If you want to sponsor a family member to move to the United States, you will be asked to complete an Affidavit of Support to demonstrate that you are willing and able to financially support the immigrant. Immigration laws set strict guidelines for which family-based immigration and which family members are eligible to receive a green card. Family-based immigration sponsors need to prove to the US government when sponsoring a family-based green card.
U.S. citizens can file a family-based immigrant visa petition for their:
U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) can file a family-based immigrant visa petition for their:
An Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) is a document that says someone agrees to financially sponsor an immigrant who has applied for a green card. USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) immigration officials want to be sure that the immigrant applicant has financial support while they are living in the United States and is not likely to become a public charge, and need to rely on public benefits and financial aid.
Most family-based green card sponsors, and some employment sponsors, will be asked to file a Form I-864 to agree that they can afford to and are willing to financially support the family member they are sponsoring if they cannot support themselves.
Immigrants in categories like asylum/refugee, special immigrants, or diversity visas are not required to file an Affidavit of Support.
If you want to sponsor someone to move to the United States, contact the experienced immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office in Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, to advise you on your case. Please contact our office or call us at 630-912-0322.
Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy has years of experience guiding clients with immigration issues through the immigration process along with guiding clients through the criminal case. Godoy focuses on family-based immigration law, business immigration law, removal defense, and criminal defense representation of immigrants. A criminal charge or conviction can be devastating to your immigration case. With over a decade of immigration law experience and memories of family members who were deported due to bad legal advice, Godoy is committed to helping other immigrant families receive the legal justice they deserve. As a legal entrepreneur who practices immigration law, criminal law, estate and probate law, and running two successful law firms, Mario Godoy understands the importance of keeping families together and making a home and future in America.
