Affidavit of Support I-864, worried about finances

[Kristina&Baz 0]

My fiance and I are looking to move towards filing a K-1 for him to come to the United States sometime in the near future. The main issue I have is that I currently do not make enough to file the affidavit of support - I make just around $14K annually, and would need to make $18,912 to fit the 125% poverty guideline for 2 people. I do not have enough assets (5x the difference = appx $25k) and I do not have anyone who is willing to co-sponsor. While reading through the boards, I saw that people are saying the affidavit of support is embassy-specific, and that not all embassies require it. Is this true? We would be applying through the United Kingdom embassy, which (from what I saw) does not have the I-864 listed in the forms it requires.

Has anyone gone through this process before, whether not qualifying to file the I-864, or simply going through the K-1 process with the UK embassy? I'm getting my hopes up, I know, but this Affidavit of Support has been causing my fiance and I a large amount of grief, and any insight would be great. Thank you!

[aamirpearl 47]

No, every embassy is the same and you have to make 18,912 or more to be able to sponsor him. Assuming it's only you and him than thats how much you have to make..For k-1 visa they dont use the I-864 they use the I-134. Why dont you just find a part time job you can always combine the income. you make 14k for the other job and than find another job that you can make 5 to 6k to meet the poverty guideline.. Good luck dear!!

[BaBamSam 239]

My fiance and I are looking to move towards filing a K-1 for him to come to the United States sometime in the near future. The main issue I have is that I currently do not make enough to file the affidavit of support - I make just around $14K annually, and would need to make $18,912 to fit the 125% poverty guideline for 2 people. I do not have enough assets (5x the difference = appx $25k) and I do not have anyone who is willing to co-sponsor. While reading through the boards, I saw that people are saying the affidavit of support is embassy-specific, and that not all embassies require it. Is this true? We would be applying through the United Kingdom embassy, which (from what I saw) does not have the I-864 listed in the forms it requires.

Has anyone gone through this process before, whether not qualifying to file the I-864, or simply going through the K-1 process with the UK embassy? I'm getting my hopes up, I know, but this Affidavit of Support has been causing my fiance and I a large amount of grief, and any insight would be great. Thank you!

The UK embassy is the exception to the main rule. It's a I-134 you file with a K-1, not an I-864. You can have a co-sponsor at the London Embassy that is the primary sponsor and the beneficiary (UK citizen) has the option to self-sponsor. My fiance is self-sponsoring at London and my father is filing the I-134 sponsorship for him as I am a freelancer and can't show enough proof of income.

No, every embassy is the same and you have to make 18,912 or more to be able to sponsor him. Assuming it's only you and him than thats how much you have to make..For k-1 visa they dont use the I-864 they use the I-134. Why dont you just find a part time job you can always combine the income. you make 14k for the other job and than find another job that you can make 5 to 6k to meet the poverty guideline.. Good luck dear!!

Actually, the London embassy is a sort-of-exception. They allow co-sposnors (someone not the petitioner) to be the sole sponsor and allow for the beneficiary to self-sponsor.

[Sirdaniel42 86]

No, every embassy is the same and you have to make 18,912 or more to be able to sponsor him. Assuming it's only you and him than thats how much you have to make..For k-1 visa they dont use the I-864 they use the I-134. Why dont you just find a part time job you can always combine the income. you make 14k for the other job and than find another job that you can make 5 to 6k to meet the poverty guideline.. Good luck dear!!

Every Consulate requires the Affidavit with the I-134, when you do the AOS the requirement is form I-864.

[schuelsta 1]

The UK embassy is the exception to the main rule. It's a I-134 you file with a K-1, not an I-864. You can have a co-sponsor at the London Embassy that is the primary sponsor and the beneficiary (UK citizen) has the option to self-sponsor. My fiance is self-sponsoring at London and my father is filing the I-134 sponsorship for him as I am a freelancer and can't show enough proof of income.

