i-864a taxes filed jointly

[katiek]

I am currently working on the application for my husband's visa, and both of my parents have agreed to complete the i-864a. Because they filed taxes jointly, their tax returns include both of their incomes combined.
Is it possible to have both of my parents submit the i-864a, should just one of them complete the form? Is it okay to write their combined income as stated on their tax returns?
If I list them both on the i-864 (Part 6, No. 8-13), their total income doubles (Part 6 No. 20).

Thank you for your help in advance!

[newacct]

Are you sure you understand the difference between a household member and a joint sponsor?

In order for them to be your "household members", i.e. counted in your household size in I-864 Part 5, your parents would need to either be your tax dependents, or be residing in the same residence as you. If they act as your household members, their incomes get counted as part of your household income on your I-864. (Note that if you only need to count one of them's income, then only that parent needs to fill out I-864A.) Although they list the "total income" from their tax returns from past years on I-864A Part 4 #2a-c, they list their current individual income in Part 3 #7. The two are not the same because 1) current income refers to to the salary of their job as of right now, which is not necessarily the same as income from past years, and 2) individual income is that person's own income, even if they filed taxes jointly. The current individual incomes from each of their I-864As go onto your I-864 Part 6 under "Person 1" and "Person 2", which adds to your current individual income to produce your current household income. Since you are adding each person's individual income, nothing is doubled.

If they are not your dependents and do not live with you, they cannot be your "household members", and instead one of them will have to act as a "joint sponsor". In that case, you would fill out an I-864, without counting their income. One of your parents, who is the joint sponsor, will fill out a second I-864, counting their own individual income. If that parent's individual income is insufficient, the other parent's income can be counted by that second parent filling out I-864A to be the first parent's household member. Your income will not be included in your parent's I-864.

[katiek]

Thank you so much for your response! I was confusing the "household member" and "joint sponsor" terms.

Just to confirm, I currently live abroad with my husband but my permanent address is at my parent's home. My husband and I plan to live at that address upon our return to the US. Would my parents be considered joint sponsors because we do not currently live together, or household members since we share the same permanent address and will be living together once we are in the US?

Again, thank you for the clarification!

[newacct]

Thank you so much for your response! I was confusing the "household member" and "joint sponsor" terms.

Just to confirm, I currently live abroad with my husband but my permanent address is at my parent's home. My husband and I plan to live at that address upon our return to the US. Would my parents be considered joint sponsors because we do not currently live together, or household members since we share the same permanent address and will be living together once we are in the US?

Again, thank you for the clarification!

If their income is sufficient without adding yours, it would be simpler to have one of them be a joint sponsor.