Morning you beautiful people.

Right so i am about to send off my Packet 3 checklist without actually having the I-134 in my hands yet as Dakotah promises me she will be sending within the week. However we are now using her father as a sponsor, i have looked into the poverty lines on the HHS website etc and i beleive he is above the limit..but its close. Now he has 2 children who live with him under the age of 18, does this make it a 3 person household, i can find anywhere what the requirments are of age limit etc. I mean Dakotah still lives with him but is 21 and working so surely she cant be his resonsobility can she? or is it for everyone that resides in the house. I promise i have come here as a last resort and have looked for this information! google hates me!

this is mildly urgent as if it is based on residents in the household i will need to find new sponsor, which wont be the easiest thing in the world!

cheers in advance,

Rusty

I believe that the number in the household that determines the poverty levels is decided by who are listed as his dependants on his tax return. Therefore it's not to do with age. My OH's grandmother is listed my OH's mom's dependant on her tax return, so she was counted in the number in household.

Yes, generally dependents are counted. It would be a 3 person household. However the definitions might differ from state to state...it would be a good idea to review the HHS website for the state your OH lives in to see how they define poverty.

Like Poiteen said if he isn't claiming them on his taxes it might not count. Generally sponsors are required to send in tax returns on the AOS so I would try to find out ASAP...for the AOS the sponsor must be 125% over poverty level to be eligible, and it would be easier to find a new sponsor now (if needed) rather than later.

The instructions for I-864 (the affidavit of support needed for AOS) are pretty detailed and has a section about how to determine household size. I think those instructions could be helpful reference for the I-134.

I think the household size is how many people are living under his roof. So that would be him, the two under 18 y/o and Dakotah.

Edit: I'm gonna have a look and try to clarify this as I am unsure.

I am quite sure it would be the same rules as the I-864, in which case he should count himself, his wife if he has one, dependents (anyone claimed on his tax return as a dependent), and the immigrant. So if he's unmarried and has two dependents, then his household size is 4. Whether or not someone is a dependent depends on what's claimed on the tax return rather than the age. If he stills claims your fiancee as a dependent when he does his returns, then the household size is 5.

EDIT - The rules may not be the same for the I-134 though, and in that case, you can ignore my comment!

I can't thank you enough for your invaluable advice, I am reviewing his tax returns now and the I-864 has much better instruction on this matter so going over that form also. I seriously would be nowhere without you guys.

Eternally grateful..

awww you're so sweet. We've all been through it, and been helped ourselves. So it's the least we can do to help others along the way.