Having trouble with i-864

[kimstein]

My spouse(American Citizen) is a housewife, and she has had no income for 10 years since we were married.
We have lived abroad for 6 years and now want to move back to the states.

We filed i-130 and all other required documents and got packet 3.
Then I filed ds-260.

Now, I have trouble with completing i-864 form.
1. Since my wife hasn't worked, she did not file any taxes.
2. I have enough money in my bank account to sponsor myself.
(The bank is in my home country(Japan), and since we are living in Singapore, there is no way to add my wife's name on my account. )

Can I sponsor myself instead of my spouse?
If answer is yes,
Which parts on the i-864 should be filled up?

[newacct]

You don't "sponsor yourself". Rather, what happens is that your wife, who is the petitioner, is the sponsor and fills out I-864, and you, as the intending immigrant, is part of her household. Your income and assets can be counted as part of her household income and household assets. Normally, to count a household member's income, the household member needs to fill out I-864A, but you, as the intending immigrant, do not need to fill out I-864A.

So in Part 6 #2, your wife will put 0 as her individual income, since she currently has no income, and if you have enough income, your income can be counted as "Person 1" in Part 6 #3-5, so that both your incomes sum to the household income in Part 6 #15. I am assuming that you don't have income either (and in any case the intending immigrant's income can only be counted if it continues after immigration which I assume is not true) so that's why you need to use assets. For assets, your wife would put her assets in Part 7 #1-4; you would put your assets in Part 7 #6-9, and both your assets would sum to the household assets in Part 7 #10. The household assets here needs to be 3 times the amount you are short in income.

[Sudan Man]

Dear Brother,

in the Form I-864 she will be asked if she will attache recent tax return documents and she will also will be asked if she was not required to file for tax return,my opinion is that you note that her income was zero for the recent 3 tax years and attache the last tax return documents she prepared before 10 years if available and write a letter explaining why she was not required to file tax return for these years.
You can add your assets and bank balances to the form to support your case , if the total amount of the assets and cash is more than the indicated poverty guide line for your family household size then you are good,if not look for a joint sponsor.

this is my opinion and our friends here can give you more advises.

Good Luck

[kimstein]

You don't "sponsor yourself". Rather, what happens is that your wife, who is the petitioner, is the sponsor and fills out I-864, and you, as the intending immigrant, is part of her household. Your income and assets can be counted as part of her household income and household assets. Normally, to count a household member's income, the household member needs to fill out I-864A, but you, as the intending immigrant, do not need to fill out I-864A.

So in Part 6 #2, your wife will put 0 as her individual income, since she currently has no income, and if you have enough income, your income can be counted as "Person 1" in Part 6 #3-5, so that both your incomes sum to the household income in Part 6 #15. I am assuming that you don't have income either (and in any case the intending immigrant's income can only be counted if it continues after immigration which I assume is not true) so that's why you need to use assets. For assets, your wife would put her assets in Part 7 #1-4; you would put your assets in Part 7 #6-9, and both your assets would sum to the household assets in Part 7 #10. The household assets here needs to be 3 times the amount you are short in income.

Thank you for the specific instructions! I have income but it's not US based company so I decided just to use ONLY my assets. I have more than 5 times the poverty guideline, and I hope it go through smoothly.

[kimstein]

Dear Brother,

in the Form I-864 she will be asked if she will attache recent tax return documents and she will also will be asked if she was not required to file for tax return,my opinion is that you note that her income was zero for the recent 3 tax years and attache the last tax return documents she prepared before 10 years if available and write a letter explaining why she was not required to file tax return for these years.
You can add your assets and bank balances to the form to support your case , if the total amount of the assets and cash is more than the indicated poverty guide line for your family household size then you are good,if not look for a joint sponsor.

this is my opinion and our friends here can give you more advises.

Good Luck

I still have my wife's tax return documents that we filed about 10 years ago for my temporary green card. I should turn that in too! Thank you for your opinion.

[newacct]

I still have my wife's tax return documents that we filed about 10 years ago for my temporary green card. I should turn that in too! Thank you for your opinion.

I-864 only requires the last year's tax return, and optionally you can provide the last 3 years. Nobody is asking for something from 10 years ago.