Eligibility for Sponsoring the Immigration of a Foreign Relative
| People in Household | Active duty Sponsors in U.S. Armed forces | All Other Sponsors |
|---|
| 1 | $11,860 | $14,825 |
| 2 | $16,020 | $20,025 |
| 3 | $20,160 | $25,200 |
| 4 | $24,300 | $30,375 |
There is a USCIS filing fee of $595 plus a biometrics fee of $85 for each conditional resident included on the petition. To determine the exact fee, choose the number of conditional permanent residents that will be included on your petition: How many people?
Submitting Evidence
The principal immigrant must submit one original Form I-864 and Form I-864A for his or her file along with supporting financial evidence of the sponsor's and household member's income. A Form I-864 or Form I-864A is considered original if it is signed in black ink.Each joint sponsor must fill out a separate I-864 form. In their form, they will include the names of all immigrants that they will personally be sponsoring. In the case of two joint sponsors, each sponsor will only list the intending immigrants for which they will take legal responsibility.
Form I-864EZ is a shorter version of Form I-864 designed for cases that meet certain criteria. Form I-864 or Form I-864EZ is legally required for many family-based immigrants to show that the intending immigrant has adequate means of financial support and is unlikely to become a public charge.
You are not eligible for Form I-864 EZ if any of the following conditions apply: The relative you are sponsoring is not the only person immigrating based upon the underlying visa petition; In other words, there are accompanying dependent (or derivative) family members.
No I-864 is required. You filed an I-360 Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant and are a self-petitioning battered spouse or child. No I-864 is required.
The principal immigrant is the intending immigrant who is the beneficiary of the immigrant visa petition. Family members are the principal immigrant's spouse and minor children, who intend to travel with the principal immigrant or within six months of the principal immigrant's arrival in the United States.
Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, is an attachment to Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA. A separate Form I-864A must be used for each household member whose income and/or assets are being used by a sponsor to qualify.
The form does NOT have to be notarized. The sponsor must sign the form, even if a joint sponsor also submits an I-864 to meet the income requirement. However, when you sign the form, under penalty of perjury, you certify that all the information and the documents provided are true and correct.
A joint sponsor is someone who is willing to accept legal responsibility for supporting your family member with you. A joint sponsor must meet all the same requirements as you, except the joint sponsor does not need to be related to the immigrant.
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.
A joint sponsor — or a financial co-sponsor — is a U.S. citizen or green card holder (permanent resident) who agrees to take on the legal obligation of financially supporting an applicant for a family-based green card.
They're referring to the number of immigrants being sponsored by whoever is signing the I-864A. Simply list the immigrants in the table at question 13, and count them. In your case the number for "indicate number" would be 1 since your mother is the only immigrant.
Petitioner: The petitioner must complete an Affidavit of Support Form I-864. National Visa Center: After your petition is approved, the National Visa Center (NVC) will assist you in preparing your visa application for interview for certain visa categories at U.S. Embassies & Consulates.
The processing time of the Affidavit of Support takes at least 6 weeks. After the NVC receives the documents from USCIS, they process them. The NVC will look at the sponsor's Affidavit of Support and supporting documents. The applicant must have paid the fees for the Affidavit of Support to receive processing.
You, the sponsor, should complete Form I-864 when your relative has been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview with a consular officer overseas or when your relative is about to submit an application for adjustment to permanent resident status with USCIS or with an Immigration Court in the United States.
A Form I-864 Affidavit of Support is a legally enforceable contract stating that you will provide adequate support to the immigrant if need be. Under US immigration law, you bear financial responsibility for the immigrant and could potentially be sued by the government and/or the immigrant for support.
You may be able to use your 401(k) to meet the affidavit of support requirements. It would depend upon the current value as well as how much is vested and how would be left after imposition of the penalty and tax.
USCIS has two Affidavit of Support forms, Form I-864 and Form I-134. Form I-864 is generally used in cases where a foreign national is seeking permanent residence, while Form I-134 is used by non-immigrants.
While you can't petition for a friend's immigrant visa or Green Card (only family members can do that), you can financially sponsor a friend's immigration petition with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support.
Within 30 to 90 days after that letter sent, depending upon the consulate, you should receive a letter from the NVC indicating the date on which your interview has been set. Most interviews occur within 30 days of the date on which this letter is written.
You should not have to file the Form I-864 when you are filing the Form I-130 petition since the beneficiary is outside the US. However, when CIS approves the I-130 , your next step is to file immigrant visa applications with the NVC.
The most common minimum annual income required to sponsor a spouse for a marriage-based green card is $21,550. This assumes that the sponsoring spouse — the U.S. citizen or current green card holder — is not in active military duty and that the couple has no children.
In a nutshell.
The Affidavit of Support confirms that the Sponsor earns enough income to support their relative in the US. The income requirement is usually between $20,000 - $30,000 per year. However if the Sponsor doesn't earn enough, there are other ways to show that they can support their relative.
