Difficulties With Evidence As Self-Employed Sponsor
Hi all -
In the midst of an unmarried partner visa application for myself (sponsor, UK citizen, been living in the US for nearly 10 years) and my girlfriend (applicant, US citizen) and hoping to get some advice/hear what others have done.
I'm a self-employed composer for film and TV here in the US, working through a California LLC as an independent contractor.
I meet the threshold for income, but I'm starting to pull my hair out while attempting to meet some of the evidence guideline as set out in Paragraph 7 - specifically: 7 (h)(i)(bb) If the business is not required to produce annual audited accounts, unaudited accounts for the last full financial year and an accountant’s certificate of confirmation, from an accountant who is a member of a UK Recognised Supervisory Body (as defined in the Companies Act 2006) or who is a member of the Institute of Financial Accountants, The Association of Authorised Public Accountants, The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Association of International Accountants and The Association of Accounting Technicians
I've never been asked to produce unaudited accounts (or audited for that matter), and after being ghosted by my accountant/tax preparer after asking about it (slightly concerning), I'm struggling to find any information.
Given that the guidance (rather unhelpfully) states that for self-employed people outside of the UK should attempt to find "reasonable equivalents" for the required evidence - what have other people been submitting for this evidence? I use basic accounting software - I can produce income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements but when I put this to the solicitor we're working with he seemed to suggest it's not "official" enough, and that I should somehow try to get these documents "certified" by an accountant or similar.
Paragraph 7 (h) states that "one of the following must be submitted", but those options are audited accounts (I'm not required to keep/produce audited accounts); unaudited accounts (solicitor seems to think this is my best shot but has been disappointingly unhelpful with what I should actually be submitting); a certificate of VAT registration (not a thing in the US - does anyone know of an equivalent I could submit? As an independent contractor I don't charge sales tax or have anything certifying a tax registration beyond the LLC formation documents); evidence to show planning for the business (I work from a home studio and no planning permission is required for that in LA); or a franchise agreement signed by both parties (I'm not a franchise).
Hoping somebody out there is able to share any advice/experience they've had - we've been at a standstill with this nonsense for nearly two weeks and we really can't afford any more delays getting this application submitted. If anyone could share what evidence they ended up submitting if they were in a similar situation it would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance