Borrowing Money for Affidavit of Support

[san diego 407]

I have never seen anything cited that requires assets to have been in an account for any amount of time. Could you please cite your source?

There is no specific law. There is "reasonable assessment".

1) USCIS states that you may "SUPPLEMENT" your income with assets. Not use them INSTEAD

2) USCIS clearly leaves this assessment up to the CO. Look at the USCIS site, affidavit of support instructions

3) This is your responsibility to provide sufficient evidence. There are no guidelines.

All and all CO are EXTREMELY smart people. The been there done that and saw tons of all sorts of fraud and misrepresentation. This is clearly a fraud as this person is trying to misrepresent his assets by temporarily borrowing money. What will happen is:

1) They will outright say that this amount is insufficient since it can be only supplement, not substitution

2) They will ask for 12 months worth of statements in 221g. He will show that this sum appeared only on the last statement.

3) They will either deny application or even worse will put lifetime ban on this person for fraud.

None of these options are attractive, so I would not do this. This is that simple.

The only clear guidelines they have is on documented income. The rest is up to them. This person would be much better off with co-sponsor.

Edited May 27, 2011 by san diego

[san diego 407]

I would like to add from my own experience: COs are extremely well-educated and smart people. The test for foreign service is extremely hard and even smartest people do not pass it. I know this for a fact. In addition to all that they are also extremely experienced in all kinds of signs, red flags, etc. They spot this immediately and request necessary evidence. The BEST outcome that this person will have is if his visa is outright rejected due to insufficient income. He may also get a fraud allegations, which is the worst case scenario. This will mean lifetime ban for fiancee (since she assisted him in this by bringing money from parents) and red flag for the USC if he ever decides to bin anyone else. Bottomline: listen to the members - get a co-sponsor.

[pushbrk 12,971]

Employment is not a requirement - true enough.

The IO will (trust me) question how a USC Petitioner, who is not working, - nor (I'm assuming here) worked recently - based on biographical data attested to (and living in a foreign country no less), somehow has managed to squirrel away a very large sum of money and p.s., a large sum was recently deposited. They will, they absolutely will.

Huge red flag involving thoughts of USC being paid off (and by the parents of the beneficiary no less). Not advisable. Is a co-sponsor (in the US) not something that is doable? (Wouldn't or shouldn't require cash being borrowed.)

OP - when you say 'paid in case' is it safe to assume that might also mean 'under the table?' Are you filing income tax returns? A little more specific information and perhaps there can be some more specific answers.

Otto has pretty much nailed the answer here. Lots of misinformation in this thread. There is no hard requirement for how long cash needs to be in a bank account. Assets alone certainly CAN be used to satisfy the public charge concern but the CO needs to be satisfied it is reasonable to conclude the immigrant will not become a public charge. In making this decision, they are trained and expected to consider the totality of circumstances. Otto has mentioned some of those considerations above. A US resident or citizen as a qualified co-sponsor is a far more reliable solution than a quick deposit of cash. Recent deposits of large sums of cash are red flags, not solutions to sponsorship issues.

[Que Saudade 284]

OK granted all of the above, but what about the requirement that you be a Lawful Permanent Resident. The immigration laws states this.

Domicile is defined as the sponsor's "principal" residence. LPRs residing abroad temporarily are considered domiciled in the U.S. if they meet the requirements of INA sections 316(b) and 317 and file Form N-470 to preserve their residence. U.S. citizens residing abroad temporarily are considered domiciled in the U.S. if their employment abroad meets the requirements of INA section 319(b)(1). Sponsors who are domiciled abroad may nevertheless submit an affidavit of support if they convince the USCIS or consular official that they will reestablish domicile in the U.S. on or before the date the intending immigrant obtains LPR status. Sponsors who are U.S. citizens and who are accompanying the intending immigrant to the port of entry will be deemed to have established domicile in the U.S.; sponsors who are LPRs will similarly be deemed, unless the LPR is denied admission to the country.

