| Ups and downs |
[Jul. 22nd, 2009|12:13 am] |
Ok, we have 2 very interesting developments in my research about the definition of "income".
The first was horribly disheartening. I found a USCIS document that defined income as the amount on line 22 of the 1040, totally fucking my argument.
But then.... I kept looking and found something from the US Census Bureau, which is the agency that sets the Federal Poverty Guidelines and this is what they had to say:
Money Income: This includes all money income received by individuals who are 15 years or older. It consists of income before deductions for taxes and other expenses and does not include lump-sum payments or capital gains. It also does not include the value of noncash benefits such as food stamps. This income concept is the basis for the official U.S. poverty measure.
USCIS bases its policy upon the Federal Poverty Guideline, so it is reasonable to follow that the correct interpretation would be the one by the agency that makes the policy, not the one that interprets it.
Or so I must hope. I know- I'm expecting logic here.
Fuck me, no wonder I'm a basket case. |
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| The bad, and the ugly |
[Jul. 21st, 2009|04:54 pm] |
Ok, folks, I'm taking a swing for the fence. I'm sending an email to the National Visa Center, who are the folks that handle the initial I-864 processing. Here's the letter: ( Read more... ) |
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| The Midnight Express |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|01:55 pm] |
I just got word from Lina that she and Alisa are finished with the rest of their packing and are heading out the door for the train station to catch the midnight train to Moscow. (4pm our time) They'll be getting there about 7am- 11pm tonight our time. Tomorrow, they have to report to the doctor for their physicals, and then get a pre-paid DHL airbill for their (hopefully) visas.
So this is it. Things are finally moving. It's pretty exciting.
And on a happy note, work today was supposed to run from 8am to 6pm, but we finished at 11:30 but we still get paid until 6pm. So I'm home and will grab a nap and then spend the afternoon and evening looking for jobs, gigs for the band, and apartments. |
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| Good news |
[Feb. 20th, 2009|10:17 am] |
Just got off the phone with the NVC.
Last night my buzz was majorly planed when I looked at the I-864 form for Lina and Alisa. It is the form I have to file showing sufficient income to support them when I get here, which is 125% of the poverty line. Currently, that figure is about $22,500.
Now.... what scared the piss out of me was the way it appeared "income" was worded.
I'm mainly self-employed and get about 80% of my income on 1099 forms. As such, I'm allowed to write off all sorts of expenses, which go on the schedule C of my federal taxes. (are you still with me or have your heads exploded yet?) I then deduct the expenses from my 1099 income, giving me the net income figure for my business, and this figure then gets transfered over to my 1040. As a result, the number that ends up on my 1040 as "total income" is pretty puny and significantly below the federal poverty line.
This would be a problem.
But in talking to the NVC, the rep seemed to think that they would consider what's on my 1099s and not what ends up on the 1040 as my "income".
Let's hope he's correct.
Also, I found out that I don't even have to file that form until Lina comes here. The wheels are already in motion for her to have her embassy interview and get her visa.
I can relax a bit now.
Pretty awesome show last night by J Geils at the House of Blues. Unfortunately, it was marred by some of the shittiest lighting I have ever seen at a show by a major artist. Lighting dweebs, take note. The Golden Rule of Lighting is that the audience is there to see the artist and not your pretty lights. As such, the Prime Directive is LIGHT THE FUCKING BAND SO THE AUDIENCE CAN SEE THEM. Jesus, I felt like friggin' Helen Keller trying to watch them. Pretty bad. I was begging them to put some front light on them to help out the poor bastards on spotlight who were probably running their first shows and were all over the place.
Anywho......
I'm off to work in Newport RI for a show with Lyn. |
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| Next update |
[Feb. 13th, 2009|07:30 pm] |
Today I paid the next fee for Lina and Alisa's immigration. $70 to pay for.... I'm not sure what. Oh, wait, it's for the "affidavit of support" (AOS) fee. What is AOS?
It's to show the government I make enough money to support them. Of course, I'd have a helluva lot more money if I didn't have to pay about $2000 in fees to bring them over here and another few hundred dollars on paperwork.
The next step is to wait for them to process the online payment (which takes about 2 days), at which point Lina must fill out and send in the DS-3032 "Choice of Agent and Address Form". I'm not quite sure what the form is all about and have to call the NVC to ask. There's all sorts of ramification involved in it and I want to be sure I have all the angles covered.
Yeah... headache.
But today I chatted online with Lina about everything and was teasing her about how much money she and Alisa are costing but that quality Russian women are expensive and she teased me back- "Yes, Steve, not made in China is not cheap."
Time for some tea and hockey. |
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| oddity |
[Sep. 30th, 2008|11:24 pm] |
It is very strange and sad to get the various come-ons from Russian mail-order brides. I don't doubt that these women are real, or that they want to come here. But I wonder about the backstory- are they also being pimped out? I don't know.
But the emails- even though they are sent to who knows how many guys- are kinda heart-rending, especially the ones that are in broken English, very similar to how Lina writes. I take the time to write them back in my broken Russian, thanking them for the email but telling them "Я женат"- I am married.
Speaking of which, things have been rough mentally for me lately. I just want Lina here. We talked 2 hours total on the phone the past 2 days and have sent each other phone text messages and IMs. She is getting jumpy as well. But it's good to talk so much on the phone. She made me laugh a couple of times. Yesterday she told me Alisa wants to work in McDonalds when she turns 16 and Lina said Alisa can earn all the money and she and I can stay home and sleep all day. She also told me, laughing, that her sister went on vacation for a week. Marianna has a 17 year old son, Gosha, but rather than leave him home alone, she had their mother stay with him. Poor Gosha- he probably thought he'd have the place to himself for a week to get into the sort of mischief teenage boys like to get into when the parental unit(s) is/are gone, but instead.... he has Grandma staying with him. Lina thought this was really funny and teased me when I said "poor Gosha!".
We have no idea of how long this is going to take. The USCIS website still doesn't have much information. As best we can estimate, they will finally start processing our paperwork in December. Then it takes about 2 months to get it to the consulate in St Petersburg, and then from there... maybe 2 months?
In total, we're most likely looking at an entire year. Urgh.
Meanwhile, the job search is also driving me nuts. It's frustrating to keep sending out resumes and not hearing anything. I need to get more aggressive and proactive and now that I have had 2 days (a normal weekend) to recuperate, I can buckle down tomorrow and get cracking. But for now, I'm tired and cranked out and aggravated to all hell. Whine whine whine..... |
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