Hello,
I recently received the request to appear for initial interview for my permanent residence based on marriage application. Originally I came here on a fiance visa and now we’ve been happily married for a year and a half. My wife and I have a few concerns about the affidavit of support (I-864).
My wife didn’t work much for the past two years due to illness, but now she is working since February for the state with a salary of $22,500. We got married in January 2004 but I didn’t work until June of 2004 because the USCIS didn’t process my employment authorization application for several months. Because of all that, the joint income for the 2004 tax year is only $11,900. We could put my car as an asset, but that would be only $3000 which would still fall under the 125% of poverty line. Right now we’re both full time employees, she’s making $22,500 and I’m making $25,000 (gross income), which would put us way over the 125% ($16,037 for our household size of 2). However, on the I-864 form the total household income entered has to be the one for the last tax year, not the current one. So since the income for the last tax year is less than the poverty line, that would mean they would reject my application. My question is, can they really do that, even though now we’re both full time employees making almost $50,000 a year? I mean, the purpose of the affidavit of support is that the sponsored immigrant doesn’t become a public charge, and if we’re both employed there’s no chance that will happen. Would they still reject it because of not meeting the 125% last year, even though me meet it now? Could I argue in that case that it was in part due to them not allowing me to work for several months in the first half of 2004?
Also, does anyone knows how do these interviews go? If they decide to reject my application based on not meeting the income for last year, do they just deport me and that’s it? I mean, can they break me apart from my wife of one year and a half just because of that, or is there a workaround for it?
Finally, my wife is sure that she can declare my income on these forms, but I read them and it seems confusing to me. There’s one place where it says the immigrant cannot sponsor himself, but then it also says that the sponsor can use his/her spouse’s income as part of the total household income and for that the spouse has to fill out a I864-A. So what’s the deal with this? Can we or can’t we declare my income? If it helps, I live in North Carolina.
Thanks in advance for your replies.
Sebastian
I recently received the request to appear for initial interview for my permanent residence based on marriage application. Originally I came here on a fiance visa and now we’ve been happily married for a year and a half. My wife and I have a few concerns about the affidavit of support (I-864).
My wife didn’t work much for the past two years due to illness, but now she is working since February for the state with a salary of $22,500. We got married in January 2004 but I didn’t work until June of 2004 because the USCIS didn’t process my employment authorization application for several months. Because of all that, the joint income for the 2004 tax year is only $11,900. We could put my car as an asset, but that would be only $3000 which would still fall under the 125% of poverty line. Right now we’re both full time employees, she’s making $22,500 and I’m making $25,000 (gross income), which would put us way over the 125% ($16,037 for our household size of 2). However, on the I-864 form the total household income entered has to be the one for the last tax year, not the current one. So since the income for the last tax year is less than the poverty line, that would mean they would reject my application. My question is, can they really do that, even though now we’re both full time employees making almost $50,000 a year? I mean, the purpose of the affidavit of support is that the sponsored immigrant doesn’t become a public charge, and if we’re both employed there’s no chance that will happen. Would they still reject it because of not meeting the 125% last year, even though me meet it now? Could I argue in that case that it was in part due to them not allowing me to work for several months in the first half of 2004?
Also, does anyone knows how do these interviews go? If they decide to reject my application based on not meeting the income for last year, do they just deport me and that’s it? I mean, can they break me apart from my wife of one year and a half just because of that, or is there a workaround for it?
Finally, my wife is sure that she can declare my income on these forms, but I read them and it seems confusing to me. There’s one place where it says the immigrant cannot sponsor himself, but then it also says that the sponsor can use his/her spouse’s income as part of the total household income and for that the spouse has to fill out a I864-A. So what’s the deal with this? Can we or can’t we declare my income? If it helps, I live in North Carolina.
Thanks in advance for your replies.
Sebastian