Tag: Affidavits of Support

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Understanding Your Responsibilities Under USCIS’ Affidavit of Support

Understanding Your Responsibilities Under USCIS’ Affidavit of Support
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Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident planning to sponsor or co-sponsor an eligible family member for a green card? If so, you’ll need to sign an Affidavit of Support, known as Form I-864. But what exactly does this entail, and what are your responsibilities? Let’s break it down.

What Is Form I-864?
By signing Form I-864, you’re making a legally binding promise to financially support the person you’re sponsoring. This ensures they won’t have to rely on government assistance.

Who Must Sign?
Primary Sponsor: The main sponsor must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident petitioning for the immigrant’s green card.
Joint Sponsor: If the primary sponsor’s income doesn’t meet the requirements, a joint sponsor is needed. This person shares the same responsibilities as the primary sponsor.

Sponsor Eligibility
To be a sponsor, you must:

  • Be at least 18 years old.
  • Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
  • Have an income at least 125% above the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Key Responsibilities
As a sponsor, you must ensure the immigrant maintains an income of at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. If their income falls below this level, you’re responsible for providing financial support.

Financial Risks and Considerations
Legal Consequences: If you fail to provide support, the sponsored person can sue you. You may also be liable for court and legal fees.
Bankruptcy: Declaring bankruptcy does not absolve you of your obligations under Form I-864.
Government Benefits: You must repay any means-tested benefits the sponsored person receives, such as Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, or SSI. You’re not responsible for reimbursing non-means-tested benefits like emergency medical services or unemployment benefits.

When Do Your Sponsorship Responsibilities End?
Your financial duties as a sponsor conclude when any of the following occurs:

  • The individual gains U.S. citizenship.
  • They complete 40 quarters of work (about ten years).
  • They permanently leave the United States.
  • They are deported but gain U.S. residency again through another sponsor.
  • They pass away.

Continuing Obligations After Divorce
Divorce does not end your responsibilities under Form I-864. Courts generally do not recognize private agreements, such as pre-marital, post-marital, or divorce contracts, as valid reasons to avoid these obligations.

Withdrawing Sponsorship
You may withdraw your sponsorship before the green card application is approved. Once permanent residency is granted, your obligations are fixed unless they end under one of the specified conditions.

Address Change Notification
You must report any address changes within 30 days by submitting Form I-865 to USCIS to avoid fines of up to $5,000.

Understanding Your Commitment
Signing Form I-864 carries significant legal responsibilities. Make sure you understand these obligations before proceeding. Consider consulting a lawyer if necessary to ensure the person you sponsor can support themselves without public assistance.

This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should not act or rely on any information in this article without seeking the advice of a competent, licensed immigration attorney.

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DHS Withdraws October 2020 Affidavit of Support Rule

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on March 19, 2021 that proposed rule on affidavit of support dated October 2, 2020 will be withdrawn. This policy change is consistent with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to reduce barriers within the legal immigration system. DHS and USCIS are committed to eliminating barriers that prevent legal immigrants from accessing government services available to them.

The 189-page October 2020 rule would have imposed higher qualifying and evidentiary requirements including production of bank information and credit reports. These requirements would have placed undue burden on the U.S. citizens petitioning their relatives who are signing affidavits of support. According to the USCIS, it is estimated that the cost of implementing these requirements on U.S. citizen petitioners is $2.4 billion over the next decade.

The withdrawal of this rule is just one of many policies that reverses the prior administration’s restrictive immigration rules. These changes are all consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans.

Both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are reverting to the public charge standard that had been in effect prior to the proposed changes.

Meantime, the DHS has reinstated the Form I-864W, Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support, which allows certain applicants to seek exemption from the affidavit of support requirements. These applicants include: (1) individuals who have earned or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act (SSA); (2) children who will become U.S. citizens upon entry to the United States; (3) self petitioning widow/ers and (4) self-petitioning battered spouses and children. These applicants will be required to submit Form I-864W if seeking an exemption from the affidavit of support requirement.

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Global Pinoy

What Hinders Relatives of Filipino Veterans from Filing Parole?

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In a special message during last month’s Filipino American History Month, President Obama recognized the contributions of Filipino Americans especially the Filipino soldiers who fought under the U.S. flag in World War II.

Under the Obama administration, a program called the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP) was launched in June 2016. Under this program, certain family members of Filipino veterans may travel, live and work in the United States while awaiting for their immigrant visas to become available. The goal of this program is to allow loved ones to provide support and care for elderly veterans and their spouses.

There is no question that relatives of the Filipino veterans are enthusiastic to travel to the United States to be with their elderly parents.

