i864 section 6 (income) question

[nudda]

My sister and I are sponsoring our parents. She is the main sponsor, I am the joint sponsor.
My sister is a citizen, married to another citizen. I am a greencard holder.
She has earned $0 since 2007. I have earned well for the last few years. Her husband has been earning under 1099 only.
My sister rand her husband have not filed taxes for a couple of years due to personal circumstances.
I have filed taxes since the start (and have 3 years worth).

Question: What is the best way to fille out sisters i864? I am thinking to say she is unemployed, earned $0 and not attach any documents.

Trying to understand what are the best options, as I am the join sponsor and should have no problem ticking the financial boxes to satisfy federal poverty limits.

Thanks!

[BenjiSmith]

I am in similar situation (sort of). My spouse has no income, but spouse is sponsoring parents. Spouse put 0 as income. However, as spouse and I are in same house, we added myself and income to the "household".

Do you and sister share same household? If so, then put your sister's income at 0 and then add yourself and income as house member, and then detail your income in i-864a. If not, then put sister's income as 0 on i-864 and the fill out the co-sponsor documentation.

Good luck.

[nudda]

I am in similar situation (sort of). My spouse has no income, but spouse is sponsoring parents. Spouse put 0 as income. However, as spouse and I are in same house, we added myself and income to the "household".

Do you and sister share same household? If so, then put your sister's income at 0 and then add yourself and income as house member, and then detail your income in i-864a. If not, then put sister's income as 0 on i-864 and the fill out the co-sponsor documentation.

Good luck.

Many thanks Benji Smith.

We do live in the same house but i file my taxes completely seperately as they dont file theirs in time. Can I still put myself as the income in as a house member?

Problem with the 2nd proposal is that if I put 0 then they still want w2 and tax returns on section 6. How would you handle that? I have set myself as a joint/co sponsor right now as that was my original plan.

Have you already filed yours ? If so, what happened?

[BenjiSmith]

Hmm - so, if I'm understanding correctly, you will be serving as a co-sponsor (vs household member), and thus submitting your own I-864?

As I understand it, if a household member is filing as co-sponsor, then their income should not be accounted for in the primary sponsor's household income.

With such reasoning, you would still put 0 income for your sister on her I-864. As far as your sister's husband's income - if it contributes to household expenses, I would include it (personally). However, there may be scenarios where one could justify not including it, and in such cases, be prepared to thoroughly explain justification / reasoning.

As for the tax returns on your sister's I864, I read 23a (part 6) as "Have you filed a tax return?" It sounds like in your scenario, the answer should be No for your sister. Will that raise any flags? I have no idea, but in my experience, always be honest.

Then, on your I864 (which you are filing as co-sponsor), document your income, etc.

Ultimately, though you are household members, since you are joining as a co-sponsor, then account for your incomes separately. That's the way I understand it, anyway. (I'm NOT an attorney).

That all said - I have not yet filed. Almost there. I was waiting to see what Biden's Executive Order re immigration looked like. Especially re public charge. While it appears most of his order re public charge was to ask for formal review, I did read the following re the order:

"It also rescinds a memorandum requiring family sponsors to repay the government if relatives receive public benefits."

(https://www.healthcarefinancenews.co...ump-memorandum)

However, I have not had much time to look for the actual language in the order, and there seems to be little info about the statement I quoted. However, if the statement is true (I have no reason to doubt it), then it makes me wonder how much the I864s will weighted in regards to overall process. They still need to be filed, but it seems they are kind of pointless if they are no longer enforcing them. I mean, isn't the whole purpose of the I-864 to serve as a promise to pay government for any benefits the applicant may receive? Again, I'm not a lawyer, so I might be misunderstanding. One thing I do know, though, is that the various agencies are going to finish their review and provide recommended updates to current public charge rules in 60 days (from when the order was signed), and as such, the rules may look a lot different soon. In my situation, spouses parents are very impatient, and they are not going to wait. Depending on one's circumstances, though, it might be worth waiting until clearer guidance is issued by new administration.

Anyway - good luck!