When reviewing your annual income, USCIS will consider not just a sponsor’s current income, but also how long they have been with their current employer and how much they will make throughout the current year. Because of this, if a sponsor has had multiple employers during the current calendar year many people find the most success with USCIS when they report not just their current job’s income, but also their projected income for the calendar year based on both past and current jobs. This projected income should be as accurate as possible and should be supportable with evidence.
Note: When determining annual income, USCIS only considers an individual’s base salary. Overtime, bonuses, stipends, tips, commissions, or other irregular sources of income are not guaranteed to be paid and will not be considered by USCIS.
We know this can be complicated so we are here to help give you examples and guide you through the process.
How to calculate a sponsor’s projected annual income
To calculate their annual income the sponsor will list all jobs they have held throughout the current calendar year and determine what their year-to-date earnings were for each of their jobs. If they have multiple current jobs they can all be added in this list of jobs. Then, they will calculate how much they anticipate earning with their current job from their start date to the end of the year.
Let’s show an example to see what this could look like:
Sarah has had 3 different jobs during the current calendar year.
Job #1: Sarah was at this job from January – April: Her last pay stub showed a year to date income of $7,040.
Job #2: Sarah was at this job from June – August: Her last pay stub showed a year to date income of $5,600.
Job #3 (Current): Sarah started this job in September. She makes $15 an hour and works an average of 15 hours a week. From the time Sarah started her job to the end of the year there are 17 weeks in the year. Sarah can calculate her projected income at this job by multiplying her weekly average earnings ($15 x 15 hours = $225 weekly) by the 17 weeks she will work at this job in the year. This makes her project income $3,825.
To calculate annual income Sarah will then add those job positions together to calculate her current annual income.
$7,040 + $5,600 + $3,825 = $16,465
Sample Projection Letter
Here is a sample projection letter that can be used to clearly map out this income for USCIS so they can see how this income was calculated. At the bottom of this article there are links to PDF and a Docx versions of this template letter.
In addition to creating a letter that projects their income following the above sample, the sponsor can also add proof of income for all jobs added from the year.
Documentation
USCIS wants to see proof of the reported annual income. Here is what our partner attorneys recommend:
- Last 6 months of pay stubs. If the sponsor has changed jobs during that time it is recommended to add all pay stubs from that time period, even if from a previous employer.
- Final 2 pay stubs from any previous employers the sponsor has had in the calendar year. This is so USCIS can see their YTD earnings from those jobs and verify the annual income.
- Employer Letter from the sponsor’s employer on company letterhead. It should state their title, start date, and annual salary. If they are paid hourly it is recommended that they report hourly rate, average weekly hours worked, and what that makes the sponsor’s annual income. Many companies have automated processes for generating these letters. Often they can consult with their Human Resources Department to get that letter issued.
- If they have had multiple jobs, include a projected income statement following the template discussed above.