If you are working abroad, did you preserve your residence??

Has any of this been taken into consideration?? Or does this not apply?

[pushbrk 12,971]

OK granted all of the above, but what about the requirement that you be a Lawful Permanent Resident. The immigration laws states this.

Domicile is defined as the sponsor's "principal" residence. LPRs residing abroad temporarily are considered domiciled in the U.S. if they meet the requirements of INA sections 316(b) and 317 and file Form N-470 to preserve their residence. U.S. citizens residing abroad temporarily are considered domiciled in the U.S. if their employment abroad meets the requirements of INA section 319(b)(1). Sponsors who are domiciled abroad may nevertheless submit an affidavit of support if they convince the USCIS or consular official that they will reestablish domicile in the U.S. on or before the date the intending immigrant obtains LPR status. Sponsors who are U.S. citizens and who are accompanying the intending immigrant to the port of entry will be deemed to have established domicile in the U.S.; sponsors who are LPRs will similarly be deemed, unless the LPR is denied admission to the country.

If you are working abroad, did you preserve your residence??

Has any of this been taken into consideration?? Or does this not apply?

It doesn't apply because the petitioner is a US Citizen, not just a permanent resident. However, the US Citizen petitioning for a fiance or spouse needs to show domicile in the USA. That's as easy as having an agreed upon temporary residence with a friend or family member upon returning to the USA.

[Gosia & Tito 199]

Wrong answer --First you have to have a job --u have to show a letter from your employer stating date of employment , yrs on the job , position, annual salary etc . Secondly --U do have to file and submit yr last 3 yrs of Income tax (to support yr Affadavit of Support)

Thirdly --What assets are you referring to ?? They look at yr bank deposits over a period of time , and any large deposit just before the statement is obtained will be scrutinized .

If you ''think ''that all the responses after yours are incorrect --then get ''Ready to do it '' and see what happens .

Correct on the bank. Banks do have a form for this and unless it is a small bank, not something you simply get at a branch. The form actaully includes the average balance for 60-90 days and can even go for 120-180 days. It does note when the account was open. Now, as I nuderstood, is the general picture what matters: can you support your spouse on a continous basis?

Othre assets such as pension plans, 401k, borkerage accounts, property rentals, etc can count. Tax returns are a must in this case seem like.

[Tamila 0]

Hello. I Have to submit I-134 Affidavit of Support for my fiance but I don't have enough income to be a sponsor. Can my mother be a sponsor for my fiance?

[san diego 407]

Hello. I Have to submit I-134 Affidavit of Support for my fiance but I don't have enough income to be a sponsor. Can my mother be a sponsor for my fiance?

Start a separate post. You are hijacking other person's post... This is rude!

Edited May 27, 2011 by san diego

[Moomin 292]

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:wvKHm4vrgiAJ:photos.state.gov/libraries/macedonia/8573/archivePDFDec2010/iv-OF167.pdf+Applicant's+Own+Funds&hl=da&gl=dk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgnff-T8YxOEFah6kxvhB7ZKZo71UXl0DiOJeh00mOtvASAScCEUWvLXg0rDemcUarnD0c698vXDirUzhb1y1chUQp25EZfhojVmOOEGRjViEWE7OD77wqDSlMMJd3pJQbuMZD-&sig=AHIEtbTMJ1K6GyBAa3fbTkmhWy-6BiFmAw

Judging from that you don't _have_ to use income. But (with a capital B!) you will have to present balance/deposits and withdrawels for the past 12 months ("applicant's own funds").

It still doesn't guarantee anything. They look at the likelyhood of you and/or your spouse/fiance(e)becoming a public charge, and a current or future permanent income too, which is probably why unemployment benefits are counted as income but it still doesn't mean it's accepted.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Hello. I Have to submit I-134 Affidavit of Support for my fiance but I don't have enough income to be a sponsor. Can my mother be a sponsor for my fiance?

Yes you can do that.