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More info is available on the USCIS website at https://www.uscis.gov/i-864

Most family-based immigrants  immigrants use this form to show they have adequate means of financial support and are not likely to rely on the U.S. government for financial support.

What do you need to show that your beneficiary will not be a public charge to the United States?

Poverty Guidelines change every year so make sure you are reviewing the most up to date information on the USCIS website at  Form I-864 ttps://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

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This is a paragraph.

864 Video Affidavit of Support
5:29
This is the form I 864. Most family-based immigrants use this form to show they have adequate means of financial support and are not likely to become a public charge to the U.S.
The sponsor, who signs this form has to be a person who has legal authorization to work in the U.S. , that is, they must be a us citizen, a U.S. national, or a legal permanent resident).
In certain instances people with work authorization under DACA or TPS can have their income considered as household members.
Who can be a Sponsor? In most cases, the Petitioner of a family based immigration process is the sponsor. However, if the Petitioner is not able to meet the Poverty Guidelines, then a Co-sponsor may be used. In terms of supporting documentation It’s required to get the following financial documentation from the clients:
1. proof of past income for (3 years) that can include Three years of IRS tax transcripts, or the income tax returns with all the schedules attached.
2. you’ll need proof of income for 3 months, and can include 3 months worth of paystubs, a letter from the sponsor’s employer, or 3 months of bank statements (all pages, summary, plus all of the statement pages that show the bank transactions an deposits), etc.
3. a copy of the most recent W-2, and
4. proof of each sponsor’s legal status, (US Citizenship Certificate, U.S passport, US Birth Certificate or green card)
Although USCIS requests copies of past and current income, more weight is given to the sponsor’s current annual income in determining whether the sponsor qualifies for meeting the income guidelines.
I-864P
Let’s talk about those income guidelines which appears on the UsCIS form I864P.
These are the 2021 income guidelines. It’s based on family household size, and how much annual income the sponsor makes. These guidelines are updated yearly every Spring.
Let’s say for example, we have a US citizen petitioner husband who wants to petition for a wife who is in Mexico, the family-based Petition I-130 was approved, the case was transferred to the National Visa Center, commonly known as the NVC. And now the NVC is requesting documentation including the Affidavit of Support.
for a family of two, counting only the sponsor husband and the intending immigrant, the wife, Here, the husband would have to show that, he earned at least $21,775 or more per year, in order for him to qualify to sign that affidavit of support, as the sponsor.
However, if the sponsor cannot show that he earns at least this much, he will need to provide a co-sponsor, also known as a joint sponsor. The co-sponsor would (also provide a signed affidavit of support ) indicating that the co=sponsor earns enough money, and are willing to support the intending immigrant financially as needed. The co-sponsor would also provide the same supporting documentation as the original Petitioner sponsor, such as proof of past and current income, eand proof of legal status, etc.
Note: in certain instances, where the co-sponsor is married, and that spouse is NOT the intending immigrant, but is listed on the co-sponsor’s income tax returns, the spouse must be listed as a household member and provide a signature, and the financial documentation, (that is, proof of income, legal status)
By providing a co-sponsor affidavit, this does not alleviate the petitioner from having to sign the affidavit of support. The co-sponsor’s affidavit of support supplements the Petitioner’s Affidavit, it does not replace it. USCIS says “we still need a signed affidavit, taxes, proof of current income from the petitioner” because even though at this time, the Petitioner’s current financial situation is not financially good. these circumstances could change in the future, if the sponsor would later earn more income. In that case, USCIS wants to be able to have the enforceable affidavit signed by the petitioner._____________________12.06
Public Benefits: Some of the public benefits that an intending immigrant may qualify for could be benefits such as food stamp benefits.
If someone with the green card comes to the United States, they are now illegible to claim those kinds of benefits. However, the affidavit of support can be used to seek reimbursement from the petitioner,
I’ve never seen that ever happen all this time that we’ve been doing this kind of work, but it doesn’t mean that USCIS won’t act on it. A common question that the petitioner asks is, do I have to sign this? What happens if I don’t sign the Affidavit of Support? Well, then your intending immigrant does not satisfy the eligibility requirements for a green card and will not be approved the green card. This form is required. USCIS will not schedule an interview, if they don’t have an affidavit of support on file for your intending immigrant beneficiary.
Next question, How long will these obligations exist, when will these obligations end? The petitioner is responsible for providing financial support of the intending immigrant, until any of the following may occur:
• Becomes a us citizen
• Has earned 40 quarters of credit under the social security act,
• Dies,
• Gets deported or abandons the g/c by returning to their home country and never returning
• Obtains a greencard through someone else…..etc,
Let me elaborate on each point, first, becoming a US Citizen,
us citizen
The beneficiary who is married to a US citizen can apply within three years of having received the green card, if the US citizen spouse has had their US citizenship status for at least three years, and that they’ve been living together at the time the green card holder applies for citizenship. The soonest the beneficiary can apply to become a US citizen if not already married to a U.S. citizen, would be five years.
