I-864 situation

[Atcoolio 0]

Hello everyone, I just received the good news that my fiancée passed her interview and will receive her K1 visa in 3 days. She will be arriving next month. I have run into a little problem while I am looking into the next steps, specifically the I-864.

I originally used a friend to co-sponsor on the I-134 but this friend has just informed me that he lost his job. This means I will need to find someone else to co-sp0nsor for the I-864. I am currently unemployed and living at my parents house. My mother said she would be willing to co-sponsor. I am not sure if she makes enough money. She makes about $24,000 per year. She is still married to my dad and has no dependents. So would the household size be 3? Mom, Dad, and fiancée? Or would it be 2, just Mom and Fiancee? My parents have a rental property that can be used as an asset. I am thinking that if we put her income plus that rental property (valued at around $100,000) then we should be good to go, right?

[Zedayn 485]

Your mother's household size would be 3: your mom, dad and fiancée. According to the poverty guidelines for a household size of 3, you are only short by less than $1000...so you only need about $3k in assets. If the net appraised value of the rental property is 100k, then you are well over the guidelines and should be good to go.

[Atcoolio 0]

Thanks for the reply. My next questions would be, do I fill out the I-864 and have my mom fill out the I-864A? Or do we both fill out the I-864 separately? I only ask because I am currently living under their roof. Obviously we plan to move out soon, but for the purposes of these forms how do we proceed?

[Zedayn 485]

If your income is 0, you will each fill out an I-864. The only way your mom would fill out an I-864A is if she was combining her income with your income. You have no income, so there is nothing to combine.

[baron555 934]

Your mother's household size would be 3: your mom, dad and fiancée. According to the poverty guidelines for a household size of 3, you are only short by less than $1000...so you only need about $3k in assets. If the net appraised value of the rental property is 100k, then you are well over the guidelines and should be good to go.

I believe this is incorrect. the new household size would be 4.....need to include the petitioner also....they are not working.

[Atcoolio 0]

Ok now I am confused. Is the household size now 4? I am not considered a dependent. I have recently been staying at my parents house while I find another job. They do not count me as a dependent on their taxes.

[Zedayn 485]

I believe this is incorrect. the new household size would be 4.....need to include the petitioner also....they are not working.

The petitioner is not considered in the household size unless he is claimed on taxes or is considered a dependent.

Ok now I am confused. Is the household size now 4? I am not considered a dependent. I have recently been staying at my parents house while I find another job. They do not count me as a dependent on their taxes.

You are not counted in your mother's household size. Her household size is still 3. Edited October 21, 2014 by Zedayn

[Tim/Mav 305]

I believe this is incorrect. the new household size would be 4.....need to include the petitioner also....they are not working.

I agree this is Correct. The Petitioner is counted as a member of household. That goes with any Forms as to Dwellings and Inhabitants.

[Zedayn 485]

I agree this is Correct. The Petitioner is counted as a member of household. That goes with any Forms as to Dwellings and Inhabitants.

Incorrect. Let us look at page 5 of the I-864 instructions, Part 5. Sponsor's Household Size. Reference: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

Item # 1, 2 and 3 are self-explanatory. #1 is for the person being sponsored. #2 is the person filling out the affidavit of support form, or in other words the one who is doing the sponsoring. #3 is the spouse of the person in #2 (this is 0 if the spouse is also listed in #1...remember no one is counted twice). #6 refers to previous affidavits of supports filed. #7 refers to members in the same house that are filling out an I-864A (the petitioner does not file an I-864A and cannot be listed here). The petitioner is not listed in either of these. #1 is where his fiancee will be listed (it will be his wife at the time the form is filled out). #2 is where his mom is listed. #3 is where his dad is listed. #6 is 0 because of no prior affidavits of support. #7 is also 0 (this is 0 even if the dad is filling out an I-864A because the dad is already listed in #3).

So lets move on to the parts where the petitioner MIGHT be listed, and counted in the household size:

Item Number 4. Enter the number of unmarried children you have who are under age 21, even if you do not have legal custody of these children. You may exclude any unmarried children under 21, if these children have reached the age of majority under the law of their place of domicile and you do not claim them as dependents on your income tax returns.

The petitioner would have to be an unmarried child under 21 (or under the age of majority), for him to be claimed in item 4 of his mom's I-864. He will be a MARRIED child by the time this form is filled out, and therefore cannot be listed here.

Item Number 5. Enter the number of any other dependents. You must include each and every person whom you have claimed as a dependent on your most recent Federal income tax return, even if that person is not related to you. Even if you are not legally obligated to support that person, you must include the person if in fact you did support that person and claimed that person as a dependent.

The petitioner would have to be claimed as a dependent on his mom's most recent tax return, for him to be claimed in item 5 of his mom's I-864. He was not claimed as a dependent, and therefore he cannot be listed here.

In conclusion, co-sponsor's household size is still 3.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Zedayn

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

A couple of incorrect things posted in this thread.

The USC petitioner/sponsor is NOT included in the household size of the joint sponsor unless the joint sponsor claimed them as a dependent on their most recent tax return. The joint sponsor is signing to support the immigrant, not the USC. A USC does not need a sponsor.

Also, assets for a joint sponsor need to be 5 times, not 3 times. 3 times is only if the immigrant you are sponsoring is a spouse or minor child of yours. Everyone else needs 5 times.

You fill out your own I-864 as the USC petitioner/sponsor. Your household size is 2, you and your foreign spouse. Have one parent fill out their own separate I-864 as the joint sponsor and the other parent fill out an I-864A as the household member to go along with their spouse's I-864. Their incomes and assets will be combined in that case. The household size will be 3, the parents plus your foreign spouse.

Info about how to count household size and use of assets can be found in the I-864 form instructions.

~ Moved from K-1 Process to AOS from Family Based Visas - topic is AOS, not K-1 ~

[Atcoolio 0]

A couple of incorrect things posted in this thread.

The USC petitioner/sponsor is NOT included in the household size of the joint sponsor unless the joint sponsor claimed them as a dependent on their most recent tax return. The joint sponsor is signing to support the immigrant, not the USC. A USC does not need a sponsor.

Also, assets for a joint sponsor need to be 5 times, not 3 times. 3 times is only if the immigrant you are sponsoring is a spouse or minor child of yours. Everyone else needs 5 times.

You fill out your own I-864 as the USC petitioner/sponsor. Your household size is 2, you and your foreign spouse. Have one parent fill out their own separate I-864 as the joint sponsor and the other parent fill out an I-864A as the household member to go along with their spouse's I-864. Their incomes and assets will be combined in that case. The household size will be 3, the parents plus your foreign spouse.

Info about how to count household size and use of assets can be found in the I-864 form instructions.

~ Moved from K-1 Process to AOS from Family Based Visas - topic is AOS, not K-1 ~

Thank you for that. I think I know what I have to do now. One more question. My mother will be using her income alone PLUS assets to qualify. The asset is a rental property owned by my mother and father jointly. Does this mean that my father now has to fill out an I-864A?

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

Since they have joint assets she wants to use, and they probably file taxes jointly too, then yes, it would be better if he filled out an I-864A to go along with her I-864. Their incomes and assets will be combined on her I-864 and serve together as the joint sponsorship. The father could skip the I-864A, but the mother would need to be sure to provide recent tax transcript and copy of W-2 to show individual income from that return. She will also need to list her individual income only to meet the requirement for a household of 3, and since the assets are joint, would probably only be counted as half the value for her ownership. I suggest the father provides the I-864A to combine it all.