Who all needs to fill out an I-864 AOS form?

[B&C2017 123]

Hi all,

 

Since we‘re hoping to get our petition approved soon, we‘re starting to look into what things we need during the NVC process.

 

Since my husband and I both live in Switzerland and he‘s currently studying, we‘ll need to have a joint sponsor which will be his dad. 
 

Now we‘re wondering, who all needs to fill out an I-864? Only my husband (primary sponsor) and his dad (joint sponsor), or also his mother (married to his dad and the two have one household). His dad covers the 125% by himself easily.
 

Also: Will each one of them have to fill out a form for me (the spouse) as well as for my son (stepson)? Or just one form for the two of us?

 

If one per person, I assume we write  1 where it asks „Persons you are sponsoring in this affidavit“? 
And then how are the household members calculated? We thought that for my form, I‘d be the person sponsored, so 1. 

- 1 my husband

- Wife doesn‘t need to be listed again since sponsored (?)

- 1 our daughter (US Citizen) as dependent child

But what is with my stepson? It asks for persons NOT sponsored in the Affidavit. So would he be entered as dependent child as well?

basically we‘re a four people household including the two beneficiaries - me and my son.

 

And how would my father in law calculate?

Only his wife lives in his household, but then my husbands brother is still a dependent child as he‘s in college (he‘s over 21 and lives 4h away though). So I guess he‘d write himself, his wife and one dependent child, right?

Thank you all for the help! 

 

[Ryan H 3,806]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[pushbrk 12,536]

6 hours ago, B&C2017 said:

Hi all,

 

Since we‘re hoping to get our petition approved soon, we‘re starting to look into what things we need during the NVC process.

 

Since my husband and I both live in Switzerland and he‘s currently studying, we‘ll need to have a joint sponsor which will be his dad. 
 

Now we‘re wondering, who all needs to fill out an I-864? Only my husband (primary sponsor) and his dad (joint sponsor), or also his mother (married to his dad and the two have one household). His dad covers the 125% by himself easily.
 

Also: Will each one of them have to fill out a form for me (the spouse) as well as for my son (stepson)? Or just one form for the two of us?

 

If one per person, I assume we write  1 where it asks „Persons you are sponsoring in this affidavit“? 
And then how are the household members calculated? We thought that for my form, I‘d be the person sponsored, so 1. 

- 1 my husband

- Wife doesn‘t need to be listed again since sponsored (?)

- 1 our daughter (US Citizen) as dependent child

But what is with my stepson? It asks for persons NOT sponsored in the Affidavit. So would he be entered as dependent child as well?

basically we‘re a four people household including the two beneficiaries - me and my son.

 

And how would my father in law calculate?

Only his wife lives in his household, but then my husbands brother is still a dependent child as he‘s in college (he‘s over 21 and lives 4h away though). So I guess he‘d write himself, his wife and one dependent child, right?

Thank you all for the help! 

 

Looks like you have the right idea, but there will be separate set of affidavits and supporting financial documents for EACH beneficiary.  Best practice is to provide I-864a from the joint tax filing spouse/Mom.

 

On the stepson's form from the petitioner, you WILL be counted as wife, and son will not be a dependent as he is the sponsored immigrant.  That keeps the household size correct.

 

On the Joint sponsor couple's affidavits, their households will NOT show both you and your son as part of their household.  Do NOT indicate more than one sponsored immigrant on any of the forms.  The Consular Officer knows how to determine the REAL income requirement for the whole "package".

[B&C2017 123]

6 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Looks like you have the right idea, but there will be separate set of affidavits and supporting financial documents for EACH beneficiary.  Best practice is to provide I-864a from the joint tax filing spouse/Mom.

 

On the stepson's form from the petitioner, you WILL be counted as wife, and son will not be a dependent as he is the sponsored immigrant.  That keeps the household size correct.

 

On the Joint sponsor couple's affidavits, their households will NOT show both you and your son as part of their household.  Do NOT indicate more than one sponsored immigrant on any of the forms.  The Consular Officer knows how to determine the REAL income requirement for the whole "package".

Great, thank you so much for the quick response. 

[B&C2017 123]

8 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Best practice is to provide I-864a from the joint tax filing spouse/Mom.

Just one more question:

My father-in-law easily qualifies for the 125% himself. Do we really need the additional paperwork (I-864A) for my husbands mom? What is the benefit of that?

[Just Paul 4,594]

3 minutes ago, B&C2017 said:

Do we really need the additional paperwork (I-864A) for my husbands mom?

Yes - they are married and presumably live together.

3 minutes ago, B&C2017 said:

What is the benefit of that?

For the government - she is on the hook too!

[Bruce Herrington 8]

14 hours ago, B&C2017 said:

 

 

Since we‘re hoping to get our petition approved soon, we‘re starting to look into what things we need during the NVC process.

