I-864 Affidavit of Support: Overview and Best Documents to Evidence Income or Assets

Posted July 31, 2013

U.S. citizen petitioners who sponsor an applicant for Adjustment of Status, a K-1 “fiance” visa or an immigrant visa must submit a USCIS form called an ‘Affidavit of Support’ (form I-864) before the adjustment can be finalized at the local USCIS district office or, in the case of a K-1 or immigrant visa application, at the U.S. consulate abroad.  The purpose of the Affidavit of Support under INA §213(A) is to provide the U.S. government reliable evidence that the adjustment or immigrant visa applicant will not seek public-charge benefits (e.g., Medicare, AFDC, Supplemental Security Income) during (generally) the first 10 years of the applicant’s presence in the United States or until they naturalize to U.S. citizenship.

The qualifying amount of income is 125% of the Department of Health and Human Services’ most recent federal poverty guidelines for the sponsor’s household size (100% for active duty military).  you can find 2015 poverty guidelines here. 

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Legal Requirements for Issuance of a B-1/B-2 Visitor Visa

Posted February 19, 2013

Under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), “every alien. . . shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a non-immigrant visa, and the immigration officers, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to non-immigrant status under section 101(a)(15).”

How does one demonstrate non-immigrant intent?

The State Department has specified five general requirements for issuance of a B visa to a foreign national.  These requirements are rarely excused:

  1. The alien is entering the U.S. for a limited duration;
  2. The alien intends to depart the U.S. at the expiration of his or her stay;
  3. While in the U.S., the alien maintains a foreign residence which he or she has no intention of abandoning;
  4. The alien has adequate financial arrangements to travel to, travel within, and depart from the U.S.; and
  5. The alien will only engage in limited activities relating to business or pleasure.

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Regenesis: Politics, as Usual, Impedes the Legislative Process

Posted February 16, 2013

According to a recent report in The Hill, a few Democratic lawmakers are confident we have a president willing to use executive authority to further loosen the waiver of inadmissibility process, even while Congress gingerly inches forward on a framework for comprehensive immigration reform.  “Four million of the undocumented are people who overstayed their visas to stay with family.  So that would be, I think, an area in which there’s a great deal of executive authority that he could deal with” said Rep. Raul Grijava (D-Ariz.), who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

This is wishful thinking, a rogue cannonball across the channel to the fortress on the right from the fortress on the left.  But the statement does telegraph current high-level discussion of potential administrative action loosening the stateside waiver process, if Congress gets bogged down in stonewalling and acrimony and the president becomes so inclined.

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White House Stresses Four Essential Components to Immigration Reform

Posted January 29, 2013

President Obama spoke today in Las Vegas about the need for comprehensive immigration reform.  His blueprint consists of four components:

  1. Continuing efforts to strengthen border security;
  2. ‘Cracking down’ (whatever that means) on employers who continue to hire undocumented workers;
  3. Earned U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants, including payment of back taxes with penalties, going to the back of the line, learning English and passing background checks; and
  4. ‘Streamling’ legal immigration for families, workers and employers.

Expect the president’s proposed pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants (component no. 3) to meet the most resistance in a GOP-led House of Representatives.  Defining what constitutes an appropriate ‘crackdown’ on employers who hire undocumented workers and the ‘streamlining’ of legal immigration will further bog down the effort.  The White House Fact Sheet, in fact, released in tandem with the president’s speech, proposes expanding qualifying family relationships to include a permanent same-sex partner.  Rightly or wrongly, get ready for fireworks on that.

Despite the vicissitudes inherent in this contentious political debate, Obama’s push, taken in conjunction with the recent establishment of bipartisan working groups on immigration reform in both Houses of Congress, bodes well for passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013, likely late in the year.  Stay tuned to Golden Gate Immigration for further news and commentary on this seminal American debate.

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