I-864, has enyone ever been fined?

[slowlyman 118]

Just curious. Many times it is mentioned the I-864 is a binding contract. You may be held financially responsible, etc. Has anyone ever actually been financially burdened by the document? If so, for what amount of money? For what reason?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

For the reasons stated in the contract. It has also been successfully used by the immigrant to set a level of spousal support when the immigrant divorces.

[Brian1967## 119]

Op look for the case Combs v combs out of Ohio. And yes you can lose and lose a lot of money. These cases are rare and VERY expesive to bring by the immigrant as the lawsuits take place in federal court, not state court. Other cases to research..

Mund V Liu, Winters V Winters.....recent cases law I I have seen please private message me for details

[Brian1967## 119]

Op see my bumped post called "getting sued using the I864"

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I thought you cancelled the I-864. No?

[slowlyman 118]

Yes canceled the 864. Just curious.

Everybody talks about being a the hook financially. But, not any discussion about anybody actually being put on the hook.

[Brian1967## 119]

Being put on the hook as you say is very, very rare. If my numbers. Are right 300;000 people come here that an I864 is filed on behalf of the immigrant. Cases are very rare and this can be pre nuped around also (case out of federal court in Hawaii upheld a pre nup wich the I864 was mentioned). That is why you may not hear much about this. I have done tons of research in this area

[slowlyman 118]

That's interesting that you can pre-nup out of the 864. That never occurred to me. The documentation is very clear, simple divorce does not end responsibility.

[NikLR 13,232]

That's interesting that you can pre-nup out of the 864. That never occurred to me. The documentation is very clear, simple divorce does not end responsibility.

To the government it doesn't. To the foreign spouse it may not.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

That's interesting that you can pre-nup out of the 864. That never occurred to me. The documentation is very clear, simple divorce does not end responsibility.

Divorce doesn't end the contract. However, while the I-864 says that the immigrant has the right to sue the sponsor to seek enforcement of the contract, it doesn't say that the immigrant cannot waive that right. A pre-nup could effectively end the immigrant's right to seek enforcement of the I-864 without affecting the government's right to seek reimbursement, but enforcement action by the government is rare.

The most well known action by a government agency to enforce the I-864 was when the Connecticut Department of Social Services tried to collect reimbursement from approximately 300 sponsors in 2007. The state's Attorney General stopped that action. A 2004 lawsuit against the L.A. County Department of Health Services sought to force the department to enforce I-864's against an unspecified number of sponsors, but the judge dismissed the lawsuit because the plaintiffs - an organization of taxpayers called the Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement - didn't have standing to bring the suit to court.

Government agencies are reluctant to enforce the I-864 because sponsors are often low income or immigrants themselves, and the agencies usually want to avoid the adverse publicity that would come with enforcement.