 

Since my husband and I both live in Switzerland and he‘s currently studying, we‘ll need to have a joint sponsor which will be his dad. 
 

Now we‘re wondering, who all needs to fill out an I-864? Only my husband (primary sponsor) and his dad (joint sponsor), or also his mother (married to his dad and the two have one household). His dad covers the 125% by himself easily.
 

Also: Will each one of them have to fill out a form for me (the spouse) as well as for my son (stepson)? Or just one form for the two of us?

 

If one per person, I assume we write  1 where it asks „Persons you are sponsoring in this affidavit“? 
And then how are the household members calculated? We thought that for my form, I‘d be the person sponsored, so 1. 

- 1 my husband

- Wife doesn‘t need to be listed again since sponsored (?)

- 1 our daughter (US Citizen) as dependent child

But what is with my stepson? It asks for persons NOT sponsored in the Affidavit. So would he be entered as dependent child as well?

basically we‘re a four people household including the two beneficiaries - me and my son.

 

And how would my father in law calculate?

Only his wife lives in his household, but then my husbands brother is still a dependent child as he‘s in college (he‘s over 21 and lives 4h away though). So I guess he‘d write himself, his wife and one dependent child, right?

Thank you all for the help! 

 

First of all it makes a difference wether the plan is to live with your husbands parents, (household menbers fill out I-864a) or in a home of your own. On your husbands I-864 he will show 2 immagrants, 0 for spouse , and 1 for daughter. You only need 1 signed I-864 and 1 photocopy, and only 1 copy of supporting documents if you and your son will interview and travel together entering the US.  If traveling seperatly then 2 signed i-864s with supporting documents will be required. (ref: Bottom of page at fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM060114.html) If your father in law is not a planned house hold member then his household size is 4 also. Grandpa, Grandma, You,  your son.

[Bruce Herrington 8]

12 minutes ago, B&C2017 said:

Just one more question:

My father-in-law easily qualifies for the 125% himself. Do we really need the additional paperwork (I-864A) for my husbands mom? What is the benefit of that?

No I-864a for grandma is required if grandpa qualifies himself. Brother is over 21 so no longer a legal dependant. State law decides ages at 18-21.

[B&C2017 123]

1 hour ago, Bruce Herrington said:

First of all it makes a difference wether the plan is to live with your husbands parents, (household menbers fill out I-864a) or in a home of your own. On your husbands I-864 he will show 2 immagrants, 0 for spouse , and 1 for daughter. You only need 1 signed I-864 and 1 photocopy, and only 1 copy of supporting documents if you and your son will interview and travel together entering the US.  If traveling seperatly then 2 signed i-864s with supporting documents will be required. (ref: Bottom of page at fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM060114.html) If your father in law is not a planned house hold member then his household size is 4 also. Grandpa, Grandma, You,  your son.

Thank you so much for your response! I appreciate that.

Well, this is where it will get complicated 🙂

 

But first of all:

- I thought each I-130 requires a I-864 (but fee only needs to be paid once)?

- I also thought that the forms are supposed to reflect the current state and not the intended state in the future (once we move there)?

 

So basically my USC husband, our USC daughter, his stepson (my son) and I will all be moving to the US at the same time. We will be living with parents until we figure out what neighborhood we want to move to.

 

 

[B&C2017 123]

1 hour ago, Paul & Mary said:

Yes - they are married and presumably live together.

 

Yes, they do.

 

1 hour ago, Paul & Mary said:

For the government - she is on the hook too!

I see, because being financially responsible since married, right?

 

 

[Bruce Herrington 8]

4 hours ago, B&C2017 said:

Thank you so much for your response! I appreciate that.

Well, this is where it will get complicated 🙂

 

But first of all:

- I thought each I-130 requires a I-864 (but fee only needs to be paid once)?

- I also thought that the forms are supposed to reflect the current state and not the intended state in the future (once we move there)?

 

So basically my USC husband, our USC daughter, his stepson (my son) and I will all be moving to the US at the same time. We will be living with parents until we figure out what neighborhood we want to move to.

 

1. The purpose of the I-864 and supporting documents is to prove that the sponsor or co-sponsor is willing and capable for supporting all dependents and inmmigrants once they arrive in the US.  If you read the I-864 as you fill it out and answer the questions truthfully, you will realize the you and your son must be included. The attached picture shows Part 3  # 29 which is what is asked for  In Household size Part 5 #1

2.  Again a I-864 requires ALL immigrants the sponsor intends to sponsor to be shown, so 1 I-864 covers both you and your son.  The Foriegn affairs manual used by NVC and Embassy instructs officers to only require a signed I-864 for the "Principal Applicant" which is you. For 'Accompanying Dependants" traveling with "Principal Applicant" a photo copy is acceptable. (because all immigrants are included) I included a screen shot proving this in the above response.

