How to figure out household size in I-864?

How to figure out household size in I-864?

How to figure out household size in I-864?

If you are planning on sponsoring a family member you will be asked to fill out Form I-864 where you indicate what’s your household size in order to determine if you meet the income requirements to support him/her and their children, if they have any.

Household size is determined by how many people are dependent on you financially. The more people, the more money you have to make, and it impacts on the decision of the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) to whether you can support your family member or not.

Many applicants are denied sometimes because USCIS thought they didn’t meet the income requirement when they actually did but it turned out that they filled out Form I-864 wrong. Some of the common mistakes often made in this process are adding a person twice or adding people that are really not financially dependent on you.

How to fill out correctly Form I-864 to petition a family member

Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA will ask you about your household in section 5 of the document. When you complete this part you will want to limit the household size only to those people that are financially dependent on you. Be careful not to add any member more than once!

The first question will auto-populate with the number of beneficiaries you are sponsoring. For instance, if it is only your husband, it will be 1, but if he has 2 children, then it will be 3.

The second question will also auto-populate with yourself, as one of the dependents. You must include yourself because you depend on your own income.

Question number three is only to be filled out if you are not sponsoring a foreign spouse. It can be a child or parent and your current spouse lives with you in the US.

The fourth question is whether you have dependent children, which are minors or adults that financially depend on your income. The fifth is if you have other people who are also dependent on your income, such as elderly parents or children that don’t live with you.

Question number 6 asks you to include anyone you have sponsored before in the past 10 years. For question number 7 it is optional if you want to combine the income of any other adult that lives with you.

Finally, question number 8 will auto-populate with the numbers you’ve added in the previous questions.

Ex-spouses and children that don’t live with you

You should not be claiming your ex-spouse on your taxes, therefore you can also exclude him/her from the Form I-864 for the household size calculation. However, if you are paying alimony to them, you must add them in the form.

If you have children and they depend on you as their parent, even if they don’t live with you and you hardly ever see them, they must be added in the household size as well.

Poverty guidelines

Every year, the US government releases poverty guidelines that every sponsor must meet. It also establishes the minimum income requirement to be a sponsor of most family-based immigrants and some employment-based immigrants.

This form will show that the immigrants will have adequate means of financial support and will not likely rely on the US government for financial support.

In case you are having trouble meeting the income as a sponsor, consider only sponsoring the primary beneficiary first. You can also get help and guidance from an immigration lawyer in California that will help you fill out the petition request and accompany you in your overall immigration process.

Kannan Law specializes in immigration law in the state of California. Don’t hesitate and contact us today for an appointment. We’ll be happy to assist you!