DCF process questions

[Randy W]

My dad’s retired and my mom runs a home day care - they file jointly.

 

 

Your dad has income, and your mom has her own income. Technically, your mom should file an I-864A in order to include her income with your father's.

 

I thought that if my father’s income is 125% over the poverty guidelines for the household, then my mother doesn’t need to fill one out?

 

 

I always say that enough is NOT necessarily ENOUGH - the VO's are looking for income which will rule out the possibility that your wife might become a public charge. In my opinion, evidence of an active job search or career opportunities for YOU would do the most good. YOU will ultimately provide the primary support for your wife.

 

I also don't see anything wrong with filling out a $0 tax return that you haven't filed, simply for the purpose of presenting to the Visa Officer - filing is not required. Others may disagree and tell you that you need to submit it to the IRS - your choice.

 

The I-864 IS a separate document - follow the directions on it. Any career information is NOT included, but MAY be included with the visa application (I-130 or DS-260 at the interview) in order to support your case. The Visa Officers are required by law (the INA) to look BEYOND the information contained in the I-864 in making a determination of whether the visa applicant might become a public charge while in the U.S.

 

The Visa Officers can, and often do, require THREE years of tax returns.

 

There IS no minimal "enough" (unless it's over $100,000 a year - in THAT case, money DOES talk), we can't tell you what the Visa Officer will expect or demand - we CAN suggest that you BE PREPARED.

[dnoblett]

Your parents are acting as joint sponsors you are technicall not a member of their household since you are not living there so they do not count you, they only count themselves and intending immigrant.

 

On your I-864 you count yourself and intending immigrant, you do not count your spouse as "spouse".

[Tom R]

Your parents are acting as joint sponsors you are technicall not a member of their household since you are not living there so they do not count you, they only count themselves and intending immigrant.

 

On your I-864 you count yourself and intending immigrant, you do not count your spouse as "spouse".

 

So even though I’ve maintained domicile at my parents’ house the past few years, and we are all intending to move in with them upon arrival back to the US, I am still not considered a household member because I'm not living there currently?

[Randy W]

 

Your parents are acting as joint sponsors you are technicall not a member of their household since you are not living there so they do not count you, they only count themselves and intending immigrant.

 

On your I-864 you count yourself and intending immigrant, you do not count your spouse as "spouse".

 

So even though I’ve maintained domicile at my parents’ house the past few years, and we are all intending to move in with them upon arrival back to the US, I am still not considered a household member because I'm not living there currently?

 

 

 

You are filing your own I-864 - the guidelines can be a little murky for who gets counted for what on whose I-864. Ideally, you'll be supporting yourself and family.

 

My guess is that what's going to matter the MOST is YOUR ability to support your own family - above and beyond what is in your I-864.

[dnoblett]

Correct, your parents don't claim you on their taxes, thus you are not a member of their household even though you may claim domicile there, they should not be counting you, only the intending immigrant.

[Tom R]

I-130 petition approved.

 

Should I be concerned that they have her classification listed as CR-1 even though we've been married for almost 5 years?

 

Also the A# they list is all zeros. Does that mean she doesn't have one yet? Therefore I enter N/A on the I-864?

[Tom R]

And on the I-864 it asks for your Adjusted Gross Income for your last 3 years. I guess that means after the FEIE if living abroad? (Which would make that amount almost nothing for me)

[Randy W]

And on the I-864 it asks for your Adjusted Gross Income for your last 3 years. I guess that means after the FEIE if living abroad? (Which would make that amount almost nothing for me)

 

 

Your Foreign Earned Income is entered on Line 7 of the Form 1040, but then subtracted out on Line 21 (Form 2555 says, "On Form 1040, subtract this amount from your income to arrive at total income on Form 1040, line 22) and EXCLUDED from the Adjusted Gross Income.

 

But remember that the consulate is interested in your INCOME, not your taxes.NO income is actually EXCLUDED - you report it, and pay taxes on ALL income. Taxes on Foreign Earned Income are calculated using the Foreign Earned Income worksheet in the 1040 instructions.

