IS a member of YOUR household, and they are ADDING their income to your income to show support.

 

IRS Transcripts can be ordered over the phone, and either mailed out to the person ordering (10 days) OR Faxed to the person ordering them (Same Day). "You can obtain a free transcript by calling 800-829-1040 and following the prompts in the recorded message" http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc156.html?portlet=1

 

In your case, your joint sponsor does not count your child on their I-864 they only count members of their family, and count your wife as person being sponsored.

 

I don't understand this either. If you make twice the federal poverty guidelines then your income is adequate. This is for CR-1 not K-1 where the VO can more loosely interpret the income requirement. I don't think you have the complete picture here. Are you sure she had all of your proof of income with her? Tax transcripts etc?

Yes this is an interesting one.

 

Question, Dose US Citizen (Petitioner) currently have a job? And if not then past income does not fully qualify for sponsorship, they want to know how will support AFTER entry to the USA. They can ask for a joint sponsor if Petitioner is un-employed or past returns shows a wide fluctuation in income.

[Kyle]

Note I-864A is for a member of your household like a spouse or working son or daughter to ADD their income to yours to help sponsor.

 

If joint sponsor is not a member of your household then they provide an I-864.

 

1 needs to be origional signed I-864 if you are doing CR-1 IR-1 I-134 if K-3. The return can be a copy, OR simple transcript from IRS.

 

2 she will get a call in letter to drop off passport

 

3 Many say stay away from them, you only need to send the consulate what they are asking for, a lawyer not needed to do that.

 

Can you clarify number 1? We are CR1.

 

Mailing documents to China takes about a week. I was going to scan the signed forms, have my wife print it out, and walk downstairs to the 5th floor with it. So in that case, my wife would be sending "copies."

 

My wife told me that she needed to include the blue / green slips with the documents when it's mailed in. If they needed originals, I would need to mail her originals (1 week) and have her mail the entire package in with the two slips, thus adding more delay.

 

Our joint sponsors physically mailed his I-864 contract to us through FedEx. We were advised not to scan this document and send through email, and to use either back or blue ink to sign them. We had our joint sponsor send several copies.

 

As far as your tax returns go, you can have those scanned and sent as an email attachment. Those simply need to be copies. As Dan often mentions, you can also opt to get transcripts from the IRS directly. Both copies of tax returns or tax transcripts are accepted.

[celiothrkn]

Robert: I was furious and would have stormed over to ACH. But unfortunately I am not in China so I cannot go to GUZ to speak with the authorities.

 

I make 2X the amount required. I am an employee, not self-employed. Nothing odd about my job, except that I only started in January 2010. Was unemployed from June to Dec 2009. My wife went in with my pay stub, 2008 tax return, and IRS tax transcripts 2006-2008.

 

Randy: I think you're right. The poverty guidelines established by State are way lower than the "bottom line" that the VOs have in mind. Going forward, I recommend everyone to get a co-sponsor.

 

My wife was told that our co-sponsor will have to MAIL via postal service his/her original, signed I-864 (or I-864a), 3 years of tax returns, and proof of citizenship to GUZ along with the blue & green slips of paper the VO gave my wife. So I'm just waiting my wife's FedEx with the blue & green slips. When I get it, I will send it off with the co-sponsor information to GUZ.

 

How long does it usually take GUZ to process? Anyone shorter than Robert's 14 days?

 

To clarify #1 since you are doing CR-1 your Joint sponsor will provide an I-864 and (copies of IRS returns OR IRS Transcripts (Free from IRS)). Again I-864A is only used if the joint sponsor IS a member of YOUR household, and they are ADDING their income to your income to show support.

 

From what I understand, the joint sponsor is 2nd in line to pay for immigrant's public benefits, after primary sponsor (petitioner). So a joint sponsor (regardless of whether he/she is a member of household or outsider) still holds an obligation to the immigrant, right?

[dnoblett]

To clarify #1 since you are doing CR-1 your Joint sponsor will provide an I-864 and (copies of IRS returns OR IRS Transcripts (Free from IRS)). Again I-864A is only used if the joint sponsor IS a member of YOUR household, and they are ADDING their income to your income to show support.

 

From what I understand, the joint sponsor is 2nd in line to pay for immigrant's public benefits, after primary sponsor (petitioner). So a joint sponsor (regardless of whether he/she is a member of household or outsider) still holds an obligation to the immigrant, right?

Correct, Joint sponsor is secondary to the Primary sponsor.

 

Also I have yet to hear of a case where the government goes after someone for the obligations of the I-864.

 

Now I understand why they asked for a Joint sponsor, you are in a NEW job.

[david_dawei]

we get too anal about the "poverty guidelines". As Randy says, to put it another way; one has to satisfy the 'public charge' requirement.

 

The guideline threshold is but one issue, although the primary, they look at. They look at what is called the "totality of the circumstances" which may see an indefinable phrase but one just needs to do their best to know the process and get what they ask for in most cases. Some people get lucky, even if they don't know the process.

Edited March 9, 2010 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)

[celiothrkn]

We found a joint sponsor. Our joint sponsor says her latest tax returns were 40-50 pages. Would it be OK if we only sent the Form 1040 (2 pages) and W-2? I believe it's basically all the schedules that are creating weight.

 

Also, the blue slip asked for 2006-2008 tax returns. In theory we can get away with only the latest tax return, right? If we follow their directions word-for-word, the joint sponsor will be mailing roughly 150 pages to China (3 years x 50 pages per tax return = 150 pages).

 

If we request a tax transcript from IRS, would it be a lot of pages too? I would prefer not going this route because tax transcripts take up to 2 weeks, especially now (end of March) that the IRS is in busy-mode. So I am looking for legitimate ways to get our package to Guangzhou as fast and as conveniently as possible.