Common Problems filing the I-134 Affidavit of Support for the K-1 visa

The I-134 Affidavit of Support is not easy to put together for your upcoming fiance visa interview. It’s a bunch of forms, documents, evidence, taxes, taxes (and don’t forget taxes).

If you’re being proactive and thinking ahead in your Affidavit of Support –I know all about it… because I also had a hard time. In fact, when I was assembling it, my biggest problem was one of the 4 topics we’ll discuss today.

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If you have concerns then chances are it’s one of these:

● What if I don’t make enough income?

● What if I can’t find a joint sponsor?

● Am I correctly calculating my income or assets?

● What if I’ve got tax return problems. What do I do?

I’m sure you flipped through and read stories of people getting denied due to “public charge” 212(a)(4).

Will any of this happen to you? What does it mean? In fact… is it even worth worrying?

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Well, sort of. You see, statistics say that “public charge” is a common reason for K-1 visa denial. Meaning these four problems are a big deal.

Let’s review these four problems because simply by being aware that there’s a problem means we’re halfway finding a solution.

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Problem # 1: I don’t have enough income for my I-134

When someone asks before starting the K-1 visa process, what exactly they need to be approved, one of the top things I mention is enough financial support.

And I advise this in the beginning (during the I-129F) to be sure you don’t waste months of your life just to be let down at the K-1 visa interview.

Common reasons for not having enough finances include:

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❒ Being employed at minimum wage – which surprisingly does put you above poverty limits. However, this assumes your “household size” (I-864p) is only 2 members.

□ But what if you have children?
(Possibly add them to this household depending on tax situation)

□ What if you have aging parents? Or other dependents?
(You may or may not need add them depending on your tax situation)

How do all of those factor into the income you’re supposed to be above? Heck, what if you work two jobs?… How do we combine it together?

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❒  “I’m Self employed and get work sporadically. Some years income is good. Other years it’s terrible. How do I know if I have enough?”

Imagine you’re a freelancer. You get random contracts or gigs. How do you know if you “make enough”? Your tax return income history may go up and down like a heart rate monitor.

So, it’s hard to predict if the Embassy considers your income sufficient. Also, what if you don’t pay yourself a salary? Can you use the company’s income as your own?

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❒  “I just got fired, demoted, laid off, etc. How does that affect me?” Well, it’s not good. The Embassy wants to know if you can financially support your fiance. They do this by looking at your CURRENT situation (with a basic understanding of your past years).

So, if you don’t currently have a job, that technically means you’re earning $0 income (unless of course, you have other sources of income). 

What if you recently re-joined the workforce or started earning after being unemployed for a long time? What if you were injured and are on workmen’s compensation? in which case you don’t actively work even though your last year’s tax returns were above minimum poverty limits. Unfortunately, you can’t be an acceptable sponsor even if it’s no fault of your own.

Read more here at (“Do I need a job for the fiance K-1 visa?”)

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❒  I’m retired and living off of social security, pensions, veterans benefits, 401k, etc. How does all of that factor into your “income” for my I-134 form?
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❒ Unstable income. Let’s add some complexity. Imagine you get child support in addition to your normal job. What if you only make the minimum (I-864p) limits with child support included? What if you get alimony (spousal support)?

Notice that child support is not a STABLE source of income. It may not even be acceptable at the K visa interview.

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So… you see the issue of not making enough income is a lot more complicated than what’s written in your paystubs. A lot of things intermingle. However, for many of us the solutions are simply:

● To use a Joint sponsor
● To use assets to make up the difference.

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Problem # 2: Can’t find a joint sponsor willing to help

Let’s say that the problem # 1 (from above) applies to you OR whatever the reason is and you decide to use a joint sponsor. Possibly if you don’t earn enough OR if you started working, got hired, fired, retired, etc. can you use a joint sponsor? 

Probably — but what if we can’t find a joint sponsor willing to help our K-1 fiance?

Sadly enough, many petitioners express disappointment when they tell me that they can’t find anyone willing to help. Even their family, parents, siblings abandon them for one reason or another.

I can see why family or friends (or coworkers) are hesitant to help. Think about it, they’re promising to financially care of the beneficiary if he/she ends up needing help.

It doesn’t mean you have to care for their day to day expenses. Instead, it means if push comes to shove, the government can sue you for any public assistance this beneficiary gets. That sounds like a scary deal to make.

Put yourself in a joint sponsor’s shoes. First, they give sensitive tax documents and trust it doesn’t get in the wrong hands. Second: they trust that everything will work out with your (US petitioner’s) job situation and you’ll care for your fiance in the future without putting them in the mix.

It’s true, they’re taking a risk on your behalf. Not to mention the scary things they see the government doing with immigration. There’s bound to be uneasiness.

Other times joint sponsors (usually parents) want to help but they can’t. Maybe they’re retired, living off of social security or barely making ends meet themselves.

The solution? Convince them to help — that is if the only thing stopping them is the discomfort of handing over their tax documents. 

Or use assets if this sponsor doesn’t make enough either for their household size.

Notice, you can’t combine incomes together (like you can with the I-864). Instead, with the I-134, the sponsor (either petitioner or a joint sponsor) must be able to fully care for the fiance on their own.

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Problem # 3: Tax return issues / problems

This is probably the most common problem I see.

Most of us don’t understand the basics of tax returns. You know, stuff like W2 forms, 1099s, schedules is something we get in the mail and usually just hand to our CPA. He/she takes it and files our 1040 tax returns. So, most of it goes unnoticed.

But for the K-1 visa interview, your I-134 AOS depends a lot on what W2 forms you have, what they include, and other sources of income such as 1099s and schedules. The mix of these three make up your “total income” that goes in the I-134 (part 3 question 3, page 3)

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It gets complex if you’re retired, have multiple income sources, or have unstable income.

The next problem we have is regarding work.

Take for example: if you (US petitioner) recently started working and have a tax return showing only half the income. Which is typical for recently graduated students.

And you don’t have to go too far to find a real example.

I, myself, had the same exact issue. I graduated and just started working full time when 6 months later I had to send my tax returns — which showed only half the income.

But, you see, this “problem” is solvable. Since I was currently employed and earning above the minimum, all I had to do was show them a letter of employment as proof. That did the trick.

In fact, by law the US Embassy may accept a letter of employment if the sponsor has newly joined a job (9 FAM 302.8-2(C)(4)). Read the full explanation here at tips for the I-134 AOS for the fiance visa.

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The next problem is not common but still exists. It’s if you didn’t file tax returns.

Many times you haven’t filed a tax return. For reasons such as you: didn’t make enough, you forgot, or you’re ethically opposed to paying taxes.

Other times, people don’t file tax returns for acceptable reasons: you may be retired and don’t have to file taxes on non-taxable income.

So, if you’re caught in this dilemma, what exactly do you do? Will they believe you earn enough? What’s the process for showing them you’ve got enough even though your taxes don’t present all income?

In rare cases, if you fall behind filing taxes, you may request an extension form 4868 – but how does that affect your case?

I mean, does it matter why you want an extension? Does it affect your fiance visa? Will they believe you make enough? Will they look at your past records or just make a snap judgement on your current situation?

Does it make it look like you’re stalling getting tax returns? Or does it make it look like you’re avoiding filing taxes because you don’t have enough to pay them?

There are even more head scratchers:

● I’m self employed, what if I don’t pay myself a salary — what does that mean for my I-134?

● Does it matter if I’ve got liens, freezes or arrears in my records?

● I’ve got a complicated tax return… I’ve got multiple sources of income, properties, stocks/bonds, Schedules, etc. How do I transform this complicated situation into something presentable at the K-1 visa interview?

Chances are if you’ve got multiple sources of income, you’re above the minimum poverty limits.

However, other times you may still not be making enough. But still, how do you take a complex situation and make it clear (and believable) for the US Embassy?

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Problem # 4: Not correctly preparing and comparing their income/assets

Most of us don’t calculate our household size or income / assets the right way.

Take for instance: if you work a job and are right at the minimum limits – enough for yourself and your K-1 beneficiary. Now, let’s say you live with family, or friends, or anyone else in your home. Would they count as household? Who’s “partially” and who’s “wholly”?

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There’s a right way to figure out your household size and correctly compare income. Not everyone who lives with you qualifies as household. Some do. Some don’t. It depends on who is your dependent.

It would take me a different article to discuss all the variables you consider when coming up with your household size. It’s fairly involved.

For example: if you petitioned someone else with an I-130 in the past and submitted an I-864 on their behalf, then you may be on the hook for 10 years. In which case you have to count that person as a household member EVEN if they don’t currently live in your home or they’re not in your tax returns. Odd, isn’t it?

I’m kind of shocked that couples ignore this entire topic of “household size” and calculating income correctly. Instead, they just pray it magically works out. It’s almost like closing your eyes and hoping that your problems disappear. But that’s obviously not the way to handle problems, is it?

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If you’ve got one of these four issues

So, those were the 4 typical problems we face with our I-134 Affidavit of Support in preparation for the fiance K-1 visa.

● What if we don’t make enough income?

● What if I can’t find a joint sponsor?

● Am I correctly calculating my income or assets?

● I’ve got tax return problems. What do I do?

Statistics show that “public charge” (INA 212(a)(4)) inadmissibility is one of the top reasons for denial. So, this I-134 is a big deal to get right. 

And I agree that much of the forms, supporting evidence, taxes, etc. can get a bit complicated. If you have these problems, you’re not alone. That’s why these are “common”.

Let’s talk about your situation.

I recommend you take my K-1 visa interview course to learn how to handle all these problems. All the topics we just talked about are covered within. Now, I admit that I can’t answer all your questions, but you’ll find the serious, complete answers that worked for others in the past.