Form I-864 Part 5 Sponsors Household size

[gusto 0]

I know I have posted once previously about this section, but I did not get a clear answer. I am a US citizen working as an ESL teacher in Thailand and live here with my Thai wife and son.

21. Your household size

a) I enter (1) for my wife who I am sponsoring.

B) Of course I enter (1) for myself.

c) I do not enter any number here even though I am married because I have already entered my wife in part (a) as the person I am sponsoring and I should not include the same person twice, right???

d) I enter (1) for my son who my Thai wife and I have together. He is 1 year old and has dual citizenship ie passport, US birth certificate and social security number. I was told by another poster in this forum to include my 7 year old daughter who lives with her mother in the US (she has sole custody). I do not claim her on my taxes and she does not live with me, but I DO pay monthly child support. So technically, she is not part of the household, right??

g) Okay, at my domicile, or home, in the US, I have two younger brothers who live there alone... they are 28 and 30 years old, I am 33 (just for your info). The three of us inherited the home many years ago and have always lived there and intend to live there in the future. My father, who lives at another residence, will be a joint sponsor as his income is well above the 125% poverty requirement. I am considering having my two brothers complete a form I-864A just to cover all bases and assure USCIS that we are okay financially. Does anyone recommend this? And, should I count them as (2) on section (g) as they are 'siblings' who will be at the 'same principal residence' and possibly 'combining their income with [mine]'????

I would appreciate any advice anyone has to give regarding this section. Thanks in advance!!!!

[pushbrk 12,827]

I know I have posted once previously about this section, but I did not get a clear answer. I am a US citizen working as an ESL teacher in Thailand and live here with my Thai wife and son.

21. Your household size

a) I enter (1) for my wife who I am sponsoring.

B) Of course I enter (1) for myself.

c) I do not enter any number here even though I am married because I have already entered my wife in part (a) as the person I am sponsoring and I should not include the same person twice, right???

d) I enter (1) for my son who my Thai wife and I have together. He is 1 year old and has dual citizenship ie passport, US birth certificate and social security number. I was told by another poster in this forum to include my 7 year old daughter who lives with her mother in the US (she has sole custody). I do not claim her on my taxes and she does not live with me, but I DO pay monthly child support. So technically, she is not part of the household, right??

g) Okay, at my domicile, or home, in the US, I have two younger brothers who live there alone... they are 28 and 30 years old, I am 33 (just for your info). The three of us inherited the home many years ago and have always lived there and intend to live there in the future. My father, who lives at another residence, will be a joint sponsor as his income is well above the 125% poverty requirement. I am considering having my two brothers complete a form I-864A just to cover all bases and assure USCIS that we are okay financially. Does anyone recommend this? And, should I count them as (2) on section (g) as they are 'siblings' who will be at the 'same principal residence' and possibly 'combining their income with [mine]'????

I would appreciate any advice anyone has to give regarding this section. Thanks in advance!!!!

Your household size is three as you need not count your 7 year old daughter. No need for your brothers to do anything. Your father will complete an I-864. His household size will be himself, a spouse if any, dependent children if any and your wife.

[Dakine 26]

I know I have posted once previously about this section, but I did not get a clear answer. I am a US citizen working as an ESL teacher in Thailand and live here with my Thai wife and son.

21. Your household size

a) I enter (1) for my wife who I am sponsoring.

B) Of course I enter (1) for myself.

c) I do not enter any number here even though I am married because I have already entered my wife in part (a) as the person I am sponsoring and I should not include the same person twice, right???

d) I enter (1) for my son who my Thai wife and I have together. He is 1 year old and has dual citizenship ie passport, US birth certificate and social security number. I was told by another poster in this forum to include my 7 year old daughter who lives with her mother in the US (she has sole custody). I do not claim her on my taxes and she does not live with me, but I DO pay monthly child support. So technically, she is not part of the household, right??

g) Okay, at my domicile, or home, in the US, I have two younger brothers who live there alone... they are 28 and 30 years old, I am 33 (just for your info). The three of us inherited the home many years ago and have always lived there and intend to live there in the future. My father, who lives at another residence, will be a joint sponsor as his income is well above the 125% poverty requirement. I am considering having my two brothers complete a form I-864A just to cover all bases and assure USCIS that we are okay financially. Does anyone recommend this? And, should I count them as (2) on section (g) as they are 'siblings' who will be at the 'same principal residence' and possibly 'combining their income with [mine]'????