Another way that these sponsor obligations can end is if the person has worked, or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act, that’s about 10 years total, If the beneficiary decides to go back to their country, they maybe they didn’t like the US, or they signed a form to abandon their legal resident status, and
Obviously, if the petitioner or the beneficiary dies, then obviously that contract is terminated. In those type of circumstances, the Sponsor will no longer have that obligation of being financially responsible for the beneficiary. If the sponsor were to die, their estate is not required to take responsibility for the beneficiary’s support after the sponsor’s death. However, the sponsor’s estate might owe support that was accumulated before the sponsor died, but only if that already existed prior to the death of the sponsor.
People think that the sponsor obligation would end is IF if the Petitioner divorces the intending immigrant. For example, in our scenario about the beneficiary spouse from Mexico, if for some reason, the relationship doesn’t work out, and then they divorce. The petitioner thinks that their obligation to financially support the beneficiary has ended. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, even the divorce will make it so that the sponsor is still responsible for the green card holder who’s in the US. Proof of income can include retirement income. Another common question is, What are my specific obligations if I sign this Affidavit
This I-864 contract is provided to USCIS to indicate that the sponsor will provide the intending immigrant any and all financial support necessary to maintain them at an income that is at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for his or her household size.
USCIS requires that they are notified of any change of address in case they need to reach the Sponsor, this can be done by the Sponsor filing out Form 865 that’s what USCIS tell the sponsor, that is the sponsor’s responsibility.
Use of Assets to supplement income. if the sponsor does not earn enough income, but they have plenty of assets, they can show that they meeting the guidelines based on their assets alone. The instructions will provide additional information on how to calculate the required amount of assets that are needed to make up for the difference between your income and the poverty guideline requirements.
Some sponsors may have a lot of cash value in their checking and savings accounts, their other financial accounts such as their 401k, an IRA, stocks, bonds, and real estate property, etc. You will have to submit proof of that documentation for any amounts you list on the form. In or outside the U.S. And remember, this application is whether the beneficiary is outside the United States, or the beneficiary is inside the United States if we were doing an adjustment of status, we would include this affidavit of support for the person who, let’s say, came in on a visa, and they’re looking to adjust status, they still need a signature from the petitioner that this person will not be a charge to the United States it doesn’t matter where the beneficiary is applying for the green card, whether inside or outside. __________________________________________________
Filling out the form
at is your basis for filing this affidavit of support in this case, the petitioner will put their name and say “I’m the sponsor submitting this affidavit of support, because and you only select one box, and usually the most common one is B. It’s because I I filed or am filing for the immigration of my relative. If this were a co sponsor petition, , someone who’s putting their signature in that case, it would be this option, I am the only joint sponsor. Sometimes we need a joint sponsor, the petitioner and perhaps another relative, to put their information in order to meet the income guidelines. Because again, the only person who can sign this document is if they have employment authorization , you can live in a house with, , seven people, but unfortunately, they might only take into account to the two people who are authorized to work that’s why sometimes we’ve had situations where we’ve had more than one joint sponsor. But the most common one is because I am the petitioner and I earn enough. Next, they ask who’s the principal immigrant? In this case, it would be the spouse Where does she live? Where is the sponsor from? What’s their birthday? And then we list the family members, so this is where we put Jr. or any other family members being petitioned by the same Petitioner or Sponsor. And they have space for five family members. Here it says enter the total number of immigrants who are sponsoring on this affidavit. In this case, if it’s just one spouse, we put one, if we’re doing a spouse and two kids, then we’re done???. The sponsor is, applying for three beneficiaries. Under Part 4, USCIS asks for information about the sponsor’s full name, their address, whether the sponsor is a US citizen or a green card holder, and whether the sponsor is currently on Active military duty. Moving on to Part 5, this is one of the most important parts of this form, Sponsors Household Size There’s a Note: Do not count any member of your household more than once. Write the number of persons you are sponsoring on this form. In this affidavit, we said, three persons, a wife and two kids that’s three persons, we got to count the sponsor, that’s 1 for if they are currently married, enter one for your spouse, I’ll enter one,. Or you can just put zero because again, we’re not counting the same person twice. !!!!Look carefully over the income taxes for additional dependents.!!!! If you have additional dependent children, or any other dependents enter the number here besides dependent children, other dependents can be those people you list on your taxes that you get credit for, for example, some people claim their parents as a dependent under taxes. In this case, we would have to put that here, under other dependents, Mom and Dad, if it applies, In the past, if the sponsor has sponsored any other persons on form, I-864 before, who became lawful permanent residents, enter the number here. For example, if the sponsor had a brother, and the sponsor filled out the same affidavit of support for the brother, and he was granted the green card, and he’s here in the U.S., then the sponsor is already obligated to that one person, so we would count them here on line 6. And then the count is tallied up, and the total is listed under section 8. Now we have to count all five people. Part 6 is