Spouse liability for I-864

[9kumak9 0]

Both my spouse and I have assets from before our marriage. Ever since the marriage, we have been filing joint tax return and have purchased our house together. Now, she wants to immigrate her parents to the US and has enough individual income to meet the requirements. She does not need my co-sponsorship. But we have questions:

1. If she sponsors, do I need to sign the I-864 form? If so, will my pre-marriage assets automatically be deemed as 'available' to the sponsored?

2. If she sponsors., will our joint property - our house - automatically be deemed as 'available' to the sponsored?

In a nutshell, what's the liability/risk for me whose income is not needed for the sponsorship?

Thanks much!!

[novedsac 355]

She can sign the I-864 form alone if she can quality on her own income/assets.

In this case, your pre-marital property would never be exposed.

However, income is generally considered joint regardless of which spouse earns the income. If ever a claim is made for reimbursement of expenses under the I-864, this could potentially put your income at risk too (albeit an exceedingly small risk if you look at instances where claims have been successful under the I-864).