3. Living in the same house as the Father in law means he fills out i-864A instead of I-864. Part 5 is still the same. The only thing that could change things is if your brother in law was claimed on your father inlaws  current tax return as a dependant.  If the brother was claimed Part 5 #5 would be 1 instead of 0 and the total #8 would be 5.

 

Once your actualy fill out the form and read the instructions for each part, this will all make more sense. It really isn't complicated.

[pushbrk 12,536]

14 hours ago, B&C2017 said:

Just one more question:

My father-in-law easily qualifies for the 125% himself. Do we really need the additional paperwork (I-864A) for my husbands mom? What is the benefit of that?

It's best practice.  The benefit is avoiding the delay in providing it when the Consular Officer asks for it.  They often, or even typically do, when the couple files a joint tax return.  Meeting the income requirement is not a goal line you cross.  The public charge decision is based on totality of circumstances, which includes the likelyhood the sponsor will actually fullfill the obligations.  Married couples share obligation.s.

[pushbrk 12,536]

14 hours ago, Bruce Herrington said:

First of all it makes a difference wether the plan is to live with your husbands parents, (household menbers fill out I-864a) or in a home of your own. On your husbands I-864 he will show 2 immagrants, 0 for spouse , and 1 for daughter. You only need 1 signed I-864 and 1 photocopy, and only 1 copy of supporting documents if you and your son will interview and travel together entering the US.  If traveling seperatly then 2 signed i-864s with supporting documents will be required. (ref: Bottom of page at fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM060114.html) If your father in law is not a planned house hold member then his household size is 4 also. Grandpa, Grandma, You,  your son.

Unfortunately, the above is incorrect.  Please ignore it in its entirety. It indicates one form sponsoring two immigrants.  (One form from petitioner and one form from joint sponsor.  Instead, there must be two forms, each sponsoring ONE immigrant only.  Two forms from each sponsor, PLUS two I-864a forms from the joint sponsor's spouse.

 

For the spouse beneficiary, the son counts as a dependent, not a sponsored immigrant.  For the son's form the spouse is counted as spouse and the stepson is the one and only immigrant.

 

While an I-864a from the joint sponsor's spouse is not technically required by the USCIS I-864 "instructions", it is a Consular Officer who will make the decision, NOT...USCIS...  In real life, Consular Officers typically want to see an I-864 from a joint sponsors, joint tax filing spouse, as it is a joint obligation.  Provide it at the NVC stage, or face a delay while you get it signed and uploaded later. AFTER the interview.

 

ALSO, it does not matter whether the petitioner and immigrants plan to live in the joint sponsor's home at ANY time.  It takes more than a shared residence to be considered members of the household in this context.  ADDITIONALLY, if you follow my instructions, the joint sponsor's forms will show a household of three instead of four.  Or is it four instead of five?  (Is there a dependent son for the joint sponsor to consider?)  As I mentioned before, the Consular officer will know the correct household size and income requirement to apply when making the decision.

 

This is one of the times, the anonymous quote in my signature is relevant.

Edited April 20, 2020 by pushbrk

[pushbrk 12,536]

7 hours ago, Bruce Herrington said:

 

2.  Again a I-864 requires ALL immigrants the sponsor intends to sponsor to be shown, so 1 I-864 covers both you and your son.  The Foriegn affairs manual used by NVC and Embassy instructs officers to only require a signed I-864 for the "Principal Applicant" which is you. For 'Accompanying Dependants" traveling with "Principal Applicant" a photo copy is acceptable. (because all immigrants are included) I included a screen shot proving this in the above response.

 

 

Once your actualy fill out the form and read the instructions for each part, this will all make more sense. It really isn't complicated.

Take a look at page one of the I-864, part 3, item 2, where it indicates the sponsor is not to include relative listed on a separate visa petition.

 

You are providing instructions applicable to cases where one petition can cover more than one immigrant.  This does NOT apply to immediate relative cases.

[pushbrk 12,536]

12 hours ago, B&C2017 said:

Thank you so much for your response! I appreciate that.

Well, this is where it will get complicated 🙂

 

But first of all:

- I thought each I-130 requires a I-864 (but fee only needs to be paid once)?

- I also thought that the forms are supposed to reflect the current state and not the intended state in the future (once we move there)?

 

So basically my USC husband, our USC daughter, his stepson (my son) and I will all be moving to the US at the same time. We will be living with parents until we figure out what neighborhood we want to move to.

 

 

You are correct, B&C... gave instructions that apply to non-immediate relative cases where more than one immigrant can be petitioned on the same petition.  In short, he applied the wrong instructions and ignored an instruction that appears on the face of the affidavit itself.  Where you are going to live, has no impact on household size for affidavits of support.  Yes, you pay only one AOS fee, no matter how many family members are immigrating together.