Confusing RFIE About Sponsor and Birth Certificate

[TB_]

Hi There,
I would like to thank everyone in this forum for all the information. I've Submitted my papers almost a month ago. (I-130, I-131, I-485, I-765, I-864).
My wife is US Citizen and I'm on a B1 visa.

So we received and RFIE and saying:

1- Submit all supporting tax documentation (W-2s, 1099s, and all supporting tax schedules) submitted to the Internal Revenue Service for the most recent tax year. Petitioner/sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the most recent tax year.

So my wife and were overseas for the last year and working there. She filed her 2017 tax return via mail and we're still waiting for it. However we've sent the same form to USCIS as well with it's supporting docs. There is no w2s of course overseas but there is a similar document, which we included, provided by the employer and showing all the income and tax hold. Also, we added an explanation letter as well.

I don't know what to about it. Should I just send them again and make different explanation letter? or chase IRS to get a IRS transcripts from them for 2017. I know that would be the most efficient solution but who knows how long they will take to complete the return.


2- Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size. Obtain a qualifying joint sponsor who demonstrates the ability to support you or submit evidence of assets.

So there is this one and the number 3.

3- The petitioner/sponsor lists their current income on Form I-864 as an amount to be considered as sufficient; however, no evidence has been submitted as proof of current income.
Please submit evidence of the petitioner/sponsor's current income. Such evidence should include:
Letter of employment containing the following:
Dates of employment
Nature of the job
Wages or salary earned
Number of hours per week worked
Prospects for future employment and advancement

Pay stubs or other documentation of pay for the previous 6 months.
Evidence of other income. such as Tax-Exempt Interest, Qualified Dividends, IRA distributions, Pension, Annuities and Social Security Benefits




So, my wife's income is way over the poverty line. She did start working 3 weeks before we sent the application. So there wasn't any pay stubs in the application but we included a copy of the work offer. How much she would get paid hourly, her title, contract time. I checked it again but there is not any information about how many hours per week she would work in the offer.

So, We don't have much assets and we don't know anybody who can be a qualifying sponsor. Do you think it would work that if we just get a letter from her work containing all the info above they're asking and including 4 pay stubs?


4- Submit a copy of applicant's foreign birth certificate.

I'm from Turkey and we don't have birth certificates like in US. However according to https://travel.state.gov/content/tri...ry/Turkey.html

all I need was send an Extract of Vital Record which I did with a certified translation. Also in the website, it says there is no alternate documents for it.
Again I don't know what to do. We have an ID cards which it states the place and the date of birth. Also includes mother and father names. Should I just send the ID Card and again an Extract of Vital Record.
So I'm bit confused.


Thanks

[4EVER]

When did you receive the RFIE, and how many days do you have to respond?

1- Submit all supporting tax documentation (W-2s, 1099s, and all supporting tax schedules) submitted to the Internal Revenue Service for the most recent tax year. Petitioner/sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the most recent tax year.

So my wife and were overseas for the last year and working there. She filed her 2017 tax return via mail and we're still waiting for it. However we've sent the same form to USCIS as well with it's supporting docs. There is no w2s of course overseas but there is a similar document, which we included, provided by the employer and showing all the income and tax hold. Also, we added an explanation letter as well.

I don't know what to about it. Should I just send them again and make different explanation letter? or chase IRS to get a IRS transcripts from them for 2017. I know that would be the most efficient solution but who knows how long they will take to complete the return.

Try to request for the IRS Transcript to see if IRS is able to provide you one. It arrives 5-10 calendar days via mail. You can also download it online or get it thru fax. If you get it, good! Send that to USCIS.

2- Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size. Obtain a qualifying joint sponsor who demonstrates the ability to support you or submit evidence of assets.

I believe, this generic statement always follows the first paragraph ("Submit all supporting tax documentation...") even if the sponsor's income is waaay above poverty line. It's probably just their system saying, 'unless you give me your 2017 tax return, I will not accept your almighty income' lol.

3- The petitioner/sponsor lists their current income on Form I-864 as an amount to be considered as sufficient; however, no evidence has been submitted as proof of current income.
Please submit evidence of the petitioner/sponsor's current income. Such evidence should include:
Letter of employment containing the following:
Dates of employment
Nature of the job
Wages or salary earned
Number of hours per week worked
Prospects for future employment and advancement
Pay stubs or other documentation of pay for the previous 6 months.
Evidence of other income. such as Tax-Exempt Interest, Qualified Dividends, IRA distributions, Pension, Annuities and Social Security Benefits

So, my wife's income is way over the poverty line. She did start working 3 weeks before we sent the application. So there wasn't any pay stubs in the application but we included a copy of the work offer. How much she would get paid hourly, her title, contract time. I checked it again but there is not any information about how many hours per week she would work in the offer.

So, We don't have much assets and we don't know anybody who can be a qualifying sponsor. Do you think it would work that if we just get a letter from her work containing all the info above they're asking and including 4 pay stubs?

USCIS needs actual proof of current income. This is your chance to show USCIS that your spouse is truly earning above the poverty line. Show them the money. Yes, obtaining a certificate of employment with all the info requested plus the pay stubs would greatly work. Just include an explanation as to why there's only 4 pay stubs (the employment certificate should corroborate this).

If your sponsor's income is already above the FPL but you still want to make sure you have everything covered, request your sponsor's bank/s to send you Statements of Account for the last 12 months. Bank accounts are considered assets. It's also a way for USCIS to check the sponsor's personal cash flow, if there is money coming in monthly.

4- Submit a copy of applicant's foreign birth certificate.

I'm from Turkey and we don't have birth certificates like in US. However according to https://travel.state.gov/content/tri...ry/Turkey.html all I need was send an Extract of Vital Record which I did with a certified translation. Also in the website, it says there is no alternate documents for it.

Again I don't know what to do. We have an ID cards which it states the place and the date of birth. Also includes mother and father names. Should I just send the ID Card and again an Extract of Vital Record.
So I'm bit confused.

Where did you get your Extract of Vital Record? From the Turkish Embassy? USCIS needs the Record that came directly from Turkey. Request your parents to obtain it, send it to you here in the US via email. From here, have the Turkish record translated by a US-certified translator, then get a certified translation. Send both original and translated version to USCIS. I'm not Turkish but I have too much free time yet so I googled your case. Lol. Below is a screenshot of a discussion similar to your situation.

When you're ready to send out your RFIE response, make sure to put the copy of the USCIS RFIE letter on top, it should be the 1st page of your response packet. USCIS will scan this sheet and forward it for further processing, so if you do not include it (or if it is not on top), you can expect further delays. I read that from somewhere so I just followed it. Assemble the packet this way:
- USCIS RFIE letter
- Cover letter
- Table of Contents (with explanation/clarification where needed, e.g. paystub, etc)
------ Tax/financial documents

Good luck and all the best!

[gradstudent2018]

@4EVER did a great explanation but I just wanted to add my experience because I am from Turkey as well.

I went to the Turkish Consulate in Miami and got a "Birth Extract". A document from the Turkish Consulate should technically be enough, a consulate is foreign soil after all.

However, one of my teachers here (She is Turkish) applied for the green card last year and got a RFE for this very reason so her parents got a "Vukuatli Nufus Ornegi" in Turkey and scanned it so she was able to get it translated here in US. The funny part is it is the same exact form and just the stamp is different.

I sent my package with "Birth Extract" only last week, I am hoping not getting a RFE because most Turks got away with doing the same (because that makes sense) and I did not want to wait any longer.

[TB_]

Thanks for your response.

When did you receive the RFIE, and how many days do you have to respond?

I've just got it 4 days ago and I have 87 days to respond.

Try to request for the IRS Transcript to see if IRS is able to provide you one. It arrives 5-10 calendar days via mail. You can also download it online or get it thru fax. If you get it, good! Send that to USCIS.

I believe, this generic statement always follows the first paragraph ("Submit all supporting tax documentation...") even if the sponsor's income is waaay above poverty line. It's probably just their system saying, 'unless you give me your 2017 tax return, I will not accept your almighty income' lol.[/QUOTE]

Yeah but only problem is, my spouse's 2017 tax return still processing at IRS. Since I did not have and ITIN or SSN we had to file via mail and it takes time. Also, since I don't have any of those numbers, do you think they would reject the return or send a letter to ask about further info. I feel like IRS stuff will take a lot of time, since everything we do is on mail.

USCIS needs actual proof of current income. This is your chance to show USCIS that your spouse is truly earning above the poverty line. Show them the money. Yes, obtaining a certificate of employment with all the info requested plus the pay stubs would greatly work. Just include an explanation as to why there's only 4 pay stubs (the employment certificate should corroborate this).

