Permanent Residency advice on right documents for green card through marriage

Hello and thanks in advance for whoever is able to help me.
I entered the USA legally and my visitor visa is still valid. I married my wife last June and in October we started all the process to get me a green card. We filed all the "beginning of process" forms: I-130, I 485, I-765 and then I took the biometrics exam. All was well when my accountant (the person who is helping me file the forms) asked me if I had a sponsor, besides my wife, because the immigration department was asking for some more proof of income. The point is that my wife had never filed taxes before because she was still dependant of her parents.
Anyway, the father of a friend of mine decided to help me. He filled the I-864a and gave me copies of 3 last years of taxes returns. (he didn't copy the whole book, just that page that shows the resume of it).
With all this in hands, my accountant says that it's necessary to have the copy of the whole books of taxes returns of this friend of mine. Two days later she says it is a better idea to file my 2009 tax return with my wife and have her as my sponsor instead of this third person.
I was going to file my 2009 tax return with her anyway, (I filed my 2008's without her) but I am feeling like this person doesn't know what she is doing, and I am afraid of having to reapply for it once again and spend all that money once again.
If she was insisting on having the last 3 years of taxes returns of my sponsor, how can it be a better idea to have only last year's return? Should I use my sponsor's taxes + my 2009 return with my wife, or only the 2009's as my accountant wants? Should I hire a lawyer instead? My deadline is next week (and I got all this info last Thursday, which means I have very short time to decide).
I hope I wasn't too confusing... Thank you!

What Sponsor?

Sponsors! What for; and to what purpose?

The standards, types, scope, nature, and or, quality of any and all manners of request for production of documents by the Immigration is for the express purpose of determining the validity of your marriage and that's is all! You are unfortunately being royally confused and made to sweat your application by either miscommunication or out-and-out defective and erroneous advice.

You are not applying for a temporary or seasonal work authorization as a skilled foreign national brick-layer or any other such obscure application which requires a showing of "sponsors" who in such a case would be employers, etc. But you are not, are you?

I strongly think that the request for production of tax returns is to see if you filed together or separately. They'll soon be asking for phone bills, gas bill and pictures of the vacation you claim you took with her, and so on and so forth. All this nonsensical and endless paper work is to determine that your marriage is not a shame marriage aimed at circumventing the immigration system and then get a divorce.

An application for adjustment of status by way of marriage to a U.S. citizen does not require production of sponsors. In a nutshell, you basically have to prove to them that your marriage was, is and will remain an act of love and devotion to one another.

And while we are on the subject; your wife is not your sponsor.

Good Luck!

thanks for the advice

All right! But why does the immigration department asked for more "proof of income"? I am not allowed to work yet... maybe that's why we have thought of a sponsor.
I have been collecting all that stuff like our pictures and bills. I know that I have to prove that my marriage is a real one, just to prove the obvious.
Thanks so much for your help!

You are allowed to work!

But you ARE allowed to work! Positively, and unequivocally you can.

You became eligible to find employment and work legally the minute the application for change of status was received and which will remain in full force and effect until your application for change of status is decided.

However, you cannot travel outside of the United States while your application for change of status is being processed as you will not be permitted re-entry. But work; knock yourself out.

Now, as for immigration asking you for more proof of income; well, we are living in the post 9/11 era when folks are ordered to take their shoes off at airports and nursing mothers ordered to reveal the contents of the feeding bottle in the baby's mouth. And you will be detained and questioned by Homeland Security if you pay cash for your next airline ticket. So, at your interview, be prepared and don't be surprised or upset to be asked questions that you fail to see their relevance to your marriage. Income is one such avenue of questioning.

At this stage of the game, you (as an alien going through change of status for L.P.R.) are an unknown quantity to Immigration and your background cannot be ascertained beyond the date of your entry into United States. You are being wetted and qualified as a no-threat alien who can be trusted with U.S. residency and future citizenship. It is not so much that I.N.S. wants to know how much money you have been earning up to now, but the sources of your earned income to date.

By the way, I am not a natural born U.S. citizen and have been through all that you are going through and the best thing I can tell you is that DO NOT stress about being asked to provide this proof and that proof and DO NOT read negative omens for their asking. It's simply the rites of passage to a permanent and lawful life in the U.S.

You will be just fine.

fedrikklaw

Thanks!

Ok. So I think I'll do my taxes with her and show it to them. All this process is very overwhelming, but I think I'll survive it.
Thank you for your help!

fredrikklaw said:

An application for adjustment of status by way of marriage to a U.S. citizen does not require production of sponsors. In a nutshell, you basically have to prove to them that your marriage was, is and will remain an act of love and devotion to one another.

And while we are on the subject; your wife is not your sponsor.

Good Luck!

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Actually a person who obtains residency via the spouse DOES need "sponsorship" - that's the whole purpose of the I-864. The sponsor must effectively "promise" that the sponsored immigrant does not become a public charge hence the Affidavit of Support.

So, Proserpina, what do you think I should do? Use a sponsor or just to the taxes with my wife?

mingo said:

So, Proserpina, what do you think I should do? Use a sponsor or just to the taxes with my wife?

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Does your wife earn enough to meet the requirements of the I-864?

I'm not sure. She made 29K last year.