Mr. Santos, 88 year old, has been residing in the United States since 1993 after he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen based on his being a Filipino World War II veteran. He was not able to petition his children until 1997. In the meantime, his spouse, whom he petitioned, arrived in the United States in 1998 but passed away in 2002. He had always wanted to be reunited with his children and waited for many years now for the petitions to be current for visa processing.

In the last few years, Mr. Santos has been feeling really weak and sickly. He could not travel back to the Philippines because of his medical condition. He heard about the Filipino Veterans Parole Program during the summer and applied for parole for his adult children. Last month, he got an approval of his parole applications. His children are now awaiting for an interview before the U.S. Embassy for the issuance of their parole documents. Hopefully, they can be reunited by this coming Christmas season.

Not a lot of veterans or surviving spouses are as fortunate as Mr. Santos in the application for parole for their adult children in the Philippines. There are obvious barriers that applicants should overcome in filing for parole. Among the issues that are being faced by the veterans are:

  1. inability to find sponsors for their Affidavits of Support;
  2. no streamlined process for FWVP expedite processing of I-130;
  3. inability of elderly veterans residing in the Philippines to travel back to the U.S. because of illness;
  4. complicated process of obtaining humanitarian reinstatement of revoked petitions.

The filing fee of $360 per application is too expensive for the veterans. But while these fees may be waived for the veteran or surviving spouse, not a lot of applicants are aware of the process. When the veteran has passed away, the surviving spouse must show that there is an approved petition from the veteran and that this petition must be reinstated. Obtaining approval of a request for humanitarian reinstatement is a complicated process for the surviving spouse or beneficiaries.

In addition, the lack of outreach programs regarding the FWVP and available service providers remain major challenges to the prospective beneficiaries. With an altruistic program such as FWVP, there must be resolutions to the issues presented to attain the goal of family unity for our Filipino veterans family.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is a partner at Tancinco Law Offices, a San Francisco based law firm and may be reached at law@tancinco.com, facebook.com/tancincolaw, tancinco.weareph.com/old or 1 888 930 0808)

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Global Pinoy

When petitioner’s relatives won’t support the US visa applicant

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Most petitioners for immigrant visas are familiar with Affidavits of Support that are required to be submitted before the future immigrant is issued a visa. What are the responsibilities of a person who signs an affidavit of support for an intending immigrant? What will happen if the petitioner does not have enough income to support another person?

Pablo petitioned for Nathan, his single adult child, more than 10 years ago. The National Visa Center initiated the visa processing recently and an affidavit of support is required to be submitted. Pablo is reliant only on his monthly welfare check or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). He lives in a rented room owned by his brother. He wants Nathan to immigrate to the United States so that Pablo will have his son to hopefully support him during his remaining years.

Pablo’s brother who lives with him refuses to sign an Affidavit of Support because he claims that he has his own financial issues. What can Pablo do to enable his son to complete his visa processing and travel to the United States?

In order that future immigrants do not become a public charge, US immigration law requires the applicant for visa to submit an affidavit of support from the petitioner on Form I-864. The petitioner or sponsor must show evidence of “the means to maintain an annual income equal to at least 125 percent of the Federal poverty line”.

Clearly, the U.S. government expects the sponsor to provide support to the intending immigrant and to make sure that s/he does not rely on any federal or state agency for means tested benefits. Finding a co-sponsor may be a challenge for some petitioners, and sometimes there is malicious refusal to sign affidavits of support by relatives in a few dysfunctional families. Whatever it is, there are alternate ways to meet the Affidavit of Support requirement.

In case the petitioner does not meet the income level as set by the federal poverty guidelines, the law permits him to consider the income or assets belonging to other household members. The latter may be the spouse, children, parent, sibling or another relative who lives in the same principal residence as the petitioner. If there is no sufficient income or asset of the petitioner or household member, the next step is to secure a co-sponsor who can satisfy the financial requirements of the affidavit of support.

In the case of Pablo, while he has a household member who is a relative, the latter is unwilling to sign the affidavit. Pablo’s option is to seek an Affidavit of Support from his non-household relatives or friends who will be willing to be co-sponsors and who have sufficient income to meet the federal poverty guideline. Absent a co-sponsor’s affidavit of support and given the inability of Pablo to meet the income requirement, Nathan will not be able to get a U.S. immigrant visa. The law provides very few exceptions law on certain classes of immigrant visa petitions. The case of a Filipino seeking an immigrant visa based on a family petition is not one of the exceptions.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco is a San Francisco CA based immigration attorney and a partner at Tancinco Law Offices. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com, tancinco.weareph.com/old or at www.facebook.com/tancincolaw)