Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act
[I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act]
IMPORTANT: Information on this site may be outdated. For up-to-date instructions and filing fees check always with the USCIS site:
http://www.uscis.gov/forms
Purpose of Form :
To show that the applying immigrant has enough financial support to live without concern of becoming reliant on U.S. government welfare.
Number of Pages :
10
Edition Date :
11/01/06. Prior versions other than the 1/15/06 edition are not acceptable.
Where to File :
To view instructions on Where to File, go to the Special Instructions section on this page.
Filing Fee :
$0.00
Special Instructions :
All sponsors must submit the following documentation with their I-864:
- Proof of current employment or self employment
- A photocopy or an Internal Revenue Service-issued transcript of a photocopy or an Internal Revenue Service-issued transcript of your complete Federal income tax return for your most recent tax year, or an explanation if it is not submitted. Your W-2s and/or 1099 forms may also be required, see the I-864 instructions for details.
You may also, at your option, submit a photocopy or an Internal Revenue Service-issued transcript of your complete Federal income tax returns for your second and third most recent tax years if you believe these additional tax returns may help you establish the ability to maintain your household income at the governing threshold set forth in Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines.
If you are using the income of persons in your household or dependents to qualify as a sponsor, you must also submit a separate Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, for each person whose income you will use.
Note on Where to File:
Give the completed affidavit of support with all required documentation to the sponsored immigrant to file with either:
- a Consular Officer with a completed Form OF-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, or
- an Immigration Officer with a completed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
OMBNo. 1615-0075; Expires 10/31/07
I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act
How Should I Complete This Form?
- Print clearly or type your answers using CAPITAL letters.
- Use black or blue ink.
- If you need extra space to answer any item: – Attach a separate sheet of paper (or more sheets if necessary); – Write your name, U.S. Social Security number and the words “Form I-864” on the top right corner of the sheet; and – Write the number and subject of each question for which you are providing additional information.
What Is the Purpose of This Form?
This form is required for most family-based immigrants and some employment-based immigrants to show that they have adequate means of financial support and that they are not likely to become a public charge. For more information about Form I-864, or to obtain related forms please contact:
The USCIS website (www.uscis.gov);
The National Customer Service Center (NCSC) telephone line at 1-800-375-5283 TTY: (1-800-767-1833); or
Your local USCIS office by using Infopass.
How Is This Form Used?
This form is a contract between a sponsor and the U.S. Government. Completing and signing this form makes you the sponsor. You must show on this form that you have enough income and/or assets to maintain the intending immigrant(s) and the rest of your household at 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. By signing Form I-864, you are agreeing to use your resources to support the intending immigrant(s) named in this form, if it becomes necessary.
The submission of this form may make the sponsored immigrant ineligible for certain Federal, State, or local means-tested public benefits, because an agency that provides means-tested public benefits will consider your resources and assets as available to the sponsored immigrant in determining his or her eligibility for the program.
If the immigrant sponsored in this affidavit does receive one of the designated Federal, State or local means-tested public benefits, the agency providing the benefit may request that you repay the cost of those benefits. That agency can sue you if the cost of the benefits provided is not repaid.
Not all benefits are considered to be means-tested public benefits. See Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines, for more information on which benefits may be covered by this definition, or the contract on Page 6 of this form for a list of benefits explicitly not considered means-tested public benefits.
Who Needs This Form?
The following immigrants are required by law to submit Form I-864 completed by the petitioner to obtain an immigrant visa overseas or to adjust status to that of a lawful permanent resident in the United States:
- All immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under age 21, and parents of U.S. citizens age 21 and older);
- All family-based preference immigrants (unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, spouses and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens, married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens age 21 and older); and
- Employment-based preference immigrants in cases only when a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative filed the immigrant visa petition or such relative has a significant ownership interest (five percent or more) in the entity that filed the petition.
Are There Exceptions to Who Needs This Form?
The following types of intending immigrants do not need to file this form:
- Any intending immigrant who has earned or can be credited with 40 qualifying quarters (credits) of work in the United States. In addition to their own work, intending immigrants may be able to secure credit for work performed by a spouse during marriage and by their parent(s) while the immigrants were under 18 years of age. The Social Security Administration (SSA) can provide information on how to count quarters of work earned or credited and how to provide evidence of such. See the SSA website at www.ssa.gov/mystatement/credits for more information;
- Any intending immigrant who will, upon admission, acquire U.S. citizenship under section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA);
- Self-petitioning widow/ers who have an approved Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, Form I-360; and
- Self-petitioning battered spouses and children who have an approved Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, Form I-360.
