Does the I-134 Affidavit of Support need to be notarized?

[Baby Cookie 6]

Hello Everyone! I am so confused and need your quick advice. My friend who's been through the process said that the I-134 needs to be notarized and my fiance who is getting all the documents ready to mail to me today said it doesn't. He showed the form to his co-worker who is a notary and she said there's no space in the form for her to sign and notarize it. I looked at the form again and yes I am confused. Please advise. Thank you very much!

[Operator 1,927]

The I-134 does not need to be notarized.

[Diana and Chris 25]

Depends on the country. For us there were specific instructions to have it notarized. If they are asking you, you could just go to the bank and have it notarized. That's what Chris did, they didn't charge him. It's best to be sure than be regretting later.

[CarolinaSt 2]

I'm from Argentina and we didn't have to get it notarized. It didn't say anywhere we were supposed to. However, like they said in the previous post, it can be different depending on the country. Do the instructions you got say you need to have it notarized? If so, then do it. If not, there's no need to worry about it.

[Ning 619]

Hello Everyone! I am so confused and need your quick advice. My friend who's been through the process said that the I-134 needs to be notarized and my fiance who is getting all the documents ready to mail to me today said it doesn't. He showed the form to his co-worker who is a notary and she said there's no space in the form for her to sign and notarize it. I looked at the form again and yes I am confused. Please advise. Thank you very much!

A notary verifys signatures & has zero to do with content of documents. There is no need nor requirement to notarize the 134.

[Tahoma 2,291]

You're fiancé is correct. The U.S. Embassy Manila does not require the I-134 to be notarized.

[Bec_Dipu 103]

Even though legally the US government no longer requires a notarization, some embassies still list it in their requirements on their embassy websites and will not accept it if it isn't notarized.

I had my notarization squeezed into the top margin by my notary was also willing to put his stamp on the back. The margins when you print on standard 8.5x11 paper are big enough for the notary to write in and most states do not require a notary seal, just the notary's name and expiration date so your notary could probably just write the information in the margin and not stamp it.

Check your particular embassy's website, if the visa instructions don't say notarized I-134, you shouldn't need it. If it does say notarized I-134, you can always contact VFS or the embassy to see if they really require it but why risk it?

[S_R 148]

Hello Everyone! I am so confused and need your quick advice. My friend who's been through the process said that the I-134 needs to be notarized and my fiance who is getting all the documents ready to mail to me today said it doesn't. He showed the form to his co-worker who is a notary and she said there's no space in the form for her to sign and notarize it. I looked at the form again and yes I am confused. Please advise. Thank you very much!

You must sign Form I-134 in your full name. (Note: Signing Form I-134 is under penalty of perjury under U.S. law). For this reason, it is not necessary to sign Form I-134 before a notary, nor to have your signature notarize after you sign it.

USCIS

[Bec_Dipu 103]

You must sign Form I-134 in your full name. (Note: Signing Form I-134 is under penalty of perjury under U.S. law). For this reason, it is not necessary to sign Form I-134 before a notary, nor to have your signature notarize after you sign it.

USCIS

While this is true, some embassies refuse to accept it without a notarization. For this reason, it's very important to look at your individual embassy's requirements. Reading the requirements for my embassy below, you could rationalize that you could not sign the I-134 and accompany the beneficiary to the interview and sign it in front of the officer but that's a pretty expensive way to avoid just getting it notarized and in the end, it still ends up notarized.

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/ivk1packet4.html

Affidavit Of Support:

Note: Only U.S. consular officers, DHS officers and U.S. notaries are authorized to notarize form I-134.

Each visa applicant needs to satisfy the consular officer that he/she will not become a public charge. The petitioner must provide a notarized affidavit of support (form I-134). If the petitioner’s income is not sufficient, the applicant MUST submit the documents listed below from the petitioner along with the same documents from an additional sponsor willing to assume financial responsibility for the visa applicant.

Form I-134.

Documentary evidence that the petitioner/joint sponsor is a U.S. citizen /U.S.permanent resident (e.g., clear photocopy of birth certificate/certificate of naturalization /U.S. passport/ both sides of green card, as applicable).

A job letter and recent pay stubs.

Petitioner must provide a written statement if he/she is unemployed.

[Enigma11561 336]

LOOK at the form you have received. If there is a place for a notary's stamp, then get one. If there is no place to put a stamp, then you don't need one.

[Bec_Dipu 103]

LOOK at the form you have received. If there is a place for a notary's stamp, then get one. If there is no place to put a stamp, then you don't need one.

LOOK at the form all you want, just because it's not there doesn't mean the embassy won't ask for it and it doesn't mean they won't punish you for not having it despite the fact that this requirement was eliminated years ago.

[jameugiekaxavilon 25]

Mine wasn't notarized.

[bigdog 376]

No notary.

[Gosia & Tito 199]

Hello Everyone! I am so confused and need your quick advice. My friend who's been through the process said that the I-134 needs to be notarized and my fiance who is getting all the documents ready to mail to me today said it doesn't. He showed the form to his co-worker who is a notary and she said there's no space in the form for her to sign and notarize it. I looked at the form again and yes I am confused. Please advise. Thank you very much!

Depends on the Embassy. We were in Warsaw, they want it notarized despite what USCIS instructions say.

Cost nothing to do it and if done ahead of time, no delays. Nothing worst that finding at the interview and petitioner is not there to sign and notarize at the Embassy.

Edited September 1, 2011 by Gosia & Tito

[Enigma11561 336]

Depends on the Embassy. We were in Warsaw, they want it notarized despite what USCIS instructions say.

Cost nothing to do it and if done ahead of time, no delays. Nothing worst that finding at the interview and petitioner is not there to sign and notarize at the Embassy.

Interesting. We were in the Warsaw embassy also but they did not need notarization. Go figure.