Background
Miguel is a Brazilian music producer who frequently flew back and forth between the U.S. and Brazil. He managed several local Brazilian funk artists. Recently, Brazilian funk has gained attention in the U.S., with many of its artists performing there more often than in Brazil. As most of Miguel’s work began taking place in the U.S., he started spending more and more time there. Eventually, Miguel met another U.S.-based producer who wanted to collaborate with him. However, over time, their business relationship soon blossomed into something more romantic.
Miguel continued flying back and forth between the U.S. and Brazil, and after a year of dating, they decided that they wanted to take their relationship one step further. He proposed, and they got married in February earlier this year. But, the most exciting news was not their marriage. Within 3 weeks of being married, Miguel’s partner realized that she was pregnant!
Case
With a baby on the way, Miguel and his partner approached our team to figure out how Miguel could stay in the U.S. permanently.
After reviewing his situation, our team decided that a marriage-based green card would be the best option for Miguel and his family. As his partner is a U.S. citizen, she can petition Miguel as they have recently gotten married. They agreed, and we got to work. We had to collect evidence to demonstrate the genuineness of their relationship, which is critical for marriage green cards. As Miguel had been traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Brazil, we collected all the trip itineraries, photos, written affidavits from their peers, and put together a strong petition.
Issue
Even though Miguel made a decent amount of money to support his partner and baby on the way, he had never filed U.S. taxes. His partner’s tax returns did not meet the income requirement to sponsor Miguel. This was nothing to worry about, as all we needed was a joint sponsor. They quickly found a family friend to be the joint sponsor, however, they had not filed their most recent taxes yet. USCIS reviews the previous three years of tax returns, and we knew that without the most recent tax returns, an RFE would be issued. Nonetheless, we did not want to delay the petition, so we submitted as much evidence as we could to show the joint sponsor met the income requirement.
As expected, within one month, USCIS issued an RFE requesting that we provide all the tax information for the joint sponsor and resubmit the I-864, which is the Affidavit of Support. We were anticipating this RFE, but the problem is that the joint sponsor had suddenly become quiet.
At VisaNation, we cannot stress how important it is to choose a reliable joint sponsor. Please pick someone who you know will respond throughout the process and stay on top of their taxes. Luckily, the joint sponsor ended up responding in time, and we submitted everything quite quickly.
Verdict
Within 4 months of filing the petition, USCIS approved Miguel’s green card. With only a couple of months left before the baby’s arrival, Miguel is now able to stay in the U.S. with his partner to help prepare and get things ready for their growing family.
How VisaNation Helped
At VisaNation, we understand life’s biggest moments. It’s celebrating major milestones like reunifications, marriages, and pregnancies, and they may not all follow a perfect timeline. Our team guided Miguel and his partner every step of the way, ensuring that their petition would be approved despite the RFE. We are always prepared for the unexpected, and we are here to help if you are ready to begin your marriage-based green card journey.
Contact us today for a free case assessment.
