I 864 Sponsor money

[abekphx 0]

Hi, i am a F1 Student, i got married 3 weeks ago to my fiancee, she is American, i am now filling for permanent residency plus work permit ... i have complete all my paper required but on the I 864 they ask for a sponsor for the household, Well my wife does not work and i can not work right now because i am still on a F1 visa.

So basically she has no saving and the only money i get is from my parents back in France that send me money every month, to pay for my school, rent etc... I have 2 questions :

* Can my Dad that lives in France sponsors us (he has a Tax ID Number in the USA)?

* If not, How much money on a checking or saving account will be enough to be accepted by the Immigration?

Because if it is not that much i can maybe manage to put some money on my wife bank account to show that we will not ask for any help from the government if this is what it is all about..

Thank you, any help will be appreciated!

[belinda63 3,041]

It is my understanding the sponsor has to be a US citizen or resident. The amount required in assets would be three times of the amount equal to the 125% poverty guidelines for your household size. For a household of two (yourself and your spouse) that would be almost $55,000.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

1- no, the co-sponsor must be resident in the USA.

2- a minimum of three times the 125% poverty line, so if it's just the two of you, that would be just under 60'000 if sponsoring on assets alone (this can be in a joint account). That being said, if you suddenly transfer a big amount of money into the USC's account, USCIS may be suspicious you are "buying" the greencard.

[Boiler 45,939]

Best to find a co sponsor.

[payxibka 10,047]

Hi, i am a F1 Student, i got married 3 weeks ago to my fiancee, she is American, i am now filling for permanent residency plus work permit ... i have complete all my paper required but on the I 864 they ask for a sponsor for the household, Well my wife does not work and i can not work right now because i am still on a F1 visa.

So basically she has no saving and the only money i get is from my parents back in France that send me money every month, to pay for my school, rent etc... I have 2 questions :

* Can my Dad that lives in France sponsors us (he has a Tax ID Number in the USA)?

* If not, How much money on a checking or saving account will be enough to be accepted by the Immigration?

Because if it is not that much i can maybe manage to put some money on my wife bank account to show that we will not ask for any help from the government if this is what it is all about..

Thank you, any help will be appreciated!

If you are applying for AOS, then why post in the K-1 Fiance(e) visa forum? Moving thread

[Anh map 2,098]

Your US citizen spouse will be the primary sponsor and complete the I-864 regardless of income. Any US citizen or LPR can be a co/joint sponsor, not only family members.

As stated before a sudden $55K transfer into your/spouse's account would draw scrutiny.

Take a look here at the I-864 FAQ page from the State Dept. website >>> http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3183.html

[milimelo 4,541]

Moving to AOS from student, tourist, work visa.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi, i am a F1 Student, i got married 3 weeks ago to my fiancee, she is American, i am now filling for permanent residency plus work permit ... i have complete all my paper required but on the I 864 they ask for a sponsor for the household, Well my wife does not work and i can not work right now because i am still on a F1 visa.

So basically she has no saving and the only money i get is from my parents back in France that send me money every month, to pay for my school, rent etc... I have 2 questions :

* Can my Dad that lives in France sponsors us (he has a Tax ID Number in the USA)?

* If not, How much money on a checking or saving account will be enough to be accepted by the Immigration?

Because if it is not that much i can maybe manage to put some money on my wife bank account to show that we will not ask for any help from the government if this is what it is all about..

Thank you, any help will be appreciated!

Any sponsor must be a US citizen, US national, or legal permanent resident, and must be domiciled in the US. The domicile requirement bites a lot of people. Someone living outside the US, even if a US citizen, cannot be a sponsor.

Assets can be used, including cash in the bank. If the sponsor is the spouse or parent of the immigrant (like your wife) then the value of the assets must be 3X the shortage of income. For a sponsor who is not the spouse or parent of the immigrant, the value of the assets must 5X the shortage of income. You can also combine your own income or assets with your wife's to help her qualify.

If you plan on using only assets, and you plan on transferring the funds into her account now, then I wouldn't expect her affidavit of support to be accepted as sufficient. They're not likely to believe that the funds are actually hers to use as she pleases, and that the funds are actually available to support the immigrant.

You need a qualified co-sponsor.

[Gingerpants 8]

I believe there are some consulates that will accept a foreign co-sponsor (though I could be mistaken) but it would be ideal if you could get someone living in the US to serve as your co-sponsor. Could your wife's parents sponsor you?

It is not about having a certain amount of money in your account, they want to see that the sponsor brings in an income above the poverty line (125%).

I hope that helps

[abekphx 0]

Thanks for all your response, and wow i didn't hope to have so many information in such a little amount of time ! thanks you so much.

I talked to my "belle-mere" in french, I think in English its called my mother in law and she agreed to co-sponsor us.

but how can i be sure that she qualify? and do I need to file out another form in particular?

she had a job all her life, she works at a grocery store.

thanks again for your answer and for trying to helping us.