NOTE: If you qualify for one of the exemptions listed above, submit Form I-864W, Intending Immigrant’s I-864 Exemption, instead of Form I-864.
Who Completes and Signs Form I-864?
- A sponsor completes and signs Form I-864. A sponsor is required to be at least 18 years old and domiciled in the United States, or its territories or possessions (see Step-by-step Instructions for more information on domicile). The petitioning sponsor must sign and complete Form I-864, even if a joint sponsor also submits an I-864 to meet the income requirement. The list below identifies who must become sponsors by completing and signing a Form I-864.
- The U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who filed a Form I-130 for a family member, Form I-129F for a fiance(e), or Form I-600 or I-600A for an orphan.
The U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien who filed an employment-based immigrant visa petition (Form I-140) for a spouse, parent, son, daughter, or sibling who: (1) has a significant ownership interest (five percent or more) in the business which filed the employment-based immigrant visa petition; or (2) is related to the intending immigrant as a spouse, parent, son, daughter, or sibling.
What Are the Income Requirements?
To qualify as a sponsor, you must demonstrate that your income is at least 125 percent of the current Federal poverty guideline for your household size. The Federal poverty line, for purposes of this form, is updated annually and can be found on Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines.
If you are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard, and you are sponsoring your spouse or minor child, you only need to have an income of 100 percent of the Federal poverty line for your household size. This provision does not apply to joint or substitute sponsors.
How Do I Count Household Size?
Your household size includes yourself and the following individuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return, all persons being sponsored in this affidavit of support, and any immigrants previously sponsored with a Form I-864 or Form I-864 EZ affidavit of support whom you are still obligated to support. If necessary to meet the income requirements to be a sponsor, you may include additional relatives (adult children, parents, or siblings) as part of your household size as long as they have the same principle residence as you and promise to use their income and resources in support of the intending immigrant(s).
What If I Cannot Meet the Income Requirements?
If your income alone is not sufficient to meet the requirement for your household size, the intending immigrant will be ineligible for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status, unless the requirement can be met using any combination of the following:
- Income from any relatives or dependents living in your household or dependents listed on your most recent Federal tax return who signed a Form I-864 A;
- Income from the intending immigrant, if that income will continue from the same source after immigration, and if the intending immigrant is currently living in your residence. If the intending immigrant is your spouse, his or her income can be counted regardless of current residence, but it must continue from the same source after he or she becomes a lawful permanent resident.
- The value of your assets, the assets of any household member who has signed a Form I-864 A, or the assets of the intending immigrant;
- A joint sponsor whose income and/or assets equal at least 125 percent of the Poverty Guidelines. See question below for more information on joint sponsors.
How Can My Relatives and Dependents Help Me Meet the Income Requirements?
You may use the income of your spouse and/or any other relatives living in your residence if they are willing to be jointly responsible with you for the intending immigrant(s) you are sponsoring. If you have any unrelated dependents listed on your income tax return you may include their income regardless of where they reside.
The income of such household members and dependents can be used to help you meet the income requirements if they complete and sign Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, and if they are at least 18 years of age when they sign the form.
Can the Intending Immigrant Help Me Meet the Income Requirements?
If certain conditions are met, the intending immigrant’s income can help you meet the income requirement. If the intending immigrant is your spouse, his or her income can be included if it will continue from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status. If the intending immigrant is another relative, there are two requirements.
First, the income must be continuing from the same source after he or she obtains lawful permanent resident status, and second, the intending immigrant must currently live with you in your residence. Evidence must be provided to support both requirements.
However, an intending immigrant whose income is being used to meet the income requirement does not need to complete Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, unless the intending immigrant has a spouse and/or children immigrating with him or her. In this instance, the contract relates to support for the spouse and/or children.
Does Receipt of Means-Tested Public Benefits Disqualify me From being a Sponsor?
No. Receipt of means-tested public benefits does not disqualify anyone from being a sponsor. However, means-tested public benefits cannot be accepted as income for the purposes of meeting the income requirement.
How Can I Use Assets to Qualify?
Assets may supplement income if the consular or immigration officer is convinced that the monetary value of the asset could reasonably be made available to support the sponsored immigrant and converted to cash within one year without undue harm to the sponsor or his or her family members. You may not include an automobile unless you show that you own at least one working automobile that you have not included.
What Is a Joint Sponsor?
If the person who is seeking the immigration of one or more of his or her relatives cannot meet the income requirements, a “joint sponsor” who can meet the requirements may submit a Form I-864 to sponsor all or some of the family members.
