Updates – Sound Immigration

No, Uniting for Ukraine sponsors cannot be sued under the I-134 Affidavit of Support

Under the recently-announced Uniting for Ukraine program, U.S.-based individuals and businesses can sponsor Ukrainian refugees by filing a USCIS Form I-134, Affidavit of Support. (Yes, I know they are technically not refugees under U.S. or international law for this program,…

COVID-19 Travel Ban – What you need to know

April 21, 2020
Greg McLawsen
Updates
0 Comments

Late in the evening of April 20, 2020, President Trump announced by Tweet that he would be stopping all immigration to the U.S. due to the COVID-19 crisis. Two days later an executive order or "proclamation" was signed. I'll be…

Does the Covid stimulus check or unemployment insurance create a public charge issue?

As we head together into this time of global crisis, the technicalities of U.S. immigration law may not be the first thing on your mind. But judging from some emails I've been getting, many of you are looking ahead to…

What are public charge bonds?

August 13, 2019
Greg McLawsen
Updates
0 Comments

The Trump administration recently announced changes to "public charge" inadmissibility. One of the major changes in U.S. immigration law is that some immigrants will not be required to post financial bonds as a pre-condition to getting green cards. Here's what…

DHS Public Charge Rule – Analysis of Final Rule

August 12, 2019
Greg McLawsen
Updates
2 Comments

Today the Department of Homeland Security announced the publication of its new rule on Public Charge inadmissibility. The initial notice of rulemaking was issued in October 2018. See this post for an in-depth analysis of the rule as originally proposed…

USCIS to roll back self-scheduled “InfoPass” appointments

USCIS Announced today that it will end the availability of self scheduled appointments at its field offices. The InfoPass System currently being used for people to sell schedule an appointment in order to check on case status, ask questions about…

USCIS updates policy on medical exams (Form I-639)

October 18, 2018
Greg McLawsen
Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration, Updates
3 Comments

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that it is changing its rules on the validity period for medical exams. The new guidelines take effect almost immediately on November 1, 2018. The announcement changes how long a medical exam - completed…

USCIS proposes new public charge rules: changes impact public benefits and the Form I-864 for adjustment applicants

A version of this article will appear in Bender's Immigration Bulletin and is republished here with permission. Video from live webinar on public charge rules. USCIS proposes new public charge rules: the Form I-864 will become table stakes as scrutiny…

Will the immigration officer know what I said to CBP – or – the case of the sandwich smuggler

I have a confession. Long before I was an immigration lawyer, before I was a judicial law clerk, before I had a law license... I was a smuggler. A smuggler of the worst type - a sandwich smuggler. But, before…

I am waiting for my adjustment of status to be approved but my temporary EAD is expiring – what should I do?

A lot of our clients are finding themselves in a frustrating situation. They filed an adjustment of status application (Form I-485) and were issued a 12-month temporary work authorization (EAD). So far, so good, except that the EAD is about…

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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