Actually, the London embassy is a sort-of-exception. They allow co-sposnors (someone not the petitioner) to be the sole sponsor and allow for the beneficiary to self-sponsor.

I was just about to make a new post asking a very similar question, but this is music to my ears! This is my first post to the boards, actually. I'm currently self-employed and can't show proof of income as well. My partner is in the UK. My parents have already agreed to sponsor him, so we'll have them, but he can also sponsor himself?! I've been worried about not being able to show my proof of income for a while and we're planning on starting the process soon. Is there a website that you can direct us to that shows this bit of information (about him being able to sponsor himself, or my parents being the sole sponsor?) Thanks!! =)

[BaBamSam 239]

I was just about to make a new post asking a very similar question, but this is music to my ears! This is my first post to the boards, actually. I'm currently self-employed and can't show proof of income as well. My partner is in the UK. My parents have already agreed to sponsor him, so we'll have them, but he can also sponsor himself?! I've been worried about not being able to show my proof of income for a while and we're planning on starting the process soon. Is there a website that you can direct us to that shows this bit of information (about him being able to sponsor himself, or my parents being the sole sponsor?) Thanks!! =)

Hello twin. I made a post about self-sponsorship a while ago on the UK section where people from the UK gave some pretty good advice. You can check it out here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/405887-k-1-self-sponsorship/

But yes. You can either self-sponsor or get a sponsor that is not you. My fiance is going to present documents to self-sponsor first and if asked, and only if asked, he'll present my father's I-134 as a sponsor too (I'm going to fill out the form as well just in case, but it shouldn't be needed).

Basically, there's no real set number and people on VJ have self-sponsore with $8,000 in the bank to $40,000. The UK guidelines for this are here: http://london.usembassy.gov/faffidavit.html

Feel free to PM me if you ever want to chat about the process or anything!

Every Consulate requires the Affidavit with the I-134, when you do the AOS the requirement is form I-864.

London, actually, does not require an I-134 as per their rules: http://london.usembassy.gov/faffidavit.html

Though it is recommended that people have one filled out by someone just in case.

[Kristina&Baz 0]

This is interesting news...but I'm still somewhat confused, as I've never run across this information at all before. Are you saying that my fiance can self-sponsor, without me and my (not adequate) income? His income is actually perfectly fine, and he makes more than enough (he's self employed and if he works his butt off, he can amass a bunch of income for his bank account as well), I've just been worried sick about my end of the bargain and not making enough. I spoke with an immigration lawyer and he never brought this up, he just kept saying that I could get someone else to sponsor him (which will not be happening, unfortunately).

Is there another form that they would ask for, if he were self-sponsoring? I know that the I-134 and I-864 are for *my* information, but what about his? Also, if he is self-sponsoring, do they also want to see my information, even if I don't make the 125% of the poverty level guidelines? I think I am also getting confused about co-sponsoring, since I think it was just said that the UK is the only country that allows for it, but if I recall, I've heard of people co-sponsoring (eg petitioner's parents, friends, relatives, etc) pretty frequently. Maybe I'm getting mixed up somewhere?

I think we may need to hire an immigration lawyer that specializes in (potentially UK-based) fiancee visas...I'd like to go it alone, but I feel like we'll hit a lot of snags. Did you guys use lawyers, or are you going it alone?

I have to say, reading the link from the london embassy definitely made me feel better, and a bit less stressed. We want this to happen very badly, and I hate that it's all based on me getting a job that makes x or y amount of money. Thank you so SO much for the advice provided so far!

[BaBamSam 239]

This is interesting news...but I'm still somewhat confused, as I've never run across this information at all before. Are you saying that my fiance can self-sponsor, without me and my (not adequate) income? His income is actually perfectly fine, and he makes more than enough (he's self employed and if he works his butt off, he can amass a bunch of income for his bank account as well), I've just been worried sick about my end of the bargain and not making enough. I spoke with an immigration lawyer and he never brought this up, he just kept saying that I could get someone else to sponsor him (which will not be happening, unfortunately).

Is there another form that they would ask for, if he were self-sponsoring? I know that the I-134 and I-864 are for *my* information, but what about his? Also, if he is self-sponsoring, do they also want to see my information, even if I don't make the 125% of the poverty level guidelines? I think I am also getting confused about co-sponsoring, since I think it was just said that the UK is the only country that allows for it, but if I recall, I've heard of people co-sponsoring (eg petitioner's parents, friends, relatives, etc) pretty frequently. Maybe I'm getting mixed up somewhere?

I think we may need to hire an immigration lawyer that specializes in (potentially UK-based) fiancee visas...I'd like to go it alone, but I feel like we'll hit a lot of snags. Did you guys use lawyers, or are you going it alone?

I have to say, reading the link from the london embassy definitely made me feel better, and a bit less stressed. We want this to happen very badly, and I hate that it's all based on me getting a job that makes x or y amount of money. Thank you so SO much for the advice provided so far!

Yes the UK citizen can self-sponsor. Please check out the links I posted in regards to those details.

There is no other form, but please look at the link to the embassy website I posted. Basically he will need notarized bank statements with proof than the funds are accessible in the US, proof of continuing income through self-employment in the US (ex: internet business), recent valuation of property, etc. as per embassy website suggestions.

Fill yours out in case they ASK for it, but if he self-sponsors or you get a co-sponsor that makes more than enough, yours will probably not be asked for. The co-sponsor fills out the I-134.

Many countries allow for co-sponsors. The UK is the only one that allows for self-sponsor.

I was going to hire an immigration lawyer, but it wasn't worth it. Aside from the income issue, we had no other problems. And I discovered the self-sponsorship here on VJ and none of the lawyers or immigration officers I spoke to even mentioned it. So. My recommendation is to not go with a lawyer if the finance is your only concern, as VJ is a wealth of knowledge and most people here can speak through experience versus a lawyer who can only speak from reading (and so much of this process is subjective). Be sure to check out the UK-region specific forum here, too.

The embassy reviews are very helpful indeed!

EDIT: We are still ages away from the interview stage, but many members here have reassured us and the embassy website has been a help in assuring us. The embassy reviews here are almost invaluable!

Edited January 15, 2013 by BaBamSam

[Kristina&Baz 0]

Yes the UK citizen can self-sponsor. Please check out the links I posted in regards to those details.

There is no other form, but please look at the link to the embassy website I posted. Basically he will need notarized bank statements with proof than the funds are accessible in the US, proof of continuing income through self-employment in the US (ex: internet business), recent valuation of property, etc. as per embassy website suggestions.

Fill yours out in case they ASK for it, but if he self-sponsors or you get a co-sponsor that makes more than enough, yours will probably not be asked for. The co-sponsor fills out the I-134.

Many countries allow for co-sponsors. The UK is the only one that allows for self-sponsor.

I was going to hire an immigration lawyer, but it wasn't worth it. Aside from the income issue, we had no other problems. And I discovered the self-sponsorship here on VJ and none of the lawyers or immigration officers I spoke to even mentioned it. So. My recommendation is to not go with a lawyer if the finance is your only concern, as VJ is a wealth of knowledge and most people here can speak through experience versus a lawyer who can only speak from reading (and so much of this process is subjective). Be sure to check out the UK-region specific forum here, too.

The embassy reviews are very helpful indeed!

EDIT: We are still ages away from the interview stage, but many members here have reassured us and the embassy website has been a help in assuring us. The embassy reviews here are almost invaluable!

Thank you!! I read all of the links and scoured them, but I guess I'm just worried since I've come across so many things where they don't mention needing a specific form, except turns out you DO need it, it just wasn't spelled out (by either a personal account or a gov't agency website). I'm always erring towards the side of being overly wary regarding such things. I guess it also seems like it's too good to be true, given all the information I've been scouring for the last 6 months or so.

I'm definitely going to delve further into the UK-specific forum as well, looks to be a wealth of information as well. Thank you so much for the links to the examples earlier!