If your sponsor's income is already above the FPL but you still want to make sure you have everything covered, request your sponsor's bank/s to send you Statements of Account for the last 12 months. Bank accounts are considered assets. It's also a way for USCIS to check the sponsor's personal cash flow, if there is money coming in monthly.

Ok, I'll make sure of it.

Where did you get your Extract of Vital Record? From the Turkish Embassy? USCIS needs the Record that came directly from Turkey. Request your parents to obtain it, send it to you here in the US via email. From here, have the Turkish record translated by a US-certified translator, then get a certified translation. Send both original and translated version to USCIS. I'm not Turkish but I have too much free time yet so I googled your case. Lol. Below is a screenshot of a discussion similar to your situation.

I've got my Extract of Vital Record from turkiye.gov.tr It is a government web page that you log in with unique ID and password and can access your own records. Even USCIS website says that I can Extract of Vital Record from turkiye.gov.tr
which what I did exactly. Even the document has a code that can easily go and check it. I think I'll get a translate of my TR ID and send it along with Extract of Vital Record and my passport.

When you're ready to send out your RFIE response, make sure to put the copy of the USCIS RFIE letter on top, it should be the 1st page of your response packet. USCIS will scan this sheet and forward it for further processing, so if you do not include it (or if it is not on top), you can expect further delays. I read that from somewhere so I just followed it. Assemble the packet this way:
- USCIS RFIE letter
- Cover letter
- Table of Contents (with explanation/clarification where needed, e.g. paystub, etc)
------ Tax/financial documents

Good luck and all the best!

Very important point! Thanks a lot

- - - Updated - - -

@4EVER did a great explanation but I just wanted to add my experience because I am from Turkey as well.

I went to the Turkish Consulate in Miami and got a "Birth Extract". A document from the Turkish Consulate should technically be enough, a consulate is foreign soil after all.

However, one of my teachers here (She is Turkish) applied for the green card last year and got a RFE for this very reason so her parents got a "Vukuatli Nufus Ornegi" in Turkey and scanned it so she was able to get it translated here in US. The funny part is it is the same exact form and just the stamp is different.

I sent my package with "Birth Extract" only last week, I am hoping not getting a RFE because most Turks got away with doing the same (because that makes sense) and I did not want to wait any longer.

Well I feel like I did what exactly they say on their website. Maybe they lost the document, I heard that could happen.
I'll try to contact embassy and see if I can get Birth Extract. I'm too far away from the embassy.
Thanks

[boogiewoogie]

Thanks for your response.


Yeah but only problem is, my spouse's 2017 tax return still processing at IRS. Since I did not have and ITIN or SSN we had to file via mail and it takes time. Also, since I don't have any of those numbers, do you think they would reject the return or send a letter to ask about further info. I feel like IRS stuff will take a lot of time, since everything we do is on mail.

I'm curious as to why you chose this way to file? I know its water under the bridge but without you having an ITIN or SSN or Greencard, why didnt she just file single, online?
I see you are here on B1 visa so you should have been able to get an ITIN.
It doesnt matter at this point but just wondering.

Also don't forget the foreign income exclusion, again bit late now but basically the first 100k give or take you earn abroad is tax free (with some limitations)

I know we are getting totally off topic here.

Ontopic, perhaps it would be easier to get a 3rd party to sponsor you? Can her parents vouch for you guys?

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I'm curious as to why you chose this way to file? I know its water under the bridge but without you having an ITIN or SSN or Greencard, why didnt she just file single, online?
I see you are here on B1 visa so you should have been able to get an ITIN.
It doesnt matter at this point but just wondering.

Also don't forget the foreign income exclusion, again bit late now but basically the first 100k give or take you earn abroad is tax free (with some limitations)

I know we are getting totally off topic here.

Ontopic, perhaps it would be easier to get a 3rd party to sponsor you? Can her parents vouch for you guys?

You can't file single if you are married.

[TB_]

I'm curious as to why you chose this way to file? I know its water under the bridge but without you having an ITIN or SSN or Greencard, why didnt she just file single, online?
I see you are here on B1 visa so you should have been able to get an ITIN.
It doesnt matter at this point but just wondering.

Also don't forget the foreign income exclusion, again bit late now but basically the first 100k give or take you earn abroad is tax free (with some limitations)

I know we are getting totally off topic here.

Ontopic, perhaps it would be easier to get a 3rd party to sponsor you? Can her parents vouch for you guys?

That's right, you can't file single if you're married and when you go to the IRS local building, they ask you couple of questions about if you're eligible for SSN or not. So since I'm married to an US citizen, I'm eligible for SSN. So they did not give me an ITIN number.

