K1 cosponsor and affidavit of support question

[guyfromky 1]

As I mentioned in my other thread, it's been difficult finding a cosponsor. But I have a relative who at first said he was happy to be cosponsor, until I explained some of the requirements, then he got somewhat hesitant. He was hesitant because he mentioned how some people will try to marry an American citizen for citizenship and/or money etc. He says he trusts my fiancee but is still sort of concerned about legally binding himself financially to someone who, to be fair, be hasn't ever met in person.

 

My fiancee on the other hand, is someone I fully trust and would never take advantage of or abuse a cosponsor. I would have gotten my dad to be cosponsor but he's self-employed and his income can greatly vary from year to year and after all of the deductions he takes, he falls below the income requirement. Even though we currently get by just fine on his income. Being unemployed at the moment I live with him but not for long. Once I have my next job I intend to quickly get my own place so me and my fiancee can have our own place.

My question is, if by some horrible worst-case scenario my fiancee turned out to be a scammer, would the cosponsor really have anything to fear? Because if the marriage turned out to be fraudulent (through no fault of mine) she'd simply be deported anyway right?

Another question I have is, if my fiancee did try to apply for some kind of means-tested benefits, if she has a cosponsor who makes very good money, what are the chances she'd even be approved for the benefits at all?

My last question is, if I get someone to agree to be cosponsor, they sign the I-134, then before the adjustment of status time arrives, I manage to get a good enough job to not even need a cosponsor, at that point would I be able to just drop the cosponsor and do the I-864 myself? Or would that look strange to the consulate/embassy?

[bakphx1 789]

You do kind of sign up for a lot as a cosponsor.  Ideally if it doesn't work out or some worst case scenario she would leave.  But... there are plenty of posts from divorced or separated spouses with their beneficiary fighting hard to stay.  Nothing is guaranteed, especially after conditions are removed. They can stay around. 

 

Interesting question to later modify the sponsorship.  I will defer to someone with knowledge on this. 

 

 

[geowrian 22,338]

Well, they aren't wrong to be concerned about it. But first thing first...the I-134 is not legally enforceable. The I-864 (for AOS later) is the one that can be enforced.

 

4 minutes ago, guyfromky said:

My question is, if by some horrible worst-case scenario my fiancee turned out to be a scammer, would the cosponsor really have anything to fear? Because if the marriage turned out to be fraudulent (through no fault of mine) she'd simply be deported anyway right?

Fear? Well, that's subjective. But they would still be on the line for the I-864 until they obtain citizenship, lose LPR status and leave, die, or earn 40 quarters of work. A scammer would hopefully be caught and eventually deported, but 1) that can years to actual happen when fighting in the courts, and 2) they need to actual determine that she was a scammer, which is far from guaranteed (see many threads here with people claiming their spouse was a scammer).

 

7 minutes ago, guyfromky said:

Another question I have is, if my fiancee did try to apply for some kind of means-tested benefits, if she has a cosponsor who makes very good money, what are the chances she'd even be approved for the benefits at all?

Even if not approved, the I-864 is a contract of support. In some cases, she can sue any sponsor (joint or primary) to obtain funds at the 125% poverty level. This is not easy, but is something to be aware of. It does not only include repaying means-tested benefits they receive.

 

As for how hard it is to get those benefits (without lying), I'm not sure so I'll defer there.

 

10 minutes ago, guyfromky said:

My last question is, if I get someone to agree to be cosponsor, they sign the I-134, then before the adjustment of status time arrives, I manage to get a good enough job to not even need a cosponsor, at that point would I be able to just drop the cosponsor and do the I-864 myself? Or would that look strange to the consulate/embassy?

That's perfectly fine. As stated above, the I-134 is not legally enforceable anyway. No need to "drop" somebody....they just wouldn't submit an I-864 when the AOS time comes around. This isn't an issue at all (plus it's USCIS at that point, not the consulate/embassy).

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

23 minutes ago, guyfromky said:

My question is, if by some horrible worst-case scenario my fiancee turned out to be a scammer, would the cosponsor really have anything to fear? Because if the marriage turned out to be fraudulent (through no fault of mine) she'd simply be deported anyway right?
 

Good luck proving fraud to USCIS.  In all likelihood, no matter what happens, she'll be staying in the US, with or without you.  Count on the terms of support of the I-864 as a guaranteed obligation on your part and the co-sponsor.

 

Quote

Another question I have is, if my fiancee did try to apply for some kind of means-tested benefits, if she has a cosponsor who makes very good money, what are the chances she'd even be approved for the benefits at all?
 

In this day and age without breaking any laws, the chances are slim that a LPR with less than 5 years residency would be mistakenly approved for means tested benefits.  Doesn't mean it can't happen, but she'd likely be prosecuted for lying or using false documents or something.  You'd still be on the hook for the money.

 

Quote

My last question is, if I get someone to agree to be cosponsor, they sign the I-134, then before the adjustment of status time arrives, I manage to get a good enough job to not even need a cosponsor, at that point would I be able to just drop the cosponsor and do the I-864 myself? Or would that look strange to the consulate/embassy?

 

The I-864 is done stateside.  I don't think this would be an issue as the I-134 is not binding and a totally separate document.  It would be understandable the change, given an income that met the requirements.

[guyfromky 1]

 

1 hour ago, N-o-l-a said:

Good luck proving fraud to USCIS.  In all likelihood, no matter what happens, she'll be staying in the US, with or without you.  Count on the terms of support of the I-864 as a guaranteed obligation on your part and the co-sponsor.

 

In this day and age without breaking any laws, the chances are slim that a LPR with less than 5 years residency would be mistakenly approved for means tested benefits.  Doesn't mean it can't happen, but she'd likely be prosecuted for lying or using false documents or something.  You'd still be on the hook for the money.

 

 

The I-864 is done stateside.  I don't think this would be an issue as the I-134 is not binding and a totally separate document.  It would be understandable the change, given an income that met the requirements.

Since you mentioned my fiancee can't get means-tested public benefits for 5 years anyway, if a beneficiary were to successfully sue then how would be amount of money that the cosponsor must pay be measured? would be 125% amount be be divided by 12 (months) and paid per month or what?