The Department of State announced yesterday that original ink signatures are no longer required on I-864 series forms. Instead, applicants may provide photocopies of the the form, rather than the original. This new policy will make it easier for applicants…
This post contains video of our August 31, 2016 webinar - Advanced I-864 Issues. Written material for the webinar is available here. The first video below was recorded at the live webinar and covers enforcement of the I-864 via litigation,…
Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided an important case regarding enforcement of the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Erler v. Erler (3:12-cv-02793-CRB) gives the clearest rule of any circuit court to date on how to calculate household size…
There are two main ways to file a report of marriage immigration fraud: Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE is the enforcement arm of the immigration agencies - think of them as the immigration…
Tax season makes filing out the I-864 even more complicated. Here's a common situation that we see often. It's February or March. You haven't yet filed last year's income taxes. But you also got a bit of a raise, so…
All marriage-based immigration visas require a promise by the U.S. citizen petitioner to financially support the foreign spouse. The Form I-864 Affidavit of Support is a binding contract between the petitioner and the U.S. government. Financial support under the I-864…
You will be required to provide the following documents with your Form I-864. It is acceptable to send photocopies, rather than originals of these documents. Proof of U.S. Citizenship or Residency. You must submit one of the following based on…
You need to complete this section of the form only if your reported income in Part 6 was less than 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size. Here are those Guidelines for 2015 (they are adjusted each…
Part 6 is an extremely important section of the Form I-864. Most problems we observe with the Form I-864 come from incorrect answers on this section. Household versus individual income. This section asks you to report both your individual income…
The I-864 is a binding legal contract between you and the United States government. Too often, people sign the Form I-864 without understanding the serious consequences of doing so. This post offers a detailed explanation of the legal ramifications of…