A joint sponsor can be any U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident who is at least 18 years old, domiciled in the United States, or its territories or possessions, and willing to be held jointly liable with the petitioner for the support of the intending immigrant. A joint sponsor does not have to be related to the petitioning sponsor or the intending immigrant.
If the first joint sponsor completes Form I-864 for some rather than all the family members, a second qualifying joint sponsor will be required to sponsor the remaining family members. There may be no more than two joint sponsors. A joint sponsor must be able to meet the income requirements for all the persons he or she is sponsoring without combining resources with the petitioning sponsor or a second joint sponsor. Any dependents applying for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status more than six months after immigration of the intending immigrants must be sponsored by the petitioner but may be sponsored by an original joint sponsor or a different joint sponsor.
Even if one or more I-864s are submitted for an intending immigrant, the petitioning sponsor remains legally accountable for the financial support of the sponsored alien along with the joint sponsor(s).
What Is a Substitute Sponsor?
A substitute sponsor is a sponsor who is completing a Form I-864 on behalf of an intending immigrant whose original I-130 petitioner has died after the Form I-130 was approved, but before the intending immigrant obtained permanent residence.
The substitute sponsor must be related to the intending immigrant in one of the following ways: spouse, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sibling, child (at least 18 years of age), son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, grandchild or legal guardian. The substitute sponsor must also be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
If you are a substitute sponsor, you must indicate that that you are related to the intending immigrant in one of the ways listed above and include evidence proving that relationship. The beneficiary must also file this form along with a written statement explaining the reasons why the Form I-130 visa petition should be reinstated, having been revoked following the petitioner’s death. The beneficiary must also include a copy of the Form I-130 approval notice.
How Long Does My Obligation as a Sponsor Continue?
Your obligation to support the immigrant(s) you are sponsoring in this affidavit of support will continue until the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, or can be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work in the United States.
Although 40 qualifying quarters of work (credits) generally equate to ten years of work, in certain cases the work of a spouse or parent adds qualifying quarters. The Social Security Administration can provide information on how to count qualifying quarters (credits) of work.
The obligation also ends if you or the sponsored immigrant dies or if the sponsored immigrant ceases to be a lawful permanent resident and departs the United States. Divorce does not end the sponsorship obligation.
Do I Need to Submit a Separate Affidavit for Each Family Member?
You must submit a Form I-864 affidavit of support for each intending immigrant you are sponsoring. You may submit photocopies if you are sponsoring more than one intending immigrant listed on the same affidavit of support.
Separate affidavits of support are required for intending immigrants for whom different Form I-130 family-based petitions were filed. For instance, if you are sponsoring both parents, each will need an original affidavit of support and accompanying documentation since you were required to submit separate Form I-130 visa petitions for each parent.
Often a spouse or minor children obtain visas or adjust status as dependents of a relative, based on the same visa petition. If you are sponsoring such dependents, you only need to provide a photocopy of the original Form I-864, as long as these dependents are immigrating at the same time as the principal immigrant or within six months of the time he or she immigrates to the United States. You do not need to provide copies of the supporting documents for each of the photocopied Forms I-864.
When Do I Complete Form I-864 and Where Do I Send It?
If the intending immigrant will apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate overseas:
Complete Form I-864 when it is mailed to you from the National Visa Center (NVC). Different instructions apply to some cases so follow the instructions provided by the National Visa Center for your particular case. The instructions on when and where to submit Form I-864 are included in the information packet that is mailed to you with Form I-864. Form I-864 and all accompanying documentation must be submitted to the government within one year of when you sign Form I-864.
If the intending immigrant will adjust status in the United States:
Complete Form I-864 when the intending immigrant is ready to submit his or her Form Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Then give the completed Form I-864 along with any Forms I-864A and all supporting documentation to the intending immigrant to submit with his or her application for adjustment of status. To be valid, Form I-864 and all supporting documentation must be submitted within one year of when you sign Form I-864. For privacy, you may enclose these documents in a sealed envelope marked “Form I-864: To Be Opened Only by a U.S. Government Official.” You may be requested to submit updated information if there is a significant delay in processing.
Do I Have to Report My Change of Address If I Move?
Federal law requires that every sponsor report every change of address to the USCIS within 30 days of the change. To do this, send a completed Form I-865, Sponsor’s Change of Address, to the Service Center having jurisdiction over your new address.
Do not complete Form I-865 at the same time that you complete the I-864.
You should complete and submit Form I-865 to USCIS only when the address you indicated on the original I-864 Affidavit of Support has changed. Please see Form I-865 for further directions on filing the Sponsor’s Change of Address. This requirement does not relieve a sponsor who is a lawful permanent resident from submitting Form AR-11 within ten days of a change of address.