I-485 AOS Denial

[ashina74]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL

I recently was surprised to receive a denial letter notice to a petition of I-485, (AOS) on behalf of my mother. The reason for denial as stated in the letter: “Evidence of assets that meet the federal poverty line or obtain a qualified joint sponsor”. I received an approval letter for the I-130.


We are 3 adults in our household. I’m a US citizen who sponsored my wife for a green card about a year ago. I have no other dependents except for my wife. According to the 2014 HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support the 125% of HHS amount for a household of 3 is $24,737.00.


Based on the above required household income amount I provided USCIS evidence of my income and my assets as following:

1. My yearly income $14,504.46. (Copies of paystubs)

2. Investment statements in mutual funds with a balance of $6,560.00. (Full year worth of statements copies)

3. County assessor assessment for real estate owned (free and clear) that is valued $68,500.00 by the county assessor even though market value is higher. (Copy of 2014 assessment).

4. I also submitted one bank statement of my mother new U.S. checking account she opened recently with more than $10,000.00 balance. (Didn’t have 12 statements since it’s a new account).


My questions are:


I'm confused. according to our calculation we provided satisfactory evidence of assets to compensate for the low income. After receiving the denial letter I spoke with USCIS national customer service over the phone and the rep explained we can request the case to be reviewed for clerical error? Any hope taking this route?


Do you recommend to file I-290B as indicated in the denial letter?


If necessary, can my wife be joint sponsor (I-864A) and add her assets too (Title to the apartment we currently live in is under her name)?


My mother is an elderly woman and continue to stay in the US waiting for her case to be completed.



Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[t74]

Assessors values are often far different from value of property. Why did you not submit an appraisal? One in my area costs about $400-$500. If you intend to use two properties, get an appraisal of each one.

Add your wife as joint sponsor - especially if she has income.

Real estate is a bad source of funds for support. It is not liquid and there is a significant cost to selling. If it is your primary residence, it is even worse for then you have no place to live if funds are needed to care for the immigrant.

Quite frankly, on an income of $1200/month you cannot afford to support yourself and your wife without taxpayer support much less add another person to it. Your mother being elderly makes it even worse due to the medical care she is likely to need and the cost of health insurance. Have you actually thought the financial aspects out?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I concur. You did not demonstrate sufficient assets or the ability of mother to not become a public charge and you clearly cannot afford you and your wife along with separate maintenance for your MIL including support and health insurance. The $10k would be gone in a month. You do not even have enough liquid assets to cover your own household for 3 month if you were laid off or fired. It seems the plan was to get her citizenship then SSI. You have apparently already pledged these assets in support of your wifes Affadavit of Support for 10 years.

 

[PaulMass]

USCIS likes to be picky about everything and looks for reasons to deny.

You said you submitted county records showing the real estate was worth $68K. Were these "certified" records? Also, did you submit anything showing that you actually owned the real estate in question, like a deed?

From what you've written, you meet the guidelines. You seem to be short by about $10K per year, meaning you'll need to show about $50K in assets.

Also be sure about the number of household members you filled out. Assuming the 3 you mentioned are yourself, your wife, and your mother, you may have included yourself someplace else or counted your wife twice. The I-864 is very ambiguous and you need to read the instructions carefully.

You may want to make an INFOPASS appointment and ask some questions.