 

But where they ask for AGI, that's what you provide. The Foreign Earned Income won't carry over to your US residence, so maybe there's a logic behind that.

 

The word "Exclusion" is a VERY unfortunate misnomer regarding the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion - MANY people believe that they are EXCLUDING their Foreign Earned Income.

 

From Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_earned_income_exclusion

 

Although called an exclusion for historical reasons, since the 2006 tax year it is better described as a credit equal to the amount of tax that would have been owed on the eligible foreign income, without considering any deductions or exemptions. The effect of this is to limit the advantage of the exclusion to a reduction in tax of no more than the amount that would apply for a lower income taxpayer, even if the taxpayer is in a higher tax bracket.

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

I-130 petition approved.

 

Should I be concerned that they have her classification listed as CR-1 even though we've been married for almost 5 years?

 

Also the A# they list is all zeros. Does that mean she doesn't have one yet? Therefore I enter N/A on the I-864?

 

 

No - the green card type (10 yr unconditional) will be determined at (or before) the port of entry. If you still haven't seen it re-classified as IR-1 before the POE, have her carry a copy of your marriage certificate to make sure they get it right.

 

Yes she has no A #.

[dnoblett]

I-130 petition approved.

 

Should I be concerned that they have her classification listed as CR-1 even though we've been married for almost 5 years?

 

Also the A# they list is all zeros. Does that mean she doesn't have one yet? Therefore I enter N/A on the I-864?

I would not worry about the CR-1 clasification, It will be reclasified upon arrival at the POE as an IR-1 and will result in a 10 year green-card.

 

One of my friends was in visa process for nearly 2 years and her visa was CR-1 I told her to hold on using the visa until after 2 year aniversary, which she did and her resulting green-card was 10 year IR-1 card,

 

Yes, I would note "None" for A#

[Tom R]

Hey guys, it's been awhile. We had a family health crisis and almost decided to not follow through with everything right now, but are finally resuming with our DCF process by filling out the DS-260. Man, the CEAC website has some major issues!

 

A couple of questions:

 

1) At the top of the DS-260 page it says: "Expiration Date: 4/30/19". Is that the date that the whole process/interview needs to be completed by, or just the DS-260?

 

2) I went to sign up for a profile on CGI Stanley and realized that my wife already had an account on there from applying for a non-immigrant visa a couple years ago so am using it. I was reading some stuff on here about other people in a similar situation having problems with this because of it reading DS-160 instead of DS-260. I haven't looked into it too much yet or even spent too much time on their site, but it seems that I might need to call them up to have her profile changed or something as to not screw anything up and cause a delay. Anyone have any advice on dealing with this?

 

3) Also, her email address used for the I-130 and for the first email from GZ is a different email address than the one she used for CGI a couple years ago. Think this could be a problem? Which email ya think I should use on the DS-260?

 

That's all for now, thanks in advance

[Randy W]

Hey guys, it's been awhile. We had a family health crisis and almost decided to not follow through with everything right now, but are finally resuming with our DCF process by filling out the DS-260. Man, the CEAC website has some major issues!

 

A couple of questions:

 

1) At the top of the DS-260 page it says: "Expiration Date: 4/30/19". Is that the date that the whole process/interview needs to be completed by, or just the DS-260?

 

2) I went to sign up for a profile on CGI Stanley and realized that my wife already had an account on there from applying for a non-immigrant visa a couple years ago so am using it. I was reading some stuff on here about other people in a similar situation having problems with this because of it reading DS-160 instead of DS-260. I haven't looked into it too much yet or even spent too much time on their site, but it seems that I might need to call them up to have her profile changed or something as to not screw anything up and cause a delay. Anyone have any advice on dealing with this?

 

3) Also, her email address used for the I-130 and for the first email from GZ is a different email address than the one she used for CGI a couple years ago. Think this could be a problem? Which email ya think I should use on the DS-260?

 

That's all for now, thanks in advance

 

 

1) The "Expiration Date" is for document accounting by the Dept. of State, and is most likely not relevant to you.

 

2) See CGI old confirmation code problem

 

You need to make sure that you have the confirmation # field for the DS-260, and NOT the DS-160, which is for a visitor's visa.

