U.S consulate is requesting additional sponsor.

[theuniverse]

Hello everyone, I'm petitioning my dad from Costa Rica and I'm a U.S citizen and my dad has already been scheduled an interview but the U.S consulate in costa rica told my dad he needs an additional sponsor which is ridiculous since I make $40,000 a year with my mom in a household of 4 people and it meets 125% of poverty line. Now, I'm planning to add my brother who lives and works in the u.s as a joint sponsor but he is only a resident and the consulate in the e-mail said they needed prove the joint sponsor is a u.s citizen they mentioned they need "birth certificate or passport", does this mean my brother can't be a joint sponsor if he's just a permanent resident?

[inadmissible]

United States citizens, nationals, and permanent residents are eligible to be sponsors for the purpose of Form I-864 Affidavit of Support.

125% of the Federal Poverty Levels for the continental United States for 2015 for a family of 4 is US$30,313.

If I were in your shoes, I would write a stern letter to the consular officer advising him to take the Request for Evidence and shove it up his behind.

Luckily, your mom raised you well, and you would never say such a thing.

You should certainly consider filing a complaint with the Department of State Ombudsman, and file an appeal if the consular officer denies your dads immigrant visa application on the basis of insufficient financial support.

[rayb]

When submitting the co-sponsor documents from your brother, you must include a copy of his current Green Card.

--Ray B

Hello everyone, I'm petitioning my dad from Costa Rica and I'm a U.S citizen and my dad has already been scheduled an interview but the U.S consulate in costa rica told my dad he needs an additional sponsor which is ridiculous since I make $40,000 a year with my mom in a household of 4 people and it meets 125% of poverty line. Now, I'm planning to add my brother who lives and works in the u.s as a joint sponsor but he is only a resident and the consulate in the e-mail said they needed prove the joint sponsor is a u.s citizen they mentioned they need "birth certificate or passport", does this mean my brother can't be a joint sponsor if he's just a permanent resident?

[IR1MumbaiDCF]

It will be easier for you to just get a scan copy of your brother's Green Card and mention that he is an LPR and NOT a USC. They will understand that they didn't fully expand on the requirement to you. They probably meant you need to establish your brother's status as a USC OR AS A LPR. They too make mistakes.
email them the scan copy and see what they say. I had my brother-in-law sponsor me. He is NOT a USC. He is a Green Card holder and I provided them proof of everything, it's another thing they didn't ask for it from me.

[inadmissible]

Why does he need a co-sponsor?

[IR1MumbaiDCF]

Why does he need a co-sponsor?

What happens sometimes is: a person (as in this case, with an annual income of $40k- 4 other household member) may be above poverty line but they may have sponsored other people in the past, say 2 or 3 people. Now, the responsibility of the sponsor doesn't end until the beneficiary becomes a USC. This may be one scenario where consular may ask for additional sponsor. They do have a record of this and they do track it sitting on the other side of the screen. Besides, he says he makes $40k "with his mom". In order for him to be able to independently sponsor someone without a co-sponsor: he will need to be making $$ above poverty line without including anyone else's income.

[rayb]

What is even more likely is that the original poster did not complete the sponsorship package correctly. There might have been errors or inconsistencies in the I-864 or inocmplete evidence of income and tax filing. The barcode editing that is part of the I-864 processing tends to introduce exceptions that a real person reviewer would normally ignore, i.e., total income vs adjusted gross income when the tax return is 1040 rather tan 1040A or EZ.

The I-864 instructions clearly stipulate that a Green Card holder is eligible to be a co-sponsor. See I-864 instructions, page 4, #5, "...proof of... Permanent Resident status is required of ...joint sponsors..."

--Ray B

What happens sometimes is: a person (as in this case, with an annual income of $40k- 4 other household member) may be above poverty line but they may have sponsored other people in the past, say 2 or 3 people. Now, the responsibility of the sponsor doesn't end until the beneficiary becomes a USC. This may be one scenario where consular may ask for additional sponsor. They do have a record of this and they do track it sitting on the other side of the screen. Besides, he says he makes $40k "with his mom". In order for him to be able to independently sponsor someone without a co-sponsor: he will need to be making $$ above poverty line without including anyone else's income.