Just a reminder, I am writing about the Affidavit of Support that is required whenever a person immigrates based on his relationship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.    A sponsor (discussed several weeks ago) needs to establish that he can keep the immigrant off welfare.  The basic requirement is that the sponsor needs to establish that between his income and assets, he can keep the immigrant off of welfare for three years (if the immigrant is a spouse of a US citizen) or five years for all others.

In order to do this, he needs to establish that his U.S. income is at 125% of the poverty level when you add together his family (including all dependents) and the immigrant.   If the sponsor (or joint sponsor) does not have enough income, he can use assets that are in the US or easily brought to the U.S.   The calculations get a little complicated here, so I will try to keep it as simple as possible.   We will assume that the immigrant is the spouse of a U.S. citizen.   The sponsor, if he is unemployed, will need to demonstrate that he has enough assets to equal three years of income at the 125% level.   In other words, if 125% of the poverty level is $50,000, the sponsor will need to demonstrate that he has $150,000 in assets.

If the sponsor has some income, but not enough, he can use assets to supplement his income.  Using the last example — suppose the sponsor had $40,000 of income per year.   He is short $10,000 per year.   Over three years, that will total $30,000.   So, the sponsor will need to demonstrate that he has $30,000 in assets in addition to his $40,000 per year income.

It is important to add that these calculations are not the end of the conversation.   It used to be that 125% of the poverty level is all that you needed to demonstrate.   Under the new rules enacted by President Trump — and still in effect — that is just the minimum.   The USCIS could require more if they felt that 125% of the poverty level will not be enough to ensure that the immigrant will not go on welfare.   The rules state that income at 250% of the poverty level is a much better indication that the immigrant will not need to go on welfare.   Due to this new rule — and the uncertainty that it causes — there really is no clear guide anymore, I encourage people to present as strong an affidavit of support as they can — and, if it is not clearly well above the 125% level, to also have a joint sponsor.   I discussed joint sponsors a few weeks ago.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong