Hello,
I am a U.S. citizen living in China. My wife is currently preparing for her final interview later this month. As I've been living abroad for the past 7 years, mostly as a student or English teacher, and have no demonstrable U.S. income, I had my parents fill out the I-864 form on behalf of my wife. I mistakenly believed that this was sufficient, but apparently, I also need to fill in an I-864 myself, as I am the petitioner, complete with the past 3 years tax returns. I do not have tax returns for the past 3 years, (due to another stupid mistaken assumption about not having to file taxes if a certain income threshold was not met), and there is no possible way for me gather the necessary materials required to back-file in time for her interview. It is also not possible for me to reschedule the interview, as I have already done this one time due to the birth of our child.
I have started to consult with an expat tax consultant about getting my taxes in order, but I estimate it will probably be at least 4-6 weeks before I can gather all of my income statements from previous employers over the past several years so that I can begin this process.
I realize this situation is entirely my own fault. That said, I'm wondering how I should go about filling form I-864, and if there is anything I can include as documentation to demonstrate that I am attempting to rectify this situation and work towards tax compliance. Is it possible to leave item 25 blank and include a written explanation of why I am not able to enter values in those lines, with the hope that I will be able to later fulfill a request for further documentation. Or have I screwed the pooch on this one so bad that my wife shouldn't even bother attending the interview?
I am a U.S. citizen living in China. My wife is currently preparing for her final interview later this month. As I've been living abroad for the past 7 years, mostly as a student or English teacher, and have no demonstrable U.S. income, I had my parents fill out the I-864 form on behalf of my wife. I mistakenly believed that this was sufficient, but apparently, I also need to fill in an I-864 myself, as I am the petitioner, complete with the past 3 years tax returns. I do not have tax returns for the past 3 years, (due to another stupid mistaken assumption about not having to file taxes if a certain income threshold was not met), and there is no possible way for me gather the necessary materials required to back-file in time for her interview. It is also not possible for me to reschedule the interview, as I have already done this one time due to the birth of our child.
I have started to consult with an expat tax consultant about getting my taxes in order, but I estimate it will probably be at least 4-6 weeks before I can gather all of my income statements from previous employers over the past several years so that I can begin this process.
I realize this situation is entirely my own fault. That said, I'm wondering how I should go about filling form I-864, and if there is anything I can include as documentation to demonstrate that I am attempting to rectify this situation and work towards tax compliance. Is it possible to leave item 25 blank and include a written explanation of why I am not able to enter values in those lines, with the hope that I will be able to later fulfill a request for further documentation. Or have I screwed the pooch on this one so bad that my wife shouldn't even bother attending the interview?