I know that we're not going to pay any tax on the return because as you said about first 100K. How much you earned doesn't matter, you have to file your return anyway.

We don't have anyone who can sponsor us.

And USCIS only wants the supporting documents for 2017 tax return that we sent to IRS. I added those into my application. So they already have it and we explained that this is overseas income here is the government issued papers from overseas. But they are still asking

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

That's right, you can't file single if you're married and when you go to the IRS local building, they ask you couple of questions about if you're eligible for SSN or not. So since I'm married to an US citizen, I'm eligible for SSN. So they did not give me an ITIN number.

I know that we're not going to pay any tax on the return because as you said about first 100K. How much you earned doesn't matter, you have to file your return anyway.

We don't have anyone who can sponsor us.

And USCIS only wants the supporting documents for 2017 tax return that we sent to IRS. I added those into my application. So they already have it and we explained that this is overseas income here is the government issued papers from overseas. But they are still asking

They are asking because the Income Tax Return that you filed by mail is not finalized yet. IRS is a federal agency. You may reach out to your Senator to help you expedite review of the tax return. Mention why you need that.

There is also the taxpayer advocate service. The issue with going through them is that once you go through them, you can only go through them. In our case, it took even longer to get the tax returns finalized because the advocate went on leave of absence due to personal emergency after she took on our case. IMAGINE THAT... I know...*shakes head*

[4EVER]

I sent my package with "Birth Extract" only last week, I am hoping not getting a RFE because most Turks got away with doing the same (because that makes sense) and I did not want to wait any longer.

Best to anticipate that RFE and prepare for it still, if it ever comes (knock on wood!). Hopefully, you already have a contingency plan, e.g. parents in Turkey notified, looked up a US-certified translator. The RFE may or may not come, but at least you're ready for it.

Good luck!

[gradstudent2018]

Best to anticipate that RFE and prepare for it still, if it ever comes (knock on wood!). Hopefully, you already have a contingency plan, e.g. parents in Turkey notified, looked up a US-certified translator. The RFE may or may not come, but at least you're ready for it.

Good luck!

Oh absolutely, they are about to mail the document to me in a couple of days.

In case I get a RFE notice I?m going to use a translator here immediately. Thank you!

[TB_]

Ok. So, Today I'll be responding to RFIE and then we'll see how it will go.

For the birth certificate,

I am sending again Extract of Vital Record with its translation. Because that's what their website tells me to do and I got the record exactly how they are suggesting it on the website.
Also I am sending my national ID card with its translation. It shows the place and the date of birth + Mother and Father names.

For Tax Evidences,

Luckily IRS finalised my spouse's Tax Return. They did not make any problem of that I don't have SSN or ITIN number which is great. So I am sending the actual tax return transcript.

For employment,

I am sending a employment letter taking from HR + 3 pay stubs.(that's all we have)

For assets,

We do not have much but we're sending my spouse's bank account statement. Current and the last 12 months.


We don't have a joint sponsor, so there will be nothing about that. But considering that my spouse made more than 30K on 2017 Tax Year and her current salary is much more than that. So, they should be looking the assets I guess :S

Well wish me luck. I'll reply when I hear back.

Thank you all

[boogiewoogie]

good luck!

i actually meant filing married but separate vs jointly.
That is the option that I used. Again it doesnt rly matter now.

[TB_]

Ok. So, Today I'll be responding to RFIE and then we'll see how it will go.

For the birth certificate,

I am sending again Extract of Vital Record with its translation. Because that's what their website tells me to do and I got the record exactly how they are suggesting it on the website.
Also I am sending my national ID card with its translation. It shows the place and the date of birth + Mother and Father names.

For Tax Evidences,

Luckily IRS finalised my spouse's Tax Return. They did not make any problem of that I don't have SSN or ITIN number which is great. So I am sending the actual tax return transcript.

For employment,

I am sending a employment letter taking from HR + 3 pay stubs.(that's all we have)

For assets,

We do not have much but we're sending my spouse's bank account statement. Current and the last 12 months.


We don't have a joint sponsor, so there will be nothing about that. But considering that my spouse made more than 30K on 2017 Tax Year and her current salary is much more than that. So, they should be looking the assets I guess :S

Well wish me luck. I'll reply when I hear back.

Thank you all

After 2 months of wait today my status has changed to Interview was scheduled. So, all the things I sent it out worked.