I have been 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.   Today, I want to discuss what are the obligations that a sponsor undertakes.

The purpose of this Affidavit of Support originally was so that if Immigrants would try to sign up for welfare, the welfare department would count the income of the petitioner and deny welfare to the immigrant.   The sole responsibility of the sponsor was to prevent the immigrant from going on welfare — the  sponsor wasn’t actually required to do anything.

However, these affidavits are written broadly.   They state that the government can sue the sponsor if the immigrant gets welfare or other government benefits.  The affidavits even include language stating that the immigrant can sue the sponsor to require him to support her at 125 percent of the poverty level.   And the joint sponsor or household member is equally liable.

Originally, it was disputed as to what this all meant, and who could sue.   It is not clear to me that any of the Federal or state governments have passed the regulations allowing them to sue over this affidavit, but I do not know that for a fact.   President Trump had stated that he would enforce these Affidavits of Support to recoup any welfare-type payments that are paid to or on behalf of the sponsored immigrant — but I don’t believe that any steps were taken in that direction.  In addition, it was originally understood that the immigrant could not sue the sponsor, but over the past twenty years, more and more courts are stating that the immigrant can sue the sponsor for support based on this Affidavit. Again, it is likely that this is true of joint sponsors and household members as well — that they can be sued like sponsors.

There is discussion in the new rule passed by President Trump that it is expected that the sponsor will voluntarily take steps to make sure that the immigrant will not need to go on welfare.    Part of the new requirements is to establish that the sponsor has the intent to support the immigrant if necessary.  There are no clear rules that say that a sponsor actually needs to do that, but the consulates, at least, have started looking for evidence showing that there is a reason to believe that the sponsor not only has the necessary income and assets but also is committed enough to the immigrant to carry through with the promise of support.

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