Guide · Family Immigration

The Affidavit of Support (I-864): Who Signs, How Much Income, and What the Sponsor Promises

For most family cases it is a legal requirement, and for the sponsor it is a contract that can last for years. How it works.

By Lincoln Square Law · 7-minute read

In most family-based immigration cases, the green card depends not only on the relationship but on a financial promise. The petitioner signs Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support, and agrees to support the immigrant if needed. For the applicant, a sufficient affidavit is a legal requirement: without it, most family-based immigrants are inadmissible on public charge grounds (INA 212(a)(4)(C)). For the sponsor, it is an enforceable contract that can last for many years. This guide explains who must file, how much income is required, how joint sponsors and household members fit in, and what the sponsor is actually promising.

Who needs an affidavit of support

An affidavit of support under section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act is required for immigrants coming through most family-based petitions, including spouses, parents, children, and siblings of U.S. citizens and spouses and children of permanent residents. It is also required in employment-based cases where a relative filed the immigrant petition or owns a significant interest in the petitioning employer. Some immigrants are exempt, including those who have already earned, or can be credited with, 40 qualifying quarters of work under the Social Security Act, and certain children who will become citizens automatically on admission. The exemptions are narrow, and they are documented on a separate form.

The income requirement

The sponsor must demonstrate the means to maintain an annual income of at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for the sponsor’s household size. A sponsor on active duty in the U.S. armed forces petitioning for a spouse or child needs to show 100% (INA 213A(f)). The household size includes the sponsor, the sponsor’s spouse and dependents, any prior immigrants the sponsor is still obligated to support, and the immigrants being sponsored now. The poverty guidelines are updated each year, so the required figure changes.

A simple example shows how household size works. Suppose a married U.S. citizen with one child is petitioning for her mother. Her household size for the affidavit is four: herself, her husband, her child, and her mother. If she is still obligated under an earlier affidavit for a relative who immigrated a few years ago, that relative is added, making five. Her required income is 125% of the current year’s poverty guideline for a household of that size. If her husband’s income is needed to meet it, he signs Form I-864A as a household member.

Income is usually shown with the sponsor’s most recent federal tax return, W-2s or 1099s, and evidence of current employment such as recent pay stubs or an employer letter. When current income differs from the most recent tax return, current evidence often matters most, and the difference should be explained.

When income is not enough

• Assets. A sponsor may supplement income with assets that can be converted to cash within one year. The value required is generally a multiple of the shortfall, and the multiple depends on the relationship.
• Household members. Income of relatives who live in the sponsor’s household, or who are listed as dependents on the sponsor’s tax return, can be counted if they sign Form I-864A and agree to be jointly responsible.
• The intending immigrant’s own income. In some cases, the immigrant’s income may count, particularly for a spouse whose income will continue from the same source after immigration.
• A joint sponsor. Another person who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, at least 18 years old, and living in the United States may file a separate affidavit and accept the same obligations. A joint sponsor must meet the requirement on his or her own income and household size (INA 213A(f)(5)).

The petitioner must always sign an affidavit of support, even if the petitioner has no income and a joint sponsor carries the financial requirement.

What the sponsor is promising

The affidavit is a legally enforceable contract. The sponsor agrees to provide the immigrant whatever support is necessary to maintain an income of at least 125% of the poverty guidelines, and the sponsor can be required to reimburse government agencies that provide certain means-tested public benefits to the sponsored immigrant. The sponsored immigrant can sue the sponsor to enforce the support obligation, and so can the government agency that provided the benefit (INA 213A(a)(1)(B) and (b)). Federal courts have enforced these obligations, including between spouses after a divorce.

How long the obligation lasts

The obligation does not end with a divorce. It ends only when one of the events in the statute occurs:

• The immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen.
• The immigrant has worked, or can be credited with, 40 qualifying quarters of work.
• The immigrant ceases to be a permanent resident and departs the United States.
• The immigrant obtains a new grant of adjustment in a new proceeding, based on a new affidavit.
• The sponsor or the immigrant dies. The sponsor’s estate may still owe amounts that came due before death.

(INA 213A(a)(2) and (3).) A sponsor should understand before signing that the promise can last for a decade or more.

The sponsor’s continuing duties

The sponsor’s obligations are not only financial. A sponsor must report any change of address to USCIS within 30 days while the support obligation is in effect, using Form I-865, and failing to do so can result in a civil penalty (INA 213A(d)). Sponsors should keep copies of everything they filed, because a request for reimbursement or a lawsuit to enforce support can arrive years later.

Public charge and the affidavit

The affidavit of support is one of the factors in the public charge analysis, and for most family-based immigrants it is also an independent requirement. For adjustment applications filed on or after September 18, 2026, DHS replaced the 2022 public charge regulation with case-by-case determinations under the statute and agency guidance (91 Fed. Reg. 45324). The affidavit remains required where the statute requires it, and a strong, well-documented affidavit continues to be one of the most important parts of the file. Our guide to public charge explains the 2026 change.

Common problems

• Using the wrong tax year. Use the most recent federal tax return, and include transcripts or explanations if returns were not required.
• Leaving out household members. Every person in the household size must be counted correctly, or the calculation will be wrong.
• Unsupported self-employment income. Self-employed sponsors should expect to document income thoroughly, including schedules and business records.
• Joint sponsors who do not qualify on their own. A joint sponsor’s own household and obligations count against his or her income.
• Signing without understanding. Sponsors, especially joint sponsors, sometimes sign as a favor without understanding the obligation. They should read the form’s explanation of their duties before signing.

Consular cases

In consular processing, the affidavit of support is submitted to the Department of State’s National Visa Center rather than to USCIS, and the consular officer evaluates it at the interview. The same legal requirements and obligations apply. The consular officer may ask about the sponsor’s current employment and income, so updated evidence should be ready. Joint sponsors and household members submit their own forms and financial evidence through the same process, and missing documents from any of them are a common reason for delay.

A requirement for the immigrant, a lasting promise by the sponsor

The affidavit of support is both a requirement for the immigrant and a long-lasting, enforceable promise by the sponsor. Calculate household size carefully, document current income and any assets, use a joint sponsor or household member when needed, and make sure every sponsor understands that the obligation continues until citizenship, 40 quarters of work, departure and loss of status, or death, and not merely until a divorce.