need help with I-864

[ajd320]

Hello all,

I am preparing the I-864 form but I have a question. I am currently unemployed and have never worked, therefore I have never filed any taxes.

How should I fill out Question 13 under the heading "Federal Income Tax Information" on Part 6?

It gives you the option to attach your Federal Tax Returns for the last year or for the last 3 years. Also it asks for my total income for the last 3 years AS REPORTED on the Federal Tax Returns. Obviously, I cannot fill out anything on this part, however, I know that every section has to be filled out for the form to be accepted.
______________

Also, in order to meet their requirements, a household member is filling out an I-864a form to be filled along with my I-864.
Does the household member need to file their own I-864 as well? or they ONLY need to fill out I-864a?


Thank you!

[rayb]

You have a better chance of approval if your household member submits his own I-864 with supporting documents.

Your I-864 should report your annual income as "0" and leave question 13 tax information fields blank.

--Ray B

Hello all,

I am preparing the I-864 form but I have a question. I am currently unemployed and have never worked, therefore I have never filed any taxes.

How should I fill out Question 13 under the heading "Federal Income Tax Information" on Part 6?

It gives you the option to attach your Federal Tax Returns for the last year or for the last 3 years. Also it asks for my total income for the last 3 years AS REPORTED on the Federal Tax Returns. Obviously, I cannot fill out anything on this part, however, I know that every section has to be filled out for the form to be accepted.
______________

Also, in order to meet their requirements, a household member is filling out an I-864a form to be filled along with my I-864.
Does the household member need to file their own I-864 as well? or they ONLY need to fill out I-864a?


Thank you!

[ajd320]

Thanks for your reply!

Is it better to be a joint sponsor as opposed to a household member? I only skimmed the I-864a quickly, but I believe that they have to provide the same financial documents/information as the regular I-864. Also it seems they have the same legal obligation in both forms or am I wrong?

Is it ok to fill out an I-864 for the household member along with the I-864a just in case, or will this confuse the process?

[rayb]

using the I-864A is more prone to form errors than a separate I-864 for the household member. With the I-864A, you must include the household member's name and income on your own I-864. I've been through this many times, and inclusion of an I-864A in the mix, rather than a free-standing separate I-864 tends to generate more paper errors and delays.

--Ray B

Thanks for your reply!

Is it better to be a joint sponsor as opposed to a household member? I only skimmed the I-864a quickly, but I believe that they have to provide the same financial documents/information as the regular I-864. Also it seems they have the same legal obligation in both forms or am I wrong?

Is it ok to fill out an I-864 for the household member along with the I-864a just in case, or will this confuse the process?

[ajd320]

Thank you SO much, Ray B!

We took your advice and have prepared the I-864 for the joint sponsor instead of the I-864A.

We have some questions about filling out the joint sponsor's I-864. If you could help us I would really appreciate it!

Part 4 - Question 12 - It asks about military service and says it should ONLY be answered by the petitioner sponsor, so for the joint sponsor's I-864, the question should be left completely blank (even if the answer is no anyway) correct?

Part 6 - Question 5 - It asks "My current individual annual income is..." What are they looking for exactly? a rough average of incomes for the last few years? Should this be a base salary or should it include stocks & bonus compensation?

Part 6 - Questions 13 & 14 - Question 13 has a checkbox stating that the Federal tax return for ONLY THE MOST RECENT TAX YEAR has been provided ... However, the joint sponsor is attaching the tax returns for the last 3 years, so I checked the box for Question 14 instead. Should the checkbox for 13 be left blank? Should the boxes for 13 & 14 both be checked?

When requesting transcripts from the IRS should we request the Tax Account Transcript or the Tax Return Transcript? I'm guessing the Tax Return Transcript?

[rayb]

Please see my responses in CAPS after each question:

Thank you SO much, Ray B!

We took your advice and have prepared the I-864 for the joint sponsor instead of the I-864A.

We have some questions about filling out the joint sponsor's I-864. If you could help us I would really appreciate it!

Part 4 - Question 12 - It asks about military service and says it should ONLY be answered by the petitioner sponsor, so for the joint sponsor's I-864, the question should be left completely blank (even if the answer is no anyway) correct?

I WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT THAT DISTINCTION AND JUST RESPOND 'NO'.

Part 6 - Question 5 - It asks "My current individual annual income is..." What are they looking for exactly? a rough average of incomes for the last few years? Should this be a base salary or should it include stocks & bonus compensation?

AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT YOUR CURRENT COMPENSATION, DOCUMENTED, WILL ANNUALIZE TO. JUST MULTIPLY YOUR CURRENT MONTHLY INCOME BY 12.

