Does a joint sponsor have to pay an AOS fee?

[bPaula 0]

2 questions

1. I need to use a joint sponsor. I just paid the AOS fee online, but I was wondering if my joint sponsor will have to send a check for another $70 along with his I-864?

2. My joint sponsor happens to be my soon-to-be ex-husband. We filled taxes jointly for the last 3 years. We do not live together anymore, but legally we're still married as of now. I have to sign the divorce papers, but since he agreed to be a joint sponsor for my Mom, I was wondering how will the divorce affect the I-864 or if it will affect it at all? I understand he needs to send the I-864 along with all the documents required, but being still husband and wife, I'm afraid not to complicate things if the divorce will be final before the I-864 approval.

Thanks for any replies.

Paula

[bPaula 0]

Nobody? I'm really struggling here. LoL. I would appreciate any input. Thanks a lot!

[HeatDeath 430]

2 questions

1. I need to use a joint sponsor. I just paid the AOS fee online, but I was wondering if my joint sponsor will have to send a check for another $70 along with his I-864?

2. My joint sponsor happens to be my soon-to-be ex-husband. We filled taxes jointly for the last 3 years. We do not live together anymore, but legally we're still married as of now. I have to sign the divorce papers, but since he agreed to be a joint sponsor for my Mom, I was wondering how will the divorce affect the I-864 or if it will affect it at all? I understand he needs to send the I-864 along with all the documents required, but being still husband and wife, I'm afraid not to complicate things if the divorce will be final before the I-864 approval.

Thanks for any replies.

Paula

1. No. We had a joint sponsor for my AOS from a K-1 visa. We included two I-864s in the AOS Packet: One from my wife and one from her mother. We did not pay USCIS any extra and everything went fine.

2. An I-864 is effectively a contract between the individual sponsor and the US government. The relationship between the sponsors, and between the sponsor(s) and the beneficiary is irrelevant to USCIS. (Some consulates/consulate officers have been known to require the sponsors to be relatives, but it sounds like you're already past that point.) I would expect it to be fine.

[aleful 1,905]

no, the joint sponsors or coponsors don't pay anything, they are helping the petitioner, who pays all the expenses. you hust send both i864 together.

[bPaula 0]

Thanks for the replies.

I was reading different posts about I-864, and I came across one that says that as long as I can prove I make enough to support my Mom at the time of the interview, I don't need a joint sponsor. My problem is that I didn't make enough last year nor the year before, but I am making enough this year. Is it true? The year that matters is the year of the interview?

Thanks again for any suggestions!

[HeatDeath 430]

I believe that this is true. The instructions on the I-864 form indicate that you can include previous year's tax information "If you believe it will help your case." If your income last year and the year before were substantially less than the current year, and less than the poverty limits, I would not include them.

Technically, your I-864 should be approvable as long as the documents you send for this year indicate an income above the poverty limits. If you were applying through a high-fraud consulate, I would recommend a co-sponsor if you were even close to the poverty guidelines in any of the previous three years, just to be on the safe side (assuming that that consulate would accept cosponsors at all - many don't.) But as you are dealing with USCIS, I think you should be fine. If they have a problem with it, they will issue an RFE for more financial information, and you can, if necessary, send a joint sponsor I-864 at that time.