I would appreciate any advice anyone has to give regarding this section. Thanks in advance!!!!

Aren't you doing a DCF??

[john_and_marlene 162]

Your household size is three as you need not count your 7 year old daughter. No need for your brothers to do anything. Your father will complete an I-864. His household size will be himself, a spouse if any, dependent children if any and your wife.

I disagree. The 7 year old daughter is a dependent (he does pay support) and must be claimed in the household size according to the I-864 instructions.

[john_and_marlene 162]

Counting household size according to the I-864 instruction:

Yourself and the following individuals no matter where they live

- spouse

- any dependent children under the age of 21

- any other dependents listed on the most recent tax return

- all persons being sponsored

- all persons previously sponsored

[Bobby+Umit 161]

I disagree. The 7 year old daughter is a dependent (he does pay support) and must be claimed in the household size according to the I-864 instructions.

Concur - but there is an exception... (I don't think it applies here since he is paying support)

How do you count children of a divorced couple who reside with one parent part time?

A divorced parent's dependent children are members of his or her household, even if they live part of the time with the former spouse. A parent almost always has a legal obligation to support his or her children. Although only one of the parents may be legally entitled to claim the child as a dependent on tax returns (1040), the child must be considered as part of both parents' households for purposes of the Affidavit of Support, unless a parent can show that he or she no longer has a legal obligation to support the child.

Source

[john_and_marlene 162]

Concur - but there is an exception... (I don't think it applies here since he is paying support)

Source

The exception is within the definition of dependent. Unless he can show proof that he is under no legal obligation to support the child (emancipation or relinquished parental rights and legally cleared of support requirements) then they are a dependent. He must claim all dependents.

[gusto 0]

Regarding Dakine's question about filing a DCF.... if I understand correctly, this is filing an I-130 form directly to the foreign citizens country. We already filed the I-130 form at the DHS in Bangkok and will submit the CR-1 documents directly to the US Embassy in Bangkok.

No one seems to have a clear response to my question about including my 7 year old daughter in my household size. As I mentioned, I do not include her on my income tax return though I am required to pay child support. Thanks Bobby + Umit for directing me to the answer to my question:

Although only one of the parents may be legally entitled to claim the child as a dependent on tax returns (1040), the child must be considered as part of both parents' households for purposes of the Affidavit of Support, unless a parent can show that he or she no longer has a legal obligation to support the child.

According to the US Dept of State website. Doens't make sense, but okay.

Does anyone recommend having my two brothers complete a form I-864A, just in case. My father will be a joint sponsor, but my brothers both work and will be living with me and my family in the same house. What do you all think????????

[pushbrk 12,827]

Regarding Dakine's question about filing a DCF.... if I understand correctly, this is filing an I-130 form directly to the foreign citizens country. We already filed the I-130 form at the DHS in Bangkok and will submit the CR-1 documents directly to the US Embassy in Bangkok.

No one seems to have a clear response to my question about including my 7 year old daughter in my household size. As I mentioned, I do not include her on my income tax return though I am required to pay child support. Thanks Bobby + Umit for directing me to the answer to my question:

According to the US Dept of State website. Doens't make sense, but okay.

Does anyone recommend having my two brothers complete a form I-864A, just in case. My father will be a joint sponsor, but my brothers both work and will be living with me and my family in the same house. What do you all think????????

With a qualified joint sponsor, there is no need for your brothers to do anything. Counting your 7 year old daughter is discretionary on your part, IMO but really immaterial because she doesn't count on the I-864 of the qualified sponsor. Since it's immaterial, I'd go ahead and count her on your own affidavit.