yonghyun

Hello all,

My wife is a GC-holder and we are attempting to apply for myself as well. She will file the I-864 affidavit of support as my sponsor. We are thinking of using our savings account in which we are joint owners of which I am the primary owner and my wife is the secondary owner. Do you foresee any problems? I wasn't sure if it will be ok since both our names are on the account rather than just hers.

Thanks in advance for your kind help.

Sincerely,
John

Noorah101

Hi John,

As long as your wife's name is on it, and the total meets 5x the 125% minimum poverty guideline, I think it would be OK to use it as an asset.

Best Wishes
Rene

jeffreyhy

Rene,

Why does the amount in the bank account need to be "5x the 125% minimum poverty guideline" in order to be useful as an asset for the I-864? Perhaps I misunderstand what you mean by "the total"? (The total of what?)

It would be interesting to have some more context for John's question, but oh well.

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

Hi JEff,

I was assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that the savings was the only thing they are showing on the I-864. Doesn't the total (in the bank account) have to be 5x the 125% of the minimum poverty level for their family size? I thought when one is using assets, it should be 5x the required amount. I'm probably saying it all wrong....help me.

Rene

jeffreyhy

Rene,

As I said, it would have been nice if John had provided some more context to his question. I wonder how they're feeding, housing and clothing themselves, unless they are living off that bank account. And if they are not living off the bank account, why they wouldn't be showing their other financial resources.

Regards, JEff

Rete

Isn't it the I-864 that asks for all your assets as well as your employment earnings? I remember when we completed the I-134 it was one or the other but the I-864 was list everything regardless whether your salary is sufficient. Of course if your salary is sufficient the money/assets do not have to be 5x the 125% of the poverty guidelines but still have to be listed.

jeffreyhy

Rete,

My understanding is that one only has to reveal and document the financial resources they want to be considered for meeting the sponsorship requirement.

I did not show anything but my income from employment on my I-864. In part 4.E I wrote "Assets not being used". As people like to say, 'I didn't have any problems'.

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

Ditto. I used income to meet the qualifications, and did not list assets on the I-864.

Rene

Rete

Back in the dark ages, it was advised that we only show income on the I-134 if it meets the requirements and show all monies/assets on the I-864 as the I-134 is an either/or document and the I-864 is an all document. Just replying as to what I did back in 1998.

jeffreyhy

Rete,

I've always thought of both as 'either/or', or to be more precise as income plus whatever assets might be needed to feel comfortable. But, I started getting involved around 2000 (if I remember correctly).

The I-864 was new in 1998, came out in late 1997? So maybe there was a period of getting used to the new beast and consolidating different thoughts on what to do with it, similar to what we saw with the K3 visa more recently?

Regards, JEff

yonghyun

Wow, thank you all of you so much for your quick responses....I am amazed and thankful for all of your interest and eagerness to help!

Please let me know if I am mistaken in the following:
The way I understood the instructions given in the I-864 was to first list the sponsor's employment information (household income) in section A. If this is >125% poverty limit for the sponsor's household size determined in section B, then there is no need to list sponsor's additional assets in section E. To quote from the form Form I-864 (Rev. 11/05/01)Y Page 3,



"If you [i.e., sponsor] are currently employed and your household income for your household size is equal to or greater than the applicable poverty line requirement (from line D.3.), you do not need to list assets (Parts 4.E. and 5) or have a joint sponsor (Part 6) unless you are requested to do so by a Consular or Immigration Officer. You may skip to Part 7, Use of the Affidavit of Support to Overcome Public Charge Ground of Admissibility. Otherwise, you should continue with Part 4.E."



In our situation, my wife is only working part-time so her employment alone was not sufficient to meet the 125% poverty limit. (I am receiving a stipend from my graduate school but couldn't count that as our household income since I am the one being sponsored). So it seemed necessary to include the additional assets as instructed in Part 4.E.

And for the amount to include from our savings account (well, we're just showing our entire current balance), I understood the instruction to say that the sponsor needs to have five times the __difference__ between the household income and the 125% poverty limit. To quote from Form I-864 Instructions (Rev. 11/05/01)Y Page 2:



"Evidence of Assets
If you want to use your assets, the assets of your household members or dependents, and/or the assets of the immigrant you are sponsoring to meet the minimum income requirement, YOU MUST PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF ASSETS WITH A CASH VALUE THAT EQUALS AT LEAST FIVE TIMES THE __DIFFERENCE__ BETWEEN YOUR TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND THE MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENT. For the assets of a household member, other than the immigrant(s) you are sponsoring, to be considered, the household member must complete and sign Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member." (emphasis added)



That is why I thought it was necessary to include the assets from our savings account. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how I am understanding the instructions.....wouldn't want to make a mistake in such important documents like these!

Thank you very much!

John

yonghyun

Anyone? Please help! Getting desperate for your answer/thoughts.....

- John

meauxna

I think you misunderstand using YOUR income.
My immigrant husband lived with me for +6 months (that's the rule) and his income was included with mine on the houhold income line. His assets were also used.
We had some assets in my name only, some in his name only, and some in both names. All are acceptable.

From the I-864:
Sponsor's Income Requirement
<snip>
If you are currently employed and have an individual income
which meets or exceeds 125 percent of the Federal poverty line
or (100 percent, if applicable) for your household size, you do
not need to list the income of any other person. When
determining your income, you may include the income generated
by individuals related to you by birth, marriage, or adoption who are living in your residence, if they have lived in
your residence for the previous 6 months, or who are listed as
dependents on your most recent Federal income tax return
whether or not they live in your residence. For their income to
be considered, these household members or dependents must be
willing to make their income available for the support of the
sponsored immigrant(s) if necessary, and to complete and sign
Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household
Member. However, a household member who is the immigrant
you are sponsoring only need complete Form I-864A if his or her
income will be used to determine your ability to support a
spouse and/or children immigrating with him or her.

yonghyun

Thanks so much meauxna!

That makes it much easier....I guess all I needed was to use I-864A!

Thanks!

John