Part 6 - Questions 13 & 14 - Question 13 has a checkbox stating that the Federal tax return for ONLY THE MOST RECENT TAX YEAR has been provided ... However, the joint sponsor is attaching the tax returns for the last 3 years, so I checked the box for Question 14 instead. Should the checkbox for 13 be left blank? Should the boxes for 13 & 14 both be checked?

LEAVE BOX 13 BLANK IN THIS INSTANCE.

When requesting transcripts from the IRS should we request the Tax Account Transcript or the Tax Return Transcript? I'm guessing the Tax Return Transcript?

REQUEST TAX RETURN TRANSCRIPT. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IMMEDIATELY AFTER GOING THROUGH THE SECURITY PROTOCOL FOR IRS.

[ajd320]

Thank you so much, Ray B!!!!! You have helped us tremendously and we really appreciate it!!!! Cheers.

[aunwaju]

Urgent Advice

Hello Ray B,
Please i need your advise, we have my joint sponsor tax papers but my wife cant find hers because we moved and some stuffs got missing, we tried getting it online from the IRS website but it keeps telling us the information does not match and my wife's new job time schedule doesn't give her the chance to visit the IRS office soon. can i fill my wife's total income on part 6 ''13(a)(b)(C)'' and summit my documents with out my wife's tax paper since we have our joint sponsor tax transcript ....i ask if i can do this because i wanna be on time before my current status expire.
Thank you

[rayb]

If you are using a joint sponsor, that must mean that your wife's income is not sufficient to meet the sponsorship requirements. If that is the case and she did file a 2013 Federal income tax return, she must still provide a copy of that tax return (for only year 2013). If she cannot download the tax transcript from the IRS site, probably because she is not inputting the correct prior address or total income amounts, she can have it mailed to you without having to meet the website's stricter inputting requirements. Go to http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript Also, if she had a professional tax service do her return for 2013, she can contact them and ask for a copy of her return. At least in California, tax preparers are supposed to have access to tax return copies for at least a couple of years, and this is a fairly universal requriement.

--Ray B

Hello Ray B,
Please i need your advise, we have my joint sponsor tax papers but my wife cant find hers because we moved and some stuffs got missing, we tried getting it online from the IRS website but it keeps telling us the information does not match and my wife's new job time schedule doesn't give her the chance to visit the IRS office soon. can i fill my wife's total income on part 6 ''13(a)(b)(C)'' and summit my documents with out my wife's tax paper since we have our joint sponsor tax transcript ....i ask if i can do this because i wanna be on time before my current status expire.
Thank you

[Mika123]

RayB, can you please help me too?
I am filing for my mother.
I have no income but I file taxes with my husband (my name is on his taxes)
Do I put $0 on my I-864 and fill out another I-864 for my husband putting him as "the only joint sponsor" and his income info è taxes transcripts.

or my husband should fill out a I-864A?

please help me?

[rayb]

On your I-864, your show -0- for your income, but then show your husband's name and income as household member, then the line 22 total income for tax income.

But you must also include an I-864A for your husband, and you both sign on page 3, line 14 and 16.

--Ray B

RayB, can you please help me too?
I am filing for my mother.
I have no income but I file taxes with my husband (my name is on his taxes)
Do I put $0 on my I-864 and fill out another I-864 for my husband putting him as "the only joint sponsor" and his income info è taxes transcripts.

or my husband should fill out a I-864A?

please help me?

[Mika123]

Awesome! Thanks!
I sign on line 14 and husband signs on 16, correct?
Thank you so much

also, somebody suggested putting myself as self employed as a housewife? does it sound correct? or should I put unemployed since (can't even remember since when).

last thing. my husband's last tax return is from 2013 (a little late with 2014) should he put an estimate of household income for 2014 or the one from 2013?

Thank you thank you!

[rayb]

You do not show yourself as "self-employed," if you do not have documented income from a legitimate business. Whoever told you to say you are self-employed is out of touch with what you are doing.

For income, you can show an estimate of what your husband's 2014 income should be.

For the tax return information, on both the I-864 and the I-864A, use line 22 total income amount, as shown on the 2013 Federal income tax return.

--Ray B

Awesome! Thanks!
I sign on line 14 and husband signs on 16, correct?
Thank you so much

also, somebody suggested putting myself as self employed as a housewife? does it sound correct? or should I put unemployed since (can't even remember since when).

last thing. my husband's last tax return is from 2013 (a little late with 2014) should he put an estimate of household income for 2014 or the one from 2013?

Thank you thank you!