Poverty Guidelines

[I love Sunshine]

Hello all!

 

A friend is going through the AOS process and asked me the following question:

 

"Which number will they use from my 2009 1040 Tax form to determine if I am above the 125% poverty threshold?"

 

a: Line 22: Total Income

b: Line 37: Adjusted Gross Income

c: The higher of the two

d: The lower of the two

 

Apparently one is higher than the other for him - one makes the cutoff and the other does not.

 

I did a search here and didn't find anything. A quick examination of links to the government guidelines here and here didn't reveal which one they use.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Poor guy is really nervous over this, and I don't want to tell him something incorrect.

[Sam and Fen]

Hello all!

 

A friend is going through the AOS process and asked me the following question:

 

"Which number will they use from my 2009 1040 Tax form to determine if I am above the 125% poverty threshold?"

 

a: Line 22: Total Income

b: Line 37: Adjusted Gross Income

c: The higher of the two

d: The lower of the two

 

Apparently one is higher than the other for him - one makes the cutoff and the other does not.

 

I did a search here and didn't find anything. A quick examination of links to the government guidelines here and here didn't reveal which one they use.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Poor guy is really nervous over this, and I don't want to tell him something incorrect.

 

As I understand it

 

Total Income if filing 1040

AGI if filing 1040EZ

[david_dawei]

Sam got it !!

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=41136

[shenzhen]

Apparently one is higher than the other for him - one makes the cutoff and the other does not.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Poor guy is really nervous over this, and I don't want to tell him something incorrect.

 

Just because one has an income in excess of the 125% poverty line does not mean that one should not be concerned or nervous especially in the case where one is "right at the line". I would recommend having a sponser lined up "just in case".

 

See the FAQ below from the State Department:

 

Is a sufficient I-864 the only consideration for meeting any public charge issues at the time of the visa interview?

 

No. Even though the I-864 is a contract and the U.S. government prohibits giving immigrants most federal means-tested public benefits for at least the first five years after their arrival in the U.S., consular officers look at other public charge issues. They will look at the complete financial situation of the sponsor and the applicant. This means looking at the age, health, education, skills, financial resources and family status of the applicant and the sponsor. They will confirm to the extent possible that the applicant will have adequate financial support and is not likely to become a public charge.

[shenzhen]

As I understand it

 

Total Income if filing 1040

AGI if filing 1040EZ

Which means they are looking for your Total Income. AGI on the 1040 form is after one takes various allowed deductions against one's income (including the foreign earned income exculsion). 1040EZ does not allow those deductions so the AGI line is the same as your total income.

Edited March 24, 2010 by shenzhen (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

As I understand it

 

Total Income if filing 1040

AGI if filing 1040EZ

Which means they are looking for your the Total Income. AGI on the 1040 form is after one takes various allowed deductions against one's income (including the foreign earned income exculsion). 1040EZ does not allow those deductions so the AGI line is the same as your total income.

that's what SAM and I are saying...

 

the EZ form doesn't call it "Total Income"...it calls it AGI... but depending on the form, take what we said...

[Randy W]

 

Just because one has an income in excess of the 125% poverty line does not mean that one should not be concerned or nervous especially in the case where one is "right at the line". I would recommend having a sponser lined up "just in case".

 

See the FAQ below from the State Department:

 

Is a sufficient I-864 the only consideration for meeting any public charge issues at the time of the visa interview?

 

No. Even though the I-864 is a contract and the U.S. government prohibits giving immigrants most federal means-tested public benefits for at least the first five years after their arrival in the U.S., consular officers look at other public charge issues. They will look at the complete financial situation of the sponsor and the applicant. This means looking at the age, health, education, skills, financial resources and family status of the applicant and the sponsor. They will confirm to the extent possible that the applicant will have adequate financial support and is not likely to become a public charge.

 

 

The DOS issues visas - they already have one. This guy is looking to adjust status, which is done by USCIS. The standards ARE different. I'm more inclined to believe that for AOS, the 125% factor IS adequate.

 

Remember that a co-sponsor at this stage is signing a 10 year contract.

[shenzhen]

As I understand it

 

Total Income if filing 1040

AGI if filing 1040EZ

Which means they are looking for your the Total Income. AGI on the 1040 form is after one takes various allowed deductions against one's income (including the foreign earned income exculsion). 1040EZ does not allow those deductions so the AGI line is the same as your total income.

that's what SAM and I are saying...

 

the EZ form doesn't call it "Total Income"...it calls it AGI... but depending on the form, take what we said...

You and Sam are 100% correct. I only commented because I got a PM from someone asking me why AGI in the 1040 is not the same as AGI in the 1040EZ. I was only trying to explain this to others not repeat what Sam and you had said.

[shenzhen]

 

Just because one has an income in excess of the 125% poverty line does not mean that one should not be concerned or nervous especially in the case where one is "right at the line". I would recommend having a sponser lined up "just in case".

 

See the FAQ below from the State Department:

 

Is a sufficient I-864 the only consideration for meeting any public charge issues at the time of the visa interview?

 

No. Even though the I-864 is a contract and the U.S. government prohibits giving immigrants most federal means-tested public benefits for at least the first five years after their arrival in the U.S., consular officers look at other public charge issues. They will look at the complete financial situation of the sponsor and the applicant. This means looking at the age, health, education, skills, financial resources and family status of the applicant and the sponsor. They will confirm to the extent possible that the applicant will have adequate financial support and is not likely to become a public charge.

 

 

The DOS issues visas - they already have one. This guy is looking to adjust status, which is done by USCIS. The standards ARE different. I'm more inclined to believe that for AOS, the 125% factor IS adequate.

 

Remember that a co-sponsor at this stage is signing a 10 year contract.

Your right. I did not pay enough attention to think about the OP being at AOS stage rather than visa issuance.

 

However in this economic climate in the US I would still think the 'public charge' requirement will still weigh on the decision and that overall situation will be viewed not just that one meets exactly the 125% line. If I were the OP right at the 125% line and my economic/job situation was not or could be viewed as not being stable I would have a backup plan.

 

That is just me -- engineers tend to like to have backup plans since so many of our original plans fail ....

[david_dawei]

As I understand it

 

Total Income if filing 1040

AGI if filing 1040EZ

Which means they are looking for your the Total Income. AGI on the 1040 form is after one takes various allowed deductions against one's income (including the foreign earned income exculsion). 1040EZ does not allow those deductions so the AGI line is the same as your total income.

that's what SAM and I are saying...

 

the EZ form doesn't call it "Total Income"...it calls it AGI... but depending on the form, take what we said...

You and Sam are 100% correct. I only commented because I got a PM from someone asking me why AGI in the 1040 is not the same as AGI in the 1040EZ. I was only trying to explain this to others not repeat what Sam and you had said.

yes, like most questions here... and PMs... if they just opened the documents and looked they might see the answer. but I guess that takes some desire and want to know the process for oneself