the Sponsor’s Employment and Income Information, It asks the sponsor: Where are you working? What is the sponsor’s job title? Line 5 asks if the sponsor is retired, line 6 asks to put the date the sponsor became unemployed if that applies. For line 7, USCIS wants to know the sponsor’s current annual individual income. How much income does the sponsor make per year, they’re asking for current annual income in Section 7. It’s common that the sponsor have to estimate the annual income based on past current, year to date earnings. But we what we do is we figure out how much they’ve earned up until this point, and we estimate the rest of the based on what the sponsor earned for every month of the year so far If the sponsor is receiving unemployment income, that can be counted as income. UNEmployment income can be counted and included in the calculations to meet the income requirements even though the sponsor is not working. Use good faith estimates when necessary, based on documentary evidence such as bank statements, and paystubs, and employment letters, as USCIS can reject the sponsor’s affidavit of support, if they find that your calculations don’t add up.
If you’re overestimating what the sponsor is going to earn this year, and the supporting documents that you submit, are not consistent with what you’re estimating the sponsor is going to make this year, USCIS can reject it and send an RFE for additional financial information, supporting documents, or an alternate co-sponsor signature. Obviously, you want to stick to reasonable estimates and numbers to avoid any rejections & RFEs from USCIS. For lines, 8-19, you can list income you’re using from any other person who was counted in your household size who also live with you, who is willing to put their information down to help you meet the income requirements, then you can list those people here, and they will be known as your household members, and they will have to fill out form I-864A also.
Note: in certain instances, where the co-sponsor is married, and that spouse is NOT the intending immigrant, but is listed on the co-sponsor’s income tax returns, the spouse must be listed as a household member and provide a signature, and the financial documentation, (that is, proof of income, legal status)
You’ll need to indicate what relationship this household member has to the sponsor. maybe they are relatives, who want to sign off so that your relatives can come to the US. List how much money each household members earns on an annual basis. For line 20, add the total income from the sponsor and any household members, under the “my current annual household income” section on line 20. Check off section 21 if For Section 23, USCIS will ask you about the sponsor’s tax status. Specifically, if the sponsor has filed a federal income tax return for each of the most three recent tax years? usually, the answer is yes. And if so… You must attach a photocopy or transcript of the sponsor’s federal income tax return for the most recent tax year. The tax returns for the second or third most recent tax years are Optional. However, as a best practice we always ask the client to provide the three years of taxes to us, and that’s because we need to list all of prior tax year information under section 24. You must use the adjusted gross income amounts from the three most recent years, such as the year 2020 2019 and 2018. There are times where some sponsor’s were not required to file a federal income tax return because their income was below the IRS required level. The sponsor should attach evidence to support this. For example, maybe they have a W 2 that only shows that they earned $6,000 this year. Then we would check this off, under section 25. But if the sponsor didn’t make that much money, as in the case with students, this Affidavit is definitely going need a co-sponsor application, as well, because the Petitioner doesn’t meet the income eligibility requirements, since they’re only making 6000 a year. Moving on to Part 7, “Use of assets to supplement income” it’s an optional section to fill out ONLY if the sponsor’s total income does not meet the income guidelines for the household size. If you’re able to meet the income requirements, you don’t need to fill Part 7 out, USCIS has made this optional. what’s in the sponsor’s savings, checking, or what the value of their house is, if the sponsor already meets the income requirements listed on I-864P. However, if the sponsor doesn’t meet the requirements, then they can fill out sections 1-4, with the value of their assets in checking, savings, real estate (minus mortgage debt), and the cash value of all stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, and any other assets not already included, If needed, the household member can add any assets they want included in the total, under section 5. Remember, for every asset you list, be sure to include supporting documentation. In certain situations, the principal sponsored immigrant can include their assets in the total count, and if so, that information will go in sections 6-9. The final total of assets from the sponsor, household member(s) and principal applicant would go in section 10, under Total Value of assets. USCIS wants the sponsor to list the net values for the assets, for example, if the sponsor owns $500,000 in the bank, then this is where you put $500,000 into the net cash value of real estate holdings net value means current assessed value minus mortgage debt that’s if you have a $1 million house, however, you still owe $900,000, then here, you would just put $100,000, that amount is the difference between what the sponsor owes and what the home is worth. Listing the sponsor’s assets, stocks, bonds, is not very common. Part 8 is the Sponsor’s Contract & Statement section, that gives the sponsor more information regarding the form they will sign. Part 9 is where the Interpreter’s Section info goes
And Part 10 is where the preparer’s information goes.
Part 11 is the section where you can add additional information that did not fit on the rest of the form. Married co-sponsors. In a case with a co-sponsor application, if the petitioner didn’t earn enough income to solely sponsor the beneficiary, because they just haven’t been working, or they are students, then If the co-sponsor is married, USCIS requires the co-sponsor’s spouse to sign a household member application, Form I-864A, signed by the co sponsor’s spouse.

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