<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->
The affidavit of support is a legal requirement for any family or employment based petitions to prove that the immigrant has adequate means of support after immigrating to the United States.
What is the purpose of the affidavit of support?
The affidavit of support helps ensure that new immigrants immigrating to the United States will not
rely on public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income and Temporary assistance to needy families. If a person for whom you filed an affidavit of support
becomes a permanent resident and later becomes a public charge, then the agency that gave the benefits can require that you repay that money.
If you take the responsibility of being the financial sponsor for your family member or employee who will immigrate to U.S. and apply for permanent resident status, then you need to file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. The law requires you to prove an income level at or above 125 percent of the Federal poverty level. (For active duty military personnel, the income requirement is 100 percent of the Federal poverty level when sponsoring a husband, wife, or children.) If your income
does not meet the requirement, your assets such as stocks, checking and savings accounts, bonds or property may be considered in determining your financial ability.
If you do not meet the financial qualifications with your income and assets, then you can add the income of certain household members. Your household members need to file Form I-864A, Affidavit of Support Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member agreeing to make their income or assets available for the support of the immigrant applying for permanent residence. Your household members willing to support you for the immigration of the new immigrant are called co-sponsors.
If you still do not meet the income requirement of USCIS, then you need to have another person (who is not your dependent) as a joint sponsor to complete a separate Form I-864, Affidavit of Support on behalf of the new immigrant. The joint sponsor must meet all sponsorship requirements separately. The joint sponsor must meet the minimum income requirements for his or her own household, and must be willing to assume financial liability for the new immigrant.
There is another type of Affidavit of support and it is filed using Form I-134. Form I-134 is used for non-immigrant visa applications and Form I-864 is used for immigrant visa applications. In signing the Form I-134 Affidavit of support, the signer does not promise to support the person for whom Form I-134 is being filed. What he or she does promise to do is reimburse the U.S. government for the sum total of any government support payments the person listed in I-134 receives if he/she goes on welfare. Form I-134 Affidavit of support binds the person signing it to this obligation for three years. After that, his or her responsibility to both the immigrant and the U.S. government comes to an end. The main advantage is that Form I-134 is not considered legally enforceable. In other words, the U.S. government is very unlikely to go after whoever signs the I-134 for reimbursement if the immigrant ends up needing public benefits.
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy">
The affidavit of support is a legal requirement for any family or employment based petitions to prove that the immigrant has adequate means of support after immigrating to the United States.
What is the purpose of the affidavit of support?
The affidavit of support helps ensure that new immigrants immigrating to the United States will not
rely on public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income and Temporary assistance to needy families. If a person for whom you filed an affidavit of support
becomes a permanent resident and later becomes a public charge, then the agency that gave the benefits can require that you repay that money.
If you take the responsibility of being the financial sponsor for your family member or employee who will immigrate to U.S. and apply for permanent resident status, then you need to file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. The law requires you to prove an income level at or above 125 percent of the Federal poverty level. (For active duty military personnel, the income requirement is 100 percent of the Federal poverty level when sponsoring a husband, wife, or children.) If your income
does not meet the requirement, your assets such as stocks, checking and savings accounts, bonds or property may be considered in determining your financial ability.
If you do not meet the financial qualifications with your income and assets, then you can add the income of certain household members. Your household members need to file Form I-864A, Affidavit of Support Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member agreeing to make their income or assets available for the support of the immigrant applying for permanent residence. Your household members willing to support you for the immigration of the new immigrant are called co-sponsors.
If you still do not meet the income requirement of USCIS, then you need to have another person (who is not your dependent) as a joint sponsor to complete a separate Form I-864, Affidavit of Support on behalf of the new immigrant. The joint sponsor must meet all sponsorship requirements separately. The joint sponsor must meet the minimum income requirements for his or her own household, and must be willing to assume financial liability for the new immigrant.
There is another type of Affidavit of support and it is filed using Form I-134. Form I-134 is used for non-immigrant visa applications and Form I-864 is used for immigrant visa applications. In signing the Form I-134 Affidavit of support, the signer does not promise to support the person for whom Form I-134 is being filed. What he or she does promise to do is reimburse the U.S. government for the sum total of any government support payments the person listed in I-134 receives if he/she goes on welfare. Form I-134 Affidavit of support binds the person signing it to this obligation for three years. After that, his or her responsibility to both the immigrant and the U.S. government comes to an end. The main advantage is that Form I-134 is not considered legally enforceable. In other words, the U.S. government is very unlikely to go after whoever signs the I-134 for reimbursement if the immigrant ends up needing public benefits.
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy">