What is an Affidavit of Support for
immigration ?
If you are bringing a relative to live
permanently in the United States, you must accept legal
responsibility for financially supporting this family member.
You accept this responsibility and become your relative's
sponsor by completing and signing a document called an
affidavit of support. This legally enforceable responsibility
lasts until your relative becomes a U.S. citizen or can be
credited with 40 quarters of work (usually 10 years.)
For Whom is an Affidavit of Support
for immigration required?
You must complete and submit affidavit of support form if you
are bringing a relative to the United States. An affidavit of
support, is required for all immediate relatives of U.S.
citizens (which include parents, spouses, and unmarried children under the age of 21, including orphans) and
relatives who qualify for immigration to the United States
under one of the family-based preferences:
First Preference:
Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S.
citizens. Adult means 21 years of age or older.
Second Preference:
Spouses of lawful permanent residents and the
unmarried sons and daughters (regardless of age) of
lawful permanent residents and their unmarried
children.
Third Preference:
Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, their
spouses and their unmarried minor children.
Fourth
Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult
U.S. citizens, their spouses and their unmarried
minor children.
You must also complete an affidavit of support
form if you are a
U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and filed an
employment-based immigration petition for a relative or if
you have a significant ownership interest (5 percent or more)
in a business that filed an employment-based immigrant
petition for your relative.
Persons whom US Citizenship and Immigration Service has approved us self-petitioning widows or
widowers or battered spouses and children are exempt from
this requirement. (These individuals file an INS. For more
information, please ask
or How Do I Apply for Immigration Benefits as
a Battered Spouse or Child?). Relatives who enter as refugees or
asylees
also do not require affidavits of support. For more
information, please ask for
How Do I Get Resettled in the
United States
as a Refugee? or How Do I Apply for Asylum in the U.S.?
WHO IS THE "Sponsor"?
The individual completing and executing THE
AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT Form is called a "sponsor." To
qualify
as a sponsor the individual must be (i) be age 18 or
older, (ii) a U.S. citizen or national, or a lawful permanent
resident of the United States, and (iii) live in, hold
domicile, in the United States, Washington D.C. , or a U.S.
territory or possession. 13 Additionally, the sponsor must
be:
The individual who executed/filed Form I-130, "Petition
for Alien Relative" on behalf of the individual seeking
permanent resident status. The
individual who executed/filed Form I-129F, "Petition for
Alien Fiancé(e)" on
behalf of the foreign national fiancé(e). The petitioner of Form I-140,
"Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker",
where the
petitioner or petitioning company’s owner(s) is a
relative of the beneficiary and the relative owns
5% or more
of the company. The parent(s) adopting an orphan.
An additional person if the original "sponsor" does not meet the financial
requirements. Such an individual
is called a "joint sponsor." Where
necessary, more than one joint sponsor may be used, however each
individual must personally qualify as a
"sponsor." Each joint sponsor is "jointly and severally liable" on
the affidavit.
F. What
are the Financial Requirements the "Sponsor" Must
Meet?
The sponsor must have an income or assets or a combination
thereof that meets at least 125% of the stated
poverty
guidelines. In deference to the sacrifices made by our U.S.
armed forces, sponsors on active duty
in the U.S. Armed
Forces need only meet 100% of the stated poverty guidelines.
Moreover, all household
members of the sponsor are considered
when determining whether the sponsor meets the poverty
guidelines.
Under this provision, members of the household
may even include individuals whom the sponsor does
not
directly support. The following persons are considered
household members of the sponsor:
Individuals related, by blood, marriage or adoption, to the
sponsor, such as a spouse and all children.
"Children" are considered as persons under age 21,
irrespective of parental custody. Parent(s) of the
sponsor
are also included in this determination if residing with the
sponsor. Any other person listed
as a
dependent on the sponsor’s IRS income tax return. Any
person for whom the sponsor has previously
executed an
AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT. The beneficiary, or applicant,
and all accompanying dependents.
Recent Developments and State Department
Updates
In a series of cable notifications the U.S. Department of
State has issued guidelines and procedural changes in
processing of Forms I-864.
A. Reduction of Supporting Documents and
Photocopies
Among the changes is a reduction in
supporting documents for accompanying family members. In
addition,
he State Department advised that original
signatures are no longer required on accompanying family
members’
Forms I-864 and I-864A. Only one file need
contain an original signed and notarized Form I-864 and
I-864A,
and other applicants may submit true photocopies.
The State Department has also clarified that the Form I-864 must be
submitted within six months of signature,
or
a new form is required. Moreover, once the Affidavit has been accepted it
will not expire. However, if the
Affidavit was submitted within six months of signature but more than 12
months pass before the interview, new supporting documents will be required.
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