Most family-based immigrants and some employment-based immigrants have to show they will have an adequate means of financial support if allowed to immigrate to the United States. The “Affidavit of Support” (i.e. I-864, I-864EZ, or I-864A) is used by an intending immigrant to help convince the United States Government that he/she is not likely to need public assistance (i.e. “welfare”) after becoming a lawful permanent resident (i.e. green card holder). With limited exceptions, the immigrant visa petitioner (i.e. person who filed the Form I-130) must complete an Affidavit of Support; however, if the petitioner does not have sufficient income and/or assets to meet the financial requirements, a joint sponsor may also submit a Form I-864 on the immigrant’s behalf.
An Affidavit of Support is a legally enforceable contract where you as the “sponsor” or “joint sponsor” accept financial responsibility for the immigrant. Your financial obligations under the Affidavit of Support only end when:
Your death would also end your financial obligations. However, if you owed any support to the sponsored immigrant before your death, your estate may be required to meet those obligations.
It is important to note that neither divorce or annulment end your financial obligation for the immigrant under the Affidavit of Support.
If the sponsored immigrant receives certain federal, state, or local means-tested public benefits, you can be required to reimburse the agency that provided these benefits. In addition, you can also be sued by the lawful permanent resident (i.e. green card holder) to bring his/her income up to 125% of the poverty guidelines threshold. You are not financially responsible for the sponsored immigrant’s tax and other private debts including credit card, medical, student loan, or mortgage debt.
Your financial obligations begin only upon the sponsored immigrant becoming a lawful permanent resident (i.e. when the sponsored immigrant gets his/her green card or has entered the United States with his/her immigrant visa).
“Means-tested” benefits are those benefits only available to low-income individuals or families. The types of benefits that are considered to be “means-tested” include:
Not everyone can be a financial sponsor. There are very specific requirements that you must meet regardless of whether you are the immigrant visa petitioner or a joint sponsor. To be a financial sponsor, you must meet the following criteria:
The amount of income and/or assets needed to sponsor an immigrant depend upon your household size. However, calculating your household size is not always as straightforward as counting who lives in your home. When calculating your household size, you must count the following people as part of your household:
You can include your wages and salaries, retirement benefits, alimony, child support, dividends or interest earned, and/or income from other legal sources when calculating your annual income. You can also include income earned by your spouse, adult son or daughter, parent, or sibling living in your household. However, you can only include their income if they are willing to make their own income available to help support the sponsored immigrant. Your household member will need to complete a Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member. You can also use the income of a “co-sponsor” or “joint sponsor”. The joint sponsor must be willing to accept full financial responsibility for the sponsored immigrant. Your joint sponsor must submit his/her own Affidavit of Support. There is no requirement that the joint sponsor be a family member. He/she simply needs to meet the criteria as set forth above.
You or your joint sponsor can also rely on assets to meet the Affidavit of Support requirements. The common types of assets that can be used to meet the financial requirements include:
You can also rely on the sponsored immigrant’s assets whether in the United States or overseas. Assets located outside the United States can only be relied upon if they are convertible to cash within 1-year and can be moved to the United States.
It is important to understand that if you rely on assets to meet the Affidavit of Support requirements, you will have to do some math. This is because the total value of assets must be at least 5 times (or at least 3 times if the sponsored immigrant is married to a United States citizen) the difference between the sponsor’s income and the applicable Federal Poverty Guidelines. For example, if your income is $3,000 short of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size, you must show assets valued at at least $15,000 (or at least $9,000 if the sponsored immigrant is married to a United States citizen).
Regardless of whether you are primary or a joint sponsor, you must submit the following documents in support of your Affidavit of Support:
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Do you still have questions about the Affidavit of Support? Our team of experienced immigration attorneys is happy to answer your questions.
