U.S. Citizens or legal permanent residents can guarantee that foreign nationals will not become public charges / liability by signing a contract with the government; Affidavit of Support for petitioner with insufficient income (including assets).

When the income (including assets) of a petitioner is insufficient, any other U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident can sign an Affidavit of Support. An Affidavit works like a guarantee that foreign nationals will not become public charges. When someone signs such an Affidavit of Support., s/he makes a contract telling the government that s/he will take charge of the foreign nationals if those persons ever need financial assistance.

Generally, the petitioner’s income must be at least 125% that of the annual poverty guidelines. This figure changes each year and is conditional on the number of dependents. Petitioners with one child need less money than petitioners with several children, for example. The Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) focuses on the petitioner’s annual income. Therefore, although CIS requests the three most recent tax returns of the petitioner, that information is given less weight than the petitioner’s current income.

The Immigration Lawyers of Blandon Law assist petitioners, foreign nationals and joint sponsors with completing the correct application. In addition, the immigration Law Firm prepares the evidence of income which must accompany the application. Such evidence includes, but is not limited to, proof of immigration status, an employer’s letter, an accountant’s letter (if the petitioner is self-employed), evidence of savings and investment accounts, and evidence of assets. When a property is used as evidence of a petitioner’s assets, CIS will need a copy of the deed, information on the amount remaining on the mortgage (if any) and an appraisal of the property’s current worth.

Some persons applying for Legal Permanent Resident status do not need an Affidavit of Support including children of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who have worked approximately 10 years (for example, with a temporary worker visa).