[magdasal 19]

My understanding for the assets requirement, assuming the beneficiary is your spouse, is that it's 3 times the difference of how much your salary is short of the poverty level. Not 3 times 125% of the difference. In other words, if you are using assets alone, with no salary, you need 3 times the poverty level for your household size.

Edited September 11, 2010 by magdasal

[magdasal 19]

My understanding for the assets requirement, assuming the beneficiary is your spouse, is that it's 3 times the difference of how much your salary is short of the poverty level. Not 3 times 125% of the difference. In other words, if you are using assets alone, with no salary, you need 3 times the poverty level for your household size.

I guess I'm confused now...the Feds may be using the term 'poverty guidelines' differently that I assumed. Anybody know what it is...when they say 'poverty guidelines' in relation to assets on the I-864 instructions do they mean 100% of the poverty guidelines or 125% of the poverty guidelines?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks for all your response, and wow i didn't hope to have so many information in such a little amount of time ! thanks you so much.

I talked to my "belle-mere" in french, I think in English its called my mother in law and she agreed to co-sponsor us.

but how can i be sure that she qualify? and do I need to file out another form in particular?

she had a job all her life, she works at a grocery store.

thanks again for your answer and for trying to helping us.

Does your mother-in-law live in the United States? Is she a US citizen or legal permanent resident? Assuming she only supports herself, then her income will need to be at least $18212 per year. If she supports anyone else, add $4675 for each additional person she supports.

If she lives in the same home with you and your wife then she can submit an I-864A. If she lives somewhere else then she'll need to submit an I-864. She'll also need to submit proof that she is a US citizen (copy of birth certificate, passport, certificate of naturalization, etc.) or permanent resident (copy of green card).

I guess I'm confused now...the Feds may be using the term 'poverty guidelines' differently that I assumed. Anybody know what it is...when they say 'poverty guidelines' in relation to assets on the I-864 instructions do they mean 100% of the poverty guidelines or 125% of the poverty guidelines?

For most sponsors, the income threshold is 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a sponsor who is in the US military it would be 100% of the federal poverty guidelines. The 125% threshold has nothing to do with whether or not you're using assets to qualify.

For example, 100% of the poverty guidelines for two people is $14570, while 125% of the poverty guidelines for two people is $18212. If there's only two people - the US citizen spouse and the immigrant spouse - then this is the number you've got to meet or exceed. If your income alone is enough, then you're done. If your income is not sufficient, then you need assets worth at least 3X the shortage. If you can't come up with the assets, then you need a co-sponsor who can meet the 125% income threshold for their OWN household size, which includes the immigrant. If the co-sponsor needs to use assets to qualify, then the assets must be worth at least 5X the shortage, unless the immigrant just happens to be the minor child of the co-sponsor (highly unlikely).

[magdasal 19]

Does your mother-in-law live in the United States? Is she a US citizen or legal permanent resident? Assuming she only supports herself, then her income will need to be at least $18212 per year. If she supports anyone else, add $4675 for each additional person she supports.

If she lives in the same home with you and your wife then she can submit an I-864A. If she lives somewhere else then she'll need to submit an I-864. She'll also need to submit proof that she is a US citizen (copy of birth certificate, passport, certificate of naturalization, etc.) or permanent resident (copy of green card).

For most sponsors, the income threshold is 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a sponsor who is in the US military it would be 100% of the federal poverty guidelines. The 125% threshold has nothing to do with whether or not you're using assets to qualify.

For example, 100% of the poverty guidelines for two people is $14570, while 125% of the poverty guidelines for two people is $18212. If there's only two people - the US citizen spouse and the immigrant spouse - then this is the number you've got to meet or exceed. If your income alone is enough, then you're done. If your income is not sufficient, then you need assets worth at least 3X the shortage. If you can't come up with the assets, then you need a co-sponsor who can meet the 125% income threshold for their OWN household size, which includes the immigrant. If the co-sponsor needs to use assets to qualify, then the assets must be worth at least 5X the shortage, unless the immigrant just happens to be the minor child of the co-sponsor (highly unlikely).

Thanks for clarifying...I don't know how I missed the 125% thing on the poverty guidelines. I've just started a self-employed contract after a long period of unemployment. I was planning on using assets alone to cover the I-864 because the income evidence would be flimsy for so short a period of time and I thought I was going to be well over the 3 X Poverty Guidelines in pure assets (really, it's all savings)...now I understand it's actually 3 X 125% of the Poverty Guidelines. It's going to be a close call. Darn.

BTW, I'll close now...sorry for hijacking the thread.

Edited September 12, 2010 by magdasal

[payxibka 10,047]

This does not belong in the K-1 Fiancee visa thread... moving to AOS forum