How-To Guides – Sound Immigration

Get a free copy of your immigration file with our new (free) FOIA generator

We've created a new (free) tool that allows you to request an official copy of your USCIS immigration file. Just fill out this short online questionnaire and our website will email you a customized FOIA request, ready to file. You'll…

Step 3 – Adjustment of Status

Quick points: You need to get married and file your adjustment of status paperwork within 90 days of your fiancee’s arrival. Legal documents to be drafted: Form I-485, Form I-864, Form I-131, Form I-765. Expect between 4 months and two…

Step 2 – The consulate

Once your I-129F petition is approved by USCIS your case is heading off to the Department of State (DOS) and to U.S. consulate in your fiancee’s home country. In this section I’ll give a high-level overview of what this looks…

Other grounds of inadmissibility

The grounds of inadmissibility discussed in the previous sections account for the majority of problems that immigration lawyers encounter. But you definitely should not ignore the less common grounds of admissibility, which are listed here. Review the list and determine…

Fraud and material misrepresentation

INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i), 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(6)(C)(i) One of the top priorities for all immigration agencies is identifying people who are intentionally abusing the US immigration system. Issues of fraud are taken as seriously as any other criminal matter. An individual is…

How to use this resource

It’s not going to be much fun to sit down and read through this entire resource and I don’t recommend you do so. Not surprisingly, I’ve presented the sections in the order that they’ll be most useful to you. Presumably,…

How is this resource different?

There are a plenty of guides to the marriage and fiancee immigration process. Why would we decide to write another one, and why should you read it? 1. Written by a practicing immigration lawyer. I run an immigration law firm…

Illegal entry to the U.S. after unlawful presence or deportation

INA §§212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) & (II), 8 U.S.C. §§1182(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) & (II) This ground of inadmissibility is a bit complicated to understand, and often trips up immigration attorneys. There are basically two aspects to this rule. First, the person must have been unlawfully…

3- and 10-year bars for unlawful presence

INA §212(a)(9)(B), 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(9)(B) Immigration law imposes harsh consequences on people who have stayed in the United States without legal immigration status. If someone has been out of status for six months in the United States, then departs, she…

Polygamy (multiple spouses) ground of inadmissibility

INA §212(a)(10)(A), 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(10)(A) Polygamy occurs when an individual is simultaneously married to more than one person. U.S. immigration last has prohibited polygamy almost from the first days of the republic. Now, you might say that your fiancée or…

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What goes into an I-864 Affidavit of Support lawsuit complaint?
I’ve been representing clients in lawsuits to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support for about a decade at this point. Over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to the template that we use for federal lawsuit complaints. (A complaint is the initial case document that sets forth the plaintiff’s legal claim…
What is a joint sponsor’s liability under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
A joint sponsor (also called co-sponsor) has the same liability under an Affidavit of Support as the primary sponsor. By signing the USCIS Form I-864, the joint sponsor agrees to “joint and several” liability on the contract. The sponsored immigrant can sue the joint sponsor for financial support in state or federal court. A joint…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support in a divorce case?
Yes – in most states the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support can be enforced in a divorce case. A family law court has the authority to enforce the I-864 either (1) as a breach of contract claim or (2) through spousal maintenance (also called alimony). But as discussed below, divorce court is not necessarily…
USCIS Form I-864 enforcement in divorce court – another cautionary tale (Marriage of Bychina)
It is a theme that I have written about many times on this blog and elsewhere. Yes, the Affidavit of Support can theoretically be enforced in family law proceedings. But in practice, beneficiaries frequently encounter problems in that forum. Here is another example. Marriage of Bychina was a family law case in Illinois. See No.…
How do you calculate damages under the I-864, Affidavit of Support
In an important ruling for one of our I-864 enforcement clients, a Court ruled today that damages under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are determined based on taxable income. In Flores v. Flores, the Western District of Washington ruled that the term “income” is governed by the definition contained at 8 C.F.R. §…
How do you settle a claim under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
As I explain elsewhere on this blog, almost all claims under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support result in settlement. To get an idea of how long that process takes, read this post. Having settled many of these claims, here is an overview of how we generally approach settlement. What goes into an Affidavit…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support with a preliminary injunction?
Non-citizens needing to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are usually in serious need of help. To have a claim under the Affidavit, their income needs to be below 125 percent of the poverty line. That’s about $1,400 per month for a household of one. But a lawsuit can take months or even…
What affirmative defenses are available to Form I-864 sponsors? None.
The Eleventh Circuit has held that the common law defenses of unclean hands, anticipatory breach, and equitable estoppel are unavailable to a sponsor who has signed a USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Blevich v. Thomas, 17 F.4th 1048 (11th Cir. 2021). Belevich joins a growing line of cases that stand for the proposition that…
The federal right to immigration “alimony” under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support
A version of this article first appeared in the Side Bar journal for the Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association (Spring 2021). If you are like most federal litigators – this author included – you would never enter divorce court unless your name was on the case caption. The vitriol, the sabotage, the meanness.…
How long does the I-864 support last?
A sponsor's obligation under the Form I-864 lasts indefinitely. It terminates only upon one of five Terminating Events, including when the green card holder has 40 quarters of work or becomes a U.S. citizen. It *does not* terminate automatically after ten years, even though lawyers mistakenly