I-864 options when household member will file I-8641

[martha783 12]

I promise I really did search for this one but came up empty.

 

I'm the sponsor for my husband, my father is the household member who will file I-864a so we can meet income requirement.

Since we share a household , what option do I select on question one on the I-864? 

 

 

1. a.  I am the petitioner. I filed or am filing for the immigration of my relative.

2. 1.b.  I filed an alien worker petition on behalf of the intending immigrant, who is related to me as my

3. 1.c.  I have an ownership interest of at least 5 percent in which filed an alien worker petition on behalf of the

   intending immigrant, who is related to me as my

4. 1.d.  I am the only joint sponsor.

5. 1.e.  I am the first second of two joint sponsor

 

He is a household member but do I select it like we are joint sponsors. I am the only joint sponsor (how can it be joint and there be one?) or option a?

 

Thanks a million in advance!

[JooMoo 1]

So you are the petitioner, right? If so I think you would check the 1.a. box on your I-864. When your father fills out his I -864 I think he would check "the only joint sponsor" (4.1.d). 

 

At least that is how my dad (sponsor) and I (petitioner) did it. We haven't submitted it yet so I'm not 100% sure.  But at least after a bunch of reading of the instruction forms that's what we chose.

 

Hope that can help!

[martha783 12]

I am the petitioner, yes. So that reasoning makes sense. It just sounded like a would be for when you have no one else sponsoring at all but I guess I misunderstood.

[aaron2020 11,651]

On your I-864, you pick 1a since you are the petitioner.

 

On your father's I-864a, he is your household member.  You've have indicated that you wanted him to be counted as your household member and not as a Joint Sponsor.

(Your father would only pick 1d if he was to file an I-864 as a Joint Sponsor.  This is not what you stated you want to do.)

[aaron2020 11,651]

2 hours ago, JooMoo said:

So you are the petitioner, right? If so I think you would check the 1.a. box on your I-864. When your father fills out his I -864 I think he would check "the only joint sponsor" (4.1.d). 

 

At least that is how my dad (sponsor) and I (petitioner) did it. We haven't submitted it yet so I'm not 100% sure.  But at least after a bunch of reading of the instruction forms that's what we chose.

 

Hope that can help!

You are making a different choice from Martha783. 

She wants her father as a Household Member, so he files an I-864a.  This allows her to combine her income with her father's income to sponsor her husband.

By having your father file his own I-864 and making the 1d choice to be a Joint Sponsor, you are relying solely on his income to sponsor your spouse.  You would not be combining your income with your father's income.  

[martha783 12]

Okay, thanks, so basically my I-864 only "mentions" my father in counting him in the household list and then we filed his I-864a.

 

Can I tack on another question, please? I only list my father on the I-864 Part 5 Sponsor's Household Size? He files taxes as married filing jointly but my mother has no income. They have one dependent daughter in the home as well. Should I count all 3 of them even though only one is the income provider or just 1?

[pushbrk 13,166]

You might not have enough income and want to combine with your father.  However, if your father's income is clearly sufficient without combining with you, then he should be the joint sponsor, not YOUR household member.  You do not need to be counted as part of your father's household but if he has a wife and unmarried child under 21, his household is 4, counting the intending immigrant.  

 

Living in the same house with a qualifying relative opens the option of combining income but combining income should not be done if the willing household member has enough income to qualify on their own.  If Dad's income is enough, he should do his own I-864 and his wife an I-864a, even if she has no income.

 

Please clarify whether your father qualifies without combining income with YOU.

 

[martha783 12]

Woah, I think I must be missing something major here then. I thought since i was the petitioner and his wife and mother of his kids, I needed to be the primary sponsor. My dad's income is definitely enough for the requirement if the household is just him, mom, daughter, and my husband (beneficiary). If you add myself and our 4 children, we might need to combine. There's a rule against combining income if not necessary?

[pushbrk 13,166]

4 minutes ago, martha783 said:

Woah, I think I must be missing something major here then. I thought since i was the petitioner and his wife and mother of his kids, I needed to be the primary sponsor. My dad's income is definitely enough for the requirement if the household is just him, mom, daughter, and my husband (beneficiary). If you add myself and our 4 children, we might need to combine. There's a rule against combining income if not necessary?

Essentially, yes.  It's not a rule against, just one procedure is proper and the other is not.  See the anonymous quote in my signature.

 

Note that you are still the primary sponsor and will provide your own I-864 as petitioner.

Edited August 18, 2020 by pushbrk

[martha783 12]

Let's see if I've got this now.  

 

Even though we share an address, we should be joint sponsors, each with our own I-864? Mine being vastly insufficient and his being more than sufficient? 

 

And then I select 1a petitioner and he selects 1d only joint sponsor, And we both include my husband as counted in the household as:

Persons you are sponsoring in this affidavit.

 

Is that right?

 

Thanks so much for the help. In my case, I can't see a difference between joint and household member but I want to do it however it's supposed to be done!

[pushbrk 13,166]

25 minutes ago, martha783 said:

Let's see if I've got this now.  

 

Even though we share an address, we should be joint sponsors, each with our own I-864? Mine being vastly insufficient and his being more than sufficient? 

 

And then I select 1a petitioner and he selects 1d only joint sponsor, And we both include my husband as counted in the household as:

Persons you are sponsoring in this affidavit.

 

Is that right?

 

Thanks so much for the help. In my case, I can't see a difference between joint and household member but I want to do it however it's supposed to be done!

You are not both joint sponsors.  You are the petitioner.  Dad is the only Joint Sponsor.

 

The difference is in one case income is combined and in another it is not.  Also, the contract of the joint sponsor is stronger than that of a household member, and provides for your joint sponsor's spouse to also sign as his household member.  This is not just a document to show sufficient income.  It is primarily a set of contracts to repay the government,  (the taxpayers) if your spouse collects any means tested benefits in the future.

[martha783 12]

I see. 
 

And it’s necessary for his also file the 864a even though she has no income just because she’s an adult in the household?

[Ryan H 3,834]

~~~Hijack post removed~~~

[pushbrk 13,166]

8 hours ago, martha783 said:

I see. 
 

And it’s necessary for his also file the 864a even though she has no income just because she’s an adult in the household?

Because they file a joint tax return.  The contract is a joint obligation.  You keep forgetting the contract part.

[JooMoo 1]

12 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Because they file a joint tax return.  The contract is a joint obligation.  You keep forgetting the contract part.

Well, I read in the instructions explicitly: "Form I-864A may only be used when a sponsor’s income and assets do not meet the income requirements of Form I-864 and the qualifying household member chooses to combine his or her resources with the income and/or assets of a sponsor to meet the requirements."

 

The sponsor's income is sufficient. Therefore it's not needed for my mom to add to his (she has no assets anyways).