 

 

I called them and they said they have a ds-160 confirmation no field because I applied for non-immigrant visa before so the that field is there automatically. They helped me deleted the field now everything is okay now. On the final confirmation letter there shouldn't be a ds-160 confirmation no field. Also for customer service representative you need to listen to the whole self-helped voice message and then you can press 5 to forward to the customer service representative. Hope the people have same situation can have a clue how to deal with that now

 

 

 

3) You can CHOOSE which email address you wish to use - simply make sure you still have access to the account.

[Tom R]

1) The "Expiration Date" is for document accounting by the Dept. of State, and is most likely not relevant to you.

 

 

 

Well, the date (4/30/2019) is within a week of the anniversary of when we got our first email from Guangzhou last year (4/23/18) with her case number and instructions on how to proceed, so I think it probably does have to do with our case. I know that there's a one year time frame for this DCF process. I'm just wondering where that one year window starts and ends? Or does it restart at each step, like after completing the DS-260 step?

 

The letter from GZ says:

 

□ COMPLETE FORM DS-260(Online Immigrant Visa Application & Registration). Starting September 1, 2013 immigrant visa applicants are required to complete form DS-260. Please follow the on-line instructions and complete this form at https://ceac.state.gov/IV. Once you have completed the form, print the confirmation page and submit it along with other requested items in this notice. *For instructions andFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on completing the DS-260, please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/forms/online-immigrant-visa-forms/ds-260-faqs.html.

□ COPY OF THE PERSONAL INFORMATION PAGE OF YOUR PASSPORT: A copy of the personal information page of your current passport. (Each applicant must have a current passport that will be valid for travel to the United States for at least 8 months beyond the visa issuance date.)

□ PHOTOGRAPHS: Two 2 inches square (roughly 50 mm square) un-mounted full-face color photographs against a white background and without colored or eye altering contact lenses or eyeglasses, regardless of age. For details on photo requirements please visit:https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/photos.html.

How to Submit Required Materials:

1. You must register a location for document pick-up by selecting the “Select Document Delivery Address” option in the Immigrant Visa Section of http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/index.html?firstTime=No.

 

2. Please print the “IV Pre-interview Document Submission Cover Letter” at http://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn/20140707%20IV%20Pre-interview%20Document%20Submission%20Cover%20Letter%20for%20Drop%20Off.pdf. Complete and submit the Document Submission Letter along with the above requested items at the nearest CITIC Bank. Failure to take the requested action within one year will result in your application being terminated.

Failure to follow these instructions will result in delay of your visa application.

 

 

 

 

The sentence in red makes me think that after completing this next step, that one year window will restart. Is that the case? Or do we have one year from the date of the email to finish the whole process (interview and visa issued)?

 

I know most people are trying to get this all done ASAP, but our situation has changed since we originally submitted the I-130. It would actually be helpful to us if we could delay things for a bit.

[Randy W]

Most PAPER forms have a "document expiration date", at which time the Dept. of State is supposed to review the form to see if any changes need to be made. The old forms are usually still usable even after that date.

 

But the DS-260 is online, so you ARE using the correct version.

 

I have no way of looking over your shoulder to know what you're looking at.

 

Your case DOES have the one year time limit. You will need to work with the consulate to make sure they can keep the case active after that date. You may simply be asked to fill out a new DS-260 after it expires.

 

I would still recommend that you submit the DS-260 NOW to ensure that your case is active, if you haven't already done so.

[Tom R]

Yes, definitely going to submit the DS-260 very soon.

 

I'm still not clear about the one year. I know I have one year, but one year from when?...the date the I-130 was accepted, approved? ....the date the case number was issued?

 

And one year to do what...proceed with next step? ...interview? ....have visa issued?

 

Failure to take the requested action within one year will result in your application being terminated.

 

 

I'm reading this as "proceed with JUST the next step within a year." But I could also see it meaning "you must finish everything within one year."

 

Idk, maybe GZ will send me another email after I submit the DS-260 mentioning my time frame....

 

If not, I'll email them to ask about this.