When Can A Sponser STOP Working?

[MissusM 0]

My husband (a U.K citizen)& I (a U.S citizen)met in America in 2009.We were married in America in March 2009.At that time I lived here in the U.S & he ,as a contractor,worked in Europe while visiting me every 4-6 weeks on a tourist visa.

March 2010 after his latest contract ended he came here to stay & we decided to apply for a 'change of status' so he can live here "for good".

It has been a very long journey as we have gone through 2 different immigration 'consultants' & got advice from 2 different attorneys who are supposedly 'immigration experts'(although they gave us very incorrect & outdated advice).

We found our best & most accurate source of information was the U.S Government's own websites & made the choice to do this on our own.

We got everything sent in prior to his 'out of status' deadline.

I am my husband's sponser.I had to fill out the Aff. of support using my income(both non-taxable support from my Ex -Spouse & my taxable income from working).

We submitted everything & paid our fees.

Everything was received & we have a Biometrics appointment this week so we think it all looks good.

Here is my question:

When may I stop working?

As his Sponser the Government says I must make a certain amount of $$ to support our household so I must work (as the Govt says my non taxable income alone is not enough although it is for us) & have been working & meet the guidelines but once he has his Social # & Green Card he may legally work(& thankfully he has job offers.He just needs to be 'legal' & they can hire him).

So if he begins work may I then stop working? Even if we haven't had our interview yet?

Once he is working he will make ALOT more than I do & we would both prefer it if he worked(he has NEVER,EVER not worked.The only time he has ever not worked has been now as he legally cannot so he is very anxious to get back to working).

ALSO what would happen if I got laid off & was on unemployment?What if I lost my job & couldn't get unemployment? That would lower my income.

Would that affect his immigrating? Are there any provisions for the Sponser losing their income,through no fault of their own?

Thanks in advance!

Edited January 25, 2011 by MissusM

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

My husband (a U.K citizen)& I (a U.S citizen)met in America in 2009.We were married in America in March 2009.At that time I lived here in the U.S & he ,as a contractor,worked in Europe while visiting me every 4-6 weeks on a tourist visa.

March 2010 after his latest contract ended he came here to stay & we decided to apply for a 'change of status' so he can live here "for good".

It has been a very long journey as we have gone through 2 different immigration 'consultants' & got advice from 2 different attorneys who are supposedly 'immigration experts'(although they gave us very incorrect & outdated advice).

We found our best & most accurate source of information was the U.S Government's own websites & made the choice to do this on our own.

We got everything sent in prior to his 'out of status' deadline.

I am my husband's sponser.I had to fill out the Aff. of support using my income(both non-taxable support from my Ex -Spouse & my taxable income from working).

We submitted everything & paid our fees.

Everything was received & we have a Biometrics appointment this week so we think it all looks good.

Here is my question:

When may I stop working?

As his Sponser the Government says I must make a certain amount of $$ to support our household so I must work (as the Govt says my non taxable income alone is not enough although it is for us) & have been working & meet the guidelines but once he has his Social # & Green Card he may legally work(& thankfully he has job offers.He just needs to be 'legal' & they can hire him).

So if he begins work may I then stop working? Even if we haven't had our interview yet?

Once he is working he will make ALOT more than I do & we would both prefer it if he worked(he has NEVER,EVER not worked.The only time he has ever not worked has been now as he legally cannot so he is very anxious to get back to working).

ALSO what would happen if I got laid off & was on unemployment?What if I lost my job & couldn't get unemployment? That would lower my income.

Would that affect his immigrating? Are there any provisions for the Sponser losing their income,through no fault of their own?

Thanks in advance!

A Social Security card is not permission to work. It's a number that identifies a taxpayer. He will need either an employment authorization document (EAD) or a green card before he can legally work in the US. Did you send an I-765 with your AOS application? The I-765 is an application for an EAD. There's no filing fee for the I-765 when it's filed at the same time as an I-485, and he'd probably get the EAD within a couple of months. There's no guarantee that would help much, though. My wife got her EAD 5 days before the green card interview.

A sponsor must meet the income requirements both at the time the I-864 is submitted AND the time the adjustment of status is approved. You need to keep working until his green card has been approved. After that, feel free to quit your job.

There is no requirement that you must continue working forever, or even as long as the I-864 is enforceable. The only requirement is that your income and/or assets are sufficient at the time your affidavit of support is considered. They aren't going to come after you if you lose your job or stop working after that.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Agree with Jim.

Even if you're not working if he does anything that would require you to pay back the US government (means-tested stuff) you would still be legally required to do so.

As Jim said, you are his sponsor and you need to meet the requirements until the I-864 is accepted, which isn't until he has his greencard.

[MissusM 0]

Ok great thank you both VERY much.

That's pretty much as we thought (I didn't phrase it correctly but I did mean green card to work-sorry about that!) but I wanted to double check!!